ANG KONSEPTONG PAPEL Essay

Awareness of the Parents about the K to 12 Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic.[1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. 12-Year Basic Education Cycle Universal Kindergarten Madaris Education Technical-Vocational Education Every Child a Reader by Grade One Science and Math Proficiency GASTPE (Gov. Assistance to Student and Teachers to Private Education) Medium of Instruction Quality Textbooks Covenant with LGUs The Philippines is the only remaining country in Asia with a 10-year pre-university program. The majority who do not go to college are too young to enter the labor force. Thus, they would either be unemployed or be vulnerable to exploitative labor practices. Those who may be interested to set up businesses cannot legally enter into contracts. The few, (only 23%) who would proceed to tertiary education, usually have to undergo remedial and high school level classes in colleges and universities. Those who graduate (17%) may not be recognized as professionals abroad. The Washington Accord prescribes 12 years of basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering professionals. The Bologna Accord requires 12  years of education for university admission and practice of profession in European countries. We need to add two years to our basic education. Those who can afford pay up to fourteen years of schooling before university. Thus, their children are getting into the best universities and the best jobs after graduation. I want at least 12 years for our public school children to give them an even chance at succeeding.† -Pres. Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III Enhancement of the basic education curriculum is the central focus of K to 12. The enhanced curriculum will offer areas of specialization or electives such as science and technology, arts, sports, journalism, tech-voc, foreign language, entrepreneurship, and subjects for advanced placement.

Project Management and Virtual Teams Essay

Athabasca University Abstract Due to advanced communication technologies, globalization and outsourcing most of the project management teams are based on groups of individuals called virtual teams who work across time and space using communication technologies. Members of virtual teams may be employees of same company from same country, or they can be contractors, suppliers and company employees around the globe. Managing projects using virtual teams have some advantages and disadvantages. Also several studies have been done to try to determine the factors that are positively co-related to the effectiveness of virtual teams (Schwalbe, 2011). To manage virtual teams successfully in project management, the project manager must manage these factors successfully and also minimize the impact of disadvantages. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual teams in project management and outlines the factors that are positively correlated to the success of projects based on virtual teams. The paper also outlines some of the recommendations to successfully manage the virtual team in information technology projects. Keywords Globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, video conferencing, telecommuting, Project Management, Trust and relationship, Advantages of Virtual teams, Disadvantages of virtual team. Introduction Imagine that you are a project manager in a multinational organization and managing a project to upgrade the server operating system and your team members are from different countries with different cultures and working in different time zones. To complete the project successfully that is based on virtual teams, project manager must understand the advantages and disadvantages of managing virtual teams and factors that positively affect the team members. Today most of the project management teams are based on virtual teams whose members work across time and space using communication technologies and project managers cannot rely on previous methods of project team management where they were able to build trust between team member by social interaction, face-to-face meetings, and direct observations of fellow team member commitment. Literature Review Virtual teams do have some advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages outlined by Kathy Schwalbe are: 24/7 availability of workers increasing competiveness and responsiveness, lowering the cost of project as many virtual team members do not need office space and support, providing more flexibility and expertise as project managers have access to the talent around the globe and increasing the work/life balance for team members by eliminating fixed office hours and the need to travel to work. (Schwalbe, 2011). Communication and trust are the most important factors that influence the virtual team performance. Saonee Sarker and others discussed the â€Å"theoretical linkages among trust, communication, and team member performance in virtual teams†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, & Kirkeby, 2001). To prove their argument the researchers identified and tested three proposed models (additive, interaction, and mediation) describing the role of trust in its relationship. The results of the study indicated that the â€Å"mediating† model best explains how communication and trust work together to influence the performance of virtual team members. In simple words them study proves that â€Å"a communicative individual will be more likely to be trusted and will therefore be more likely to be a high performer†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, & Kirkeby, 2001) Radostina K. Purvanova reviewed experimental literature and emerging field research on virtual teams. Author compared the â€Å"results from both type of literature and found that experimental literature has largely reported negative results for virtual teams, whereas ? eld investigations and case studies of real virtual teams employed by business organizations report positive outcomes for virtual teams. According to the article although results reported by experimental versus field studies are quite different, author concludes that both literatures have revealed negative attitudes toward virtual communication media. Advantages of Virtual Teams The main advantages of virtual teams include: The biggest advantage of virtual team enjoyed by an organization is the associated cost savings. The organization can save huge expenses on real estate, office spaces, utility bills such as gas, electricity, water etc. and executive’s travel. Team members can work from anywhere and anytime of the day. They can choose the place they work based on the mood and the comfort. You can recruit people for their skills and suitability to the job. The location does not matter. There is no time and money wasted for commuting and clothing. Physical handicaps are not an issue. Another advantage is the labour laws, some organizations prefer to have virtual teams because of strict local labour laws. Since the members span the time zones, there could be different team working on the same project 24/7, so when one member sleeps there will be another one somewhere else who would start work where the former had left. This shortens the product development time as well as faster response time to demands in both global and local markets. Disadvantages of Virtual Teams Disadvantages of virtual teams include: Since team members do not frequently meet or do not meet at all, the teamwork spirit may not be present. Some people prefer to be in a physical office when working. These people will be less productive in virtual environments. To work for virtual teams, individuals need to have a lot of self-discipline. If the individual is not disciplined, he or she may be less productive. The cultural difference between the members of virtual teams gives rise to number of conflicts. For example, while an employee from one part of the world would write a straightforward email describing a bad situation; this would be perceived as impolite by a member of the team from other part of the world. This would lead to conflicts, mistrust and difficulties in fruitful collaboration which is so vital for the success of virtual team functioning. These challenges are also precipitated by the absence of non-verbal cues so intrinsic to face-to-face interactions. Many members of virtual teams are adversely affected by the lack of physical interactions. Most of the communications in virtual environment is task-oriented. In today’s society where job is an important social force for most of us because many of our workplace colleagues also constitute our close friends, this gives a not-so-good feeling of social isolation. This in turn counter-effects productivity as well as leads to stress. In the virtual environment, it is better to communicate, clarify, and confirm everything to make sure that all members have the same understanding about the task at hand. This produces of ton of paperwork and files that could quickly fill your archives. Factors that positively affect virtual teams Succession planning and promotions involving virtual team members are important factors and if managed properly, virtual team members will feel that they are receiving recognition and credit and as a result they will be satisfied and their productivity will be increased. (Leonard, 2011) Since team members are not communicating face to face, constructive team and individual feedback early and often becomes more important and if managed properly can avoid many problems before hand. Trust between team members and project leader is an important factor that can affect the performance of team members. One important way to build trust between team members is effective communication. The more they communicate with each other and with project more they build the trust. Well defined and documented team process also important which saves a lot of time for especially new team members to find answers to their questions related to policies and procedures. A team member selection and role preference is also important factor to successfully manage the virtual teams. â€Å"Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. 15 It is important to select team members carefully and to form a team where all roles are covered. Each virtual team member must also understand his or her role(s) on the team. † (Schwalbe, 2011) Discussion and Conclusions Organizations such as IBM, Microsoft, Whirlpool as well as SMEs are reaping the benefits of virtual teams for some time now. It has been a well-recognized fact that virtual team is not a passing tide but it is here to stay. Virtual teams are rising in numbers nowadays and even small technology companies are now adapting virtual team practice for recruiting the best people from all over the globe and reduce the cost. As outlined in previous sections, virtual teams do have advantaged and some disadvantages as well. To benefit from advantages and to minimize the impact of disadvantages a project manager can focus on factors that positively affect the virtual team’s performance. As indicated by previous researchers, increase in trust, comfort level and communication effectiveness leads to better project success. All of the above discussed disadvantages can be overcome by following a different leadership approach, trainings, greater role clarity and effective communication strategies. Also earlier discussed factors that affect virtual teams, if managed properly can result in a successful project. In addition, the companies using virtual teams can minimize their operating costs and maximize the profit margins. Additionally, the employees working in virtual teams are at advantages when it comes to working in their own home, own time, and reduction of commuting costs. Therefore, organizations should look into setting up virtual teams for different tasks whenever possible. To reap the benefits of virtual teams in projects and minimize the impact of disadvantages virtual team managers should manage the outlined factors properly and should also follow best practices outlined in next section. Best Practices When running virtual teams, some of the best practices include: An instant messaging program can be used to create a sense of presence amongst members of the team. Chat is a good way to have side conversations during meetings to gain consensus, confirm understanding or ask questions. Quick questions can be asked through instant messenger as a substitute for popping into someone’s cubicle. Services for syncing files, bug tracking, project management, source control, web conferencing, conference calls, screen recording, usability testing and so on. A virtual phone system allows mapping of phone extensions to any phone number. Advance features allow callers to dial by name, get placed into a phone queue or get recorded answers back from a phone tree. In-person meetings are also a good option; it helps build team cohesion and trust and can help people get to know each other on a deeper level. But they are by no means critical. Bringing everyone together once a year may cost a little, but it’s still often cheaper than paying local salaries and rent, and increases the efficiency of team.

Comment on the Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comment on the Response - Essay Example I strongly agree with the point on the identity discovery process. I feel Janie strongly identified herself with nature. The fact that she related love to the relationship between the bees and the tree and the point where she allows a bug to walk on her face just to feel the legs of the bug makes one feel that Janie identified herself with nature. The fact that she found herself in conflict with her inner self when she was the mayor’s wife was a beautiful depiction of a situation which many of us feel time and again when confronted by different situations in life. I had also mentioned in my review that the language was hard to understand at first, due to the African dialect. I am not really sure whether that was the lesson which Hurston was trying to give about the fact that women should rule their own lives because after Janie did what she wanted her end was not one to be envied, she had to kill her husband, the one she had loved, but then again may be you are right in saying this because the book is centered around her feelings and dilemmas.

Organic Thin Film Transistor Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organic Thin Film Transistor - Research Paper Example The top diagram (a) shows a top contact device in which the two (source and drain) electrodes are evaporated onto the semiconducting layer by applying a mask and the bottom diagram (b) shows a bottom contact device in which the semiconductor is deposited onto the gate insulator with prefabricated electrodes. Studies on organic semiconductors began in the 1940s and these components were mostly used in xerography due to their photoconductive properties. They have only gained more widespread attention in recent years due to impressive performance and efficiency improvements making it possible for a wider range of further applications. In particular, the considerable improvements in OTFTs have led to an enhanced understanding of their conduction mechanisms and performance characteristics, and fabrication technologies have been developed for optimising their morphology and structural order2. It should also be noted however, that despite the advancement in OTFTs and increasing uses for them, they are still not able to replace the more common inorganic based TFTs for certain applications in which faster switching speeds are required. This is due to their still relatively low mobility, despite considerable improvement in this regard, as shown in the chart below3. On the other hand, OTFTs are better suited where large area coverage is required and they offer compelling advantages of low cost, low temperature processing and structural flexibility. This makes them especially useful for switching in active matrix flat panel displays that consist of liquid crystal pixels or organic LEDs, for radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs), etc. As with inorganic semiconductors, organic semiconductors are also directly affected by such features as purity, crystallinity, molecular packing and growth mode4. The microstructure and morphology of all transistor devices are therefore important because they determine their electrical

Source Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Source Evaluation - Essay Example Convincingly, his article provides a deep analysis of this social problem and provides ground to reduce domestic violence in the society. Ganley is a PhD holder who has a wide experience in the social affairs issues and a member of the future without violence organization. He is among the great pool of social activists who have stood up in the fight against domestic violence. Ganley (16) defines domestic violence as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, psychological attacks as well as economic coercion that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners. The author provides a strong definition of domestic violence that reveals its nature and contains some of the most ignored factors of domestic violence. Many scholars have defined gender violence as violence against women and this definition cannot fit the contemporary society where complex marriage institutions exist and both men and women can be subjects of violence. With this definition, Ganley seems to consider the family structural changes, which makes his work unique and credible. The author points out to the various forms of gender violence in the society and the way they arise. Ganley (19-21) identifies physical, sexual and psychological assault as possible forms of domestic violence. Physical violence refers to the beating or fighting while sexual violence refers to the forceful use of sex on a partner within an intimate relationship. On the other hand, psychological assault refers to the use of threats of violence in intimidating a partner, which may have an emotional effect on the person. Most scholars have ignored psychological torture as a manifestation of domestic violence and Ganley goes an extra mile to elaborate that this is another form of the domestic violence. Actually, threats of war within a

Dell Computer Make to Order (MTO), Make to Stock (MTS) & Assemble to Assignment

Dell Computer Make to Order (MTO), Make to Stock (MTS) & Assemble to Order (ATO) - Assignment Example The researcher states that the Make to Order process maintains quality and the products can be personalized during manufacturing and delivery that creates value for customers. This process has no finished goods inventory. The make to order has a disadvantage since it has intermittent production. Dell Company can benefit from MTO process due to reduced inventory space and can customize their products. From a tax, related standpoint Dell Company may benefit from the process. In terms of customization, Dell Company can customize their products with materials, size, and color.The Company may benefit economically from the process since assembled goods must have more warehouse space. Delaying assembly until a customer makes an order reduces labor cost for the company before payment. However, the company may experience delays since products take longer to produce and deliver. Customers may opt to make orders from other companies that offer quicker deliver products. Assemble to Order is a pr ocess that involves making a part and sub-assembling the products. The process is completed when a customer makes an order. It is a business strategy in production that produces quickly and customized in certain ways. It requires that basic parts are manufactured but not assembled. When an order is placed, the parts are assembled and sent to the recipient. The process has its own advantages in the sense that it has fewer inventories and the service is faster. Its main disadvantage for Dell Company is that it has WIP inventory. This process is appropriate for a computer industry Dell company can benefit from this when large numbers of sub-assemblies are put together. For example, assembling the motherboard, video cards, fans, and battery power are put in one location and the final assembly of the laptop is made easier when an order is made. It enables Dell Company to push inventory back that makes it possible to receive payments for the hardware before other parts are paid for.

Doctor Faustus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Doctor Faustus - Essay Example Mann characterizes the changes in his society as a manifestation of rot. It is essential to highlight that the novel is an abstract piece that manifests the dark side of concepts that are accepted as ideal for a changing society. This explains why it profiles the life of a maddened intellectual as a person who is unfit for the good of a society and chastises the nationalist ideals taking over Germany in the fascist era. By breaking into Biblical nuances, the novel announces that the end has come. In the beginning of the 20th century, Germany adopts a dangerous nationalistic attitude that defines the attitudes of her young people. In 1919, Zeitblum and Leverkhun attend a salon in the home of a Munich’s art collector. At this time, the war has destroyed the bourgeois values. This signifies an impressive tiding for Germany as the oppressed classes achieve the platform for socio-economic fulfillment in their lives. The professors of the nationalistic ideal, however, hail the era as a revolution for purifying the German nation. Zeitblum manifests this ideal as a savage attitude that will shuffle back Germany to the Dark Ages. In the changing Germany, family life is highly compromised. In Zeitblom’s account of events, there is a notable death for gratifying love relationships. In turn, marriages can only thrive in the realm of society in excluded rural settings. In such settings, there is a sense of purity that still bars the society from the infected climate that pervades the whole country. Inez and Helmut’s union is central to the understanding of a typical relationship that occurs in the 20th century Germany. In the narrative, Inez chooses Helmet for the security of a bourgeois life that he will eventually bestow upon the family. A tendency towards perfection constrains the development of love in such a family life. As the story develops, it emerges that Inez is in love with Rudi

Challange of Moral Education Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Challange of Moral Education - Term Paper Example In addition, I have always wanted to have an impact on my students and other learners since teaching to me is more of just a professional but an opportunity to serve different interests and direct people on the right paths to success. This is my main philosophical belief and motivation as a professional in the field of education. As the learners discover the best ways to attain moral standards, they are in turn able to present themselves in class in a suitable condition for grasping the contents of learning. Secondly, I believe in honesty and this value has motivated me to present the best I can to my students. Honesty is a religious virtue that is based on presentation of facts and situations they way they are without making alterations or intentionally making misrepresentations for personal interests. I believe that by being honest first to myself and then to the students, I am able to build a free learning environment, which is important for the whole process. During the learning process, evaluation of learners is always a critical component for the attainment of learning objectives. As a result, my next motivation is on stressing on merit rather than favoritism and biasness. For learners to get a real picture of the progress they are making in the learning process, it is important to provide them with the most sincere and standardized feedback as much as possible. Stressing on merit also helps in evaluating my effectiveness in the various modules. Subsequently, another of my motivations as a public educator is based on the principle of fairness to all regardless of their social, cultural and religious backgrounds. This is because looking at the divisions humans have in their quest for identity may blind our decisions. It is therefore common to... This paper approves that learning is an important developmental process in the life of any individual regardless of their religious, social or cultural standing in the society. Moral values are often overlooked in the learning process despite the numerous opportunities and advantages to do so. This project is therefore an important initiative of ensuring that the value system is promoted in the learning environment I am and shall be engaged with. My core philosophies and beliefs are based on issues that are critical for the success of learners even beyond the actual schooling or learning process. As a result, my advocacy in this area is pegged on the future of learners. It Says that organizations that support ethics and morality in education will also be partnered with, where possible, especially in provision of information to the learners. All these measures will therefore be employed to ensure that the challenges are eliminated. Thia essay come to the conclusion that , it is important for curriculum developers to ensure that moral and ethical standards are promoted even in the development of appropriate content for learners. To the extent of improving the learners’ attitude and belief system, the effective implementation of this program may be essential for the overall improvement of learners’ performance. This project is therefore an alternative to ensuring that there is a constant and gradual change in the learning process as well as among learners from different backgrounds.

Health Care Reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Health Care Reform - Essay Example Patients rely on doctors because they are trained professionals, with the knowledge to help and cure patients’ medical conditions. A key aspect that reinforces the power of physicians is America’s vision of progressive health care technology, and the requirement to exploit new measures and medications. The United States is far behind the rest of the developed countries in terms of their life expectancies, but the cost for health care is much higher than all of the other developed countries as well (Cassel, 2005). This is due to the reliance on new technologies, and this problem is two-fold: on the one hand, pharmaceutical companies and medical technology producers push new drugs, prescriptions, and medical technologies and incentives are given to doctors to utilize this new technology (Mechanic, 2006). This is also coupled with the fact that nowadays; the American public is becoming more interested in these new technologies due to information provided, through advertising and other means, by the pharmaceutical companies themselves. As medical technologies, procedures, and medications continue to advance, the cost of providing such care also advances. In the first half of the 20th century, medical care was paid for out-of-pocket, by the patients themselves. When costs continued to rise above what patients could pay, another capitalist scheme was developed to cash in on the commodity of health care; insurance. The first forms of insurance were basically managed by businesses. They offered insurance to their employees, as an added fringe benefit; sacrificing a proportion of their salary or wages (Porter & Teisberg, 2006). This pretty much remains true to this day; most Americans receive their health care insurance from their employers. A growing problem in the uninsured population also exists in the waiting period that has been assigned to most business insurance programs; for a short period of time many employees and there families remain uninsured (Porter &

Sport Obermeyer Essay Example for Free

Sport Obermeyer Essay From a quality standpoint, production in Hong Kong would be ideal considering the repair rate in China is five to ten times greater than it is in Hong Kong. Although the costs of repair are relatively low, Obermeyer is a high quality apparel company, and its customers in all likelihood want durable products. Not only would this keep customers happy in the short term, but it would greatly increase the chance that they would return for more Obermeyer products in the future. Thinking strategically in the long term, Obermeyer may want to begin training workers in China to bring them to the quality of workers in Hong Kong. Despite the fact that there would be training costs involved, the improvement in long run quality and productivity of the workers would be balanced considering their wage is more than twenty times lower. If these workers were then able to produce faster, Obermeyer could produce fast enough at the low cost and ship product before the import quota is filled. Since there is an import quota in goods coming from China, it may be more beneficial in the long run to have the first round of orders produced in China before the quota runs out. On that same note, the minimum order quantity in Hong Kong is half that of China, and so there is a less likely chance that Obermeyer would have unsold products at the end of the season. One benefit from a materials procurement standpoint is the fact that six of the nine components needed to produce a parka are manufactured in Hong Kong. By assembling the parkas in the same country, transportation costs and lead times could be decreased, minimizing the possibility of the bull whip effect for those products. Also, the preparation for manufacturing in China takes longer than in Hong Kong, another benefit to having first round orders produced in China and second round in Hong Kong. One of the major advantages of producing in China is the fact that the total landed cost is less than the cost of production in Hong Kong. In the example of the Rococo Parka, TLC was $60. 08 in Hong Kong compared to $51. 92 in China, the difference being $8. 16. This number is important to look at relative to the cost of the loss on unsold parkas, which is 9 dollars. This means that the cost of an unsold product produced in China is a mere 84 cents as compared to the full 9 dollars in Hong Kong. Clearly the cost of overproducing in China is far less than in Hong Kong, in fact, it is than 1 percent Obermeyer’s price.

The Applications Of Arrow Debreu Model Economics Essay

The Applications Of Arrow Debreu Model Economics Essay According to Elroy Dimson and Massoud Mussavian (1999), Arrow-Debreu model was developed as a model of general equilibrium that has been fundamental to economics and finance. Compared to earlier models, the Arrow-Debreu model basically generalized the notion of a commodity, differentiating commodities by time and place of delivery. For example, apples in Malaysia in July and apples in Singapore in June are considered as different commodities. Kenneth J. Arrow (1951) and Gerard Debreu (1951) work together to produce the first rigorous proof of the existence of a market clearing equilibrium, given certain restrictive assumptions. This field of research has had a profound impact not only on economic science, but also on financial markets, institutions and businesses all over the world. It often used as a general reference for other microeconomic models. As Ramu Gopalan (2008) stated, the pioneering work of Arrow and Debreu has had an enduring effect on the study of financial aspects of the economy in a general equilibrium framework. One of their key contributions is to introduce time and uncertainty into general equilibrium models. The Arrow-Debreu model was established since 1950s, many researchers had extended this model to both economics and financial economics. Although this model is criticized by various eminent economists, the dedication of this model in the history is indestructible. In this assignment, we are going to discuss the applications of Arrow-Debreu model majoring in the financial economics. The purpose of this assignment is to find out and understand more about the contributions of this model to financial theory. The applications of Arrow-Debreu model will be listed out and discussed further. Journals will be shown and summarized out in order to support our discussion. Finally, the last section in this assignment is the conclusion. 2.0 Background studies In this assignment, the applications of Arrow-Debreu model in financial economics will be discussed. But before that we have to know what the Arrow-Debreu model is. 2.1 Arrow-Debreu Model Arrow-Debreu model, also referred as Arrow-Debreu-McKenzie model (ADM model), is the fundamental model used in the General (Economic) Equilibrium Theory. It is named after its originator who are Kenneth J. Arrow (b. 1921) and Gerard Debreu (1921-2004) on Existence of an Equilibrium for a Competitive Economy as well as Lionel W. McKenzie (b. 1919). As what stated in the Farlex Financial Dictionary (2009), it says that this model is one of the most general models of competitive economy and is a crucial part of general equilibrium theory, as it can be used to prove the existence of general equilibrium (or Walrasian equilibrium) of an economy. Once we can prove the existence of such an equilibrium, it is possible to show that it is unique under certain conditions, but not in general. Furthermore, Arrow went on to extend the model to deal with the issues relating to uncertainty, stability of the equilibrium, and whether a competitive equilibrium is efficient. 2.2 Applications of Arrow-Debreu Model Arrow-Debreu model leads to a huge impact on economics and financial economics. First of all, it solves the long-standing problem of proving the existence of equilibrium in a Walrasian (competitive) system. This model analyzes the exact situations of those markets that are very competitive. In economics, Arrow-Debreu model suggests that a set of prices such as aggregate supplies will equal to aggregate demands for every commodity under certain assumptions made about the economic conditions (i.e. perfect competition and demand independence). Formulated in a purely mathematical form, the Arrow-Debreu model can be easily modified into spatial or intertemporal models with proper definition of the commodities based on the commoditys location or time of delivery. When commodities are specified to be conditional on various states of the world, the Arrow-Debreu model can easily combine expectation and uncertainty into the analysis. Besides, theoretical extensions and applications have been made to analyze financial and monetary markets and international trade, as well as other subjects. With a general equilibrium structure, the model is applicable in evaluating the overall impact on resource allocation of policy changes in areas such as taxation, tariff, and price control. Moreover, it applies to all general equilibrium models that are heavily dependent upon accurate mathematical proofs. In the field of financial economics, Arrow Debreu represents a certain kind of securities product which named as Arrow-Debreu security. This distinguished concept is a good teaching tool to understand the pricing and hedging issues in derivatives analysis. On the other hand, the Arrow-Debreu Model is also used in areas like financial engineering. But it has turned out to be very limited, especially in the multi-period or continuous markets. The model has been subject to the criticism that many of the assumptions it makes do not fit the workings of the real economy. However, the truth is that the Arrow-Debreu Model is very important for the derivative industry and helps the industry to grow at a rapid pace. 3.0 Literature Review In previous section, we have mentioned some applications of the Arrow-Debreu model both in the field of economics and financial economics. Now, the applications of this model majoring in financial economics will be discussed further. The functions of Arrow-Debreu model can be divided into six categories, asset pricing model, equity risk premium, corporate finance, Modigliani and Miller Theorem, Arrow-Debreu security and others. 3.1 Asset-pricing model From the studies, most of the Arrow-Debreu models applications are commonly used in shaping the asset-pricing model. Arrow-Debreu model was acted as an origin which gives the insight that consumption in different future states could simply view as different consumption goods according to Elroy and Massoud (1999). This result is proved and can be seen through various researchers journals. It is undeniable that the Arrow-Debreu model plays an important role in constructing the asset-pricing model. The evidences are given in following paragraphs. Based on the journal of Asset Pricing at Millennium written by John Y. Campbell (2000), he stated that theoretical and empirical developments in asset-pricing has taken place within a well establish paradigm for the last twenty years. While the well establish paradigm that he mentioned here is referred to the Arrow-Debreu model. Same as Franklin Allen (2001), he indicated that asset-pricing models are typically special cases of neoclassical Arrow-Debreu model. In the traditional Arrow-Debreu model of resource allocation, firms and households interact through markets and financial intermediaries play no role. On the other hand, the key element of the analysis in the modern version is the stochastic discount factor, which incorporates the Arrow-Debreu state prices and allows the assets to be priced. He also commented that this approach and the focus on the risk-return trade-off have allowed a rich interplay between the empirical and theoretical work. The equity premium puzzle is given as an example of special cases within the Arrow-Debreu framework in order to support his statement. Moreover, Elroy and Massoud (1999) narrated the historical development of asset pricing and derivative valuation on Three Centuries of Asst Pricing. He pointed out the success of conceptual framework that setting up the theory of asset pricing is down to Arrow (1953)s hard work. Dissatisfied with the current Arrow-Debreu framework, Arrow built up a series of contingent claims that follow the resolution of uncertainty to explain how one can achieve markets that are almost complete. Varian (1985) analyzed the impact of divergence of opinion on asset prices in an Arrow-Debreu economy. By considering the Arrow-Debreu model with agents who have different subjective probabilities, he compares and concludes the differences of opinion in an Arrow-Debreu contingent claim context. Based on his journal Divergence of Opinion in Complete Markets: A Note, three results were established. He concluded that in practice, increased dispersion of beliefs will generally be associated with the reduced asset prices in a given Arrow-Debreu equilibrium. Also, he uses this model to show that other things equal, if risk aversion does not decrease too rapidly, then assets with more dispersed opinion will have lower prices or vice versa. P. Bossaerts and C. Plott (2004) had done six financial markets experiments of testing two of the most basic propositions of modern asset pricing theory. The Arrow-Debreu model and the Sharpe-Lintner-Mossin Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), these two theoretical models are used to be the framework of their experiments. In the end of their experiments, they discovered a swift convergence towards equilibrium prices of Arrow-Debreu model or the CAPM. This discovery is significant because they use the subjects that lacked of information to intentionally set the asset prices. Sometimes, the equilibrium is not found to be robust which clearly shows a result of deviations of subjective beliefs from objective probabilities. However, they still find the evidences that prove this does not destroy the tendency for markets to equilibrate as predicted by the theory. 3.2 Equity Risk Premium Next, the Arrow-Debreu model is applied to explain the equity risk premium. In an attempt to explain the equity risk premium, Rajnish Mehra and Edward C. Prescott (1985) developed an Arrow-Debreu asset pricing model. They found that historically the average return on equity has far exceeded the average return on short-term debt and Treasury bills. Thus, they try to use the Arrow-Debreu model to interpret this situation. In the end of the journal The Equity Premium: A Puzzle, they concluded that only those equilibrium model with friction (i.e. non-Arrow-Debreu models) will be the one that successfully explain both high equity risk premium and low risk-free returns. However, Rietz (1988) overthrew the conclusion of Mehra and Prescott (1985) in The Equity Risk Premium: A Puzzle. He mentioned that the reason for them to reject the Arrow-Debreu model is their specifications which cannot explain the high equity risk premium and low risk free returns that characterize the U.S. economy. Hence, he re-specified their model to include a low-probability, depression from a high return of compensation for the extreme losses during the market crashes, captured those possible effects from the market crashes and finally successfully proved that these crashes allow it to explain both high equity risk premium and low risk free returns without abounding the Arrow-Debreu paradigm as well as not altering their models attractive features. In the journal The Equity Risk Premium: A Solution, he explained further that it does so with reasonable degrees of time preference and risk aversion provided the crashes are apparently severe and not too unimaginable. 3.3 Corporate Finance According to Jean Tirole (2006), he specified that a substantial and important body of empirical work has provided a clearer picture of patterns of corporate financing and governance, and of their impact for firm behaviour and macroeconomic activity. One of them is the Arrow-Debreu model. During 1970s, the dominant Arrow-Debreu model of frictionless markets (presumed perfectly competitive and complete, unhampered by taxes, transaction costs, as well as informational irregularity) can prove to be a powerful tool for analyzing the pricing of claims in financial markets, but little about the firms financial choices and about their governance. Besides, in the complete market paradigm of Arrow (1951) and Debreu (1951), the financial claims returns depend on some choices such as investments, are assumed to be contractible and therefore are not affected by moral hazard. In Jean (2006)s opinion, financial markets were not plagued by problems of asymmetric information because investors agree on the distribution of a claims returns. Viewed through the Arrow-Debreu lens, he identified that the key issues for financial economists are the allocation of risk among investors and the pricing of redundant claims by arbitrage. Michael J. Brennan (1995) also clarified that the abstract simplicity of the Arrow-Debreu model yields few insights for corporate finance beyond the value additivity principle that was used to refute the conventional wisdom that conglomerate mergers will add value to the company through the corporate diversification. 3.4 Modigliani and Miller Theorem (M-M Theorem) Another application of Arrow-Debreu model is related to M-M theorem which devised by Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller (1958). This theorem explains that a firms financial structure is irrelevant under certain conditions, Arrow-Debreu environment. The value of a financial claim or a firm which equal to the sum of the values of the claims it issues is thus equal to the value of the random return of this claim or the firm computed at the Arrow-Debreu prices (the prices of state-contingent securities). Therefore, Arrow-Debreu model is used as a fundamental of economy in formulating M-M theorem. 3.5 Arrow-Debreu Security (State Contingent Claim) Mostly, Arrow-Debreu security will be the answer of the applications of this model majoring in financial economics if we searching it through the internet. Based on the journal A re-examination of the Modigliani-Miller theorem written by Joseph E. Stiglitz (1969), in a section entitled Arrow-Debreu securities, he not only showed the M-M theorem in a complete markets setting but also mentioned about the Arrow-Debreu model under uncertainty in which individual can buy or sell the promises to pay if a given state of the world occurs. This shows a direct relationship between the Arrow-Debreu model and the Arrow-Debreu security. Through the calculation, he observed that if he takes literally the Arrow-Debreu definition of a state of nature, there is undoubtedly will be more states of nature than firms and most of these states are similar with each other. An example, variation in the return on stocks can be explained by the business cycle, is given to support his statement. Robert E. Lucas (1984) analyzed the unified theories of money and finance on Money in the Theory of Finance. He examined and commented that financial and monetary theory have different objective, however, the desirable theoretical unity may be, one can identify strong forces that will continue to pull apart these two bodies of theory. He mentioned that the theory of finance is conducted almost entirely within the Arrow-Debreu contingent claim framework such as the three pillars of modern financial theory which have been reformulated in contingent claim terms. Besides, he wrote that the applications of the Arrow-Debreu contingent claim formulation of a competitive equilibrium for an economy operating through time is subjected to stochastic shocks. In the end, he concluded that the power in applications of the contingent claim point of view is obviously evident in finance, will be as usefully applied to monetary theory. One more thing that he suggested is the source of this power which is the ability of this framework to permit the reduction of the study of asset demands to the study of demands for the more fundamental attributes to which assets are claims. 3.6 Others Apart from those above categories, Arrow-Debreu Models can be used for other purpose. For instance, it acts as a fundamental to explain the pattern of trade, to formulate the fixed price equilibrium or to find out whether the financial markets are arrangements for risk-sharing. Furthermore, it is extended further to analyze the restrictions and developed further that include a sequential market model with the financial markets. One of the section in the journal Differences of opinion in financial markets written by Hal R. Varian (1989), an Arrow-Debreu contingent consumption model of the sort studied by Milgrom and Stokey (1982) was examined. Through the mathematical calculation and the analysis of the consequences for assets market equilibrium based on the Arrow-Debreu model, it ends with a similar result, prices are determined by information, but the pattern of trade is determined by differences in opinion. In order to establish the important difference for trade is the opinion, he analyzed some of its consequences for assets market equilibrium. At last, he stressed that the volume of trade in an Arrow-Debreu model is due primarily to the differences of opinion. Next is the Claus Weddepohl (1983). He discussed and addressed the development of the theory of general equilibrium during the last twenty-five years. Considering and analyzing the Arrow-Debreu model with futures markets, he showed the result that this model gives rise to temporary equilibrium models. He stated that the fixed price equilibrium models are formulated through the study of these models and the study of the stability of price adjustments. The simple fixed price equilibrium model as defined by Barro and Grossman (1971) and Malinvaud (1977) is what he emphasized in the journal Developments in the Theory of General Equilibrium. Ouattara (1994) applied the Arrow-Debreu model to the small villages in the McCarthy Island Division South (MID-South) of The Gambia to find out whether financial markets are arrangements for risk-sharing. The main objective of risk-sharing is to verify that observed consumption patterns are consistent with patterns predicted by insurance models. The Arrow-Debreu full insurance model focuses on consumption smoothing across different states of nature at each particular point in time through state-contingent contracts. In the end of his research, the results supported the hypothesis that state-contingent loans are accepted in rural Gambia and there is full risk-sharing among participants in the financial markets. Peter H. Friesen (1979) extended the Arrow-Debreu model to financial markets which include the sequential market model. It is done by dropping the contingent contracts from the Arrow Debreu model, leaving only a sequence of spot markets for commodities. This leads to an inefficient market structure but efficient for sequence of stock markets and option markets. The purpose of the journal The Arrow-Debreu Model Extended to Financial Markets is to develop further the Arrow-Debreu model. The method that he used is through the extension of Arrow (an equilibrium in one model was constructed from that of another). For example, financial securities, Arrow certificates can be constructed from options on common stock and the advantage in the general equilibrium theory of financial markets, are the proofs of using Arrows method. On the other hand, the sequential market model for which equilibrium are constructed from the Arrow-Debreu equilibrium derived in Debreu (1951). From the fact that Arrow-Debreu equilibrium exist, it follows by construction that equilibrium for this model exists. It also follows that the equilibrium is efficient. Peter (1979) stressed that such models are used both to study financial markets and to explore the effects of a gradual resolution of uncertainty. Lastly, he concluded that it not only shows the close relationship between these two models but also reminds us that the potential value of finite-horizon Arrow-Debreu models for the study of sequential economies. Investors in financial markets face several restrictions apart from wealth constraints. So, we have the right to understand the restrictions in a general competitive equilibrium. Based on the journal Contributions to Intertemporal Models in Financial Economics written by Ramu Gopala (2008), the Arrow-Debreu model was extended further for the usage of analyzing those restrictions. He indicated that the traditional Arrow-Debreu model can be extended to a more realistic setting. Following Angeloni and Cornet (2006), this extension of the Arrow-Debreu model in the multi-period setting with restricted participation is established. Arrow-Debreu model was used to elaborate, to compare, to extend and to emerge for shaping those important finance theories. 4.0 Supporting Theories In this section, the theories that are related to Arrow-Debreu model will be further discussed. Apart from that, in order to let us have a more complete picture about this model, the theories that we displayed previously will also be stated and explained, as well as deliberated further. 4.1 General Equilibrium Theory General equilibrium theory is the core of economic theory. Before the Arrow-Debreu model is established, this theory has been proposed by L. Walras (1874). As reported by Arrow and Debreu (1954), he was the one who first formulated the state of economic system at any point of time as the solution of a system of simultaneous equations representing the demand for goods by consumers, the supply of goods by producers, and the equilibrium condition that supply equal demand on every market. In other words, Walras (1874) is the pioneer who first attempts to model the price for a whole economy. Walras uses mathematics to construct a complete structure of general equilibrium theory. This research has lead to results in contribution to neoclassical economics. However, the mathematics that he used to set up the foundation of this theory was unstable due to the existence of general equilibrium does not solved in a satisfactory manner. Hence, theoretically, if he cannot prove this existence, then this theoretical system will become meaningless. General equilibrium theory is therefore developed and improved by Vilfredo Pareto (1897), John R. Hicks (1939), John Von Neumann (1937), Paul A. Samuelson (1941), Kenneth J. Arrow (1954), Gerard Debreu (1954), Lionel W. McKenzie (1954) and others, which becomes an integral part of economics. 4.2 Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics Before the Arrow and Debreu began their famous collaboration, both of them had proved the same theorem which is the Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics or First and Second Welfare Theorems. There are two fundamental theorems of welfare economics. The first theorem states that every general equilibrium involves a Pareto efficient allocation of resources under the three assumptions. The three assumptions are if there are no externalities, all agents are price-taker, and prices for each good are known to each agent. While the Pareto efficient named after Vilfredo Pareto (1897), is a type of efficiency that results if one person cannot be made better off without making someone else worse off. The First Welfare Theorem is viewed by many economists as the formalization of Smiths Invisible Hand. As Makowski and Ostroy (1995) stated, it provided a set of sufficient conditions for a price system to efficiently coordinate the economic activity. Besides, this theorem supports the case for non-intervention in ideal conditions. For instance, the outcome is said to be Pareto efficient if we let the markets to do the work. The Second Welfare Theorem says that if preferences are well-behaved (especially convex) then every Pareto efficient allocation can be supported by a general equilibrium set of prices, given a suitable reallocation of the endowment. Referring to Varian (1985), this theorem effectively said that if you think an equilibrium is unfair, just move the endowment of the economy and a different general equilibrium will be obtained. Due to the convexity, the second theorem is stronger than the first theorem. The difference between these two theorems is the second theorem requires existence of general equilibrium from all endowment points, whereas the first theorem required only that if a general equilibrium existed it was efficient. According to Michael A. S. Guth (1994), Arrow (1951) provided a rigorous proof of the connection between competitive equilibrium and Pareto optimal. Gerard Debreu (1951) introduced convex analysis methods into welfare theory and independently proved the same theorems. As a result, these theorems have an important relation to Arrow-Debreu model; the existence of solutions to a competitive equilibrium is finally solved. 4. 3 Theories in relation to the Restriction of General Competitive Equilibrium Previously, the Arrow-Debreu model was used to analyze the restrictions. In order to understand those restrictions in the general competitive equilibrium framework, tracing back those following theories is necessary for us to know how the Arrow-Debreu model was used to be compared and proved other economic theory. 4.3.1 Radner Equilibrium Roy Radner said that the Arrow-Debreu model is not originally put forward for the case of uncertainty, but a powerful device introduced by Arrow (1953), and further elaborated by Debreu (1953), enabled the theory to be reinterpreted to cover the case of uncertainty about the availability of resources and about consumption and production possibilities. Hence, he extends the Arrow-Debreu equilibrium and forms an economic concept-Radner Equilibrium. Radner (1972) is the first who considers the general equilibrium with incomplete markets. He shows that unlike the Arrow-Debreu models, the possibility of trading commodity futures for every contingency is sufficient to enable income transfers across all spots. In addition, the assumption that he made, short-sales of these contracts are limited for every agent, is a driving force in his proof of the existence of a general financial equilibrium. This can be seen as the first attempt to incorporate this idea in their asset market participation. 4.3.2 Concept of Constrained Pareto Optimality Radner Equilibrium, however, is imperfect. Oliver D. Hart (1975) uses some disturbing but perceptive counter-examples to display some of the weaknesses of Radners concept of equilibrium. He showed that existence of such an equilibrium cannot be proved under the standard Arrow-Debreu assumptions. He specified that when the asset returns are price dependent, the market sub-space may not be continuous in the spot prices which may lead to discontinuous demand functions. This reason causes a failure of the existence of Radner equilibrium. In other words, an equilibrium may not be Pareto efficient in the case of incomplete markets which shapes the concept of Constrained Pareto Optimality. 4.4 Limitations of Arrow-Debreu Model Although the Arrow-Debreu model has many influences on either economics or finance, however, there are the limitations. There are three limitations of Arrow-Debreu model. In this model, it excludes the trade in shares of firms because the stock certificate is not an Arrow-Debreu commodity. When the descriptions are so precise that further refinements cannot yield imaginable allocations which increase the satisfaction of the agents in the economy, then the commodities are called Arrow-Debreu commodity. Trading in shares of firms cannot be classified as Arrow-Debreu commodity due to its possession entitles the owner to additional commodity which he need not obtain through exchange. Bankruptcy is not allowed in Arrow-Debreu equilibrium. All agents must meet their budget constraints. In a game theoretic formulation of equilibrium, it is achieved by enforcing an infinite bankruptcy penalty. Since every Arrow-Debreu equilibrium is Pareto efficient, there would be no benefit in reducing the bankruptcy penalty to the point where someone might choose to go bankrupt. Money does not appear in this model. Although the reasons for the existence of money in real life are already taken care of in the Arrow-Debreu model, money does not affect the allocations of commodities. Therefore, there is no point in making the role of money explicit in the Arrow-Debreu model. 5.0 Conclusion In fact, Arrow-Debreu model is not simultaneously created by K.J. Arrow and Gerard Debreu. Debreu is the one who extends further the Arrows pure exchange model in several important ways. Their contribution in formulating Arrow-Debreu model has laid a foundation for economic theory. The application of Arrow-Debreu model emphasizes more on the general competitive equilibrium framework of the economics. From the studies, we notice that most of its application majoring in the financial economics is act as a fundamental theory or economy in shaping the asset pricing model. Other functions like analyzing the market structure, risk and etc, also show that the usefulness of this model. Besides, it is applicable in evaluating the impact of all uncertainties with a general equilibrium structure. The analyzers use a series of mathematical equation to prove their statements. The pioneering contributions of Arrow and Debreu have forever changed the way economic theorists formulate uncertainty models.   After more than forty years of analysis and extensions, their general equilibrium framework and approach continues to be the starting point for new theories on the operation of competitive markets under uncertainty. As a conclusion, it is undeniable that the Arrow-Debreu model had turn on a new leaf in the history of economics. It is the modern concept of general equilibrium in economics which indirectly set up several important theories. Nothing is perfect in this world. Of course, Arrow-Debreu model as well. Some assumptions have to be made. Criticism also may happen. However, those brilliant economists or researchers still can use this model to formulate their own theory and then ends up with a perfect ultimate theory in both economics and finance. Lastly, mistakes, problems, and weaknesses should be pointed out, corrected and improved so that Arrow-Debreu model can be applied and developed effectively.

A Comparison of High School and College :: Compare Contrast Comparring Essays

School plays an important role in our lives. Many people will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more enjoyable than others. Two very important levels that people go through are high school and college. Even though some think that these levels are almost the same, there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school is not the same as the cost of college. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, which can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility. High school and college are different in many ways. It is true to say that college is more expensive than high school. Of course, it provides a higher level of education, but that expensive fees make it hard for those that come from low income families. At college you also have to buy books where in high school you borrow them from the school. Paying for education can get expensive, but some people pay even more than imaginable. Some cities do not have colleges, so students that want a higher education have to move away to another city where they can get a higher education. This often involves paying for an apartment, food and transportation. However, the cost is not the only thing to consider when comparing high school to college. As college provides a higher level of education, the amount of homework increases. At high school, where it is more of a general education, the time spent at home doing homework is a lot less. This does not mean that in high school, t here is no work; it just means that it is a lot easier in some sense. At college you can also choose from subjects related to your field of study if you desired. There are also some differences between the social environment of students at high school and students at college. Since college students have more work to do at home, they have a limit on the time they can spend outside of school.

The Human Brain :: Biology

â€Å"The human brain enables a person to reason, function intellectually, express personality and mood, and interact with the environment† (Sugerman, 2008, p. 277). Our brain is truly remarkable. Considering how much we still do not know about the brain just goes to show how complex and amazing the brain is. No other organ is like the brain and all other organs would be unable to function without the brain. â€Å"The three major divisions of the brain are (1) the forebrain, formed by the two cerebral hemispheres; (2) the midbrain which, includes the corpora quadrigemina and cerebral peduncles; and (3) the hindbrain, which includes the cerebellum, pons, and medulla† (Sugerman, 2008, p. 277). First off the brain stem is made up of the midbrain, medulla and pons, these connect the hemispheres of the brain, cerebellum, and spinal cord (Sugerman, 2008, p. 277). The brain stem is made up of nerve bodies called reticular formation, which is in charge of some of the mos t vital operations of the body, cardiovascular and respiration functions (Sugerman, 2008, p. 277). These two functions are done involuntarily each day. We do not need to think about breathing every few seconds or make our heart beat constantly. This process keeps us awake also. Different nuclei are responsible for different motor functions accordingly (Sugerman, 2008, p. 278). â€Å"The cerebellum is composed of gray and white matter, and its cortical surface is convoluted like the surface of the cerebrum. It is also divided by a central fissure into two lobes connected by vermis† (Sugerman, 2008, 284). The cerebellum has many functions, it is in charge of reflexes, involuntary fine-tuning of motor control and for maintaining balance and posture through extensive neural connections with the medulla (Sugerman, 2008, 284). The little brain or cerebellum, â€Å"receives information from the balance system of the inner ear, sensory nerves, and the auditory and visual systems. It is involved in the coordination of motor movements as well as basic facets of memory and learning, homeostatic control,†. The diencephalon has four major parts: epithalamus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and subthalamus. The thalamus is in charge of â€Å"relaying the cerebral cortex information received from diverse brain regions...Axons from every sensory system (except olfaction) synapse here as the last relay site before the information reaches the cerebral cortex† (Sci.uidaho, n.d., para. 2,3). The thalamus surrounds the third ventricle, it allows many sensations to be perceived (Sugerman, 2008, 283).

Cloud Computing Essay -- Technology, Cyber Criminals

â€Æ' Introduction Over the past several years the term cloud computing has become common in homes and organizations alike. Cloud computing can be defined as a pooled set of computing resources that are furnished via the internet. There are three types of cloud services typically available, these services are Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Organizations can benefit greatly from cloud services because they eliminate the need to buy and manage physical resources. Although such an action cuts cost it leaves organization victim to the vulnerabilities and threats that exist in cloud computing. Throughout this paper I will discuss the vulnerabilities and threats that come along with the adoption of cloud computing. In addition, I will discuss standards and policies that effectively manage the risk associated with cloud computing. Threats & Vulnerabilities The abuse and nefarious use of cloud computing is a threat to any organization that takes advantage of cloud services. Most providers of cloud services make it all too easy for cyber criminals to register for service, all that is need to register for service with many providers is a valid credit card (Cloud Security Alliance, 2011). In addition to the ease of registration providers offer free trials of their services allowing attacker to carry out attacks covertly on cloud services. By gaining such access cyber criminals can deploy malicious code, abuse known exploits, and send spam messages to those that are sharing the same resources. Organizations are aware that threats can be internal as well as external, those that provide cloud services are no exception. The people who the service providers employ can pose... ...ncy use(CIO, 2011). FedRAMP is not alone in the effort to create standards regarding cloud computing. The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) has published two draft publications specifically related to cloud computing. The first document, Special Publication 800-145 (Draft), has been created provide the NIST definition of cloud computing. The NIST has defined as the following: â€Å"Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.† (NIST, 2011)

Thelma and Louise – the Analysis

THELMA AND LOUISE In the opening scene, Louise is serving coffee at her diner and advices her customers against smoking as it kills one’s sex drive. This can be seen as a fertilization symbol. The movie starts with two best friends, Thelma and Louise, planning a road trip. It is shown how condescending and inconsiderate Thelma’s husband Daryl is. Thelma decides against telling him about the trip. Louise arrives at Thelma’s in a light blue 1966 Thunderbird convertible. The fact that the car is a convertible works slightly to their advantage at one point in the future. Thelma carries her gun.This shows how insecure and paranoid she is. Thelma is very excited about the trip. Louise, however, is composed and indifferent. Soon, Thelma insists that they stop at a bar and Louise, after some persuasion, agrees to make a quick stop. A man named Harlan flirts with them. Thelma dances with Harlan. She starts to feel unwell and goes outside with Harlan. Harlan attempts to ra pe Thelma. Louise reaches there in time, holding Thelma’s gun to Harlan’s head. Just when Thelma and Louise turn around to leave Harlan starts saying offensive things to them. This makes Louise very angry and she shoots him.They flee from the scene of crime. Louise blames Thelma and this makes Thelma upset. Meanwhile, a detective named Hal Slocumb starts the investigation of the murder. Louise calls her boyfriend Jimmy and asks him to wire $6,700 to her. Thelma meets young and handsome guy called JD who asks for a ride. Louise decides that she wants to escape to Mexico but she doesn’t want to go through Texas to get there. They meet JD again and decide to give him a ride. They arrive in Oklahoma City to pick up the money and find Jimmy waiting for them. Jimmy proposes to Louise.Meanwhile, with the money in her room, Thelma has a wonderful sexual experience with JD. This is a fertilization symbol. In the morning, however, JD steals the money and takes off. Till t his point we find Thelma vulnerable, passive, immature and irresponsible, doing what Louise asks her to do. But when Louise breaks down and is on the verge of giving up, Thelma takes charge. From this point on we see Thelma grow as a character and show her strong and responsible side. Thelma robs a convenient store. From this point on they are more relaxed and jovial. It almost feels like they are having fun.They meet a sexist truck driver. He makes gestures with his tongue. This can be seen as a yonic symbol. He also makes hand gestures which suggest masturbation. This can be seen as a phallic symbol. Thelma figures out as to what happened to Louise in Texas. They meet the sexist truck driver again. They lure him to a deserted place and ask him to apologize for his behaviour. When he refuses to do so, they blow up his truck. The police find them. After a long car chase they arrive near a small underpass. Thelma and Louise’s car passes through the underpass as they are drivin g a convertible.The police cars can’t pass through. They reach the Grand Canyon and are soon surrounded by the cops. Louise doesn’t want to give up and Thelma suggests that they drive off the cliff. They kiss and Louise steps on the gas. Hal runs behind the car in an attempt to stop it. In the closing scene, Thelma and Louise hold hands and the car flies off the cliff. Analysis: It is not known exactly as to what happened to Louise in Texas. All we are sure of is that she was raped in Texas. It’s not clear whether she filed charges and if there was a trial. But it is understood that whoever raped her got away with it.This explains why she loses her cool when Harlan is unapologetic and starts abusing her verbally after trying to rape Thelma. During the course of the movie we see that Louise knows a lot about the law. It is rare for someone to know so much about how the justice system works unless they have undergone a trial. Later on in the movie Detective Hal te lls her on the phone that he knows about the incident in Texas. He couldn’t have known about it unless charges were filed. It is possible that Jimmy told him but it’s highly unlikely that Jimmy knew about it considering how secretive and clammed up Louise is.This suggests that there was a trial and clearly Louise was denied justice due to the loopholes in the system. This explains why she doesn’t trust the cops and decides against going to the police after the shooting even though Thelma suggests it. Knowing what exactly happened to Louise could have made the movie slightly better. Thelma’s life story is known to the viewers and that helps to connect with her. Louise’s character on the other hand is kind of mysterious. Only her current status is known. This makes it a little hard to completely understand her and connect with her.It would be unlike Louise to tell Thelma or anyone else about Texas since she is tight-lipped and obviously still disturb ed by it. But the film makers could have shown it as Louise’s memory flashback or a nightmare to make it easier for the viewers to sympathize with her more than they already do. The intention of the movie is to show how anti-feminist the society is and how the justice system back then and maybe even today fails to protect the women. The message is loud and clear. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Or worse, two women scorned.

McDonald s Rebirth Through a Low Growth Strategy Essay

For several decades McDonald’s experienced uninterrupted growth in sales, profits, and number of stores opened. When the company seemed to reach maturity in life cycle, one CEO’s decision for a low-growth strategy started the rebirth of McDonald’s. In its early years, McDonald’s success was founded on principles of high quality standards and service. However, as time passed, their standards and controls slipped and same store sales began a downward trend. Some insisted that the dip in same store sales was evidence of market saturation. However, McDonald’s executives disagreed. With strong support, one McDonald’s CEO went on a new-store binge. As McDonalds continued its unprecedented expansion, relations with franchisees deteriorated because corporate owned outlets were cannibalizing franchisee’s profits. Another CEO began to acquire other fast-food restaurants, but that model failed as it proved a drain on profits. McDonald’s was struggling to keep its growth mode. Then James Cantalupo took the reigns and began a low-growth strategy that turned the company’s fortunes around as he slashed capital expenditures by 40% by closing poorer performing restaurants and adding fewer new restaurants. Eighteen months into Cantalupo’s stint as CEO, McDonald’s stock price rose from eighteen dollars per share to just over twenty-four dollars per share. Just as McDonald’s fortunes seemed to turn, James Cantalupo died suddenly of a heart attack. SWOT Analysis Internal Strengths & Weaknesses: Among McDonald’s greatest strengths are its brand recognition, strong advertising, and market share. It was the most valuable fast food brand worldwide in 2013 with an estimated brand value of eighty-five billion dollars, three times its closest competitor, Starbucks [see appendix 1.1]. McDonald’s strength of brand recognition can primarily be attributed to its strong advertising and market share. This is evidenced by a 1970’s survey which revealed that ninety-six percent of children identified with Ronald McDonald, ranking him second only to Santa Clause. Furthermore, McDonald’s uses high-profile sponsorships and major advertising campaigns to maintain awareness and promote new launches (e.g. 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2014 Winter  Olympics). In 2013, its advertising expenditure in the United States alone was 1.43 billion dollars [for details see appendix 1.2]. McDonald’s has won its market share via strong marketing/advertising efforts and providing convenience for its customers. When McDonald’s accelerated growth period ended, it had approximately 13,000 domestic restaurants. The belief was practical; the more stores in a city, the more per-capita transactions would result. As of 2013, McDonald’s had 35,429 restaurants worldwide- 14,276 of which are domestic (Statista, 2015). McDonald’s other internal strengths include: partnerships with big brands (e.g. Disney), international presence, localized food menus, and revenue. Now that we have examined McDonald’s internal strengths, lets examine the company’s internal weaknesses. Among McDonald’s greatest internal weaknesses are its negative publicity, low presence of corporate social responsibility, high employee turnover, and low strategy differentiation. McDonald’s is heavily criticized for offering unhealthy foods to its customers, further exacerbating the obesity problem in America. The documentary film â€Å"Super Size Me†, which explores the health consequences of a diet based solely of McDonald’s, is one example of the negative publicity surrounding McDonald’s. Environmental groups often criticize McDonald’s for a lack of sustainable sourcing of beef products (USA Today, 2014). This reflects poorly on McDonald’s for having a weak presence of corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, McDonald’s has a high employee turnover as it offers low paying and low skilled jobs. These jobs are often seen negatively by employees and usually result in high employee turnover. This is an internal weakness because it increases training costs and adds to McDonald’s overall costs. Lastly, McDonald’s has low strategy differentiation. It has become incredibly difficult for McDonald’s to differentiate itself from other fast food restaurants; thus, forcing McDonald’s to compete on price rather than features. This is an internal weakness because price wars reduce a company’s gross margin, which results in deteriorating profits. McDonald’s other internal weaknesses include: Declining market share, disgruntled franchisees, quality and taste of products, slowed revenue and income growth. External Opportunities & Threats: McDonald’s is in the unique position to rebrand itself by offering healthier menu options and increasing its corporate social responsibility. In 2006, McDonald’s newly redesigned logo and restaurant layout are being credited for 8-9% sales growth. Furthermore, McDonald’s has the unique opportunity to be the first fast food restaurant to source 100% of its ingredients from sustainable production. Younger generations are very conscientious of the impact their purchasing habits have on the environment. The aforementioned opportunities can be done still pursuing a low growth strategy. But, McDonald’s still has opportunities for growth. Economic research suggest that China’s middle class is on pace to grow from six percent of its population to fifty percent of its population by 2020 (Business Insider, 2014). McDonald’s has historically targeted middle class families, so there is plenty of opportunity for growth in China. If McDonald’s is able to make a more localized menu and provide an atmosphere that can strike the right accord with the Chinese culture then McDonald’s has the opportunity to flourish in China. Among McDonald’s greatest threats are the growing segment of health conscience consumers and the strength of competition. The health conscience consumer, a growing segment of society, poses both a threat and opportunity for McDonalds. The change in customer’s habits represents new needs that must be met by McDonald’s. In an attempt to cater to this market, McDonald’s has added salads, fruit, and oatmeal to their menu. Additionally, they have eliminated trans-fat oil- a product blamed for the nations obesity. Other areas of concern are the threat posed by Starbucks, which plans to offer a breakfast and lunch menu. McDonald’s strongest competitor remains Yum! Brands- owner of popular fast food chains: Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Wing Street [see appendix: 1.1. Other external threats include: saturated market, macroeconomic factors. Recommendations The central strategic decision that needs to be addressed is whether McDonald’s will commit to rebranding itself so that it is seen not only as an economical food destination, but as an appealing high quality one as  well. The societal shift to a more health conscience consumer provides McDonald’s such an opportunity. Alternatives to Strategic Decision Making McDonald’s has three viable options for continued success. The first two, allow McDonald’s to continue it’s low growth strategy. First, McDonald’s can create and promote an attractive menu that that will grab the attention of health conscience consumers. Second, it can focus on the stronghold it’s gained in the coffee space, as this could be an interesting new endeavor to follow (i.e. a new SBU). The third option would be to pursue a growth strategy for Asia, especially China. However, it must be noted that the growth strategy may burden the company with debt to pay for capital-intensive expenditures, but should it be successful McDonald’s revenues and profits could reach new ceilings. It would behoove McDonald’s to fill the need of the health conscience consumer by adopting and promoting a healthier menu. This can be done without abandoning their staples (e.g. Fries, Big Mac, Happy Meal, and Egg McMuffin). If McDonald’s is able to meet the changes in customer’s needs and habits, there is no reason why they shouldn’t continue to experience growth in sales. I believe that this is the best option because it is not capital intensive, yet it could allow McDonald’s access to a new segment of the market. Furthermore, McDonald’s number of locations provides the health conscience consumer with convenience. Implementation Evaluation and Control The following steps are keys to a successful implementation of a strategic marketing plan: 1. Who are we? Who are our customers? What do our customers want? 2. Set strategic marketing goals: Assess internal strengths and weaknesses then compare your vision/mission to the reality of your external environment. Once you have identified the areas of need, choose specific goals to address those areas. 3. Establish strategic marketing activities/plan of actions: Once specific goals have been set, identify various activities to utilize resources and choose the best course of action to implement. 4. Establish timeline to execute goals and plan of actions: By having a clear understanding of your strategic marketing goals then you  can establish common understanding of when such action plans can be reasonably accomplished. 5. Review and re-evaluate progress: By consistently reviewing and re-evaluating progress in implementing or instituting plan of actions, you can take a proactive approach in making adjustments due to changing business climate, environment, external threats and opportunities that may arise in everyday business decisions. References Brumley, James. (April 23, 2014). McDonald’s Is About To Tap Into A Huge Growth Opportunity. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-expanding-international-2014-4 Horovitz, Bruce. (April 30, 2014). McDonald’s sets 2020 sustainable goals. Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/30/mcdonalds-sustainability-fast-food-social-responsibility-restaurants/8513245/ Statista. (February, 2015). Retrieved from: http://0-www.statista.com.leopac.ulv.edu/topics/1444/mcdonalds/

Related text to whose life is it anyway?

Related text to whose life Is it anyway? – Power and the Individual What Ideas of power are represented In â€Å"whose life Is It anyway† and the related tested material you have chosen and how does the related text link to the prescribe text? There are many Ideas and reasons why My Sisters keeper and whose life is It anyway have similar relations to the power and the individual.For one the battle of individual rights, Both Anna and Ken fight for their individual rights to their Body and life. Ken doesn't want to live anymore because he thinks there is no point as he can't do anything for himself and need nurse to help. Anna wants individual rights to her body because she doesn't want to be cut open and have needles stuck in her time after time if its not going to help her sister and her sister wants Anna to win her rights so she can die because she is in a lot of pain and can't take it anymore.Another reason is Power of Law Ken wishes to die and due to his medical stat us he is unable to make this happen, the power of law Influences his situation as he asks he doctors multiple times to kill but due to the law they are unable to do this. Anna's situation Is Influenced by the power of law as she Is a child & her parents are her legal guardians therefore giving them the power to make her decisions for her.She Is mature enough to make her own decisions but she is too young, she seeks to be medically released so she is able to have the choice. The power of physical strength is also another reason; Ken has no power of physical strength because he is a quadriplegic. Anna, as a child has less physical strength than her parents, therefore their power is stronger.

Analysis of Anselm’s Ontological Argument Essay

This premise does not state that God’s strengths as this argument is to prove his existence, not whether or not God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. The second premise means this greatest possible being is either an imaginary being that one has thought of or, a being that we not only is not only thought of but also exists. The third premise and its sub premises states because existing in reality is greater than existing in thought, then the God we have thought of exists in reality or there must be a greater, or more perfect, being that does exist and that being is God. This leads to the conclusion, if you accept the premises then you accept the existence of the greatest being possible, God. This concept of God’s existence is also led with the idea that God is a necessary being, a being that is not dependent of something greater in order to exist. If God relied on another being, like how a children rely on parents to conceive them, then this being called God is not God because it would be imperfect. Therefore, there must be another to call God that meets all the requirements for perfection. One of the first popular objections was created by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. The premise and conclusion to Gaunilo’s argument is identical to Anselm’s argument except with the replacement of the word â€Å"God† with â€Å"the Lost island† and the word â€Å"being† with â€Å"island†. As simple as that, though Gaunilo’s argument is completely absurd, Gaunilo’s reductio ad absurdum also proves to be as deductively valid as Anselm’s argument. However, this â€Å"Lost Island† could in no way exist. The absurdity and validity of â€Å"the lost island† quickly brought up questions as to how Anselm’s Argument cannot be absurd. Anselm’s argument was not proven invalid until Immanuel Kant, a german philosopher during the 18th century, proposed an objection that would be the decisive blow to the Ontological argument (Immanuel Kant. Wiki). Kant’s objection is how existence is not a predicate (Mike, screen 25). A predicate is used to describe something the subject (this being God in Anselm’s Argument) is doing. In Aselm’s Argument, Anselm premise rely on that being conceived and existing in reality is something that describes God. This rationality does not follow because to exist or conceive does not describe the subject, it only tells us whether it exist or not. Much like how fictional characters do not exist, describing cartoon for example would tell us details of what this cartoon looks like, what its habits are and common antics it goes through, but not whether it exists or not. The question of existence must fall in a separate argument that does not define the character. As there are Arguments to prove God, there are debatable arguments to disprove the God. The First version of â€Å"The Argument from Evil† goes as follow: 1. If God were to exist, then that being would be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. 2. If an all-PKG existed, then there would be no evil. . There is evil. [Conclusion] Hence, there is no God (Sober, 109) The first premise is the definition of what God would be if he were to exist. That is a being that has the power to do anything, had knowledge of everything throughout the span of time and is in all ways good. The second premise is created with the first premise in mind. To expand on the second premise i t states, if God were all-powerful he could stop any form of evil from happening, if he is all knowing then he has knowledge of when evil will occur and if he is all-good then God would stop all evil from happening. If god cannot stop all evil from happening then the definition of God must be incorrect. He then must not be powerful enough to stop all evil, and/or he doesn’t know when evil until it has already occurred and/or good is not all good in that God does not wish to stop all evils. The third premise is stating the fact that there is evil in the world. The conclusion derived since that there is evil, then is what may be defined as God must be lacking in one or two of his qualities and therefore God, by definition, does not exist at all. In order for God to be compatible with evil, God must only allow the evils that would, in turn, lead to a greater amount of good and must take the route that leads to the least amount of evil to gain the greatest amount of good. The soul building defense was created in mind that evil and God co-exist in our world. The defense is that without any evil in the world, our souls would not nurture, or, understand the concept of evil. This defense does not hold true because there has been many evils in the world that seem unacceptable, even though it may have been for the purpose of soul building. God, and all-good being, would then only allow the evils that are essential in soul-building. This would only mean that evil that man commits against man. The reason for this is because anything that happens in nature exceeds soul-building essentials. Another defense is God having given us free will, humans ultimately are the causes of this evil. That is true but the common objection to this is that human do more than enough evil to ourselves, it is going too far to have God throw tornados, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes at us too. At what point do human have such control over nature. The last defense is that God simply works in mysterious ways. Who can explain why natural events take so many lives and injure many others or why some children have to go through great deals of suffering and live through it? It is God’s way and ultimately, no matter how incomprehensible the evil is, it is for the greater good. Certainly the question to God’s existence has been pondered upon by philosophers for over a very long period of time with no progress as whether God exists or not. The ontological argument created by Anselm withstood a great deal of criticism until it was disproved by Kant over 600 years after the fact.

Impact of Personal Finance on UK Housing Market Essay

Impact of Personal Finance on UK Housing Market - Essay Example The measurement concept is vital in understanding the future prospects of the housing market because it provides a rough estimate of the income and the disposable income of the household and the tenants. In UK, the residual income concept is used for estimating the monthly disposable income, after the payment of the monthly mortgage system. The affordability factor is largely triggered by the average income of the household individuals and tenant owners by computing ratio. However, huge crisis was seen in both the household and rental category during 1999 to 2003 due to factors like low income of the individuals, legal inability to purchase the housing property, instability in the tenure of security ownership and also the highly geared financial exposure caused by the price variations. Therefore, it is observed that the UK housing prices was largely affected by the hike in the customer prices and the household incomes (Macgregor, Lizieri and Ball, 2008).The UK housing price grew by 4 7 percent, consumer price by 12 percent and household sector by 33 percent during the tenure 1996 to 2003 (Macgregor, Lizieri and Ball, 2008). The high income elasticity of the individuals with respect to the increase in the price valuation of the household property is responsible for the growth in housing market. The level of mortgage debts on the household balance sheet which is relative to the disposable income of the consumers is also a major factor for the development in the housing market (Poon and Garratt, 2012). During the tenure 2000 to 2003, the growth in the housing market depicted variability and stability in the varying rates of the price... This report stresses that in UK, the procurement of the housing facility is largely facilitated by the financial risk and the structural pattern of the housing market. Apart from the traditional banks, UK housing market is financed largely by the large amount of investors from other countries. The requirements for the strong growth in the UK housing market were largely dependent on the pricing of the residential and non-residential property. The UK housing market then consisted of submarkets and the quantitative analysis was the most common method to determine the market issues and segmentation. The UK housing market consists of owner, rental and industrial owners and the affordability concept is measured through econometric concept. This essay makes a conclusion that the housing scheme not only helped in decreasing the housing prices but also increased the repossession in the rental property land. The decrease was also due to the fact that the lenders were asked to pay only the capital sum at the end of the repayment term and tenure. The government has also increased the process of facilitation of the housing loans which have increased and doubled up to 15 percent in the last tenure. It is also observed form the graph that the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme of  £12 billion helped in stoking the bubble to a large extent. With the emergence of the Household Guarantee scheme proposed by the UK government, an increase in the supply of the individual and rental property was witnessed in the following areas.

Why Mainstream Social Networks Complicate Our Identities Research Proposal

Why Mainstream Social Networks Complicate Our Identities - Research Proposal Example All aspects of the environment were perceived as threats due to the relatively untrained and primordial perception and capacity of the early inhabitants. In the first stage, the social consciousness of the people was centered on the tribe as the singular commune existing in their periphery. Posner (1) maintained that during the early times, thinking outside the delimitations set by the tribal unit, practice and tradition is akin to modern-day treason. As such, the mindset of the early civilizations with regards to social acuity has been primarily limited to the concept of a tribe. The second stage is marked by the enlightenment of the individual as they began to have a more profound understanding of their environment and how they can suit their needs according to the change in times. Posner (2) argued that during this stage, people began to engage themselves into their surrounding thereby formulating smaller groups in their community. During this time, tribe members also started to i nteract with other members of neighboring tribes signifying the beginning of trade and commerce. Due to the awakening, the early people began to notice an opportunity to improve their way of life by mastering his environment and becoming an active player in the communal exchange. This then became the catalyst that spurted man’s ingenuity to discover matter and manner that went on well through time. The third stage is the mental stage characterized by people’s accumulation of knowledge and a keen mastery of his way of life. A system of education is likewise formed where the past is ultimately utilized as the main yardstick for future endeavors. Also, this stage is marked by advancements the systems of economy, politics and social interactions. Developments in science, communications, and technology likewise exemplify this stage. In this regard, people became more sophisticated with innovative types of machinery, gadgets and systemic processes.

Rules, Rights and Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Rules, Rights and Justice - Essay Example Parliament is normally influenced by public opinion and social changes into making laws through Acts of parliament. There are various origins of Acts of parliament, which are caused by the variations in public and social opinions. Consequently various Acts of parliament are enacted, laws established to ensure a peaceful cohabitation of the people with its environs. Most of these will be addressed in this paper to find out the numerous ways the public can affect establishment of laws. Origin of Acts of Parliament There are different origins of Acts of parliament in England and Wales. Some of these include; national emergency crisis, manifestos of parties, the law commission, royal commission and the private members bills. The party manifestos refer to those lists of reforms promised by political parties when there is a general election. They do guarantee they would implement if they are elected into parliament. In other terms, party manifestos are simply pre-election promises. The Act s of parliament may be obtained from the pre-election promises on which the elected government made to the public (Block 2, 2012; p. 93). Nationwide emergency, crisis or fresh developments which arise during the reign of a government might force the parliament to establish an Act to deal with the crisis. For instance, the Anti-Terrorism, crime and Security Act 2001 was brought up to respond to the latest circumstances concerning the terror attack on September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington. The main objective of the 2001 Act was to cut down on financing for the terror groups, ensuring the departments and agencies in the government had authority to gather and share important information needed to deal with terror threats. In addition, the 2001 Act had the aim of expanding police jurisdiction and accessibility to appropriate forces and pass on to UK’s anti-terror authority (Block 2, 2012; p. 95). The royal commissions at times submit their report to the parliament with rec ommendations for laws which may be assumed as part of the government lawmaking process. Royal Commissions are recommended committees enacted by the State even though officially selected by the Crown. The commission conducts an investigation for any subject the government might see fit to refer to. These are normally used for political issues that are not related to any party or for matters the government deems to be perceived as addressing in a non-party political manner (Block 2, 2012; p. 101). A recommendation from the law commission is also another source of Parliamentary Acts. The main aim of creating the law commission was to establish recommendations concerning any subject of the law that the commission might feel necessary to have reforms. Thus the commission is mandated with the accountability of keeping all the regulations under the review with the objective of reform and development. The work of the commission is wide-ranging in the sense that it proposes the changes to th e law inclusive of the necessary reforms. The private member bills are also another source of the Acts of parliament. This is a situation where the individual members of parliament are able to initiate their own laws otherwise known as the Private Member’s Bill. One good example of the successful private member’s Bill which was signed into legislation is the Marriage Act 1994. This was initiated by Gyles Brandreth, Chester’