Brand Management

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON MARKETING BRAND MANAGEMENT This proposal is about one particular aspect of marketing, â€Å"Brand Management†. Marketing is a vast discipline so as a part of writing this proposal; I chose one particular aspect of it, which will provide information about several aspects of brands in global scenario. The main objectives of writing this proposal are: 1. Understanding the concept of brand and brand management 2. How brand names get evolved 3. Relationship of brand management and marketing 4. Different issues regarding brands in global scenario 5.Branding challenges This is the age of marketing. Today the success of any organization depends on the level of its marketing ability. Marketing has gained a great deal of importance in modern organizations to achieve its goals. However the concept of marketing continue to change along with the changes in nature of competition and consumer demands. According to Kotler and Armstrong –â€Å" Marketing is a pro cess by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want by creating and exchanging products and value with each other†. Marketing is like giving medicine to a patient. You can read also Portfolio Management QuizzesPatient identifies a problem within them and then the health personnel delivers specific medicine to cure the problem. Marketing is also the same. Customer has certain problems or feels some deficiency and marketing delivers them with the right product to deal with. Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers. Marketing might sometimes be interpreted, as the art of selling products, but sales is only one part of marketing. Actually â€Å"selling† is traditional of marketing and â€Å"marketing† is a modern form of selling.As the term â€Å"Marketing† may replace â€Å"Advertising† it is the overall strategy and function of promoting a product or service to the customer. The concept of marketing has changed over time. Previously, people preferred only production and selling as a part of marketing. But as the competition rose, they started valuing product quality, cust omer relationship, societal responsibilities as well as other supply chain participants. From a societal point of view, marketing is the link between a society’s material requirements and its economic patterns of response.Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long-term relationships. . Marketing can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its shareholders Major concepts related with marketing can be outlined as: a. Studying consumer behavior b. Brand management c. Selling and sales management d. Managing market intermediaries e. Service marketing f.Identifying customer needs, wants, market segment and product positioning g. Distribution logistics and supply chain relationships h. Responsibilities towards society and customer In this proposal, we focus on one of the maj or aspect of marketing, Brand management. Branding has been around for centuries. The word â€Å"brand† is derived from the Old Norse brandr meaning â€Å"to burn. † Initially, branding was adopted to differentiate one person's cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp, and was subsequently used in business, marketing and advertising.A brand is the most valuable fixed asset of a Corporation. For any organization to make its identity in the market requires a specific domain name. It helps to get recognized in the market. Brand name gives identity and helps it get recognized differently in the market. A modern example of a brand is Coca Cola, which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company. Similarly, Harley Davidson, Apple, Samsung, Adidas, Nike, Britannia etc. are other examples of brand. According to American Marketing Association (AMA) –â€Å" A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a ombina tion of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. † BusinessDictionary. com describes brand management as the process of maintaining, improving, and upholding a brand so that the name is associated with positive results. Brand Management is actually the process of maintaining the value of brand and revising any associated entities as per the need of situation. It plays a crucial role in the success and failure of the organization. Why is brand an important aspect of modern marketing?The reasons are: 1. Means of identification as a unique name in the market 2. Means of legally protecting the unique features 3. Signal of quality level to customers 4. Base for competitive advantage 5. Increases level of awareness of the brand 6. Customers feel safe to negotiate with registered brands 7. Gives idea about product association 8. Brand is a promise made by the company to customer 9. It serv es as a means of advertising 10. It explains what the product is associated with Several companies put their brand names based on different variables.Some name their product on the basis of their owners. Honda motors were named after Soichiro Honda, Harley Davidson motors was found by combined efforts of William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson and Walter Davidson. TATA motors was named after Jamsedji Tata(JRD Tata), Adidas sports wear was named after Adi Dasler and Bajaj auto was named after Jamnalal Bajaj. Some have named the products after the name of places like Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, British Airways, Sanmiguel beer, hamburger named after â€Å"hamburg†, a place in Germany, Hindustan petroleums named after â€Å"Hindustan† meaning India and others.Brand names named after names of animals and birds are Dove soap, Mustang automobiles, Greuhound buses, Panther condoms and others. Brand names has always been an important aspect of marketing strategy. Organizations spend millio ns searching for a valid name for the organization. They make sure that the names suit to the product or service the company is offering. They too ensure that those names do not collide with brand of other organization. Eg: World Wide Fund (WWF) filed World Wrestling Federation (WWF) a legal suit for keeping a similar name. Due to this world wrestling federation had to change its name.Therefore choosing brand name is a very sensitive decision. For choosing a brand name, an organization has to follow given procedures: 1. Define objectives 2. Generate possible names 3. Screen initial candidates 4. Study the candidate names 5. Properly research final candidate 6. Select the final name Therefore to establish a strong brand, it has to take in consideration the following blocks of brand building: Resonance Resonance Imagery Imagery Feelings Feelings Salience Salience Performance Performance Judgements Judgements Fig: Brand Building Blocks Fig: Brand Building BlocksSalience is the level of awareness regarding the brand to the customers. It checks the ability of a customer to recall and recognize a particular brand or its logo, symbol, name. After the customer’s awareness is identified, it checks the performance of the brand regarding how reliable and durable the brand is. It also checks the serviceability i. e. ease of repairing the product if needed. After the performance is identified, it views the imagery aspect i. e. who uses the brand, conditions of use of the product, brand personality, values etc. It is the way the people think about a brand and is more concerned with intangible aspect.Brand judgments are customer’s personal opinions about the evaluations about the brand that consumers form by combining brand performance and imagery blocks. Customers judge the brand on the basis of quality, credibility and superiority. Another building block is feelings with the brand. They are customer’s emotional responses and reactions towards the brand . It checks what type of feeling they get by the use of the brand like feeling of warmth, fun, security, self respect, excitement status etc. Final brand building is resonance. It is the ultimate relationship with the brand.Resonance is measured in terms of intensity of psychological bond with the brand and the degree of loyalty towards the brand. Positioning aspect of brand In marketing, positioning is the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Brand positioning is at the heart of marketing strategy. It is the act of designing the company’s offers and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the minds of target customers. As the name implies, positioning means finding proper location in the minds of customer.Any company cannot formulate its marketing strategy without positioning its brand in certain aspects. Positioning explains what the brand intends to provid e to the customer. It reveals what the product is related to. Brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or how, it sits in a particular market. The company has to keep in mind that positioning should be clear, distinct and relevant. For example, Apple and Windows both are well known brand. Consumers are aware that they both are computer brands dealing in entertainment, but Apple stands for style, cool quotient, iPod etc. here as Windows stands for world class operating system, quality etc. Consumer can easily identify point of similarities and points of difference between the two brands. This process of creating point of similarities and points of difference in consumer’s mind is called Brand Positioning. Companies position their brands in different ways so as to create a distinct image in the market. They may position it on different bases like low price, high price, size, package, quality, gender, endurance, substitution and many o thers. Positioning of different brands: 1. Low price brand: Wal-Mart retail store . High price brand: Rolex, Mercedes Benz 3. Quality brand: IBM, Toyota, Motorola 4. Endurance: CEAT tyres, Land rover, Honda 5. Size: Nano car, Slim Motorola mobile 6. Gender: Gillette Razor, Axe perfumes, Fair ; Handsome for men Femine magazine, Avon cosmetics, Fair ; Lovely for women 7. Substitution: Sugar free Natura has placed itself as substitution for sugar and Eveready milk powder for liquid milk Similarly Coca-Cola has positioned as a cold drink useful in summer and there are many feelings associated with it and not only as a mere drink.On the other hand Pepsi has positioned as a cold drink for the young generations and Mountain Dew has presented its image as a drink for adventure loving customers. Sometimes, same positioning does not work out for the company in long run. It has to reposition and revitalize its brand over times either to revive or strengthen its brand. Different marketing strat egies, several research plans has to be worked out and sometimes-even management structure has to be changed in order to revalue the brand. There are several Brand reinforcement strategies that the organization can adopt overtime to cope with the changing situations.Some of them are: 1. Maintaining brand consistency: Brands should be able to provide a consistent image to occupy a shelf in the mind of customers. If not, it may fail in the market situation. For example Gateway computers applied various strategies and themes to extend the brand with mergers and portfolios. Due to this, customers confused with its positioning and its stock price reduced from USD100 to USD 3 in 2005. 2. Protecting sources of brand equity: Any organization should know its strength factor. It should identify its major source of brand equity to sustain in the market.At certain times, brand have to revitalize itself since there many forces acting in the market to rule out other brands. Companies might have t o adapt to following Brand Revitalization strategies to resurrect itself: 1. Expanding brand awareness: Brand awareness can be expanded through: a) Identify new usage opportunities Charles Revlon introduced nail polish not only as a matter of covering nails but as a match for dress, style sense and beauty. b) Identify completely new ways to use the brand Wrigley’s chewing gum introduced itself as not only a gum but as an alternative for smoking. 2. Improving brand image:Different ways of improving brand images are: a) Repositioning the brand Harley Davidson’s motorbikes were previously believed to be used by rowdies. The riders who rode Harley had some rough like character like long hairs, big muscular arms, and tattoos painted on their bodies and moustache and beards. Those made people perceive that only rowdies rode those motors. Later Harley Davidson relaunched itself as a bike for gentlemen leaving apart its previous image. Similarly Harley encouraged lady riders t o take the riders edge by introducing a poster of a lady rider with a tagline –â€Å"I am not a back rest†. b) Changing brand elementsKentucky Fried Chicken changed its name (brand element) to KFC (although, it is only short version of the full name) to perceive a healthier image. Also, Federal Express (a courier company) changed its name to FedEx to sound more professional. c) Entering new markets Brunswick Billiards introduced new strategy to pool market to enforce its sales targeting female customers. Initially wives would not approve the purchase of billiard board in their home as it was called a male type of game. Later it introduced elegant designs targeting design conscious women who would now purchase a pool table on aesthetics ground and a showpiece to room.Lets take an example of a company who adopted Brand revitalization strategy to resurrect its brand position after being at height at its low: Lacoste sportswear, founded in France, 1933 became a style icon by selling polo shirt featuring a crocodile logo in it. In 1980, when it was owned by General Mills (cereal makers), it failed to keep up with fashion trends and sales began to drop. Company cut prices and started to sell it to discounter’s like Kmart and Wal-Mart that further damaged brands image. Then in 2002, Robert Siegel, former Levi’s executive was appointed to oversee the brand in United States.He withdrew Lacoste products from all non-luxury stores and discounters. It regenerated its fashion trends by introducing tight fitting shirts for women that raised revenues of women wear from 7% to 33%. It opened own brand boutiques in fashionable shopping areas. Due to this, Lacoste’s US revenues rose more than 280% between 2003 and 2005. There are several challenges to products today sometimes because of the competition and sometimes due to the implementation of wrong product strategy. An organization has to keep in mind the nature of product and suitable market ing strategy.Marketing campaigns has to be launched depending upon what class of customer it is intending to serve, gender of customer, objectives of campaign whether it is market penetration or improving market share or survival mode. Appropriate strategy at the right time invites fortunes and mistimed marketing strategy might backfire the organization. Therefore right plan for the right brand is always critical. Marketing strategies for effective brand building 1. Selecting brand elements like name, logo, symbols, slogans, and packaging. 2.Adopting proper product strategy like achieving a satisfactory level of customers perception towards the quality of the product and relationship marketing 3. Adopting pricing strategy like improving consumers price perception towards the brand and relevant price setting 4. Promotion through marketing communication options and integrating marketing communication programs like advertising, direct selling, public relation, and trade promotion etc. 5. Leveraging secondary associations: brands may be linked to other entities that have their own knowledge structures in the mind of customers.When brands are linked to these entities customers assume that those characteristics that they hold about those entities also may be true with the brand. For example when Adidas brand was endorsed by tennis star Roger Federer (then No. 1 rank), then people who knew Federer as best tennis player also developed similar attitude towards the features of Adidas brand. There are certain strategies for building a strong brand. Some of them are: Licensing: Licensing creates contractual arrangements whereby firms can use names, logos, and characters of other brands to market their brands for some fixed fee.People pay fees to use popular names such as Harry potter, Spider-Man, SpongeBob, Angry Birds or any famous celebrity in their products so that they too gain popularity easily. For example, when you buy a copy of Microsoft Office you are not actuall y purchasing Office–you are entering into a license agreement that allows you to use the product under the specified terms and conditions they have outlined in the license agreement. Similarly designer such as Calvin Klein command large royalties for the right to use his name in variety of merchandise. Franchising:A franchise is a license issued to someone to operate a business using a common brand name, a common operating support system and involving the payment of initial and/or ongoing fees. A franchise also offers the franchisee with the ability to capitalize on the know-how and systems that have been proven to be successful. . Small-business owners pay companies for the rights to use their trademarks, services and products in return for support and company guidelines on how to run their particular businesses. Many industries have companies using the franchise model, including food, lodging and business services.For example McDonalds has over 75 percent of its worldwide r estaurants independently owned. Business owners can purchase a new or existing restaurant. An initial down payment is required, and the rest of the cost can be financed for up to seven years. During the terms of the franchise agreement, ongoing fees include rent and service fees. It is one of the world’s famous franchises. Some challenges in Brand Management: 1. Brand switching customers 2. Media fragmentation i. e. introduction of several medias for promotion that may lead to increase cost and cluttering of information 3. Increased competition 4. Growing need for customer concern . Sometimes socio-cultural issues also leads to create problems in brand management. For example nudity in advertising are strictly banned in South Asia. Due to this, advertisements of brands of apparels, innerwear, and lingerie may not produce the desired response. 6. Sometimes the brand name themselves may imply different meanings in several countries. Some of the global branding Mishaps are prese nted below: a. When Braniff translated a slogan touting its upholstery, â€Å"Fly Leather†, it came out in Spanish as â€Å"Fly Naked†. b. Coors put its slogan, â€Å"Turn it Loose†, into Spanish, where it was read as â€Å"Suffer from Diarrhea†. c.Chicken magnate Frank Perdue’s line, â€Å"It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken†, sounds much more interesting in Spanish: â€Å"It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate†. d. Why Chevy Nova never sold well in Spanish-speaking countries: No Va means â€Å"It doesn’t go† in Spanish. e. When Pepsi started marketing its product in China, they translated their slogan, â€Å"Pepsi brings you back to life†, pretty literally. The slogan in Chinese meant â€Å"Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From The Grave†. f. When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named the product something that when pronounced sounded like, â€Å"Coca-Cola†.The only problem was that the characters used meant, â€Å"Bite the wax tadpole†. They later changed to set of characters that mean â€Å"Happiness in the mouth†. g. A hair products company, Clairol introduced the â€Å"Mist Stick†, a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that Mist is slang for manure in German. h. When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the United States, with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what is inside because most people cant read. i.Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors had to rename its Pajero in Spanish-speaking countries because the term related to masturbation. j. Toyota Motor’s MR2 model dropped the number in France because the combination sounded like a French swearword. Here is a list of Top ten Brands in year 2012 1. Coca-Cola : It’s brand value raised by 9% than last year. Last year too it was Ranked as number one. 2. Apple : Despite Steve Jobs passed by, its brand value rose by 129% from last year. Last year it was at number eight. 3. IBM : It’s brand value rose by 8%. Last year it was at number two. 4.Google : It’s brand value rose by 26%. 5. Microsoft : It’s market value went down by 2%. Last year it was No. 3. 6. GE : General Electric’s brand value rose by 2%. last year, it was No. 5. 7. McDonald : It’s brand value rose by 13% than last year. 8. Intel : It’s brand value increased by 12%. 9. Samsung : It’s brand value rose to 40% from last year. 10. Toyota : It’s brand value rose to 9% from last year. Source: International Business Times. Conclusion In the above-mentioned information, we have seen that brand management is really an essential element in marketing.No company can thrive towards success if it is not able to choose the right branding strategy according to the market situation. Global compet ition has made it even more complex. Brand name is the one that identifies the company in the market and if not careful, brand name may be solely responsible for causing downfall of the company. I chose this topic, â€Å"Brand Management†, because in my Bachelors Degree, I studied Marketing as my course of specialization in last two semesters. I am very interested in studying marketing because it a dynamic subject and I like studying more about Companies, their Branding Strategies and the easons why they succeded or failed. I am very much interested to do the marketing course in my Masters Degree. This will give me more exposure to the complex business structure and as well as help me guide my career in this field. References Websites www. wikipedia. com www. google. com www. BusinessDictionary. com www. managementstudyguide. com www. whatis. com www. slideshare. com www. entreprenuer. com www. bigkerbang. com www. internationalbusinesstimes. com Books Strategic Brand Managem ent, Keller, Kevin Lane Fundamentals of Marketing, Agrawal, Dr. Govind Ram

Boy in Striped Pyjamas: Otes and Analysis

Area of Study: Belonging Texts of your choosing: Film Title: â€Å"Boy in the striped pyjamas† Composer: Mark Herman A chilling portrayal of the power of society to define belonging, this film depicts the holocaust from the point of view of a young German boy who develops a friendship with a Jewish boy the other side of a barbed wire fence (Auschwitz). A chilling portrayal of the power of society to define belonging, this film depicts the holocaust from the point of view of a young German boy who develops a friendship with a Jewish boy the other side of a barbed wire fence (Auschwitz).Brief Outline to the text: This cautionary tale is about two boys, one the son of a commandant and the other a Jew, who come face-to-face at a barbed wire fence that separates, and eventually intertwines their lives. The novel is set during the Holocaust, Bruno is only nine-years-old when his father is transferred from Berlin to Auschwitz. The house at â€Å"Out-With,† as Bruno calls it, i s small, dark, and strange. He spends long days gazing out the window of his new bedroom, where he notices people dressed in striped pyjamas and rows of barracks surrounded by a barbed wire fence.Bored and lonely, and not really understanding the circumstance of his new existence, Bruno sets out to explore the area and discovers Shmuel, a very thin Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the fence. An unlikely friendship develops between the two boys, but when Bruno learns that his mother plans to take her children back to Berlin, he makes a last effort to explore the forbidden territory where the boy in the striped pyjamas lives.This cautionary tale is about two boys, one the son of a commandant and the other a Jew, who come face-to-face at a barbed wire fence that separates, and eventually intertwines their lives. The novel is set during the Holocaust, Bruno is only nine-years-old when his father is transferred from Berlin to Auschwitz. The house at â€Å"Out-With,† as Br uno calls it, is small, dark, and strange. He spends long days gazing out the window of his new bedroom, where he notices people dressed in striped pyjamas and rows of barracks surrounded by a barbed wire fence.Bored and lonely, and not really understanding the circumstance of his new existence, Bruno sets out to explore the area and discovers Shmuel, a very thin Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the fence. An unlikely friendship develops between the two boys, but when Bruno learns that his mother plans to take her children back to Berlin, he makes a last effort to explore the forbidden territory where the boy in the striped pyjamas lives. Explain the belonging that is represented in the text: Perceptions and ideas of belonging, or of not belonging, vary.These perceptions are shaped within personal, cultural, historical and social contexts. A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. People may cons ider aspects of belonging in terms of experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding. Through Boyne’s novel, the boy in the striped pyjamas it reveals how belonging can enrich our identity and relationships. This would subsequently portray how acceptance and understanding may be obtained through the enrichment of one’s identity.Key examples that develop belonging in the text: â€Å"A home is not a building or a street or a city or something so artificial as bricks and mortar. A home is where one’s family is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You're my best friend, Shmuel, My best friend for life. † â€Å"He looked the boy up and down as if he had never seen a child before and wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do with one: eat it, ignore it or kick it down the stairs. † â€Å"Are you allowed out? Why? What have you done†¦? â€Å"I’m a Jew† â€Å"We’re not supposed to be friends, you and me. We’re meant to be enemies. Did you know that? * clearly proves that there is a sense of the friends belonging to a relationship however there is always going to be the idea of not belonging to each other because of the cultural and moral situations they are put in, hence why they believe that they are meant to be â€Å"enemies† â€Å"He used to be a doctor once, but gave it all up to peel potatoes. † * The destruction that is caused upon a miserable man, because of the beliefs he has. There is a lack of integrity making him become their slave as he is a Jew   html http://www. enotes. om/the-boy-in-the-striped-pajamas http://www. bookrags. com/studyguide-the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas/ The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a poignant tale of events, Written by John Boyne and published in 2006 by David Fickling Books, the story was made into a major motion picture in 2008 based on the events occurred during WWII through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy. Bruno i s the bright-eyed son of a German soldier. When Bruno's father is relocated, the entire family has to move to the countryside. Although Bruno is proud that his father is a soldier, he lets his disappointment of leaving his friends show.There is a constant use of dramatic irony, through the idea that Bruno does not understand or know about the life they are entering however there is a common background understanding that all viewers will understand. This is evident when Bruno notices what he believes to be a farm with strange farmers who only wear striped pajamas. Whereas, we understand the reality of it, in which the farm is a concentration camp in which Bruno's father has been put in charge of. Fueled by curiosity, Bruno defies his mother and ends up at a corner of the fence that is not guarded.Once there, he meets Shmuel, a Jewish boy the same age as Bruno. The boys become friends quickly, even though Bruno has been told by his teacher and a frightening young Lieutenant Kotler tha t Jews are â€Å"evil. † Mark Herman, director of films such as Brassed Off and Hope Springs gives us a profound tale of innocence. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas could be the most heartbreaking film about the holocaust since Schindler's List. Although there is no physical violence shown in the movie, outrage at the injustice of it all is still felt; the boys should be able to play with each other without fear of getting in trouble.Children should not have to go through what Shmuel does just because they are different. It is the idea that there is a visual confusion and the dramatic irony is so important in conveying the injustices. There are times when Bruno's courage fails him. When Lieutenant Kotler asks him if he gave Shmuel food, he denies the truth so he won't get in trouble. But the audience can forgive him for these mistakes just as quickly as Shmuel does. With the idea of dramatic irony again, it’s the concept in which the audience takes many journeys of the b oy’s sense of belonging to each other and to their friendship however not belonging as utcasts. Bruno's innocence is what makes The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas so Stirring. When he asks his father what is burned in the chimneys, the audience feels a sense of turmoil because they know the truth. Bruno just doesn't understand what he's seeing. It explores the beauty of a child's innocence in a time of war, the common desire we all have for friendship, and the fences—both literal and figurative—that we must all navigate and choose whether or not to break down.

% Mgo Determination

Vu Ngo % MgO Determination September 10, 2012 Procedure: Reference to lab manual Data: Mass of Na2EDTA†¢2H2O, g| . 9289| Standardization of EDTA Solution | Trial 1| Trial 2| Final buret reading, EDTA (mL)| 18. 5| 36. 7| Initial buret reading, EDTA(mL)| 0. 5| 18. 5| Determination of % MgO of Unknown Unknown Number | 4J| | Sample 1| Sample 2| Sample 3| Mass of sample (g)| 0. 2135| 0. 2132| 0. 2139| Final buret reading, EDTA (mL)| 73. 5| 74. 2| 74. 2| Initial buret reading, EDTA(mL)| 0. 5| 0| 0| Measurement of water blank Final buret reading, EDTA(mL)| 14. 5| Initial buret reading, EDTA(mL)| 14. 2| Sample Calculation:Given: Molar mass of Na2EDTA*2H2O, g/mol| 372. 25| Expected M of EDTA solution, mol/L (M)| 0. 01| Concentration of Zn2+, (M)| 0. 0125| 10mL*1L1000mL= 0. 01L C1V1=C2V2 .0125M. 010L)=C2(. 018L) C2=. 0125M*. 0100L. 0180L=. 00694M .00694M+. 0687M2=. 00691M C2=. 00691M. 073=5. 04*10-4mol %MgO=5. 04*10-4mol40. 05. 2135g*100=9. 51% Results: Standardization of EDTA Solution | Trial 1| Trial 2| Volume used, EDTA(mL)| 18. 0| 18. 2| Molarity of EDTA solution, (M)| 0. 00694| 0. 00687| Average Molarity of EDTA solution, (M)| 0. 00691| Determination of % MgO of Unknown | Sample 1| Sample 2| Sample 3| Volume used, EDTA (mL)| 73. | 74. 2| 74. 2| Mole of Mg2+in sample| 5. 04E-04| 5. 12E-04| 5. 12E-04| % of MgO in sample, %| 9. 52| 9. 69| 9. 66| Average % of MgO in sample, %| 9. 62| Error Analysis: The measurement of the sample in gram, have +/- . 0001g error. The measurement using the the buret have a +/- . 1mL error. These types of measurement error are based on the sensitivity of the instrument, during the measurement. These errors could cause the result to deviate from the actual answer. During the experiment, using titration to find the end point. Because of the end point was unknown, a single drop could determine its end point.There might be an extra drop that caused the data to vary as both parts of the experiment have determined. The first trial of both th e experiment, the number is different, because of the unsure number of drops. Using the result from the first trial, the result of the second trial was more accurate. As proven from the experiment of determination of percent of MgO of the unknown. The sample 2 and sample 3 testing results in similarity that differ from the sample one. The sample used 73. 0 ml of the EDTA solution, while both samples 2 and 3 used 74. 2 ml of EDTA solution.This will cause a tip in the result toward a lower number used to find the end point. This error is not a major factor since it is only of my 1. 2 ml of the actual result. The percent of all three result of MgO is different under 1 percent different. Thus, a very reasonable result in all three of the experiment. Discussion: This experiment is to help us understand the reaction between an anion and the metal cation. It demonstrated the Lewis base understanding of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The goal was achieved through titration of the s ample in multiple trials in order to find its endpoint.The end point was found when the pink coloration, due to EBT was added, turn into a blue/ violet color. This signified its endpoint of the sample. The result is good quality, because of the deviation from the first trial and last trial that was done on the same sample. The result is off by . 2ml in the standardization of EDTA solution. In the second part of the determination of % MgO of the unknown; the first, second, and third sample the percentage displaces is well under 1% difference. The result is worth 99% confident that the result is good quality, because of the consistency of the data.

Living In a Concentration Camp As a Jew

Living In a Concentration Camp As a Jew By: Sheena Xu Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp to created by the German Nazis in April 1940. It was located by a town called O?wi?cim, Poland. It was one of the most dangerous Nazi camps and was called the â€Å"final solution†. 1, 095, 000 Jewish men, women, and children were deported to Auschwitz and 960 000 died intotal at the camp. Auschwitz was divided into 3 sections. One was a prison camp, one was used as a killing and extermination center, and lastly there was a forced labour camp. Only about 11% of children who were still alive in 1933 had survived the Holocaust. The prisoners had 3 small meals a day. Breakfast was half a litre of imitation coffee or a herbal â€Å"tea† which was always unsweetened. Lunch was a litre of watery soup and you would be considered lucky to have a few pieces of turnip or potato peel, and many newcomers had a difficult time eating it. The evening dinners were around 300 grams of black bread with either sausage, margarine, marmalade, or cheese on top. It had to last until the morning so prisoners would hide it somewhere while they slept, but the starving prisoners would usually eat it all right away. Prisoners had many duties both inside and outside of camp like working in factories, farms, and coal mines. Work was every day except Sunday and they woke up at 4:30 in the summertime and at 5:30 in the wintertime and the nighttime silence was at 9:00. They worked for German companies and were used as slave-labour. The Sonderkommando were Jews selected for their strength and fitness to work in the crematoria. Their job was to dispose of dead corpses coming from the gas chambers. The Kanada Kommando was another job where prisoners were assigned to sort through the valuables of Jewish people so they could be sent back to Germany. Canada was a country that symbolizes wealth to the prisoners, so that's why they named it Kanada because of all the clothing and jewelry. Anyone who worked for the Kanada Kommando had much better living spaces in barracks than the other prisoners, but if they were caught stealing anything, they would be killed.Doing anything wrong or not to the standards could be risking your life. Most prisoners were sent to the gas chambers immediately after arriving. Different punishments they would use was the â€Å"post† or flogging. The â€Å"post† was where you're hung in the air for a long time, so your arms become paralyzed and you are sent to the gas chambers because of being unfit for work. Flogging is when a prisoner is bent over a stool with their arms stretched forward and they would be whipped for about 25 times. A hanging would take place during roll call and it was meant to intimidate other prisoners. A shooting was where prisoners had to strip naked and they were shot in the back of the head. Smoking, relieving yourself at the wrong time, or attempting suicide meant punishment or death. On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Union soldiers had liberated the remaining prisoners from Auschwitz. Intotal, 135, 000 Jewish prisoners were liberated but most died soon after. Many relief workers and physicians tried to save the prisoners but many were too weak to digest food and they couldn't be saved. Since they had gone without food for so long, the food was too rich for the prisoners, so they had to eat little by little. Even though so many had died, there were still those who fought to survive, and they are the people that could still live to tell their story.

Gran torino movie analysys Essay

The movie Gran Torino, is a movie that is based on an old neighborhood which was mostly American nationalities living there. Through the years this changed and it became an Asian society to live in. This movie was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, which we has also one of the main characters in the movie. The story of the movie was written by Dave Johansson and the screen play was done by Nick Schenk. Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighbourhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbours, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbour Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao’s family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighbourhood. â€Å"I have more in common with these gooks than my own spoiled, rotten family,† he tells himself. The three main actors that have the biggest emphasis towards the movie is Clint Eastwood. He is the one who plays Walt Kowalski in the movie. Then we have the two kids from his neighbours. Thao which is been portrayed by Bee Vang, and Thao’s sister Sue, which has been played by Ahney Her. There is a lot of intercultural aspects in the movie that we see but there is also a strong sense of how through the years, the differences from one generation to another and how alike they are in the different societies. Before Walt Kowalski in the movie start to care about Thao and Sue, and before he gets to know them, he is depicted as a mad old man, which he is also very racist towards and outsiders, but especially the people from the Asian lands. The argue that can be made for this reason is that Walt before settling down in the neighbourhood that he lived with his deceased wife, we was in the Korean war. It wouldn’t be easy for any man to live in a neighbourhood, in which the ethnicity of the people living there is of the same ethnicity in which we fought against in the Korean War. Through out the movie and especially when Walt starts to take Sue and Thao under his wings as a family one can say, and through out the stories that he tells and the harm’s he has done, in the end we can say that the way he dies to save Thao and Sue, it’s a way for Walt to get a type of redemption. He takes Sue and Thao as his children, to make right for him having two sons which he wasn’t ever there for them and vice versa. His relationship with those sons and their families is brusque because Walt is an emotionally closed-off guy. No one and nothing lives up to his standards, particularly the growing population of Hmong immigrants who now dominate his neighbourhood. Thao’s cousin is in a gang in the area, and when they try to force Thao to join the gang and they make a ruckus during the night, Walt just wanted his piece but by getting involved in the situation, he saves Thao and then Thao in order to repay him, he does various different chores for Walt and he gets to see that Thao and Sue aren’t as bad kids as he thought, he was just prejudice towards the people that he just didn’t know. And slowly by time he becomes fond of the family and starts acting in a way as he is their protector. The film illustrates town members forcing to make a choice as to which popular culture they will follow. They can follow a path of religion and live peacefully or they can choose a path of constant feuding by joining a gang. Either way, the town has become divided and both opposing cultures seem to be constituted as a popular lifestyle. The first major inter cultural communication is more of a tradition for the Hmong. When he unwillingly saves Thao, then the rest of the community, look to him in what they think that they have found a hero. They start bringing him different gifts and different plates of food as a way of them saying thank you for his actions. He still doesn’t want anything to do with them and tries to not accept them but there’s nothing else that he can do. Walt’s wife, according to the movie was a person of the church. And now that she has passed away, the father of the church, father Janovich tries to be there with Walt and tries to make sure that he will be fine. Walt is a man who is haunted by what he did in the Korean War. In the film, Walter speaks to Father Janovich and says, â€Å"The thing that haunts a guy is the stuff he wasn’t ordered to do.† Within these few small words, Walt describes to Father Janovich the chaotic mindset that keeps his life forever haunted. This gives us the notion that Walt is haunted by his actions in the past and that’s why now he is such a grumpy old man who can’t live in peace with the actions that he committed. Walt is an old man that is in a place where according to him, there isn’t something that someone can do that will reach to his standards. Throughout the movie, Walt seems incapable of speaking to his son’s without criticizing their every thought. When his two sons, Mitch and Steve Kowalski, talk at their mother’s funeral Steve says to Mitch, â€Å"The point I’m trying to make is that there’s nothing anyone can do that won’t disappoint the old man, its inevitable† it’s a struggle of the old generation which is Walt, and the generation that followed him, his sons. Walt can be said that he is more a patriot rather than a racist. But he is both and tries his best to make it known to the others. He is proud of his patriotism and watches helplessly as their neighbourhood is becoming a ghetto of other ethnic groups who seek only violence and just tear apart the neighbourhood in which he lives. Even now with the loss of his wife, he won’t allow his self to admit that he is alone, he has too much pride to do that. Walt saves Sue from a group of African Americans who were bothering her. He pulls out his gun and makes them leave her alone. Now Sue is a witty girl, and on the ride back to the house they start to engage in a conversation. Walt wasn’t polite but as I said Sue is a witty girl and she answered him in ways that were humorous. From that point on is where he starts to have a bond with the rest of the family as well. After this incident Walt starts being fond of the family. Later he is being invited to a barbeque that they are having. At first he didn’t want to go but with Sue, he changed his mind and went. As they start to eat and talk, sue lets him in in the various traditions that they have and their meanings. Later by not knowing he taps one of the small children in his head, something which is considered very rude. Sue explains to him that it’s believed that in the head is where the soul of the person resigns. Also that it’s impolite to stare, but then he sees the family doctor staring at him. Then sue talks to him and he wanted to read Walt. He told him that he lives in a life of pain and suffering and if he continues in this way he won’t have piece in his life. this family doctor and father Janovich are in a way trying to lead him to have a peaceful life. In all honesty, I believe the ending of this film was noble. Walt sacrifices his life in order to save Thao and Sue’s family from further harm. His courageous act not only places the entire Hmong gang behind bars, but also ends the conflicts between the Thao and his cousin who is the gang leader. He goes and faces them and In a way makes them kill him and now because they have witnesses Thao, Sue and their family won’t be bothered with again. Overall, I thought Gran Torino was an empowering movie. The film depicts actual scenarios of cultural conflict that can be found in today’s world, especially racism and small kids joining gangs. Sources Gran Torino the movie http://elizabethbettin.blogspot.gr/2010/11/week-6-gran-torino-analysis.html http://hollywoodandfine.com/reviews/%E2%80%98gran-torino%E2%80%99-who%E2%80%99s-saving-whom/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/

Personal Reflection Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Personal Reflection Paper - Assignment Example A positive attitude also helps to motivate you such that you can work on the task with relative ease. In my academic career, I have realised that a positive attitude has helped me to view difficult situations from a lighter perspective. A positive attitude has also helped me to set realistic goals that are attainable. In whatever we do, it can be seen that communication is very important. Good communication skills have led to successful positive outcomes to me in different ways. As part of my learning experience, I have realised that I should communicate effectively with my teachers as well as other peers so that I can also gain knowledge from them. When communicating with other people, one must be very clear and he must also try to understand non verbal communication methods that are used by other people. It is also imperative to be a good listener if you want to learn from other people. These communication skills have significantly helped me to achieve a lot in terms of my academic attainment. When looking at my current values, strengths, attitude and communication skills, I think there are certain issues that I may need to develop. Indeed, I am doing well in these aspects but I need to develop them so that I can be ensured of future successful outcomes. In terms of my values, I think I need to make sure that they are compatible with the culture in the environment in which we live. Values are shaped by our culture and I need to learn quite a lot about these so that can also meaningfully contribute to the development of the cultural values. My major strength is that am a focused person and I can read around and learn from other people in order to gain new knowledge. However, I think I need to appreciate the fact that I may not be able to know everything so it is important to listen to other people. I have a positive attitude towards different

Age discrimination in employment (especially for older people) Research Paper

Age discrimination in employment (especially for older people) - Research Paper Example Policies and procedures for the company should be written clearly in an employee manual. This should include how promotions, salary increases/decreases and reduction in work force will occur. Having clearly written policies and procedures will benefit the employee and the company in age discrimination cases. These laws fall under the federal United States Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, although state governments also have their own laws regarding age discrimination (eeoc.gov). Age discrimination can be defined as when either an employee or an applicant who is over the age of 40, experiences unfair treatment when it comes to anything related to employment including hiring and dismissal, pay, job assignments, layoffs, work hours, promotions, etc. (eeoc.gov). Although there are many reasons for age discrimination, insurance companies are primarily to blame. Harassment relating to age occurs when supervisors, other employees or even clients continually hassle or badger someone. The law does not cover light hearted teasing or occasional off handed remarks, but when the situation escalates to create a hostile work environment for the employee it could be an issue of age discrimination (eeoc.gov). Keep in mind that the law pertains to people over the age of 40. According to U.S. News Money, people in the United States are retiring later than in previous years. This can be attributed to a lack of employer sponsored retirement benefits, reduction in Social Security benefits, longer life expectancy, improved health as people age and the coordination of retirement between wives and husbands when statistically, wives are three years younger than their husbands (money.usnews.com). Increased career length leads to an increase in age discrimination instances. With the recent downfall of the United States economy beginning in 2008, it has become more important for people to continue to work past typical retirement age. Since that time, age

Arthistory Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arthistory Paper - Essay Example Examples of oppositional dressing include punks, zoot suits and clothing that were made of skinheads. In most cases, they did arise where there was oppression and ill-treatment of the masses by the dominant groups. A practical case and instance is the zoot suits which was worn by the servicemen of African-American origin in protest to the white domination and racial discrimination. Similarly, people who lived in similar locality and geographical region had their social destiny bound together. Thus, in any case there was any change and shift from the popular culture, then people in same area moved together in that respect. For instance, when fabrics and puinks hit the ghettos, it was the in thing and every person who wanted to show solidarity with the masses blended with the culture. In retrospect, oppositional dressing relates to subculture in that, it was part of a behavioral or sectoral pattern of behavior within the large cultural spectrum. This is to say that the people who blended with the opposition dress shared similar culture, and the oppositional dress code that they adopted was just a part of the culture in terms of dressing. The term, notion and concept of dandyism refers to a culture where a human being places a lot of attention and weight on the physical and outward appearance. This is to say that the person would take a lot of time and resources to ensure that he or she appears nonchalant at the very least. In most instances and cases, dandyism was a cloud word used to discuss how the men stressed on their masculine principles to try to imitate the aristocrats. This is to say that a man would use refined language, often engage in leisure activities which are conventionally regarded as royal or aristocratic. In the period of the early 19th century, a dandy was a person who was self-made and strived hard to fit into the highest class of the society, (Wilson, 112). This was done regardless of the

Office Development Activity in New York City Essay

Office Development Activity in New York City - Essay Example The building costs themselves have slowed down after the much talked about real estate bubble (Tom Acitelli, Sep 2006). However, the cost of the properties has gone for a spin and has risen to levels well beyond one hundred and forty percent of the GDP. In this paper, we will analyze the growth of the real estate business specifically the commercial properties and the way they have been rising (and falling, if any) before we go on to take a look at the current days. Subsequently an analysis of the current scene would let us know the future trends. There will also be a short analysis of the status of the rental of offices and the fluctuations in the rental pricings specifically in the New York region. Finally, a short comparison between the rental and the ownership market of the real estate will be taken up to check which would be the best option for an office to go in the current scenario. All these will be presented in here for analysis and study. In order to trace the rise and fall of a market, it is always useful to monitor the change that is happening in the market for the last ten years at least. ... Figure 1: The stock market bubble (dot com) and the Real Estate Assets from left to right. The last ten years have seen the change in the price of real estate stock steadily increasing and gathering speed after the dot com crash. This was an investment option that people have taken to after the crash not knowing where to put their money in. More over it is also seen that the real estate, unlike dot com where most of the investors were speculators, here most of the people are investors for life time. Many things went in line with the investment. Interest rates were attractive and it worked out cheaper to buy a house rather than to lease it out. Economic Status The economic status of the country and of its people also plays a vital role in the real estate rental and cost. Normal indexes that are compared or monitored for this purpose are mortgage rates, Consumer Price Index, job creation, productivity, federal deficit and consumer confidence apart from payroll and other social considerations. In addition GDP is also an indicator of the change in economic status and the price of the real estate or the rental of the real estate. (Miller Samuel, 2006) Figure 2: GDP and Manhattan Median Sales Price The green on the graph is the US Gross Domestic Product while the Red is the Manhattan Median Real Estate prices year on year growth percentage marked on a quarterly basis. This clearly shows that the price variation in the market has been directly linked to the GDP variations in the last 10 years. Variation in the GDP has accounted for a similar change in the Manhattan prices. There might have been shorter and smaller variations at times, but by and large, it has been

HBC Atlantic Computer Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HBC Atlantic Computer - Case Study Example Jowers must empower the Cardena’s hardware oriented sales force with relevant information regarding the importance of PESA software so that they can use this differentiating element as their major sales principles to convince their customers. For example, DayTraderJournal.com would need at least 4 Ontario server costing overall $11656 [(basic price of $1700 + $1214 cost per server)*4]. Thus, by buying Atlantic package, company would be saving around 50% of the initial expenses on servers and $3642 of annual recurring cost on 3 servers every year. The target market would react favorably because they would be hugely saving on not only the servers but also the annual expenditures incurred on running the servers. The Atlantic bundle is cost saving because it does the work of 4 Ontario servers, thereby saving extra cost on 3 servers. Moreover, the customers would also be enjoying the exemplary after sales services of Atlantic for which it has already established market

Capital Expenditure and Depreciation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Capital Expenditure and Depreciation - Essay Example Acquiring fixed assets like building, land, plant and machinery, motor vehicle and furniture fittings are regarded as the capital expenditure. The assets are not to be sold for making profit but that assets should be retained in the business. Capex generally yields gains over a long period of time (Banerjee, 2010). Capex on a financial statement is important as the investors are interested in the amount of capital improvement that he experiences. The declining capex will make the investor cautious as well as abnormal increased values signals that the investor should also be cautious (Jennings, 2006). The different types of capex are the following: Expenditure resulting from the acquisition of permanent assets: Any asset that can be converted into cash later. The money spent to acquire the asset is called capex (Warren, 2009). Expenditure resulting from purchase, erection or receipt of a fixed asset: The expenses in addition to the purchase price that are incurred for manufacturing th e asset for use are added to the cost of the asset and thus is regarded as capex. The examples are the wages that are paid to the workers for manufacturing machines, the cost of the place where the machine will be manufactured and the interest on the loan raised to purchase a fixed asset. Expenditure resulting from improvement of the fixed asset: If the profit earning capacity increases because of the expenditure, through lowering of cost or increase the output level, it is capital expenditure. Expenditure incurred to get the right to carry on business: The expenses that are needed for establishing a business or acquiring license is capital expenditure. The cost of patent is also capital expenditure. Expenditure resulting from acquisition of tangible asset: The expenditure incurred on a non profitable asset is treated as capital expenditure. Factors that add to the cost of capital expenditure (with examples) Cost of capital expenditure i.e., the interest payments and the cash-flow, that affect cash that are available in the capital goods. Example: If one borrows ? 10000 to buy a new coffee maker and it brings with it an additional ?1000 / month of profit but the monthly interest that are to be paid for the loan is ?1120, then it is said to be the bad expenditure with a negative impact on the business. Now if the same person borrows the same amount but bring ?1500 profit/month it is a good investment. Thus, there are different factors that add up to the cost of capital expenditure and can make an investment unprofitable and even profitable. How does capital expenditure lose value over time? A product when capitalized the value of the item is placed in an asset that increases the total value of the company. The reason behind these is that the items are considered to lose their value slowly or increase over time. The asset is listed on the company’s property tax inventory and the asset is provided a number for tracking purposes (Elmaleh, 2005). The company gets bill for taxes on the value of the assets and the listing of an asset that is depreciating decreases in value each year until it is considered to have no value (Hoofman, 2009). After capitalizing, the item is allowed to depreciate over a period of time, such as 3 – 5 years of time. After depreciation the entire cost of the item is not revealed in the expenses at one time,

African American Stereotypes in Trading Places Assignment

African American Stereotypes in Trading Places - Assignment Example There have been several theories proposed regarding how race is represented in the media. To understand the concept fully, it is necessary to understand how media influences society, with examples from the movie Trading Places. Even in the world of strict entertainment, the media continues its long-standing tradition of reinforcing middle-class society’s concepts of the world. â€Å"Above all, the media are defensive about the sacred institutions of society – whereas black people most encounter problems in this sensitive power-areas: employment, public discrimination, housing, parliamentary legislation, local government, law and order, the police† (Hall, 1974). In order to appeal to the middle class, many of the films that come out of Hollywood tend to reflect the hopes and dreams of this class of society. This typically involves the concept that the lifestyle of the very wealthy is the only lifestyle worth having. It also reinforces the thought that it is only through hard work and struggles that one can appreciate this good life. The black man, and occasionally a woman, is allowed to enter this world only at the invitation and assistance of a white man while the typical portrayal con tinues to hold him down at the lower rungs of society. This type of portrayal reinforces the concept that black men are not capable of success and white men are not very capable of failure. As Hall (1974) makes obvious, even comedies that are merely supposed to entertain, such as Trading Places, can contain several unremarkable messages that serve to maintain and promote the existing power relations within society, representing the black man as a necessary failure. Within the movie Trading Places, these ideas can easily be traced.

Main Reasons For Human Cloning Ban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Main Reasons For Human Cloning Ban - Essay Example Cloning, however, is banned for several reasons. Some of the main reasons for this action are discussed; One of the main reasons to ban cloning is a religious concern. The capabilities achieved by cloning are linked with the powers of God; that is the creation of life as intended and its destruction in some cases. The genetic code is available in its raw form and in 2010 the first synthetic life form Synthia was created (Macrae, 2010). The DNA is successfully decoded and now we have the technology to combine genes to achieve a suitable outcome. These parts can be combined together like a computer program to generate DNA as per our requirements. There are limitless opportunities and possibilities for this new technology. Microorganisms have been made to produce bio-diesel (â€Å"Playing God: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?† 2012). A new field has been created and it is called synthetic biology. There is a major concern about the creation of these synthetic organisms. The field ha s sparked new debate about their creation and control. They are thought to be dangerous and the outcome is not always as per our requirement. ... Human Cloning is simply argued to be against human dignity. However, the biggest concern is the safety of any cloned human. They are expected to be medically unsafe and the field is untested. Furthermore, as per studies cloning in animals yields a very low success rate and most clones die during the process (Johnson & Williams, 2006, p.17). Another issue is with the identity of two genetically similar humans. If one of them dies this gives an indication from the crude genetic data that the other will also die with almost same reasons. This concern can also be linked with identical twins. These issues are also linked with concerns about social life and the implications of genetic reproduction of similar human beings. Cloning is also used to replace organs and damaged tissues.

Should everyone allow to own gun Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Should everyone allow to own gun - Essay Example The Founders knew that by ensuring the right to own arms, citizens would have the ability to protect themselves from that which might endanger their life, liberty or pursuit of happiness. This could include bodily protection from persons and animals or from an oppressive government that threatened the freedoms outlined in the Constitution. â€Å"The Second Amendment reflects the founders’ belief that an armed citizenry, called the ‘general militia’ was a necessary precaution against tyranny by our own government and its army† (Krouse, 2002). Most American’s agree that the Second Amendment does allow law-abiding citizens to own guns for protection and hunting. Gun ownership ranks high among these political ideologies and to attempt to ban all guns would make these feelings even stronger. To make the case for upholding the widely perceived ‘right’ to bear arms by allowing rifles and shotguns of a certain length while banning handguns seems the sensible solution and a fight that could be won. This tact has proven effective in other countries such as Britain and many other European nations. Those countries that ban handgun use have a much lower homicide rate than does the U.S. (Reynolds, Caruth, 1992) In the year 2002, more than 3000 American children died as a result of guns, mostly handguns. Compare this with Britain where 19 children were killed by guns in 2005 and Japan where none were killed. Both if these countries have enacted strict gun control laws. The children of America are dying every day so that those who insist they have a right to own an arsenal of weapons and misconstrue the Constitution to justify this desire. (â€Å"Statistics† 2005). Gun enthusiasts mimic the concept that more guns will lead to less violence, that if everyone were carrying a gun, criminals would be too scared to commit crimes. The more is less philosophy. This doesn’t square with reasonable logic or the facts.

Principles of Good Corporate Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Principles of Good Corporate Governance - Essay Example Corporate governance is a complex amalgamation of legal, moral and economic/financial issues closely associated with financial scandals, concerns of stakeholders, and social/environmental activism, all rolled up in one. It raises several critical concerns regarding the manner in which the organizations must operate; the moral/ethical responsibilities of companies towards the stakeholders; the financial responsibilities towards their directors and shareholders; and ways to uphold the interests in the larger benefit of the society/community. However, one of the most crucial aspects of corporate governance is to ascertain that the individuals in the organization are held morally accountable for their business practices or their actions and repercussions of the same, towards the society (Colley, 2003, Pp. 13 - 18). The Body Shop – a company with activism as a part of its DNA is a prime example of companies, with ethics as one of its core business practices. The company gave prime importance to a range of social issues through its campaigns - such as the one against human rights abuses; policies in favor of animal and environmental protection; its commitment to society through charity etc., to name a few. It was one of the few commercial organizations which revolutionized the corporate world, through the incorporation of ethical principles as a part of its core business practices (Witcher, Chau, 2010, Pp. 43 - 45). The company was taken over by a leading cosmetics brand, L’Oreal, with drastically different business practices, in the year 2006. As opposed to The Body Shop, L’Oreal on the other hand, involved in animal testing, which caused a furor among animal rights activist, in the process giving bad repute to the trusted brand. Positive and negative lessons learned from these business practices and approaches One of the key lessons learned, from the case of The Body Shop is the fact that contrary to popular opinion, hard-core commercial organi zations, as opposed to not-for-profit organizations, can also implement socially relevant business practices, which have the greater interests of the community at large. The company successfully implemented such principles during the 1990s thus, revolutionizing the profit-oriented and highly commercial competitive corporate world. Furthermore, it is also reaffirmed that the contemporary corporate world, must seek to pursue social and environmental issues, and be more stakeholder-oriented in their approach, rather than profit-seeking, stockholder oriented one. The 21st century has given rise to a phenomenon called ethical consumerism. The consumers today are far more aware of social and environmental issues and are highly active in defending their rights. Companies which tend to ignore their interests might have to face a mass boycott of their products, as is observed in several instances in the past such as the case of Nestle and Nike in the 1990s and The Body Shop in the recent tim es (Crane, Matten, 2007, Pp. 421 - 423). Thus over and above the legal consequences, the companies are at risk of losing their brand image and garnering a bad reputation among the public, thus having a serious negative impact on their competitive positioning the industry translating into huge financial losses.

Africans who lived in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Africans who lived in America - Essay Example The land of Cleveland was one of the main regions inhabited by the African-American people; this was after the survey by Moses Cleaveland, who toured the place, acquired it and sold it through his Land Company. The more the black population grew the more the racism grew as well. It reached a point where public institutions became segregated and the black were in most case the victims of injustice. They were not allowed in some hospitals, theatres, and churches. They therefore opted to form their own churches and that was when Black African churches were formed. Despite the fact that Africans were not allowed to access education, some like Booker Washington and Will DuBois managed to get educated. They later became the champions for the enlightenment of the blacks by agitating for their rights. Keywords: Cleveland, Africans, Americans, Blacks, Whites, Racism, Segregation, Moses Cleveland, Booker Washington, Will DuBois 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Explain,  in detail,  who was Moses Cleavela nd, what were his goals for the Western Reserve? Moses Cleaveland was born in the year 1754 in the city of Canterbury in the county of Windham (Wheeler, 2000). He went to Yale College and graduated as a lawyer in 1777, and soon after his graduation, he went on to practice law in Canterbury; his service as a lawyer took a period of about 30 years. He was a lieutenant during revolution in America; this was during his practice as a lawyer when he joined an army at the Valley Forge, in the year 1978. He was married to Esther Champion with whom they had four children (Wheeler, 2000). The following year, Moses Cleaveland who was still in the army, was promoted to the position of captain. He was also elected as a member of the Connecticut general assembly representing Canterbury (Wheeler, 2000). In 1796, he led the first voyage to Western Reserve; he is remembered for his relentless effort in championing the ratification of the US constitution. He is best known for his investment skills an d hard work while serving as an officer of Connecticut Land Company. He had a band of surveyors varying from men and women, as well as experts. Through his great leadership skills, he managed to lead the whole team of surveyors into discovering a city; they named it Cleveland in his honor. He was always a happy man who enjoyed success and appreciated the effort of team work; this attribute is seen when he organized a ceremony to mark his team’s success for having arrived at the new Connecticut. He declared Cleveland as the new city of Connecticut and wished it a long life. After the great mission, he went back to Canterbury in Connecticut and on November 16, 1806, General Moses Cleaveland passed on, leaving behind a lot of legacy. A statute was erected in the new Connecticut in his memory. Western Reserve was discovered, it was a great land with great potential for business activities. According to Miller (1997), â€Å"as Moravian missionary John Heckewelder noted in 1976, t he area had the best prospect of water communication from Lake Erie to the Ohio River† (p. 143). Despite all the hypes, early settlers in the region had to migrate due to the miasmic swamps, which often made them sick. The federal government had to make a decision on how to dispose off the land. Lucky enough, the Connecticut land company under the leadership of Moses Cleaveland, came in and bought the land from the federal authority. His reasons for buying the land were to use it for agriculture and commercial purposes. Cleaveland’s immediate goal was to utilize the available lakes and rivers for communication. He had men, food, and instruments that were used for surveying and he needed to transport them by the lake. It was while in this mission that he discovered the lake was long enough for commercial

Origin of the Postal Rule Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Origin of the Postal Rule - Essay Example Consequently, a general rule dictating the time of an efficient acceptance was required1. The postal rule was originally invented as an attempt to provide some form of assurance to an offeree acknowledging an offer through post. From the case of Adams v Lindsell [1818] the courts ruled that if the general rule concerning acceptance of an offer is applied to an acceptance sent by post, then an offeree would never truly be certain of the existence of an obligatory deal until the offeror confirms receipt of the letter of acceptance2. The postal rule was applied in this case since post was the singular way of communication. This assignment aims at critically discussing the postal rule its similarities to e-mail and whether it should be expanded to encompass modern modes of communication specially email3. Applicability of Postal Rule to E-mail At its instigation, the post was solely the only means of communication. The introduction of other modes of communication over the years, calls for expansion of the rule to include particularly email since it is the most commonly used method of settling deals. This rule should also extend include e-mail since e-mail is essentially a letter in electronic form. Moreover, at time of inception of the rule, post was expedient and fast; this true for e-mails today hence applicability of the rule to e-mail4. However, it is difficult to classify e-mail as either instantaneous or not since in some cases it may reach the recipient in a matter of seconds and delays are rare. On the other hand, it is common for mails to take longer to reach the recipient hence the postal rule may not stand at this point. Similarities of the Post and Email There are several comparisons between post and e-mail. Firstly, when an e-mail is sent from the sender’s outbox it cannot be recalled and this situation is similar to the postal rule5. Additionally, an e-mail is a digital comparable of a letter sent via post. All usual functions of postal mail hap pen through e-mail like advertising or invitations to treat (Partridge v Crittenden [1968]). Acceptance through e-mail remains unsettled by courts since there still exists uncertainties on the subjects of offer and reception related to the development of e-mail based contracts. In this case, there are different points of acceptance. It could be the moment when thee e-mail departs from the sender’s outbox, the instant it gets into the recipients inbox, when it is collected from the server or when it is read. This is also analogous to the postal rule as it is not clear when an acceptance is made. In the postal rule an acceptance is binding when the acceptor puts it in the mail box for return mail to the offeror not considering whether it reaches him/her. Since the establishment of the postal rule in the 1800s, several other means of communication have come up. This includes telephone, telegraph, email and facsimile. Both the post and email are both used as avenues of communicat ion since the message/information is delivered finally regardless of the time taken to deliver the message. Another similarity is the greeting cards. When email was first introduced, it did not have things like greeting cards. At the time, only the postal service did. Nowadays, greeting cards can be sent via email and may even come with sounds and songs`. In both

Social Studies Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Studies Standards - Essay Example The national standards for social studies and the standards set for social studies by Washington state have much in common. The national standards broadly reflect a scenario where the rudimentary elements of the subject are highlighted. Also, the nature and scope of knowledge and skills for students in the different school grades that must be developed are provided (National Standards for Social Studies). The Washington state social studies standards are more specific to its region. It highlights the role of a citizen in society and his rights and responsibilities. It makes study of the constitution of the United States and the constitution of Washington State compulsory for students desirous of graduating from this state (Social Studies). Students in the early grades, middle grades and high school learn social studies in the context of their understanding and grasp. The level of learning and understanding naturally advance as the students scale higher up on the academic ladder, year by year. The students' understanding of the subject gives them greater awareness of their rights and responsibilities in society. Their knowledge of the locality as well as their state and the world at large and their interdependence, also become sharper. Their capability to think and address issues of local application and global importance also gain significantly. For instance, environment and the need to do something to reduce pollution are fresh in the minds of students (Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards). Social Studies Knowledge As mentioned earlier, the knowledge of social studies advance as students go up the academic grades. The basic knowledge of social studies is essential for every student. For students intending to pursue any branch of study where social studies play vital role like history and geology there is benefit in good score. For middle graders, an understanding that different scholars may interpret similar events in different ways may suffice. For high school students, it becomes necessary to demonstrate that historical knowledge and the concept of time are socially influenced constructions and the questions they raise need to be handled selectively according to the time they occurred (National Standards for Social Studies). Meaningful Learning A systematic and cohesive learning makes study of social studies interesting and meaningful. The student looks forward to such learning and his curiosity is heightened and satisfied step by step with each passing grade. Learning must be such that interest in the subject is awakened. The curriculum must be composed of not only contents but also the means of conveying the message. There must be good use of visuals, audiovisuals, group discussions and interactions with students. The use of computers and search engines like google and yahoo must be encouraged. Students must be given projects highlighting issues on social studies. It is great to note that use of pictures and words in a project enhance knowledge. There is a Chinese saying that one picture is as good as a thousand words. Conclusion As a subject, the indispensability of social studies cannot be overemphasized. It is not possible that one can do without it. Thanks to the technological advancements in communication and travel, the world has become a global

Frq Articles of Confederation Essay Example for Free

Frq Articles of Confederation Essay The Articles of Confederation from 1781 to 1789 did not provide the United States with an effective form of government because of its problems in terms of domestic policy, foreign policy, and economics. Domestic policy, or the set of decisions that a government makes relating to things that directly affect the people in its own country, was not adequate enough to solve strife between states. The Articles stated that state legislatures chose representatives for the house, rather than the people themselves. This began to lean toward the British practices of virtual representation, which the U. S. fought a war to be rid of. Another problem was that each state only received one vote, which was unfair to the larger states with a greater population. With a super majority required to pass laws, almost no laws were passed because no one was able to agree. The lack of federal courts also made it difficult to solve disputes, more specifically those between states, making them all grow more independently rather than as a unified nation. Foreign policy was a mess under the Articles of Confederation. The states were unwilling to give up their land and power as they were afraid that is the federal government gained any more power then they would return to a monarchical type system. With no president, there was no figure to enforce laws or make negotiate with other countries, and the governors were only concerned with the welfare of their own state, preventing the states from becoming more unified. Because the federal government lacked any power, it was impossible to solve the problem with the Mississippi river and fishing rights, and there was no one to stop Shays Rebellion. This lack of power caused great fear that the British could easily come and take us over once again. Massive debts had piled up from the Revolution and from starting a new country, so states were looking for a way to pay them off. They began printing their own currency, only to cause massive inflation and difficulties trading both with other nations, and even from state to state. This inability to trade caused further problems, and they went into a recession. This all resulted from states holding most of the power, rather than their being a balance between state and federal. As the states did not want to lose their power, they would not give up any land to the federal government even if it were to pay off some of its debts. Congress did not have the ability to tax, causing further economic strain and making it difficult to pay off their many debts.

Life of a Chinese Farmer Essay Example for Free

Life of a Chinese Farmer Essay If I were a Chinese farmer in 2006 I would be continuing my livelihood that I have done all of my life even when I was a child helping my family. I later got married and I now have 6 children ranging in age from 4 to 18. We all live in a village called Xinzhuang (Village of Xin) in China. This is a farming village that is about 1481.3 miles outside of Shanguani, China that is the closest well known city. My typical day starts out at 7:15 AM when I get up and eat breakfast with my family and then I go out into the garden and pick the vegetables that are ready and we use these vegetables for our dinner that evening. Then I have time to do some other things around the house including laundry and household repairs that need to be completed. Our normal meals consist of rice and vegetables unless I have the money to purchase some meat from one of the small shops in the village. For entertainment we normally visit with others in the village, sing songs, and occasionally we are able to access the internet, and watch television. The biggest concerns that I have for my family is are we going to have enough food and is our farm going to be taken over and built on so that we don’t have enough room to grow our vegetables. I also worry about my family and their health because we do not have a doctor in our village. We must travel to Shanguani for any healthcare issues that arise with our family. REFERENCES www.chinatoday.com/entertain/entertain.htm www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/19/content393991.htm

Icelandic volcanoes

Icelandic volcanoes Icelandic volcanoes have been associated with many devastating impacts, not only for the people of Iceland. Volcanic hazards tend to extend beyond Icelandic soil and travel to the opposite side of the globe, and are therefore considered worldwide hazards. This shows us that although the eruption occurred on land, the nature and volume of eruptions at mid-ocean ridges are very widespread. An example, of a volcano causing detrimental effects on a large scale was the Laki eruption of Iceland in June of 1783. There were over 1000 people that died which accounts for 25% of the population, and about half of the islands cattle and three-fourths of its sheep died. Furthermore, a large number of hectares and vegetation also perished. A great number of people and livestock died from suffocation caused by the pyroclastic flow- the most dangerous feature of volcanoes. The pyroclastic flow is extremely hot and triggers high velocity winds (exceeding wind speeds in hurricanes) within the cloud and the poisonous volatile gases which are capable of destroying all life within many miles of the volcano in a matter of minutes**. These gases include sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfur trioxide (SO3) which are poisonous alone, however combined with water from sulfuric acid (HCl), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrofluoric acid (HF) and boric acid (H3BO3) can kill within a matter of minutes once inhaled. People and livestock also died due to the secondary effects. The islands vegetation rapidly perished under a blanket of ash. This vegetation could not receive any sunlight to flourish as the ash which coated it blocked the sunlight. Due to a lack of vegetation widespread famine traveled across Europe and diseases surfaced due to the lack of nutrition, effecting the livestock and human inhabitants of the island. Furthermore, the haze that coverers the sky after an eruption, results from the sulfur gases reacting with water vapor, this blocks the suns rays and is therefore detrimental to both life on land and in the ocean. Volcano Laki efficiently eliminated the 1783 summer and it was the coldest in 500 years in some locations, according to tree ring data. The sun was obscured by the vast cloud caused by the Laki eruption and, what should have been a warm summer in the northern hemisphere, took on winter proportions, not just in Iceland, but all over Europe.** Poems were written that i ncluded descriptions of the sun- ‘pale blood red ghost within the volcanic haze. In reference to the laki volcano in Iceland, Benjamin Franklin during a lecture in 1784 made the following comments, when the effect of the suns rays to heat the earth in these northern regions should have been greater, there existed a constant fog all over Europe, and a great part of North America†¦this haze was also observed over Asia and North Africa. These days the haze would cease aviation over much of Europe if an eruption the capacity of Laki occurred. The haze does not only decrease visibility, but it also damages aircraft. For example, the most common result is engine damage that occurs when volcanic ash enters the jet intakes; the volcanic ash melts and cools to become glass coating the turbine blades, often causing the engines to stall. Further secondary effects included contaminated water supplies within Iceland. The water became poison due to its contact with pyroclastic flow and being supplied with acid rain. A build up of fluoride within the drinking water caused ‘fluoride poisoning which resulted in bone deformities in people and livestock evident in graveyard excavations. Volcanoes also have the capacity to interrupt the normal weather patterns not only locally, but also on a large scale. For example, in France the extreme weather resulted in a surplus harvest in 1785 that inflicted poverty upon rural workers, accompanied by droughts, bad winters and summers, involved a horrific thunderstorm and hailstorm in 1788 that damaged crops. This in turn contributed significantly to the build up of poverty and famine that triggered the French revolution in 1780. Recent computer modeling shows that the cooler temperatures in the Northern hemisphere in 1783 caused a weak monsoon for Southern Asia and Northern Africa. The unusual cold in the North lessened the temperature contrast between the land and the oceans, upon which the monsoon winds rely for their development and strength. With little or no monsoon, there are no clouds to produce rain for rivers or to prevent the surface evaporation. Without rain there was no irrigation supplied for crops and this result ed in a food shortage for these countries. The cooler weather also caused the Mississippi River to freeze and the formation of ice in the Gulf of Mexico. These unprecedented weather patterns upon Europe continued for several years Lava is another dangerous feature of volcanoes. The vent of the Laki volcano was marked by a row of lava fountains throwing red-hot molten basalt tens of meters into the air and in a single day, the front of the lava flow advanced 15km2, making it the largest historic eruption. The destructive power of lava flows lies in the high temperature of the rock, which can set structures aflame, and in the size and mass of the flow, which can engulf or crush even large buildings. One observer of the Laki volcano said ‘all the earths plants burned, withered and turned gray, one after another, as the fire increased and neared the settlements. Earthquakes can also be triggered by volcanic activity. The Earthquakes are produced by stress changes in solid rock caused by the insertion and/or removal of magma. These earthquakes can cause land to subside and can produce large ground cracks**. Furthermore, the Laki eruption was heralded by a series of earthquakes and the opening of fissures 25km long, and a shallow graben formed between two of the fissures.

The Cases Of A Judicial Precedent

The Cases Of A Judicial Precedent Judicial precedent can be explained as where past decisions of judges are followed in future cases when the facts of the cases are similar. Therefore the legal definition of Judicial precedent can be stated as a courts judgment quoted as a power for choosing a comparable set of facts; a case which provides authority for the legal principle launched in its judgment. It refers to the way in which the law is made and amended through the decisions of judges as there is no particular set of binding rules. The judicial precedents doctrine is based on the principle called stare decisis to stand upon decisions and by which precedents are commanding and compulsory and must be practiced. This means that lower courts are bound to apply the legal principles set by superior courts in earlier cases. This provides balance and certainty in the law. A precedent is always based upon the two factors the ratio decidendi which means a reason for the decision and obiter dictum which means something said by the way and also, the decisions made in the previous relevant cases. The ratio decidendi of a case is the important part of establishing precedents that binds inferior courts in the hierarchy. When a judge makes his judgement in a case, he outlines the facts which he finds have been proved on the evidence. Then he applies the law to those facts and reaches at a decision, for which he gives the reason (ratio decidendi). Whereas obiter dictum is a decision given by a judge that has only incidental bearing on the case in question and is therefore not binding in later cases. The decision of the judge may vary according to the facts of the case and is not strictly relevant to the matter in the issue in the original case. The ratio decidendi is the binding part of a judicial decision whereas an obiter dictum isnt. However, an obiter dictum may be of persuasive (as opposed to binding) authority in later cases. Even if any difficulty arises, the judge will give reasons for his decision, however he will not always tell what the ratio decidendi of case is, and it is then up to a later judge to figure out (elicit) the ratio of the case. However, there may be disagreement over what the ratio is and there may be more than one ratio. Thus, it is not always easy to differentiate ratio decidendi from obiter dictum when assessing the effects of a particular decision; however, when judicial precedent is used, the judge follows or takes the reference of a decision made in a similar past cases that has already been judged upon and he is ruling the same way using the other case as a guideline. Thus, law reporting, hierarchy of courts and a method of distinguishing between obiter dicta ratio decidendi are considered to be the key features of judicial precedent. The general rule of the precedent is that all courts are bound to follow decisions made by their superior courts and appellate courts are usually bound by their own previous decisions. However, certain of the superior courts think themselves as bound by their own verdicts whilst others do not.. Until 1966 The House of Lords was bound by its own previous decisions when Lord Gardiner LC announced a change of practice. The Practice Statement [1966] 1 WLR 1234 stated that even though the House of Lords would treat its decisions as normally binding, it would move off from these when it appeared right to do so. A judgment of the House of Lords ties all lower courts but does not consider itself as strictly bound by its past decisions, for eg, in Murphy v Brentwood District Council (1990) the House overruled its previous decision in Anns v London Borough of Merton (1978) on the matter of a local authoritys legal responsibility in negligence to prospect purchasers of property. The Court of Appeal is bound by decisions of the House of Lords although it considers them to be wrong. However in Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd [1944] KB 718, the Court of Appeal held that it was bound by its own previous decisions subject to the following three exceptions: i. If there is conflict between own previous decisions, the Court of Appeal must decide which is to be followed or rejected. ii. The Court of Appeal must not follow its own decision which cannot stand with a decision of the House of Lords even if its decision hasnt been expressly overruled by the House of Lords. iii. The Court of Appeal need not to follow its own decision if satisfied that it was given per incuriam (literally, by carelessness or mistake). The High Court and the county courts are bound by the decisions of the court of appeal. Principally there is no difference in the application of stare decisis in the civil and criminal divisions of the Court of Appeal. In practice, because a persons liberty may be at risk, precedent is not followed as strictly in the criminal division however judges tend to follow the decisions of the high court for the sake of certainty. For example R v Taylor [1950] 2 KB 368. The High Court is bound by the decisions of Court of Appeal and the House of Lords however it is not bound by other High Court decisions. The county courts are bound by the decisions of individual high courts. House of Lords and the Court of Appeal binds Divisional Court and normally follows a previous decision of another Divisional Court but if they believe that the previous decision was wrong, they may depart. For eg. R v Greater Manchester Coroner, ex parte Tal [1985] QB 67. The Crown Court judgments are not binding, though they are of persuasive authority. Therefore, Crown Court judges are not obliged to follow them. The decisions made by the judges of county courts and magistrates courts are not binding. Judicial precedent is one of the most important source of English law. An original precedent created and applied a new rule whereas the later decisions, of the higher courts, can have a number of effects upon precedents. Particularly they may be: Reversed: where on appeal in the same case, the decision is reversed and the appeal court substitute its own decision. Overruled: Overruling can occur if the previous court fail to apply law correctly, or because the later court considers that the rule of law contained in the previous ratio decidendi is no longer required, then a higher court can overrule a decision made in an earlier case by a lower court. For example, the Court of Appeal can overrule a past High Court decision. A refusal to follow: the court may refuse to follow the earlier decision especially when it is not bound by the decision or cannot overrule it but doesnt wish to follow it. Distinguished: Judges use distinguishing as a tool to avoid following a earlier decision which they would otherwise be bound to follow. It helps to keep judicial precedent and the law flexible. Where a judge founds that the material facts of the present case to be considerably different from the earlier case, then he may distinguish both the cases and refuse to follow previous decision. For eg. Merritt v Merritt (1971) and Balfour v Balfour (1919) Explained: a judge may seek to study or discuss a past decision before applying it or distinguishing it, thus the impact of the previous case is diverse in the circumstances of the current case. A decision which is reached per incuriam is one reached by carelessness or mistake, and can be avoided. For eg. Morelle v Wakeling [1955] 2 QB 379 However, this rule does not allow the Court of Appeal to ignore decisions of the House of Lords. There are three types of Precedent, Original, Binding and Persuasive and are used instead of statutory law in civil cases. Original Precedent is one where the point of law is absolutely new and has never been decided before, means a new case that has never been in trial, the decision then judge comes to will form a new precedent for subsequent cases which may be persuasive but not binding on the court. for eg. the cases heard regarding the 7th July 2005 London bombings were original precedent as the cases were never heard before a UK judge. Binding precedent is when a case involves a point of law, the lawyers for both sides will research past cases to try and find decisions that will help their clients win the case. A past decision is only binding if the decision is at the right level in the hierarchy and the facts of the second case are satisfactorily similar and also only the ratio decidendi of the earlier case is binding. A persuasive precedent is not completely binding on a court but may be applied. For eg. a. Decisions of English courts lower in the hierarchy. For eg, the House of Lords may follow a Court of Appeal decision, and the Court of appeal may follow a High Court decision, even though not strictly bound to do so. b. Decisions made by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. c. Decisions made in the courts in Scotland, Ireland, the Commonwealth (especially Australia, Canada and New Zealand), and the USA. These decisions are usually cited specially where there is a shortage or absolute lack of English authority on a point. d. Obiter dicta of English judges. Judicial precedent enables certainty in the law as its detailed. It helps in forecasting the decision only by looking at the existing precedents. The uniformity in the law enables to treat similar cases in the same way which in turn helps to give the system a sense of justice and to make the system acceptable to the public. However, it may lead to some difficulties in deciding what the ratio decidendi is, mainly when there are a number of reasons. As it is not a set of binding rules, the system limits the growth of the law and can create injustice in individual cases. Hundreds of cases are reported each year, making it hard to find the relevant precedent which should be followed and thus creates a confusion and becomes too complex with thousands of fine distinctions. If judicial precedent was a set of binding rules like statutory law it would have not been that flexible. Therefore from the above discussion, we can conclude that, it is crystal clear that the judicial precedent is based on the real facts and situations, unlike legislation or statutory laws where the law is created. Judicial precedent is practical in nature, and therefore it becomes more flexible. Thus we get number of ways to avoid precedents which allows the system to change and to adapt to new situations referring through a wealth of cases. Thus, judicial precedent is best understood as a practice of the courts and not as a set of binding rules. As a practice it could be refined or changed by the courts as they wish.