Beowulf Characters :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf Characters Schyld Scefing: He is the first great king of the Danes, and upon his death he is given a remarkable burial at sea. He eventually becomes the great-grandfather of Hrothgar who is king during Grendel's attacks upon the Danes. Beowulf: A thane of the Geat king Hygelac and eventually becomes King of the Geats. Hrothgar: King of the Danes at the time of Grendel's constant attacks. During is reign as king he builds the hall (Heorot) as a tribute to his people and his peaceful reign. Heorot: The great hall that Hrothgar builds in celebration of his reign. Grendel: A descendant of Cain and a man/monster, Grendel attacks Heorot after Beowulf's arrival. Beowulf eventually kills him, with his severed arm hung as a trophy in Heorot. Wulfgar: A loyal thans of Hrothgar, Wiglaf is a watchman for the Danes and the first to greet Beowulf and his men to the land of the Danes. He also deems the Geat visitors as people worthy enough to meet with Hrothgar. Ecgtheow: He is Beowulf's father. He is a Waegmunding by birth and a Geat by marriage. When he was younger. Unferth: Unferth's name means "discord". He is a thane of Hrothgar's who taunts Beowulf in the hall about his swimming contest with Breca. However, Beowulf shames him in the boasting match. Wealhtheow: She is Hrothgar's queen and the mother of his two sons. Her name comes from the Anglo-Saxon words for "treasure bearer." She actually has the duty of presenting necklaces and mead-cups at court. Sigemund: Known as a famous dragon slayer, he is an ancient Germanic hero whose story is recounted after the fight with Grendel. Heremond: An ancient Danish king who fell from grace and became ruthlessly evil king. He is used by Hrothgar as a bad example of bad kingship for Beowulf. Hildeburh: She is an ancient Danish princess who was married into the Frisian royalty. Her story is recounted during the second feast for Beowulf at Heorot. Her brother and her son were both killed in a war with the Frisians at Finnesburh. Hrothulf: Hrothulf is Hrothgar's younger brother. Wealhtheow calls upon him to protect her young sons if it necessary to do so. Grendel's Mother: The of the man/monster Grendel she comes to Heorot seeking vengeance for the death of her son, and is killed by Beowulf. Aeschere: He is one of Hrothgar's important officials and trusted thanes.

Opportunities and Challenges of Having Access to a Broader Workforce Essay

Question: a) Discuss the opportunities and challenges of having access to a broader workforce. Answer: The Workforce is the total number of a country’s population employed in the armed forces and civilian jobs, plus those unemployed people who are actually seeking paying work. In other words, workforce also refers to Total number of employee (usually excluding the management) on an employer’s payroll. It may also mean all those that are available for work. Workers may be unionized, whereby the union conducts negotiations regarding pay and conditions of employment. In the event of industrial unrest, unions provide a coordinating role in organizing ballots of the workforce, and strike action. As the world becomes globalize, the workforce in industries/companies become diversifies. The broader workforce make up from employees that come from different age groups, race, beliefs, gender etc. Opportunities Provide training on core competencies Devise training is needed to address the needs of different levels of workers, including training directed at entry-level and less skilled staff, workers with degrees not directly relevant to afterschool, and workers pursuing credentials. We cannot afford to ignore the workers who stay only a short time or work part-time, because they make up too large a portion of our workforce. They need some minimum level of knowledge in the core competencies required to work in afterschool programs. Moreover, providing training and supporting pursuit of a credential is an excellent way to foster an attachment to the field. Expand Quality training and professional development opportunities Quality training and professional development opportunities are needed to be expanded for all workers, including encouraging programs to give workers paid time off to attend training. Another need is for approaches such as distance learning to increase access to training in rural areas. We also should establish a core group of high quality, recognized, and approved trainers and promote ways to share the knowledge of experienced afterschool staff, for example, through mentoring younger staff. Provide afterschool/youth work content in higher education curricula We need to work with institutions of higher education to provide more course work relevant to youth work and afterschool that could be accessed by workers and students pursuing credentials or a degree. We also need to work with these institutions to address the needs of the adult learners in our workforce who would be candidates for these courses. Advocate for funding for training and professional development Policymakers at all levels need to provide more funding specifically for training and professional development for afterschool staff through supports such as scholarships and loan forgiveness. In advocating for such funding, the afterschool field needs to highlight the connection between positive outcomes for children and youth in afterschool—a goal endorsed by policymakers—and the qualifications of the staff that provide afterschool services. Provide human resources staff with the training and resources they need to recruit and hire Although the focus of this project and resulting report is on the current afterschool workforce, it’s difficult not to consider the need for effective recruiting and hiring techniques in afterschool programs. A program’s workforce begins with, and its success reflects, the recruiting and hiring of employees who are adequately matched to a program’s core competencies and needs. Challenges Developing specific strategies for reaching the target populations There are people 18- 59 years old in the population who are all needed in the workplace and who need the education/training to take advantage of the opportunity it provides. The challenge is to develop marketing campaigns and services that focus on each of these groups, their specific education/training needs, and their need for user friendly access, delivery, and support systems. Further, there are significant shifts in the gender, ethnicity, and work experience within these populations. Studying these shifts identifies targeted opportunities for increased participation and support. The lack of clear, systemic, and complete information continues to be one of the major barriers to these populations. Several recent studies suggest the lack of useful labor market information contribute to the lack of participation. Developing a series of strategic alliances with business/industrial associations, professional associations, and assessment organizations Education curriculum and competency standards are no longer within the sole domain of the academy. Such areas as education content, achievement, and application are all reflections of constant evolutions in the world external to higher education. It is no longer possible for free standing independent education and training organizations to unilaterally maintain currency with the rapidly changing demands of the new economy. Curriculum is no longer fixed, singular, or limited in scope. Competency standards are evolving at increasing rates as are the related assessments. Further, the expansion of multiple employer related delivery options as well as the growth in industry recognized credentials suggest the need for formal alliances with external partners. Employer Associations Three fundamental shifts have shaken the employer world: 1) the rapid changes in technology and productivity and the resulting impact on workforce skills, 2)the dramatic shift in demographics with the loss of skilled workers and the lack of skilled entrants, and 3) the difficulty identifying effective educational ‘pipelines’ for skilled applicants. Both employers and educators are looking to industrial associations as partners in developing the definition of new skills and competencies, the related curriculum, the required assessments and, the resulting credentials. The move towards alignment (tuning) is increasingly dependent on association partnerships. Effective associations will have systems of continuous improvement that will ensure alignment between their education and training partners as well as their employer membership. This communication system opens up the pipeline for skilled workers and provides a communication system for internships, work based learning, and ultimate support for placement of graduates within the industry. The primary purpose of these alliances is to ensure both the continuous alignment and portability of academic content and outcomes with the constantly changing expectations of both the employer and academic world. Industry Recognized Certifications (IRC) Opportunities for more formal alliances occur with associations that sponsor formal industry certifications. These offer industry recognition of credentials and their accompanying competencies. They offer the individual portability of their recognized credentials and the institution a means of aligning curriculum, competencies, and assessments. An exceptional opportunity exists in providing academic credit to students enrolled in programs resulting in industry recognized certifications. Students engaged in technical training would be more inclined to stay in a program if they receive industry recognized credentials as well as specific credits toward academic or technical Associate degrees. This creates a unique prospect to engage students in seamless system of lifelong continuous learning. The prospects for long term strategic alliances with industry associations are enormous and offer great marketing benefits. Alliances with Professional and International Organizations Forming strategic alliances with professional organizations and accreditors ensures both alignment of curricula and outcome standards as well as ensuring the portability of the credits and credentials. These alliances are becoming increasingly recognized as significant pipelines for qualified professional applicants and they offer exceptional marketing opportunities to both student applicants and industry. Development of a ‘One Stop’ access to the new economy A ‘one stop centers’ is needed for individuals to: 1) get labor market information about high wage/high growth industries, 2) obtain available skill standards and/or IRC’s, 3) accredit their past training, education, and experience, 4) gain advice and counseling on entering post secondary education, 5) receive assistance with entrance to recognized academic and training programs, and, 6) get assistance with placement within the industry. The major problem with the labor market adjustment system in the United States is a completely bifurcated and user unfriendly information, counseling, advising, crediting, accessing, financing, and education/training system. Both the unemployed, re-entering adults and first time students are highly mobile learners who are looking for the access portal to the new economy. Stagnate outdated agencies, policies and systems are simply incapable of delivering such services. It is time to develop a new on-line system that would ensure all citizens ongoing and easy access to understandable and timely job matches, labor market information, and credentials needed for the new economy. All post secondary institutions have a unique opportunity to participate in the building of this broader set of services into a publically transparent system. Ability to offer, give a perception of and have the reputation of providing a ‘Guarantee’ This is the outgrowth of the need to close the loop between employers, students, and educators. The primary question is: does the institutions system of identified learning outcomes meet the academic and technical standards of the new economy and, then, does it ‘ensure’ that every graduate meets those standards? This means establishing standards, curriculum, and assessments that achieve these levels and ensuring that every graduate meets them. When substandard performance is recognized there is a system of remediation and ultimately the failure to graduate if the student simply cannot meet the institutional standards. Some would add that for any student hired which the employer believes does not meet the standard, the school would take them back and remediate them at no cost. While this would come with a cost, it is far more important to develop a reputation with employers for producing graduates that meet the industry standards for tomorrow’s economy. While this important for employers, it is imperative for students who want to be certain that the education/training they are engaged in will in fact prepare them for the new economy. Action on this challenge represents a fundamental shift away from the old system of ‘education opportunity’. For the future, it is about highly mobile students accessing a system that ‘ensures’ their achievement of the competencies required for the new economy. America’s exceptionally diverse post secondary education system has the capacity and commitment to implement this new relationship. (b) What extend Malaysia has benefited and also able to develop own Knowledge worker. The Malaysian labor force is generally educated. This is because youths who enter the labor market would have undergone at least 11 years of schooling. Furthermore, the proportion of labor force with secondary and tertiary education has risen over the years, making them easier to be trained and to learn new skills. Nonetheless, it has been argued that there is a shortage of skilled labor in Malaysia. This shortfall in skilled labor was believed to be one of the causes for the tightness in the Malaysian labor market during the 1980s and 1990s, alongside a mismatch between demand for and supply of labor. Malaysia’s response to this matter is one of the reasons for the nation’s focus on human capital development in recent years. Since the mid-1990s, Malaysia has entered into a phase where new emphasis and demand for high technology and knowledge-based industries were in place. A change in the Malaysian economic policies was, therefore, needed in order to maintain the nation’s competitiveness. Knowledge-based economy is defined as one that is â€Å"directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information†¦ towards growth in high technology investments, high-technology industries, more highly skilled labor and associated productivity gains†. Malaysia adopted this definition into its Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan, which defines a knowledge-based economy as â€Å"an economy where knowledge, creativity and innovation play an ever-increasing and important role in generating and sustaining growth†. The Master Plan was developed to provide a strategic framework outlining the required changes to the fundamentals of the Malaysian economy. Since the concept of a knowledge-based economy revolves around knowledge and information as the key contributors to economic growth and development, the move towards a knowledge-based economy is expected to provide Malaysia with the necessary competitiveness in order to achieve a developed nation status and meet the objectives of Vision 2020. Several reasons were given as to why Malaysia should move into the knowledge-based economy. First, the nation has lost its global competitiveness in attracting FDI when it fell from the 18th place in 1994 to the 29th spot in 2001, as reported the World Competitiveness Yearbook (IMD, various years). Related to this is the increasing competition for the country’s products from other developing countries, such as China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia that enjoy cheaper labor and more abundant resources. This is especially true in the case of China, where it has been reported that cheaper and equal quality goods from this new economic power, mainly in labor intensive textiles, would bring about stiff competition to Malaysia’s export goods in its domestic and international markets. Third, Malaysia’s economic policies have been affected by globalization and liberalization as barriers and protective walls that help sustain local industries are slowly removed and brought down. As a result, Malaysia, like all other developing economies will have to search for new products and services that are feasible in the emerging global market where the distinction between local and world markets is gradually disappearing. Such goods and services like aircraft, pharmaceuticals, ecommerce, tourism and educational services and ICT industries are common in the knowledge-based industries. Fourth, as Malaysia strives to become a developed nation by the year 2020, this would result in its current edge in producing goods and services for the global market, which hinges on low wages, to be eroded. This is because its cost levels would approach those of developed countries. To face this anticipated escalating labor cost, Malaysia needs to ensure higher value is added to its products in order for its industries to remain viable. Thus, for Malaysia to be competitive, it must produce goods and services to compete at comparable levels as those in developed countries. Again, such high value-added is generally provided by knowledge-based industries. Fifth, Malaysia needs to move into more profitable and wealth-generating stages of production. In other words, it has to make its manufacturing sector more profitable. To do so, Malaysian firms have little choice but to move into the pre- production stage (which includes product conceptualization, research and design, prototyping etc) and/or post-production stage (packaging, branding, marketing, retailing etc) of manufacturing, because there is less profit to be made from the core production process. These pre- and post-production stages also happen to be more knowledge-intensive compared to the existing core production process stage. Sixth, Malaysia needs to find new sources of growth in its economy as the old sources of growth have become less productive. A knowledge-based economy will provide some of these new sources of growth to enable Malaysia to sustain growth and dynamism. Finally, Malaysia needs to improve the contribution of the â€Å"total factor productivity† (TFP) in terms of improving the quality of workers, methods of doing things and other delivery activities (EPU, 2002: 5). To what extend do Malaysia able to develop own knowledge worker? Education: At the primary and secondary levels, some of the indicators for quality that tend to raise concerns have to do with the teaching profession, the curriculum, and the grading of schools. The most serious concern is that of teacher recruitment, salary, career path, work load and training. These concerns have discouraged many potentially good teachers from joining the profession. As regards the school curriculum, there are two sets of issues. The first has to do with content. The second set of issues deals with implementation of the curriculum, classroom size, expertise of teachers and courseware development. Overcrowding in urban schools can impede teaching and learning, including the effective delivery of the curriculum. At the tertiary level, concerns centre mainly on the issues of research, resources, faculty qualifications, and the quality of output. Some public institutions are not keen on being assessed and ranked by an external body. Consequently these institutions become less aw are of their weaknesses. This lack of awareness about their performance does not contribute to accountability. The public requires detailed information on the performance of various institutions in order to have confidence in them. In terms of the use of ICT, the largest provider for programmes in schools is the government, mainly the Ministry of Education (MOE). MIMOS, MDC and the private sector, including parent-teacher associations, are also involved. Some observations are made on the current trends and development of the ICT programmes in schools: ââ€" ª At this stage, ICT programmes at the school level are still heavily centered on infrastructure or procurement of hardware. Software (content development for courseware) and people ware (training) in the ICT programmes are more urgent. The hardware focus alone is inadequate to create the environment for e-education which can enhance teaching and learning and accommodate life-long learning. The software and people ware aspects that are necessary for e-education have to be considered and expanded. ââ€" ª There is a lack of co-ordination among the various agencies, namely MOE, MIMOS and MDC, in their supporting activities for the ICT programmes. Redundancy and wastage of resources can be avoided if there is better co-ordination. ââ€" ª In many schools, computers are often locked up in a special room or a lab, impeding their use for teaching and learning. The class time-table often does not include time for working or playing with computers. The costly equipment forces teachers in charge of the room to be cautious in allowing access, and this adds to the difficulty in utilizing the computers. ââ€" ª Most teachers have not had sufficient training to maximize the use of computers to enhance teaching and learning, and often merely impose traditional methods of drilling and rote learning using computers. This is mainly due to the emphasis on ICT literacy in teacher training programmes. ââ€" ª Due to the lack of a standard approach in the utilization of computers, student contact hours with computers cannot be established. ââ€" ª Teachers take charge of ICT centers in schools on a voluntary basis. Most of them do not have any formal training in ICT. There is often no technician who can assist the teachers with maintenance. Public higher education institutions, especially the universities, have been expanding their ICT programmes, especially over the past five years. Computer labs at the faculty level and computer centers for the university have been initiated and are in progress. ICT’s capacity to contribute to greater efficiency of work and resource management has not been fully exploited. E-mail facilities are not being maximized, and downloading lecture notes from the web or interacting with lecturers via e-mail or the web is still uncommon. The Internet is not being adequately accessed for lecture content. Another issue requiring attention is the need to develop quality private education. Private education in Malaysia is a relatively developed sector, particularly at the higher education level. As regards technical education, the system at the upper secondary level needs to address a number of issues: ââ€" ª Greater efforts should be made to improve hands-on skills among technical school students. The Technical Education Department has already introduced the contextual learning delivery system, which essentially recognizes that learning is a complex and multi-faceted process. Such learning goes far beyond theory, drill-oriented, stimulus and response teaching methodologies. It was introduced in Secondary Technical Schools in 1998 to help all students master higher-level academic and work skills. Instruction based on this strategy is being structured to help students apply their knowledge more effectively. ââ€" ª Greater efforts are required to improve the links between schools and industry. Currently the School Advisory Committees, established in all schools, comprise representatives from industries, higher education, Parent-Teacher Associations and Head Teachers who advise schools on curriculum and equipment. The Career Guidance, Industrial Liaison and Placement Unit in every school also provide career guidance and placement of students in industries. These should be further improved. B. Skills Training and Retraining Malaysia currently has several drawbacks with regards to the education and skills profile required for a K-based economy. It lacks an adequate pool of knowledge workers, sufficiently high enrolment in the sciences at tertiary levels, and a broad base of workers with minimum literacy, learning ability and skills. Educational reform takes time while the recruitment of foreign talent is merely a temporary measure. An effective response would be to train managers and workers to cope with the new demands of the K-based economy. Private and public sector managers need to be trained to reengineer their organizations into ‘learning organizations’ which can attract, retain and develop K-workers to make their organizations more competitive, service-oriented and efficient. To increase the quality and relevance of skills, greater autonomy and flexibility should be given to public sector training institutions to make them more responsive to the rapidly changing labor market requirements of a K-based economy. To minimize job dislocation resulting from the transition to the K-based economy, ‘bridging’ courses need to be organized for displaced workers, especially those who are old, uneducated, and un-trainable. The power of the Internet should also be harnessed to establish ‘net communities’ for citizens with special needs and interests to interact among them and with the government. For the economy as a whole, there is also a need for an efficient and speedy labor market information system to help ensure effective planning to meet the manpower demands of the K-based economy. This may require the establishment of a specialist study group, improved career counseling, and a directory of training institutions. In addition to providing basic education for all, in a K-based economy it is essential to stress Lifelong Learning and Education to help citizens cope with expanding knowledge and rapid change. The challenges of Lifelong Learning and Education in the context of the K-based economy include the following: 1. Producing a highly skilled, knowledge-rich workforce. 2. Reducing unemployment and re-skilling the workforce. 3. Addressing and adjusting to the needs of an aging society. C. Global Talent A world shortage of high level manpower is likely to increase the brain drain from Malaysia. While the high growth East Asian economies compete for Malaysian talent, particularly in ICT the more serious long-term competitors are the advanced K-based economies of the US and Europe which suffer serious shortages of ICT personnel. It is estimated that Europe and the US alone need two million more ICT workers by 2002. Recent changes to immigration laws enacted to attract foreign talent to the US have serious implications for Asia and for Malaysia’s efforts to retain domestic talent and attract foreign, particularly ICT talent. A Bill passed by US Congress in late 2000 allows US firms to recruit 600,000 foreigners, a third of them from India. The three-year programme takes effect from 2001. The US recruitment drive occurs in the context of a world-wide shortage of ICT talent, with Asian countries too unable to meet their domestic demand. Despite this the best and brightest Asians ( including Malaysians), are likely to be lured by better wages, work conditions, occupational mobility and the quality of life in the US and Europe. This ‘brain drain’ has already begun, with European and US recruiters scouring Asian universities for talent. This situation signals several dangers for Malaysia. Firstly, like the Asian countries, Malaysia too is likely to lose young graduates from local and foreign universities to firms in the US and Europe. Secondly, experienced Malaysians may also be recruited, with the Malaysian labor market serving as a ‘training ground’ for developed K-based economies. Thirdly, since the Asian shortage and US demand will deplete the international talent pool, Malaysia’s option of utilizing foreign talent will be limited. Foreigners who are recruited to work in Malaysia are also likely to treat Malaysia as a ‘training ground’ for eventual entry and settlement in the US and Europe. There are several ways Malaysia can cope with this situation: ââ€" ª One current advantage Malaysia has is that except for Singapore, other countries in the region including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, and China, all of which also have ambitious ICT plans, have not moved fast enough to recruit foreign talent. Moving quickly to simplify immigration rules and ease recruitment of foreign talent will give Malaysia a competitive edge in recruitment. ââ€" ª Secondly, of all countries in the region, Malaysia probably has the most balanced set of attractions in terms of wages, low costs, quality of life, stability and safety. This advantage should be exploited to the fullest. ââ€" ª Thirdly, Malaysia’s rich and tolerant multi-ethnic heritage makes it attractive to a wide spectrum of expatriates, whether Caucasians, Middle-Easterners, East Asians or South Asians. Unlike its competitors in the region, Malaysia can therefore alleviate the problem of the world-wide shortage by recr uiting from a wide variety of countries and labor markets. The government itself has made several clear efforts to recruit foreign talent. In 1995-98 the Returning Scientists Programme managed by the Ministry of Science attracted 93 overseas-based foreign and Malaysian scientists on short-term contracts to local institutions. But their high wages posed a financial strain and contributed to wage inequities vis-a-vis local scientists. Recognizing the need for talent, the Returning Scientists Programme was revived in early 2001, and the recent national Budget provided incentives to encourage Malaysian experts abroad ‘who have the required expertise’ to return and serve the nation. Income remitted within two years from the date of arrival will be exempted from income tax. Two cars registered in the country of origin for at least six months will also be exempted from import duty and sales tax, while the husbands/wives and children of Malaysian citizens will now be given PR status within six months of the date of arrival. Previously, husbands who were non-citizens were not entitled to PR status, while non-citizen wives could only apply for PR after five years residence in Malaysia. The programme took effect from 1 January 2001. Under this programme, six fields of expertise and skills have been identified, i.e. IT, Science and Technology, Industry, Finance and Accounting, Arts, and Medicine and Health.

Current government priorities Essay

How far does the budget reflect current government priorities? â€Å"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it† – Ronald Reagan In my coursework I shall be discovering what the annual government budget is, what it is spent on and why, correlating this with current priorities. I shall be investigating to what extent does the governments’ expenditure reflect on these current government priorities i.e. the amount spent on defence, the education sector and social protection. I shall be mostly using secondary research, through using websites and maybe books. I will compare spending from previous budgets to the current one and find out where changes, if any, have been made. Through figuring out where the money is spent, I can discover what the main priorities are but not neglecting the fact that some sectors are larger and undoubtedly require money being spent, e.g. Healthcare and public order & safety. Government expenditure is vital for the efficient running of the economy. The need for much of the government expenditure arises from the facts that some goods will not be provided at all by a free market economy (public goods) and that others will be under-provided (merit goods). It is spending on these goods that accounts for a large proportion of government spending (health, education, police and defence, among others). Some government expenditure is aimed at providing a safety net for the less well off in society and ensuring that they are able to survive in the event that they lose their jobs or have insufficient income. The department that deals with the allocation of most of this money is the Department of Social Security. Other government expenditure is aimed at various areas that may be considered important in a developed economy – providing a transport infrastructure, supporting the work of local government and servicing any debts that may have been accumulated in th e past. Fiscal policy refers to government policy that attempts to influence the direction of the economy through changes in government spending or taxes. Fiscal policy can be contrasted with the other main type of economic policy, ‘monetary policy’ which attempts to stabilize the economy by controlling interest rates and the supply of money. The government in power needs to ensure that the budget expenditure is divided correctly and proportionately to the areas that require it most. This depends on the government priorities. The two main instruments of fiscal policy are government spending and taxation. Changes in the level and composition of taxation and government spending can impact on the following variables in the economy: On aggregate demand and the level of economic activity; the pattern of resource allocation and the distribution of income. Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and taxation to manage the economy. The main changes in fiscal policy happen once a year in the Budget. It is in the Budget that the Chancellor sets the levels of taxation and government expenditure for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year runs from 6th April one year until 5th April the following year. This is why the budget is usually in March. The changes in it come generally into effect in the following month. Fiscal policy is based on the theories of British economist John Maynard Keynes. Also known as Keynesian economics, this theory basically states that governments can influence macroeconomic productivity levels by increasing or decreasing tax levels and public spending. This influence, in turn, curbs inflation (generally considered to be healthy when at a level between 2-3%), increases employment and maintains a healthy value of money. Unfortunately, the effects of any fiscal policy are not the same on everyone. Depending on the political orientations and goals of the policymakers, a tax cut could affect only the middle class, which is typically the largest economic group. In times of economic decline and rising taxation, it is this same group that may have to pay more taxes than the wealthier upper class. Similarly, when a government decides to adjust it’s spending; its policy may affect only a specific group of people. A decision to build a new bridge, for example, will give work and more income to hundreds of construction workers. A decision to spend money on building a new space shuttle, on the other hand, benefits only a small, specialized pool of experts, which would not do much to increase aggregate employment levels. Graph to show inflation rates in the UK compared with the United States and Canada. Monetary Policy involves changes in the base rate of interest to influence the rate of growth of aggregate demand, the money supply and ultimately price inflation. Monetarist economists believe that monetary policy is a more powerful weapon than fiscal policy in controlling inflation. Monetary policy also involves changes in the value of the exchange rate since fluctuations in the currency also impact on macroeconomic activity (incomes, output and prices). Basically, it is the process by which the government/ bank controls the supply of money, or trading in foreign exchange markets. Monetary policy is generally referred to as either being an expansionary policy, or a contractionary policy, where an expansionary policy increases the total supply of money in the economy, and a contractionary policy decreases the total money supply. Expansionary policy is traditionally used to combat unemployment in a recession by lowering interest rates, while contractionary policy has the goal of raising interest rates to combat inflation or calming an overheated economy. The government receives its’ money from many different areas, the graph on the next page shows exactly where from and how much: As from the chart we can see that the largest proportion of governments’ income is due to income tax that at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½157bn it is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½63bn more than the 2nd largest. Tax comes in many forms, as shown by the chart and when totaled up it is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½587bn, this breaks down to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9,650 for every man, woman and child in the UK per year. What is the money used for and spent on? Well the money that the government has gathered from its’ many different forms of tax is spent entirely on the public. The pie chart below clearly represents what these different sectors are and how much money is actually spent on them. As we can see social protection is predominantly the largest sector that government spending is allocated with a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½57bn lead on the second largest, health, at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½104bn. From this chart it can be easy to assume that the areas with the largest spending would be those that are the largest priorities. That can be accepted to a certain extent to where you look deeper within that and take into account that some sectors are larger than others and therefore require more money to keep them running, i.e. social protection. Now I shall look at the different sectors and analyze each one, looking at the government’s main aims and objectives and comparing whether the money they are spending on each one is reflecting that; for example if in public order and safety the government wanted to initiate huge crackdown on underage drinkers and vandalism then surely the money spent in that area would be increased dramatically. I shall compare what was spent on those sectors in the year 2006 and compare that with the budget released in 2007. Taking into account inflation, which from 2006 to 2007 was 3% I can work out whether spending, has increased by a lot, remained the same or dropped. To begin with I shall look at the area of social protection, which is the largest of all spending. Social protection consists of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing people’s exposure to risks, enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and interruption or loss of income. In 2006 the government spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½151bn on social protection whereas in 2007 they spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½161bn, which even after taking into account inflation this is still a dramatic increase. This could by due to the fact that unemployment has risen from 2006 – 2007 and with employment and training being an area of social protection, more money is being spent to try and bring the figures down again. The next sector that I shall look at is the environment. Protecting the environment is a major concern for today’s government; well it has been for many years but even more so now. As Britain’s industry continues to expand and destroy most of our beloved countryside and pollute our skies, pressure groups and environmentalists increase the strain on the government to protect and instigate new legislation to help reduce the effects of the unstoppable industry. In attempts to keep these groups happy the government invests more money every year to meet their demands. Examples of these include the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½800m environmental transformation fund and funding for cleaner ways to produce energy such as wind farms and nuclear power. There has been an increase of expenditure for housing and environment from 2006 – 2007 of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4bn, which concludes the fact that it is an ever-increasing issue. This research indicates that current government spending in the environment does directly reflect the fact that is a main priority. In the past 3 years it has shown that the government has increased it’s spending by around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4bn per annum on the environment. If compared with other sections of spending, the environment ranks lower in comparison with others, such as social protection. This could signify that the environment is not classed as such a high priority; although relating to my earlier point of stating that the some areas are larger and therefore require more money suggests that it is not less of a priority. However, it could also be due to the fact that the government believes that protection of the population and the healthcare too are more of a priority than preserving the environment. So it can be looked at in both ways. I myself believe that the government thinks the environment is less of a priority and therefore less money should be invested there. Healthcare in Britain is different to that in most other countries in the way that we have adopted a system called the National Health Service. The NHS is paid for through our taxes and so therefore offers healthcare for everyone in the UK and securing the provision of comprehensive, high quality care for all those who need it, regardless of their ability to pay or where they live or their age. The aims set out by the Department of Health are to: * Supporting activity at national level to protect, promote and improve the nation’s health; * Securing responsive social care and child protection for those who lack the support they need. The key objectives for pursuing these aims are to: * To reduce the incidence of avoidable illness, disease and injury in the population. * To treat people with illness, disease or injury quickly, effectively and on the basis of need alone. * To enable people, who are unable to perform essential activities of daily living, including those with chronic illness, disability or terminal illness, to live as full and normal lives as possible. * To maximise the social development of children within stable family settings. These aims and objectives are generic to most years of the NHS but as research and new technologies develop the spending must increase to match demands of the population. In 2002 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that by 2008 there would be the largest ever increase in health spending at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40bn. This is a huge enlargement of the budget spending and obviously shows that health is a main priority if the government is willing to increase it’s spending by this much. It has been released that every year there shall be an increase of around 4% on health spending. Although the government is injecting a large section of the budget into health care it is not dramatically increasing it every year and sacrificing other sector’s money to pour more into healthcare. The government is slowly increasing the amount spent in health and all the time, every year introducing new legislations and targets to make the NHS a more efficient and improved service for everyone within the UK. â€Å"We are determined to maintain our disciplined approach, determined not to make the old British mistakes of paying ourselves too much today at the cost of higher interest rates and fewer jobs tomorrow† – Gordon Brown This quote suggests that by not putting too much money into a single sector it reduces the chances of having an economic backlash in the future. I agree with this and believe that by making smaller steps and gradually increasing expenditure it improves the economy at a much greater scale in the long run and prevents unwanted repercussions that may damage the economy. By pushing more money into the sectors it could cause the desired effect to become counter-productive and hinder more than help. Some people believe that the budget is only increasing in the health sector by such amounts because the ongoing criticisms have driven the government to improve it’s image and please the people to keep the current party in power. Fostering high standards of education is the Government’s greatest responsibility. In England this responsibility lies with the Departments for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). About 93 per cent of children are educated in state-run primary and secondary schools; the remainder go to independent schools that rely on privately-paid tuition fees. Through these central government organisations, the provision of education in the UK includes monitoring and improving standards in schools, colleges and universities; ensuring that everyone – no matter what disability or special need they may have – is included and has access to high quality education; promoting work experience for young people and vocational training for employees; and encouraging lifelong learning. Through the British Council, the Government actively promotes education in the UK to countries all over the world. Other major organisations help to guide and make welcome some 275,000 overseas students who currently enjoy the advantages of living and studying in the UK. Before June 2007 schools were the responsibility of the former Department for Education and Skills. Education is gradually becoming increasingly more important within the UK as greater than ever numbers of young graduates roam the job market relegating others without degrees into a league of themselves. To employers education is the main thing they look at on CVs, dismissing experience and background for the simple number on the piece of paper. So education is a main priority for the government to try and make Britain’s children as well qualified as they can be, pushing the economy further up the ladder and improving things for all. So education for the government has became a huge priority and this can be shown by the recent announcement to raise the school minimum leaving age to 18; offering college courses and apprenticeships and also A-Levels to every child. Implementing this new legislation would obviously require a huge increase in the budget allocated for education, which would either mean another increased tax, which has happened for the past 11 years while Gordon Brown had been Chancellor, or sacrificing other areas of spending to improve education. Making these decisions requires undoubtedly many months of thinking and consultation before arriving at a suitable judgment. In the 2007 budget report, the government announced that investment in education and skills would rise to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½90bn by 2010/2011. In a clearer spectrum, there is a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4bn increase from 2006 to 2007 then a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5bn increase from 2007 to 2008 and therefore proves that the government is gradually increasing the percentage increase spent on education annually. In evaluation it can be said that although there isn’t a dramatic increase in the spending on the education sector, there are other factors that affect the efficiency of it too. For example money may not be being spent efficiently in the employment and the social protection areas, which are having a direct effect on the education, this can easily be mistaken as problems within the education spending rather than stepping back and realising that it could be issues somewhere else. Increasing the funding in education and training programs could significantly reduce unemployment levels (a major concern for the government) and increase the productivity per worker. In the UK the productivity per worker is substantially lower than other countries such as the US and Germany by as far as 30% in 2002. I believe that education is a major priority for the current government as competition from other countries towers above Britain and with the productivity per worker as low as it is, surely suggests that something within the education sector must be improved to raise our working standards. As the investment in education carries on rising at such rates it must be taken for granted it is becoming an even greater priority, especially with other countries almost mocking us with their efficiency. In 2007 we missed 24 of our 57 targets set by the government in education which raised awareness of the problem widely and brought it to the forefront of priorities. I believe in Britain we need better qualifications to lower unemployment and bring our workforce into the productivity ranges we need to compete with other countries or otherwise our place in the world’s economy will gradually being to fall. In comparison with previous years spending the 2007 budget does not seem to have any major, out of place differences with previous years and generally it appears every sector has just risen with the same annual percentage. However it is within these sectors where the money expenditure has changed. Implementing new legislations and programs, eliminating ineffective ideas and changing the dynamics of how each area is run is where the change in money being spent has taken place. This is a pie chart to represent the budget was spent in 2006: In 2007: In conclusion the amount spent on each sector does reflect the amount to which it is a priority but many other factors must be taken into account when judging that. Some areas such as social protection are such a far larger sector than that of industry, agriculture, employment and training and therefore will ultimately require more money to keep it running smoothly and keep the economic balance. Other areas may be of greater importance and priority such as education, but by spending ridiculous amounts of money on it will be counter-productive and cause many long term problems so despite the fact it is more of a priority, by spending less money on it does not reflect that. By reviewing past years budgets and comparing them with more recent ones it is possible to find where greater amounts of spending has occurred and what sectors are gradually having a greater percentage increase in their spending annually. Another reason why spending doesn’t reflect current government priorities is because although spending may not increase that much, time and effort to reorganise and implement new legislation to improve an area could equally suggest that it is a priority but money would not solve it, just improving the efficiency would. Sometimes spending money on one area will directly affect another positively anyway such as improving education will also improve employment and training. As a general rule the government’s role is to keep inflation low, keep unemployment low, balance in international trade and maintain a flourishing and prospering economy. The government has been investing large amounts of money into training schemes and other projects that have ultimately led to the unemployment rate falling to 5.2% in February 2008. The claimant count was 793,500 in February 2008, down 2,800 over the previous month and down 126,500 over the year. This is the lowest figure since June 1975. The claimant count has now fallen for 17 consecutive months. This shows that the investments into training and education has led to the fall in unemployment which proves my theory that spending in other sectors subsequently helps others. One could just quite plainly say that the government spending does not reflect current government priorities or otherwise if it did then there would be a perfect economy because the money spent would be used to it’s full potential in exactly the right places, doing exactly the right thing; lowering unemployment, improving healthcare, lowering inflation etc. I believe that the difference in the previous budget and the current one describes the extent to which the budget reflects current government priorities better than the looking at the budget itself as the current priorities will determine how much spending will increase in each sector and those with the larger increases (after taking into account inflation) show that they are more of a priority than those with little or no increase. Generally, the government invests the money into areas which is sees to be crucial for the future, so dependent on the priorities, the budget is spent taking into account these and areas of needed development; so if it isn’t spent directly reflecting government priorities, it has taken these into account and spent it most wisely considering areas that need improvement but are not always priorities. Bibliography http://tutor2u.net/economics/content/topics/fiscalpolicy/public_spending.htm http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/economy/policy/tools/government/ http://tutor2u.net/economics/content/topics/fiscalpolicy/public_spending.htm http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/economy/policy/tools/government/gexpex.htm http://budget2007.treasury.gov.uk/page_09.htm http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_07/bud_bud07_index.cfm http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spending_review/spend_index.cfm http://budget2006.treasury.gov.uk/page_09.html http://www.adb.org/SocialProtection/default.asp http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/Documents/UK_Economy/Fiscal_Policy/ukecon_fisc_policy99.cfm http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780198776222/carlin_chap05.pdf http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm http://www.ntd.co.uk/idsbookshop/details.asp?id=844 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/ http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/bank/business/external/policy/expl.htm http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page7489.asp

Cashing in on Local Copywriting Gigs

Cashing in on Local Copywriting Gigs When I began freelancing over a decade ago, I greatly enjoyed the challenge of pitching and achieving payment for writing magazine articles. But since the assignments weren’t easy to come My first step was to learn about search engine optimization (SEO) so I could attract clients to my website. That meant creating pages on my site for keyword combinations like â€Å"Sacramento copywriter† and â€Å"Sacramento freelance writer.† I also targeted a wider area with pages for â€Å"Silicon Valley copywriter† and â€Å"California freelance writer.† I decided that I would specialize in electronic newsletters, which included writing, creating, and managing them with Constant Contact. I planned to target my favorite local day spa as my first potential client, but I couldn’t find an email address for the owner (and I was too chicken to pick up the phone). So, I typed up a letter letting him know I was a long-time customer of the spa, as well as a local copywriter and marketing expert. I said that he was missing out on business opportunities I wrote and managed his electronic newsletter for $1,100 per month- a contract that went on for several years. And that client referred me to several other day spas near While my newsletter business grew, I joined several local networking groups, including two women’s business groups and the Sacramento chapter of Business Networking International (BNI). Referral groups like BNI and LeTip International conduct weekly meetings where local business owners share details about the services they offer. Among the many real estate agents, insurance brokers, and life coaches, I stood out as one of the only copywriters in the area- at least the only one who was showing up to those events. At one of the meetings, I met a website designer. He said his greatest challenge was getting his clients to write the copy for their web pages, which caused his projects to slow to a grinding halt. â€Å"If you can write the web page copy for them, you’ll make my life so much easier.† I agreed, and he referred three clients to me that first week. I charged around $200 per page, with a five-page minimum. The pages usually included Home, About, and several services pages. I taught clients that listing their services on individual pages with focused keyword combinations was good for their SEO. This allowed me to bring additional value to their businesses while also expanding the scope of my projects. I would usually meet with the clients in person or It wasn’t long before I began attracting clients outside of the area, thanks to the SEO I’d applied to my website. Several Silicon Valley companies hired me for various copywriting projects. One company actually hired me to write a unique greeting for the company holiday card. Just two lines of text, billed at my minimum project rate ($500)! My copywriting business grew so quickly that If you’re hungry for new ways to boost your writing business revenue, consider getting out in your local community. There are more business networking events than ever before. Aside from those I’ve already mentioned, check out your chambers of commerce, service groups like Rotary, and groups organized on Meetup.com. With a little effort and a dash of luck, your business could grow quickly, too.

Definition of Compound Sentences and How to Use Them

Definition of Compound Sentences and How to Use Them In a writers toolkit, few things are more versatile than a compound sentence. By definition, these sentences are more complex than a simple sentence because they contain two or more  independent clauses. They are what gives an essay detail and depth, making your writing come alive in the readers mind. Definition In English grammar, a compound sentence can be thought of as two (or more) simple sentences joined by a conjunction or an appropriate mark of punctuation.  It is one of the four basic sentence structures. The others are the  simple sentence, the  complex sentence, and the  compound-complex sentence. Regardless of how you structure a compound sentence, it signals to the reader that you are discussing two equally important ideas. There are three primary ways of doing so. Coordinating Conjunctions A coordinating conjunction indicates a relationship between the two independent clauses, whether contrasting or complementary. It is by far the most common means of joining clauses to create a compound sentence. Example: Laverne served the main course, and Shirley poured the wine. Spotting a coordinating conjunction is fairly easy because there are only seven to remember: and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet. Semicolons A semicolon creates an abrupt transition between the clauses, usually for sharp emphasis or contrast. Example: Laverne served the main course; Shirley poured the wine. Because semicolons create such an abrupt transition, use them sparingly. But you can write a perfectly good essay and not need a single semicolon. Colons In more formal written instances, a colon may be employed to show a direct, hierarchical relationship between clauses.   Example: Laverne served the main course: It was time for Shirley to pour the wine. Using a colon in a compound sentence is rare in everyday English grammar; youre most likely to encounter its use in complex technical writing. Simple vs. Compound Sentences In some occasions you may be unsure of whether the sentence youre reading is simple or compound. An easy way to find out is to try dividing the sentence into two simple sentences. If the result makes sense, then youve got a compound sentence. Simple: I was late for the bus. The driver had already passed my stop. Compound: I was late for the bus, but the driver had already passed my stop. If the result does not make sense, however, you have a different kind of sentence.  These may be simple sentences, with no  subordinate clauses  or they may contain subordinate clauses: Simple: When I left the house, I was running late. Compound: I left the house; I was running late. Another way to determine whether a sentence is simple or compound is to look for  verb phrases  or  predicate  phrases: Simple: Running late, I decided to take the bus. Compound: I was running late but I decided to take the bus. Lastly, bear in mind that while compound sentences are great for varietys sake, you shouldnt rely on them alone in an essay. Complex sentences, which contain multiple dependent clauses, can express detailed processes, while simple sentences can be used for emphasis or brevity.

Master thesis review Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Master thesis review - Article Example Looking at this understanding, the topic was perfect. Two major studies conducted in year 1992 and 2001 shows that the western-European parties, including Norwegian parties, lost members and continue doing so. This proves the phenomenal growth of the Norwegian Progress Party, Fremskrittspartiet, is an exception and hence worth studying. The thesis is strongly supported by proper utilization of extensive literature review, data and qualitative method. The thesis, ‘Explaining membership growth in the Norwegian Progress Party from 1973 to 2008,’ is a case study (Mjelde 2008, p.1). Case study can be defined as â€Å"a detailed examination of an aspect of a historical episode to develop or test historical explanations that may be generalized to other events†(George & Baskette 2005, p.4). The selection of case study as a methodology proved to be advantageous in many ways. The intention of the author was to study the membership growth of the Progress Party in its breadth and depth (Mjelde 2008, p.6). Hence, the choice of case study as a method for this topic was appropriate. The two important strengths of the case study method are: 1. Conceptual Validity, 2. Deriving new hypothesis (George & Baskette 2005, pp.19-22). The choice of case study method helped the author due to its strengths in following ways: Case study allows the researcher to study the validity of the concept at high level(George & Baskette 2005, p. 19). The study of the membership growth in the Norwegian Progress Party was a difficult study as it demanded the researcher to study the growth in presence of different contexts. To study the theoretical concept in depth, it is important to identify and measure the factors that

Religious Practices and Ideas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious Practices and Ideas - Essay Example First, for intrinsic concerns. This is to appreciate how particular religious expressions can reinforce their own historical, social settings. The second reason is to consider how it may also encounter our own understandings of the day to day world (Brown et al. 73). The Roman Catholic Church and the reality of Catholicism, for instance, remain a massive and appreciated presence into the third millennium of history. Some of the questions that everyone might be asking him/herself are what are the backgrounds of the Catholic Church? How has it changed diverse cultural influences over the years? In religious events, the Catholic Church is known to speak in one voice. With that as an example than in our case introducing religious studies in our schools would play a good role in strengthening relationships in different nations (OCollins et al. 84). First, for instance, in his book Henrietta Harrison explores the modern background of a single Catholic Cave Gully town in Shanxi by intertwin ing some of the most important memories and tales of its inhabitants together. Harrison challenges are leading global antiquities of Christianity. In dissimilarity to storylines that tell a story of a Christian religion that was foreign to Chinese settings and acculturated or adapted in order to reimburse for this incommensurability; instead, he shows the important harmonies between Chinese and Christianity religious cultures (Harrison 27). Secondly, an introduction of religions i.e.  Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism in the schools would allow interaction  and be borrowing different practices of different cultures. For a broader view of hopes and aspirations of the Chinese people, it is acknowledged that China has borrowed generously from other neighboring cultures (Hodous 44).