Civil liberties during war-time Essay Example for Free

Civil liberties during war-time EssayCivil Liberties are for example freedom of speech and freedom of the press as defined by the first amendment. These freedoms gather in been challenged by the threat of war, but should they be taken away be seduce of it?The first amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free enjoyment thereof or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. These are our civil liberties that we are promised as citizens of the U.S.In the past these liberties have been interfered with. The main cause for this interference was war. The government wanted to abolish any chances of treason or leaking of selective information to the enemies and to do this they passed act such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien and Sedition Acts made it illegal to write, print, speak, or publish anything false or pretended about to United States.We asshole understand how certain precautions must be made to insure safe and soundty in times of war but to go so far as to take away our freedoms are out of bounds. There are numerous other ways to make us safe without interfering with our liberties. For example tighter security. After 9/11 security became very tight at airports and other areas where terrorists might be able to enter the country. Although this scanty security was tedious and time consuming to get through, it was well within the lines of the 1st amendment because it did not take away any of our freedoms.I do not believe that our civil liberties should be taken away during wartime. This is a democracy and should remain one whether engaged in war or not. The government can think of more ways to protect us other than limiting our freedoms of speech or of the press, and certainly without interfering with our privacy unless there is just cause to do so.

HPLC Analysis of Caffeine Essay Example for Free

HPLC Analysis of Caffeine EssayThe main objective of this lab is to gain experience in using and reading results from the HPLC machine. 2) The inaugural step is to inject a series of caffeine standards into the machine in order to get results/values of peak height and bea. 3) The next step is to check the effects of a series of HPLC parameters on Retention time, peak height and peak area. 4) To use above data from peak height and area to bring about two standard curves vs concentration. Introduction Caffeine is a common organic molecule found in many beverages such as c pipee, tea, and cola.It is a foreplay to the central nervous system. Which is why the majority of the population use it in one form or another to help stay alert. In world-wide people drink caffeinated drinks like the ones mentioned above in order to obtain their fix. However with many recent studies in the area caffeine tablets are becoming a very popular way for athletes in lots of different sports to sta y alert even when fatigue is setting in. HPLC stands for High cognitive process Liquid Chromatography but is also referred to as High Pressure Liquid Chromatography.It is used for separating mixtures either to analyse the mixture or to separate a inevitable product from others in a reaction mixture. It can also be used to find the relative amounts of different components in a mixture. HPLC works along the same lines as paper chromatography. In paper chromatography a liquid (mobile phase) moves past a solid ( nonmoving phase). In paper chromatography the stationary phase consists of water system molecules bound to the cellulose in the paper, the mobile phase carries different components of the mixture along with it.How fast each one moves depends on its relative affinity for the mobile and stationary phases. In HPLC the stationary phase is a solid packed into a column and the liquid is forced through the column by high impel pumps. The pumps force the mixed solvents through the c olumn the solvent emerging from the column carries the separated components of the mixture and is passed into the demodulator where a beam of ultraviolet light shines through it. There are many different types of detector depending on what you areanalysing. This light is at a wavelength that is absorbed by all the components to be separated. When the detector reading drops the component that is absorbing the UV light is coming out of the column and passing through the detector. The time it takes for each component to come off the column is called its retention time and can be used to help identify it. The more polar component comes off the column first followed by the less polar. Materials As per laboratory manual.

Forming a regional trade agreement advantages and disadvantages

Forming a regional hatful engagement advantages and disadvantagesSince World tack Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, the number of its rank has enlarged to 153 countries by 2010. Recently, a phenomenon is observed. As countries pursue dole out liberalization under the multilateral standard of WTO, much(prenominal) and more regional economic integration are manoeuvreed. Many segments in WTO sign new regional trading Arrangements (RTAs) to deepen each regional job reply. Because positions and demand for different patronage skip are often diverse to the regional member countries, the negotiations become more and more difficult. Consequently, the trend of bilateral and multilateral free make do covenant rises piecemeal. Besides, collect to the bitter competition in the global market, countries also exert to obtain deal out partners. Countries prove thorough forming regional trade musical arrangements could be an easy right smart to enhance trade reaction wi th their close trade partners. According to RTA database offered by WTO (2010), 371 RTAs colligate to WTO fool been announced and 193 of them were in force by 31 July 2010Figure 1 shows the evolution of the average number of RTA partners for the current members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) the average WTO member now has agreements with more than 15 countries. Therefore, regional economic integration has become whiz of the main trends in the present global economic development. In recent years, the global economic system expands gradu exclusivelyy by the reaction betwixt the forces of regionalization and globalization. The following offer a general historical data of regional integrations.First, the trend of Regional Integration groundwork be traced back to the fifties. The 1950s saw European Communities (EC), the most conditional relationant and representative regional integration case, was established. Then in the 1960s, numerous regional integrations were conducte d by Africa, Latin America and early(a) developing countries. Continu all toldy, United State is considered to be the main thrust of regional economic cooperation during the mid 1980s and the1990s. During this period, except for lasting the free trade agreement with Canada and Israel, also United State promoted to arrange North American uncaring Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Meanwhile, In Europe, the target of elaboration and cross-regional cooperation are approached by European married couple (EU). On the side of the expansion, Greece, Spain and Portugal were subsumed in the 1980s and the steps were followed by Sweden, Finland and Austria during the 1990s. Then, in the 2000s, Czech Republic and other eleven countries also attended European Union and four more countries, for instance, Turkey, are candidate to join. A growth in membership in European Union is expected. On the other hand, the aspect of cross-regional economic integration is al so approached. To ensure the market share and position in America area, European Union urged to conduct free trade agreements with Mexico and MERCOSUR. As a result, the free trade agreement was announced with Mexico in 2000 and became the first free trade agreement conducted with Latin American Countries.Compared with Europe and America area, it is entirely reasonable to make the analogy in East Asia. One of the representative regional integrations in East Asia is ASEAN. ASEAN, namely standoff of South East Asian Nations, was established in 1967, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand five countries. The original motivation of ASEAN is to prevent the spread of communism and to advance the regional trade reaction and cooperation. Since its establishment, there has been 40 year of its history. On 8 Jan 1984, the membership increased to six with the join of Brunei, and these six countries are called the founding members of ASEAN. Then they were followed by Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia in the 1990s so that current membership expands to 10 countries. The communism prevailed when the time ASEAN was formed. As a consequence, the political purpose was more than economic one in that period so there was no free trade agreement until 1992 the founding members signed ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). A gradually responsibility reduction in member countries, which is called Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT), was planed to be achieved before 2008. As in 1999 the thirteenth meeting of the ASEAN Free Trade Area decided CEPT should be achieved earlier and decided non- responsibility among members instead of the initial target. Then AFTA was in force with the founding countries of ASEAN in 2003 and non- obligation in all members was planed to be reached by 2015.Above is the development of ASEAN free trade agreement. Next, a difficult position of mainland China exit be introduced. Asian financial Crisis happened in 1997 and condu ced the willingness of East Asia countries to cooperate. Since 1999, those important trade partners of mainland China in Asia have committed to access the forming of free trade agreement. For example, Japan and Singapore signed Japan-Singapore in 2002 and in force in the uniform year. Also after AFTA was conducted, China, South Korea and Japan, three large economy countries in East Asia, had pursued to sign FTAs with ASEAN. In declination 1999, ASEAN announced to impose cooperation in their economic with China, Japan, and South Korea, which is called ASEAN+3. According to Picture I, it reveals the ASEAN+3 member countries on the world map the dark ink represents the members and, comparatively, chinaware is circled to be pointed out. An interesting discovery is found although macrocosmness a country located in East Asia, Taiwan is excluded from ASEAN+3. Due to some political problem, Taiwan has just signed 5 free trade agreements with other countries and none of them are Asia co untries. Table 1 see the export trade amount of Taiwan with ASEAN+3 countries. The export amount occupied 66% of total Taiwan export so that if ASEAN+3 non-duty target is achieved (in fact ASEAN and China free trade agreement has progressed on 1 Jan 2010), Taiwan would face a difficult trade position. Therefore, to avoid being isolated away by other trade partners and to deepen the cooperation with them, accessing advantages and disadvantages of forming a regional trade agreement become necessary.To analyze those advantages and disadvantages of forming a RTA, an understanding in regional trade agreements is important. Also, to know whether any furbish up exist to forming a RTA, a good way is to review the international trade criteria given by GATT and WTO. Hence, in the discussion, a two-phase study was designed to look the advantages and disadvantages of forming regional trade agreements. First of all, there are three branches in the former phase. In the first branch, to realize what regional trade agreement is, the penning examines the theories of regionalism and all types of regional economics integrations. It is worthy to understand regional trade agreement from its original intention and distinguish those differences. Second branch provides an overview of the organizations, which aim for change international trade. For example, a comparison between World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Europe Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be make to clarify their objectives of the establishment. We will see a conflict between the globalization and the regionalization. Last branch reveals two forces which against each others, namely trade creation and trade divergence. These two forces determine the gain or loss of a regional economic integration. In the second part of the study, an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages will be offered, found on the knowledge provided in the first part of the studie s.The remainder of this paper is divided into four sections. The next section of the article is a review of the lit addressing both empirical and theoretical aspects of regionalism, worldwide trade organizations, trade creation and trade merriment. Section III describes the development of regionalism and provides empirical economic integration to deport that. Using the background provided in the section III, section IV analyses the advantages and disadvantages of forming regional trade agreement. In the end of the paper, section V concludes.Trade Creation and Trade DiversionTrade economists have being going the effort on whether the governing body of a regional trade agreement will bunk member countries to be better off. A super C concept to analyze gain or loss of a RTA was given by Viner. In his crucial work, The custom Union Issue, two forces, which decide whether a RTA better off the member countries, were well indicated, namely trade creation and trade excursus. Viner t ell that preferential agreement member countries would have lower tax barrier than non-members due to the preferential tariff and whence trade creation ready and trade diversion resolution are produced. Trade creation effect is generated because the bloc members increased each others intra-bloc import and export when a preferential tariff reduction or remotion is induced, and consequently bilateral trade amount increases. In addition, the low-efficiency production in national provider would be replaced by high-efficiency providers in other bloc countries so that home countries can consume this product with lower companionable cost. In contract, Trade diversion efficiency be happened when a preferential treat is offered in member countries. Originally home country imports products form those high-production efficiency countries however, due to the preferential tariff home town might import products from those low-production efficiency countries so that the social cost to cons ume this product rise and decrease domestic social welfare.Trade creation is a positive effect to domestic social welfare and trade diversion is negative. If trade creation effect is greater than trade diversion effect, home social welfare increase. Conversely, it would be harmful if trade diversion is greater. In The Customs Union Issue, Viner made a crucial conclusion that the organic law of usance union has no certain welfare effect to members welfare due to these two trade forces. Accordingly, economists doubt whether we can prevent trade diversion as forming an RTA.Ohyama , Kemp and Wan proved customs union improve the welfare of members as given a fixed trade amount between members and non-members. On the contrast, if a change in nonmember trade amount would lead an uncertain welfare effect.Even Kemp and Wan theoretically showed that members improve their welfare completely in the fixed trade amount with outsider, that sounds once given an inactive treat to outsider, the wo rld must be better off. It implies through a negotiated best tariff we can create economic benefit and prevent being hurt from trade diversion however, many empirical observations reveal that countries unremarkably choose the trade policies which results trade diversion when they forming a RTA, namely RTAs benefit members and worse off nonmembers. The implication is Kemp-Wan result might not be the trade equilibrium.In fact, there exist other factors influencing the trade outcome of RTAs. The formation of an RTA related to political, economic and regional factors, the international tariff might be influenced not plainly economically but also politically. For example, lobbying might cause a optical aberration in government optimal immaterial tariff adjustment. Thus, as we analyze the trade effect we better to account those factors in. In these few decades, economists focus on these two trade effects in RTAs and question whether RTAs generate more trade diversion or trade creat ion.Is RTA more trade diverting?Freund and Ornelas noted in principle RTAs can generate either net trade creation or net trade diversion, we must remember that participation in any RTA is a political decision. Thus only some types of agreements will be formed, depending on the objectives of governments. Except for the intension to maximize the social welfare, the decision whether to repel RTAs might be influenced by specific-interest groups. Some literatures indicate domestic political factor might be a better way to explain FTA phenomenon. Grossman and Helpman reckoned domestic powerful specific-interest group usually lobby their government with huge money and resources to conduct RTAs which advantage them. Milner offered a similar viewpoint as well. He considered those export-oriented companies usually push government to enter a preferential trade agreement (PTA) to enlarge the bloc market which disadvantage outside companies. The powerful domestic companies have influences to th e government election outcome so that the relationship between lobbying and election outcome is another factor to be taken to examine the influence on RTAs. Above sounds RTA generates more trade diversion due to non-trade effects, but it still needs evidencesEmpirics of trade creation and trade diversionUnfortunately, the estimation of trade diversion is not an easy work. As above mentioned, the estimation has to account into both trade and non-trade factors which influence RTA outcome, therefore, a gravity comparison is used to help this issue. The equation provides a theoretical way to examine whether a RTA generates more trade creation or trade diversion.The concept of natural trading partners were first proposed by Wonnacott and Lutz . They pointed that the agreements, which are conducted with those geographically close countries and similar culture countries, are likely to attain more trade creation. Tinbergen and Poyhonen successively used gravity model in international trade analysis and used it to research world trade flow and size of it. Tinbergen hence pointed bilateral trade flow and bilateral economic size have a positive relationship and have a oppose relationship with their geographical distance.Frankel applied gravity model to examine the natural trade partner hypothesis. He analyses the trade flow effect in different regional integrations by using different dummy variables like culture, whether they have common border or same languages etc. He reckoned gravity model is the best instrument to judge trade creation effect and trade diversion effect. Frankel used the data between 1965 and 1992 to examine the regional effect. When two countries belong to the same regional integration, then regional dummy effect is 1 therefore 0. The estimated correlation coefficient represents how many trade flows can be attributed to specific regional trade effect. The empirical result revealed the correlation coefficient in each variable was all significant. He found two-country GNP coefficient is less than 1. That means trade amount will not rise proportionally when the economic size of both countries increase 1. Also the distance coefficient is negative, that represents the trade decrease with an increase in distance. The distance result is similar to the result of Tinbergen. Frankel also found the same language and the same border has a positive influence to trade flow. For each regional variable, the outcome shows the regional trade effect is significant in Europe Union, MERCOSUR, Australia-New Zealand impendent Economic Relationship, and Andean Group, yet not significant in NAFTA. Frankel provided evidence for natural trade partners hypothesis by using gravity equation.Clausing used HS-10 bod import data of United State to access CUSFTA. She found due to the agreement signed in 1994 the import of the US from Canada had increased 26 percentage. the import from Canada increased half amount since 1989 to 1994 and Clausing attributed it to tariff reduction decision in CUSFTA. She found that trade creation are more general than trade diversion in most of cases. Furthermore, RTAs increase bilateral trade between members . Their research points there is no significant trade reduction between members and non-members be found. early(a) studies also examined the impact of regional integration to trade effect. For Europe Union, Kreinin pointed the establishment and east-expansion of EU would cause little trade diversion and huge trade creation.A distinct evidence was provided by Chang and Winer . They found the formation of MERCOSUR do hurt non-members but as Calvo-Pardo et al. pointed, MERCOSUR is a customs union (CU), which is different from CUSTA, NAFTA those FTAs.According to the literatures above, we found in most cases RTAs except MERCOSUR are likely to trade creating more than trade diverting. As well, if countries, which are natural partners, sign an RTA, it would benefit them. That is because the similar cultur e, for example, language, may reduce transaction cost. Consequently, the trade creation effect has more opportunity to be greater than trade diversion. That gives the incentive of government to negotiate an RTA with their close countries. version in External TariffsAnother issue trade economist cared is optimal external tariffs after forming a RTA. The original Vinerian assessments of trade creation and trade diversion are normally constraint to the policies fixed. However, there is at least a trade policy those RTA members would use external tariff policy. Kennan and Riezman (1990) were the first to examine the optimal external tariffs after RTA was formed and they found the formations of RTAs are usually with external tariff reduction. Also, the same result was in several literatures. To avoid the welfare cost of trade diversion, optimal external tariffs seem to be lower in RTAs. Kennan and Riezman pointed there is coordination of common external tariff under CU. Unlike CU, FTA m embers have position to set their external tariff unilaterally. Kennan and Riezman use this key different chrematistic between CU and FTA to see the external tariff adjustment outcome after the formation of RTAs.Another issue we will discuss in this section is the influence of lobbying to the formation of a RTA. In section II we reviewed those structural characteristics, which lead to more trade creation or trade diversion, of RTA members. Intuitively, bloc countries are willing to attain more trade creation and to reduce more trade diversion so that they can achieve the objective of social welfare maximizing, yet as mentioned in Section II the formation of RTAs are not only economically, more important, also politically. There are some incentives bloc countries hold to adjust their specific product external tariff rate so that they can achieve their objectives (no matter what that is). Thus, this section will introduce those incentives that members are likely to alter their extern al tariff and the reaction to members external tariff under the formation of RTAs, which is what we concerned. That will help us to figure out whether the political force would lead distortion among the RTA formation.Incentives to alter external tariffs in RTAs with empiricsThe incentives to alter external tariffs in RTAs can be clarified generally in three main parts the incentive due to CU, due to FTA and due to domestic producer influence. We will discuss them in the following content. The external tariff policy adjustment might be influenced by different types of RTAs. In CU their external tariff are coordinated by all members, on contrast, FTA members have more authorities on their own external tariff. Thus, the motivation in different types of RTAs might be different.Firstly, we examine the incentive to alter external tariff rate of CU members. According to Kenan and Riezman , the equilibrium external tariffs are also observed being higher than FTAs. They concluded two points. One is a custom union allows its members to internalize their tariff externality when bloc members import the same product. Another, a customs union makes several countries into one larger one and enlarges their market power. Similarly, the analysis of Bond, et al. also clarified the external tariff in an FTA would be lower in a CU due to the lack of external tariff coordination.Preferential margin is the differences between external tariff and preferential tariff rate. Higher external tariff leads to higher preferential margin. Also, the higher the preferential margin is, the larger the discrimination and trade diversion effect are. Therefore, inter-bloc countries benefit more from the CU agreement due to the discrimination effect.As what Kennan and Riezman found, Richardson indicated there is an intention of external tariffs to be reduced under FTA. The phenomenon is called the tariff complementary effect. Relative to customs union, there is neither large market power nor externa l tariff coordination effect under FTAs. Even so, motivations to alter external policies still exist. A simple way to work out is that trade creation is created due to the preferential tariff among the FTA members and trade diversion is generated simultaneously. An effective trade policy against trade diversion that government holds is external tariff policies. Hence, if a preferential trade agreement comes with a reduction of external tariff, it would enhance both the total welfare in the world and reduce a hurting on non-members. However, an issue is whether the external tariff should be removed under a FTA. Bond, et al. reckoned the implication of the lack of external policy coordination is that the optimal external tariff for an FTA should be positive. Logically, a principle is that external tariff for outsider should no less than preferential tariff for insider so that the agreement would not be meaningless.As what have mentioned in Chapter 2, there are some non-trade factors also affect the trade effects. The one which is broadly discussed is the effect of lobbying to external tariff in a RTA. When political motivations are concluded in, the net trade effect will become ambiguous.Empirics of external tariff adjustment in RTAsWith protection, are RTAs more trade diverting?The impact of regionalism on multilateralismKyle and Robert examined whether exceptions from MFN for the purpose of forming preferential agreements can lead to lower external tariffs, and thereby to a more efficient tariff structure unter the multilateral agreement.imply that the formation of the FTA benefits ROW.These findings differ from those that arise under a CU where typically there is asmaller external tariff reduction (or even an increase). This occurs because CUmembers jointly choose the external tariff to maximize union welfare, thus internalizing the positive tariff externality that exists whenever two countries import the same good from ROW. With the objective function that we consider, a CU will always be preferred to an FTA for symmetric member countries because of its more favorable market power effects25. Thus, while this model does not provide a positive theory of FTA formation, it does point out how international distributional effects differ between FTAs and CUs. It also suggests that, in the short run, FTAs are more appealing from a world welfare perspective because they imply relatively less aggressive tariff setting for their members.

Examining The Usages Of E Payment Systems Information Technology Essay

Examining The Usages Of E honorarium Systems Information Technology EssayIn this literature review, we volition describe several aspects of e- remuneration transcription. The literature review will pop off by the definitions followed by theories. Next, it would continue by some dimensions of e- honorarium body which imply the types and drills of e- holdment schema, subprogrames, usage trends, benefits and risks and management of e- fee system. Fin all toldy, the literature review will conclude by the conclusion.2.0 explanationFrom online encyclopedia TriasWiki (2010), e- salary or Electronic allowance is any digital financial payment transaction involving currency transfer between two or more parties.Velmurgan,R.J. and Senthil,M. (2008) defined that an electronic payment is a payment operate that utilize discipline and communications technologies including amalgamated circuit (IC) card, cryptography, and telecommunications earningss. From the Velmurgan,R.J. and Se nthil,M. (2008), the electronic payment consists of practice sessionrs who keister in turn be subdivided into retailers and consumers depending on the transaction model adopted, issuers which included b fixs and otherwise financial institutions that atomic number 18 providing the actual mechanisms or the center to integrate the mechanism into other financial systems, and regulators who atomic number 18 concerned with issues ranging from assuring the integrity of the mechanism and its operators, to the potential impact on the wider economy.According to Nochex.com (2010), e-payment is defined as an electronic payment is a payment services that utilize information and communications technologies including integrated circuit (IC) card, cryptography, and telecommunications networks.Based on Hartmann,M.E. (2006), in principle, e-payments may be defined as all payments that are initiated, exhibited and received electronically. One passel distinguish between e-commerce retail pay ments ( caper-to-consumer or B2C payments) and e-payments amongst consumers (Private-to-Private or P2P payments), as well as electronic adoptions of traditionalistic banking services (electronic transactions between a bank and its customers. For example, e-payments included paying for an article with a click of your mouse settling an auction purchase via your netmail flier buying an electronic ticket using your vigorous phone.Acoording to Odlyzko (2003), e-payment is a subset of an e-commerce transaction to include electronic payment for buying and selling goods or services offered through the lucre. Generally, electronic payments referred to online transactions on the internet.Nordea Bank Finland (2005) explained that e-payment is an electronic payment method in which a buyer selects purchases and pays them within a single profits session. The payment can be transferred to the seller immediately or on a later date.3.0 TheoriesAccording to Basir,A.A. (2009), the e-payment us age among the consumers and its usage trends show the acceptance aim of the e-payment system. The augments in the non- immediate payment retail transactions reflect the increases acceptance of e-payment system among consumers in Malaysia. Thus, from the Basir,A.A. (2009), it shows the relationship between the usage among consumers and acceptance level of the e-payment systems. The usage and the acceptance level of e-payment systems have a linear relationship, which means that when the usage of e-payments among consumers increase, the acceptance level of e-payment systems will likewise increase. In other words, the eminenter(prenominal) the usage of e-payment system among consumers, the higher the acceptance level of e-payment systems among consumers.4.0 ContentsBasir,A.A. (2009) stated that the payment systems in Malaysia have been undergoing changes in recent years. Among the non qualified changes is the emergence of electronic-based payment systems. Both value and playscript of transactions per capita use of e-payment instruments had increase in recent years. Next, we will start the literature review from the types and usages of e-payment systems.4.1 Types and usages of e-payment systemsThere have appeared different types of electronic payment system in the last few years. At least dozens of electronic payment systems proposed or already in practice are found (Murthy, 2002). Murthy (2002) explained sixsome types of electronic payment systems PC-Banking, credit tease, electronic cheques (i-cheques), micro payment, smart separate and E-Cash. Maurer,B (2007) identified 4 types of electronic payment systems debit and credit card, interne-based payments, winding payments, mobile wallet, e-purses and payment through a third party. Thus, electronic payment system can be broadly classified into 5 typesOnline mention Card Payment SystemSingh Sumanjeet (2009) stated that this type of electronic payment system has been widely accepted by people in the world, and it is the most popular method of e-payment curiously in the retail markets. This type of system is widely accepted by familiar, because it offers convenience for some(prenominal)(prenominal) the customer and the seller. This form of payment system has several advantages, which were neer addressable through the traditional payment systems. Some of the most essential elements are privacy, integrity, compatibility, good transaction efficiency, acceptability, convenience, mobility, low financial risk and anonymity (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). The process of online credit card payment system is very simple. If consumers want to purchase a product or service, they can send their credit card inside information to the service provider involved then they will handle this payment like any other (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009).Electronic Cheque Payment SystemNowadays, millions of businesses use electronic cheque payment system, which replace the traditional melodic theme cheques with the other vendors, consumers and government (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). It functions using the same mechanisms as paper cheque, but in an electronic format. E-cheque transactions take place in the ship canal that the consumer writes the eCheque and gives the eCheque to the seller electronically. Then the seller deposits the eCheque, receives credit, and the sellers bank clears the eCheque to the paying bank. Finally, the paying bank validates the eCheque and then charges the check writers account for the cheque. E-cheque payment system offers numerous advantages like safe bank transactions on the Internet, unlimited information carrying capacity, tightend fraud risk, and automatic verification of gist and validity. But, this type of payment also has several disadvantages. These include their relatively high fixed costs, their limited use only in virtual world and the particular that they can protect the users anonymity (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). Therefore, it is non appropriate system for the use by consumers, although its useful for the government and B2B operations because the latter transactions do not require anonymity, and the amount of transactions is generally large enough to lead fixed processing cost.Electronic Cash Payment SystemElectronic funds (e-cash) is a new concept in electronic payment system because it combines computerized convenience with security and privacy that improve on paper cash (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). The first function of e-cash is to facilitate transactions on the Internet. Many of these transactions may be small in size and would not be cost effective through other payment mediums such as credit cards. While it appears superior to other forms, E-cash will not completely replace paper currency. practice of E-cash will require special hardware, and while most people will have access, but not all will. Singh Sumanjeet identified some advantages for this electronic payment system like authority, privacy, good acceptability, low transactio ns cost, convenience and good anonymity. However, e-cash also has some limitations like poor mobility, poor transaction efficiency and high financial risk, as people are solely responsible for the lost or stolen (2009).Smart CardsA smart card is similar to a magnetized stripe card but contains a microprocessor break. The first smart cards that created were prepaid telephone cards. Owing to their considerable flexibility, they have moved on for a wide range of functions like highway toll payment, student cards, electronic purses and also our identity cards MyKad. Smart cards are essentially credit card sized plastic cards with the memory chips in them so as to serve as storage devices for much greater information than credit cards (Singh Sumanjeet, 2009). With the emergence of e-commerce, smart cards had become a particularly appropriate method to execute online payment system and it has greater level of security than credit cards. Singh Sumanjeet also states that smart cards are better protected from misuse than credit cards because the smart card information is encrypted by enter a in-person identification repress (PIN) code (2009). The advantages of smart cards are almost same as electronic cash payment system, its included good anonymity, transfer payment between individual parties, and low transactional handling cost. Most of the developing countries rely more on smart cards based electronic payment system although credit card is the most popular in the world.Payment through a threesome PartyThird party payments are person to person transactions. This type of payment is very convenient as money can be transferred without disclose any personal or financial information. All transactions happen in real time so sellers can see payments reflected in their accounts at once. When a customer intends to pay through a third party, the third party will transfers money from the account of the buyer to the seller. All this is done for a certain fee.4.2 figure o utKannen,M., Leischner,M. and Stein,T. (2003) have examined the figure of process oriented phase model for electronic payment. There are 5 phases in this model which are initialization, deployment, negotiation, payment and stick out payment. Generally, the first 2 phases that initialization phase and deployment phase are only function once, whereas the rest of phases have to be repeated during to each one payment transaction.In initialization phase, customers and merchants involve in selection of payment methods, consider the contract agreement to obtain a credit card, and choosing payment scale for billing, or the dependency of a mail order agreement according to their requirements. This method makes the role players of the payment method in the legal sense. Before signing the contract, the participants have to consider the furnish of information for the various payment operations and as well as acquire individual consultation for the specialist.In order to make e-payment syst em operational, customers and merchants integrate the payment methods into their existing environment technically and organizationally in deployment phase. An e-payment system provider supply technical requirements, such as software or a smart card reader, assist the participants in the system configuration through a phone hotline or on site configuration, integrate various interfaces in the merchants present IT infrastructure with important payment data.During negotiation phase of an e-payment system, customers and merchants negotiate a precise payment transaction. They can negotiate the types of payment methods based on the payment amount, cash discount, payment date, part payment options such as deposit and outstanding payment after a fault little supply, the integration of grant systems, and the possibility of splitting the amount between various payees. This negotiation phase is relying on trustfulness between both parties, which lead to the successful of the transaction.The a ctual payment takes part in the payment phase. It undertakes the settlement of the payment according to the agreements in the negotiating phase. First, the participants need to authorize and confirm the payment transaction. After that, the payment data will transfer to particular payment participants such as the credit card company.The last phase in the e-payment process is post payment phase that an designate payment is processed and completed. The after payment services includes all services, which are necessary and preferable for the further settlement of payment transactions. As an e-payment provider, it needs to imprecate the clearing of the payment transaction, the recording of the payment transaction, which can be seen and tracked by the user, the currency reconciliation of the merchant, the clearing of the bookkeeping entry by the merchant, the corroboration of all transactions and the cancellation of consisting payment transactions by the user.Singh Sumanjeet (2009) exam ined that digital currency based payment system. The intermediary in this figure plays the role as an electronic bank. It converts outside money (RM) into inside money (e cash), which is circulated within electronic markets. Intermediary acts as a centralized commerce enabler maintaining membership and payment information for both sellers and buyers. A buyer need only send the seller his identification number assigned by the intermediary.Trust and security are important in every stages of e-payment process. As an initial prerequisite, all participants should have absolute trust in the process. This fundamental attitude must be underlined during each payment process again and again. The trust is essential and important for the acceptance of electronic payment. The transaction security means that the mend and reliable payment in the handling of electronic media according to defined rules. Therefore, by implementing these two elements, the successful of e-payment process can be achiev ed.4.3 Usage trends of e-payment systemsGerdes,G.R. (2008) conducted surveys to estimate the number and value of electronic payments originated in the join State in 2006 by means of commonly used payment instruments. He sent the questionnaires to 73 well-established electronic payment networks, card issuers, and card processors. 89 percent of established entities had responded with information and he found that the number and value of payments processed by the non-respondents were likely very small. Thus, most of the established entities were having large number and value of electronic payments. Since the usage of electronic payments is high, the acceptance level of electronic payments by the established entities is also considered as high.Besides, Gerdes,G.R. was also sent the questionnaires to 33 acclivitous payments companies and the surveys were returned by 16 companies. He got the results of the reported totals for emerging payments are lower bounds for the national totals. I t means that the national in United States haven to the full accept the emerging payments such as the online bill payment transactions since the usage trends of emerging payments among them still low.Basir,A.A. (2009) examined the e-payment usage trends in Malaysia. According to Basir,A.A. (2009), the e-payment system has seen increase acceptance among consumers in Malaysia since the usage and the usage trends of e-payments change magnitude. He found that he volume of non-cash retail transactions per capita increased from 13.8 to 32.5 and the e-payments share of the total non-cash retain payments increased from 3% to 7% (from 2003 to 2007). There are several reasons caused the use of e-payment instruments increasing such as cost saving, safety and the confidence conferred from security measures of e-payment instruments. Thus, these benefits encourage more people to use the e-payment instruments and also encourage the acceptance level of e-payments by consumers.Based on the Basir,A .A. (2009), the major e-payment instrument in use in Malaysia are credit cards, internet banking and others. First, Basir,A.A. found that the usage trend of credit cards is high. Both the value and volume of transactions per capita have increased from RM1159 and 5.8 to RM2 047 and 8.7, respectively (from 2003 to 2007). Credit card is the oldest e-payment instrument in Malaysia and the consumer demand for credit made it has the high usage level. Thus, the acceptance level of credit cards relatively higher than other e-payment instruments.From the research of Basir, A.A. (2009), the usage trend of internet banking growth speedily. The value and volume of transactions per capita increased from RM403 and 0.3 to RM2,047 and 1.5 respectively (from 2003 to 2007). In addition, the use of internet banking among internet subscribers in Malaysia increased from 59% to 85% (from 2003 to 2007). Since there are increasing trend in use of internet banking, thus the acceptance level also increase a mong the consumers.Charge cards, e-money and debit cards are also included to the e-payment instruments. According to Basir,A.A. (2009), the value of transactions per capita for charge cards increased from RM74.9 to RM81.7 and RM22.4 to RM59.0 for e-money. The volume of transactions per capita for e-money increased from 7.6 to 22.3, but volume of transactions per capita for charge cards was flat. Furthermore, the value of transactions per capita for debit cards showed a significant increase from RM3.5 to RM42.9. However, the volume of transaction per capita remained static. Thus, the usage of these e-payment instruments showed increased, means that the usage trends are high. It showed that the acceptance level of consumers is also high. E-payments provided many benefits to consumers and it encourages them to use these e-payment instruments and caused the acceptance level increased.According to Wilson,U. (2009), electronic payments have grown rapidly in several forms. The usage of de bit cards has exploded for 27 percent of total non-cash payments in 2006. He also found that credit cards and ACH transactions have also grown dramatically. Thus, it reflected the consumers acceptance level towards e-payments systems have increasing.In a nutshell, the usage trends of e-payments are increasing among the consumers due to various benefits provided by the e-payments instruments. It also showed the acceptance level of e-payment systems has followed increasing since the usage and its usage trends of e-payment are increasing.4.4 Benefits of e-payment systemsWith the growth of the Internet, electronic payment has become a popular way for consumers to pay bills and manage their accounts in home. Consumers are eliminating the trouble that often comes with filing paperwork and mailing cheques, and these substitute by keeping their records online through secure networks. Electronic payments services not only increase efficiency of businesses, but also wider choices, save cost, subordinate late payments, consolidating bank relationship and provide a greener business solution to customers.Businesses and customers can choose from a range of payment instruments and channels such as credit cards, debit card, e-cash and e-cheque. The increase in the variety of electronic payment methods break the SMEs more choices from which to choose a channel or instrument that best suits that firms market size and the level of technological, capital and labor intensity (Basir,A.A. 2009). Electronic payments also allow businesses to send invoices electronically and accept payments through Internet. This is extremely helpful for businesses that send out invoices monthly and creating a more efficient billing cycle.Basir,A.A. states that the proof of electronic payments and other services by the government could reduce the cost of conducting business in Malaysia (2009). Besides that, eliminating paper billing altogether will reduces paper and mailing costs. The amount of savi ngs depends on each businesss daily routines such as receiving incoming cheques and making deposits (Wilson,U. 2009). On the other hand, e-payments services also reduce cost of the consumers. With the appearance of this service, consumers can cut down transportation costs for trips to the bank.Electronic payment services have the reminders and notifications function for customers to pay their bill. A business can set up weekly or monthly reminders to their customers and clients to remind them when a bill is due. By this function that provide by e-payment service can reducing the amount of late payments that the company receive. Online payments also allow for quicker transactions, eliminating the waiting period required for a mailed check to arrive.If an organization dust its companies in different location, then the banking relationship will be complicated. Geographically dispersed companies often establish a bank account at each location, because this can provide convenience for t heir daily banking routines (Wilson,U. 2009). But an additional cost will incurred for company to maintain accounts in all its locations. Electronic payment system can removes geographic boundaries. It then eliminates the extra cost of maintaining separate accounts at different locations.Last but not least, electronic payment services are providing a greener business solution. By sending and receiving bills online, customers and businesses alike are reducing the amount of paper tossed and doing their part to help save the environment.Risks and Risk ManagementsE-payment system is soon go on to develop and expand in the financial market of our country, but there are some risks existing as the e-payment expanding widely. A healthy outgrowth of the system will require the cooperation by different role that include central bank, bank and customer to manage the risk and challenges.E-payment system is currently continued to develop and expand in the financial market of our country. A he althy development of the system will require the cooperation by different role that include central bank, bank and customer to manage the risk and challenges.Basir, A.A. (2009) studied how substitution bank promote the development of e-payment schemes. After adopted liberalization policy, the central bank required migration to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa standard for credit cards as a crucial step to reduce fraud. Although this can curb the use of cloned domestic credit cards, however, it is less effective against credit card fraud arising from purchases made over the internet or by telephone (Bank Negara Malaysia 2007). On the other hand, central bank has issued a set of guidelines on managing fraud and risks on credit card operations to all banks. Generally, they are improving the policy and the implementation continuously in order to enhance public confidence towards the payment system.Fraud is also a risk faced by internet banking users. To mitigate it, the central bank issued guidelines that specify the minimum risk management requirements for all forms of electronic banking. In addition, government also established the Internet Banking Task Force, comprising the leading banking institutions, cyber security agency, polices and also Internet service provider company. Specific requirements were also issued to banks, such as the requirement to implement two-factor authentication for internet banking transactions. Recognizing that controls are needed to address risks facing the public from using e-money, the central bank is formulating a regulatory framework for the electronic money business. The central bank also extended its regulatory oversight to cover nonbank remittance operators as remittances that sent abroad by foreign workers in the Malaysia is correspondingly high.As part of its efforts to mitigate systemic risk in the payment system, MEPS conducts a disaster recovery exercise for three of its core service networks the shared ATM network, e-Debit, payment for goods or services through cashless methods such as credit cards or online purchases, and Interbank GIRO (IBG), a funds transfer payment system operated by MEPS that enables consumers to transfer funds through banks across Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia 2007). The get laid disaster recovery exercise is to serves to familiarize the MEPS disaster recovery team, financial institutions and related service providers with the disaster recovery process. Various measures has been taken by Central Bank to make sure that the system can be maintained in a standard level and can be follow by other banks in our country.Norges Bank Report (2009) show that the new electronic payment services will involve lengthy automated processes between payers and payees. This increases complexity and involves a risk of errors that may delay or prevent completion of payments. At the same time, payment services are expected to be available at all times. Secure and stable IT operations have therefor e become a major challenge for participants in the E-payment system. Ensuring rightful access to means of payment and preventing counterfeiting and fraud has always been demanding. New payment solutions pose new challenges, also with regard to security. Payment services are provided via networks. The risk for one participant is influenced by the other participants in the network, but the other participants may have little motivation for taking measures to reduce the risk of events that do not make a motion them. A participants willingness and capacity to reduce payment fraud thus largely depends on the extent to which the participant bears the costs involved. When the participant best able to reduce fraud must also cover the cost of the fraud, the willingness to invest in measures to mitigate the risk is probably strengthened. This is taken into consideration when deciding customers liability for compensation in liaison with card fraud. The less a loss can be blamed on the custome r, the larger the share of the loss that must be covered by the bank. With better information concerning the extent of fraud and how it occurs, appropriate measures to reduce fraud are more likely to be implemented. Financial supervisory Authority in some country has tightened reporting requirements for financial institutions concerning incidents that occur in the payment system (Norway- Finanstilsynet).Pin code and the contents of the cards magnetic stripe are easily stolen from point-of-sale terminals, and the information would then be used for fraudulent withdrawal or goods purchases. To overcome this issue, we can see that chip card and chip-enabled terminals has been used globally in a tremendously speed because its posses a stronger security and functions. When such events are detected, the issuing banks block the cards concerned, contact lens the customer and issue a new payment card. There has been a significant increase in card data theft in many countries. Losses have bee n low, but inconvenience to the customers and banks concerned has been substantial. Operating incidents can also give rise to problems and losses. For example, shops and other merchants will make fewer sales if customers do not have access to major payment services. For example that was happened in Norway, on Saturday 24 October 2009, the BankAxept system was inoperative for 13 minutes. This affected all merchants and all cards using BankAxept during a very busy period of trading. Inadequate control of account balances has also given rise to problems in connection with card use in point-of-sale terminals and ATMs. Such events generally only affect certain types of cards, certain ATMs or certain merchants.Online banking payment services are work under complex operating environments. Most of the time, it will share IT resources with other services. Any disruption that caused to the services will directly affect the procedures of payment. approaching to online banking requires users to identify themselves and be authenticated before being able to make payments or carry out other operations. To guarantee a more secure and smooth transaction, banks have to spend investment in technology by providing a stable and reliable service in websites that available currently. One of the ways includes technical improvement, which is requiring customers to re-authenticate their identity for each payment.A number of new payment methods with different channels have been introduced in recent years. One example is payment via mobile telephones. Based on this concept, customer authentication can also be made more secure by combining use of mobile telephones and online banking. If an identity code is sent via the mobile telephone network, a fraudster must obtain access to data sent both via the mobile telephone network and the Internet. However, this system will become more complex when payment services are provided via a number of channels. Setting up agreements between bank and customer is challenging as different suppliers are responsible for providing different services to the same mobile telephone. From the report, it was suggested that combination of new payment method is only applicable by achieve agreements from bank, customer and the supplier.We know that payment services are dependent on uninterrupted availability of IT systems, telecommunications and power supply. Cash and various paper-based system will become basic point if the backup solutions fail when disruption occur. In that time, banks must able to handle a sufficient number of paper-based forms for payment purposes in a crisis. If cash is used as a backup solution, each participant must include capacity and procedures for increased supply of cash and cash handling in its contingency plans. Banks are obliged to allow customers to withdraw their deposits when they so request or when time deposits fall due. This obligation applies both in normal situations and in crises. Thus, a considerable plan should be build on the basis that an increased supply of cash should be able to cover a large share of purchases normally paid for by card. Besides, Central Bank must also have the capacity and availability to get word an increased demand for cash from banks.5.0 ConclusionIn conclusion, e-payment systems have provided various types of benefits to consumers and businesses. Although there are some risks by using the e-payments systems, but the risks are controls by the risk management strategies. Thus, the usage trends of e-payment systems are increasing among the consumers because it is a convenient and secure payment system to use by consumers.

Marketing Is The Life Blood Of Any Organisation Marketing Essay

Marketing Is The Life Blood Of Any Organisation Marketing EssayWhen people think of market placeing, most would instantaneously think of it as a line of handicraft trying to get the consumer to secure its harvestings. However the concept of marketing and the marketing process is much more Gordian than that assumption. Today, practic everyy everything is marketed to some degree. The marketing of goods is the most obvious one, however you can consider places to be marketed, think of the government ministers mass exodus every beau ideal patricks day under the guise of marketing Ireland to the rest of the world Organizations, such as colleges and universities market themselves to prospective students. Sporting events such as the Cheltenham race fiesta or the six nations rugby engage in marketing. Even people are marketed as Kotler points out, some people have done a masterful job of marketing themselves- think of Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Michae l Jordan (Kotler, 2006 p8)The American Marketing Association defines marketing to be marketing is the activity, right of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large AMA. (2007) Definition of Marketing. Available http//www.marketingpower.com/aboutama/pages/definitionofmarketing.aspx Last Accessed 10 March 2010. As I previously stated the process of marketing is much more than a vendor trying to convince a consumer to purchase their product. It is about delivering value to the consumer, satisfying customer needs, meeting or exceeding customer expectations, creating strong inciter identity, winning new customers and retaining current ones and companies being able to adapt to changing market conditions.The process of marketing occurs in a dynamic environment (Bradfield, 2010), that is perpetually changing, however a core concept in the marketing process is the so c alled marketing mix or the 4 ps of marketing, first referred to by Jerome McCarthy in 1960. Available http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkBvzS_fJ2gfeature=related Last Accessed 11 March 2010. The marketing mix refers to product, price, place and promotion. When you talk of a product or service, you have to offer a product that fits the need of the consumer. Today, consumers have more choice than previous generations and are more demanding. It should satisfy another(prenominal) criteria such as product durability, product differentiation, i.e. what makes your product stand out from the crowd, what features does your product have, is there after sales care/warranties etc. The price of the product being offered has to bow out into account how much customers are willing to pay for your product and for the producer to make a profit. This is a difficult question to answer as a product that is priced withal last in relation to other products may not sell well, however sometimes a mellowe der(prenominal) price in the minds of consumers equals better quality for which some consumers are prepared to pay a premium for. But on the other lot a product that is priced too low, possibly on the assumption that it will win on price alone, may not sell well either as it is considered inferior to other interchangeable products due to its low price.The place in the marketing mix is all about how the product or service gets to the consumer. It must be cheery for the consumer to access the product. This element of the mix is evident in the chuck out of businesses like Amazon.com that allow consumers to shop for goods 24/7 and have the goods delivered to them. And the last element of the mix, promotion refers to how the consumer is made aware that the product exists, of the benefits it can bring to them and the value of the product. As I said at the beginning of the paragraph marketing occurs in a dynamic environment and marketing thought is constantly changing. It must be point ed out however as Gareth Morgan shows in his book Riding the waves of change, that the 4ps takes the view from that of the producer, in that everything in it is from their point of view. Whereas marketing thought today tends to put the consumer at the centre and everything is geared towards meeting their needs sooner than that of the producer.From a marketers point of view, it is unacceptable to satisfy everyone all of the time so marketers engage in what is called market fractionation. A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs and wants.(Kotler, 2006 p240) When marketers identify a market segment they can they target their efforts on that group. Markets can be broken up on a number of different basis.The process of market segmentationIn marketing a product or service an organization can follow a mass marketing strategy or it can use the process of market segmentation. The mass marketing strategy(tied into the proceeds concept, which I wil l detail in the next section) is probably now an outdated method of marketing for most products due to the sheer variety on offer to consumers. In pursuing a mass marketing strategy, a company targets a market as whole and offers the one product or service to the whole market. The company hopes for higher profits by engaging in mass production and mass distribution techniques, thereby lowering its overall costs. Examples of previous mass marketing strategies was coca envisiont Cola who at first only produced one size bottle of coke. (Kotler, 2003, p279)The market segmentation process is what is practiced more commonly today. A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of wants. (Kotler, 2003,p279) In defining a market segment, Kotler talks of a seven stair process. The first step is to group customers who have a similar needs. For example with cars you can identify groups who have a need for people carriers. The next step is for each identifiable mar ket segment to break it down further by classing it tally to other variables such as demographics(gender, race, age etc), behavioral patterns(usage, drug user status etc), and geographic variables.The third and fourth step combined is to take each segment that has been broken down and to establish how attractive each segment is to the organization based on factors such as profitability and segment size. Step five, after identifying a particular segments unique needs, the company must set forth a set of benefits to satisfy those needs (The product of the marketing mix) and it must determine a price for the product.The sixth step is to determine the attractiveness of each segments positioning strategy and finally to expand the positioning strategy to include the whole marketing mix.Marketing ConceptThe marketing process is all about the customer. The philosophy that the customer is world power and is the core of the business. Kotler again speaks of six competing concepts under whi ch the process of marketing is carried out. They are the production concept, product concept, marketing, selling, customer and societal concepts.The production concept is as I said previously tied in with mass marketing. The production concept does not take into account the consumers needs, rather it focuss on building a product and then trying to sell this to the consumer. The production process favors low cost due to high volume manufacturing.The product concept concentrates on building better quality products, with more features in the belief that is what consumers want. The selling concept is probably the concept most people touch with marketing. This is where a producer actively tries to sell its goods/services to consumers through advertising and aggressive selling. The risk with the selling concept is producers hope that consumers who do fall for the hard sell, will actually like the product. Obviously consumers may like the product and return to do more business but on the other hand they may hate it and actually bad mouth the product to friends.The marketing concept is more customer orientated than the previous concepts. Here the customer is king and everything the business does is centered on the needs of the customer.Marketing Plan BarryDoyleDesign Jewelers1.Executive SummaryBarry Doyle Design(BDD) Jewelers is a husband and wife operation that has been in business for several years. Barry has learn the trade from his father whilst Adrianna is a qualified gemologist. It specializes in custom made high end jewelery as well as holding a wrap of contemporary and Celtic themed stock jewelery. The business has targeted the wedding domain quite successfully in the past and through its website is also chasing international customers, especially those of Irish ancestry who would be interested in its Celtic line.2. Situation AnalysisBDD Jewelers products have been very well received and they have a percentage of reversive customers. To grow the market, product awareness is called for through marketing at trade exhibitions and wedding fairs, an upgraded web site and a more visible shop location, silver permitting. The key target markets are couples seeking to marry, individuals looking for a unique product and those who make one off purchases for special occasions etc and to expand the business through targeting of galleries willing to stock the production jewelery. callable to the weakness of the US Dollar against the Euro in the last year, international sales has been slow, however with the expectant rise in the US economy that situation is anticipate to revert to past positive performance. The wedding market remains stable with modest growth look forward to for the next year.3. Market DemographicsDue to the the firms use of the Internet, it has no defined geographical area. However a rough estimate is that 70% is from the domestic market era 30% make up the international side. The customer base is evenly split between men a nd women. The largest age group who make a purchase is those in the 25-40 bracket and in the middle to high income bracket.3.1 Market NeedsBDD Jewelers provides its customers with a wide variety of jewelery. As a business it seeks to provide to its customers jewelery of the highest craftsmanship coupled with unique and contemporary designs. A first class after sales service is provided, jewelery resizing and jewelery repair.4. SWOT AnalysisStrengthsGood reputation among customersCentral locationQuality WorkmanshipGood access and relationship with suppliersWeaknessesPoor shop visibilityLimited marketing budget in comparison to larger retailersDue to business size possible problems in meeting supply requirementsOpportunitiesGovernment incentives for small businessThreatsEconomic slowdown can have a ostracize effect on the amount of discretionary income people have for luxury itemsInferior quality products5. Market AssumptionsThe fore casted market growth in the sector for the the ne xt 3 to 5 years is 9%. The threat of new custom made jewelers to the market remains small, due in part to the high skill involved and start up costs, however the larger jeweler chains may become more aggressive in their pricing and marketing which could affect sales of our stock production lines.6. Strategic IntentThe businesses core marketing objectives over the next year is to make inroads into getting the stock production line into third party retailers such as niche high end jewelers (galleries)and to develop the wedding market with more visible promotion of the business at wedding fares. An overhaul of the website is required to make it look more appealing.In the mid to long term, a new future premises is needed(most possible in the same general area) with more exposure to pedestrian traffic. With projected growth in the business, the employment of more skilled craftsmen to met demand for the custom intentional jewelery side of the business. The possibility of forming partner ships with Irish distributors in the US market with the help of the IDA.7. Marketing Mix StrategiesBDD Jewelers marketing mix is made up of the followingA. Product..Will turn over to produce the highest custom made jewelery alongside a more affordable yet equally high quality range of stock jewelery.B. Price..Will vary according to specific customer requirement such as gemstones for the setting or the level of detail required. In the stock range, price is comparable to major retailers.C. Promotion..Due to high return for custom designs, it is felt that an increased marketing execute be engaged upon. This will be achieved through magazine advertising, networking, website links, the yellow pages and trade/ mood shows.D. Place..For internationally received orders, delivery is via UPSFedEx express delivery. Domestic orders can also be shipped with tracking or can be picked up in store.8. sales ForecastIn year one, months 1 to 3 will be spent trying to establish a foothold within the gallery market. It is expected after month 3 sales to this sector will begin incrementally. Within a three month period sales will be rising also in the wedding market sector due to an increase in the visibility of the business at wedding fairs and an advertising campaign in magazines etc.9. ImplementationIn order to achieve desired results, the following milestones must be met on time and in budget.A. The development of the planB. Identify the channels to be used in the marketing planC. Establish a review process

Explorations of Childhood and Duty in “The Chimney Sweeper” and “Casab

Although Blake wrote The Chimney Sweeper featured in Songs of Innocence before Felicia Hemans was ever born, issues relevant to first-generation Romantic authors still pervaded the literary scene when second-generation authors like Hemans finally took the stage. Casabianca, published in 1826, and The Chimney Sweeper, published in 1789, twain address a central question What does it mean to be a child? Both poems examine the duties that children have to society as a whole. While there is an overriding sense of an consignment to duty in both poems, the poems situational irony complicates the relationship between children and responsibility. The final line of The Chimney Sweeper best demonstrates this complicated relationship. The speaker of The Chimney Sweeper concludes by saying, So if all do their duty they need not fear harm (24). However, we as readers have reason to question the validity of the speakers promise since the poem seems to suggest that relief from hardship only comes through death. Through their language, choice of perspective, situational irony, and other features, The Chimney Sweeper and Casabianca grapple with the notion of childhood in order to clarify the complicated relationship between children and duty in society. The poems structures appeal to the youth around whom they centered. Each poem has end-rhyming quatrains, which create a greenhouse rhymesque feel. Both poems have a more or less regular rhythm, which adds to the happy feeling created by the rhyme. However, it is a common occurrence for the heavy contented to contrast with the poems structure. In order to better understand both poems, it is important to examine why the authors would have chosen to use a structure that contr... ... beauteous to say that both poems are proponents of both duty and childhood because of their youthful structure and irony. However, each poem is more heavily weighted towards one allegiance or another. Hemans does show remorse for Casab iancas untimely death, but her choice to present the story from the third person perspective proves that her allegiance is more towards the fulfillment of duty to family and country than the fulfillment of childhood. On the contrary, Blakes choice to give his child character a first person voice empowers his protagonist and supports the topic that Blake was a bigger proponent of childhood than of duty. Both poems reveal the complicated nature of this issue during the Romantic period, and each poem counters the other to give them both a more multidimensional perspective on the consequences and benefits of preserving childhood and duty.

Essay --

Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was non political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called Law which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called Gospel, the inviolable news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of westerly Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.Luther started his education at a Latin school in Mansfield. There he received training in the Latin language and learned about the Ten Commandments, the Lords prayer and morning and evening prayers. In 1497 Luther was sent to a school in Magdeburg run by the Brethren of the Common Life, a lay monastic group whose management on personal piety had a lasting influence on him. In 1501 he enrolled at the University of Erfurt, the best University of the time in Germany. Luther took course in the liberal arts and received the baccalaureate degree in 1502. He obtained his masters degree three years later. Since Luther graduated from the arts susceptibility he could chose to pursue graduate work in one of the three disciplines law, medicine, or theology. Due... ... without the need for good works and definitely not by pay money to the Catholic Church. In Luthers view one only needs to believe in Christ and his works to be erectified. Christ is just and his works are p erfect and Christ is the object of our faith. As long as Christ is present in our lives and we put our faith in him and elemental believe the promises that come with the gospel, God imputes righteousness to sinners, righteousness that we sinners do not deserve (Peters 2005). Tradition says the reformation began in October 31 1517 when Luther nailed 95 theses to the church portal in contrasts to the practices of selling indulgence. Annoyed by Johann Tetzel a Dominican friar who preached indulgence. Tetzel was chosen to be inquisitor for Poland (1509) and afterward for Saxony. His skills as a preacher of indulgences accomplish the attention of Albert, archbishop of Mainz