The Origin of Money

The use of money began in the sixth century B.C. in what is now western Turkey, when lumps of gold found in rivers were melted and turned into pieces of uniform size imprinted with a stamp. For almost all of the time since then, the common monetary system has been commodity money, whereby a valuable commodity (typically a metal) is used as a widely accepted medium of exchange. Furthermore, the quantity of money was not under anyone†s control; private agents, following price incentives, took actions that determined the money supply. Today, the prevalent monetary system is that of fiat money, in which the medium of exchange consists of unbacked government liabilities, which are claims to nothing at all. Moreover, governments have usually established a monopoly on the provision of fiat money, and control, or potentially control, its quantity. Fiat money is a very recent development in monetary history; it has only been in use for a few decades at most. Why did this evolution from commodity money to fiat money take place? Is fiat money better suited to the modern economy or was it desirable but impractical in earlier times? Were there forces that naturally and inevitably led to the present system? Fiat money did not appear spontaneously, since government plays a central role in the management of fiat currency. How did govern-ments learn about the possibility and desirability of a fiat currency? Did monetary theorizing play any role in this evolution? In this article, I will argue that the evolution from commodity to fiat money was the result of a long process of evolution and learning. Commodity money systems have certain advantages, in particular in providing a natural anchor for the price level. But they also have certain disadvantages, manifested in particular in the difficulty of providing multiple denominations concurrently. These problems arose early on, in the fourteenth century, in the form of money shortages. Societies tried to overcome these disadvantages, and this led them progressively closer to fiat money, not only in terms of the actual value of the object used as currency, but also in terms of the theoretical understanding of what fiat money is and how to manage it properly. In the process, societies came to envisage the use of coins that were worth less than their market value to replace the smaller denominations that were often in short supply. These coins are very similar to bank notes; they are printed on base metal, rather than paper, but the economics behind their value is the same. What governments learned over time about the provision of small change is thus directly applicable to our modern system of currency. In his A Program for Monetary Stability (1960), Milton Friedman begins with the question: Why should government intervene in monetary and banking questions? He answers by providing a quick history of money, which he describes as a process inevitably leading to a system of fiat money monopolized by the government (p. 8): These, then, are the features of money that justify government intervention: the resource cost of a pure commodity currency and hence its tendency to become partly fiduciary; the peculiar difficulty of enforcing contracts involving promises to pay that serve as medium of exchange and of preventing fraud in respect to them; the technical monopoly character of a pure fiduciary currency which makes essential the setting of some external limit on its amount; and finally, the pervasive character of money which means that the issuance of money has important effect on parties other than those directly involved and gives special importance to the preceding features. †¦ The central tasks for government are also clear: to set an external limit to the amount of money and to prevent counterfeiting, broadly conceived. This article will find much to validate this view. It turns out that the problem of counter-feiting, identified as central by Friedman, provided obstacles that were overcome only when the appropriate technology became available. As technology changed and offered the possibility of implementing a form of fiduciary currency, various incomplete forms of currency systems were tried, with significant effects on the price level. These experiments led to the recognition that quantity limitation was crucial to maintaining the value of the currency. The need for a government monopoly, however, does not emerge from our reading of the historical record, and we will see that the private sector also came up with its own solutions to the problem of small change, thereby presenting alternatives to the monetary arrangements we have adopted.1 Among the desirable features of a monetary system, price stability has long been a priority, as far back as Aristotle†s discussion of money in Ethics. In the words of the seventeenth century Italian monetary theorist Gasparo Antonio Tesauro (1609), money must be â€Å"the measure of all things† (rerum omnium mensura) (p. 633). Aristotle also noted that commodity money, specifically money made of precious metals, was well suited to reach that goal: â€Å"Money, it is true, is liable to the same fluctuation of demand as other commodities, for its purchasing power varies at different times; but it tends to be comparatively constant† (Aristotle, Ethics, 1943 translation). The commodity money system delivers a nominal anchor for the price level. The mechanism by which this takes place can be described in the context of a profit-maximizing mint, which was how coins were produced in the Middle Ages and later.2 Suppose there is a way to convert goods into silver and silver into goods at a constant cost (in ounces of silver per unit of goods), which can be thought of as either the extraction cost of silver and the industrial uses of the metal or the â€Å"world price† of silver in a small country interpretation. Silver is turned into coins by the mint; the mint (which really represents the private sector) also decides when to melt down existing coins. The government†s role is limited to two actions. It specifies how much silver goes into a coin, and it collects a seigniorage tax 3 on all new minting. When the mint is minting new coins, its costs are the cost of the silver content, the seigniorage tax, and the production cost;4 its revenues are the market value of the coins, which is the inverse of the price level. Similarly, when the mint is melting down coins, its costs are the market value of the coins, and its revenues are the value of the silver contained in them. Whether the mint will produce new coins or melt down existing coins will thus depend on how the price level relates to the parameters: silver content of the coins, production costs, and seigniorage rate. The price level cannot be too low (or the purchasing power of the coins too high) or the mint could make unbounded profits by minting new coins and spending them. Similarly, the price level cannot be too high (or the purchasing power of the coins too low), or the mint would make profits by melting down the coins. The absence of arbitrage for the mint places restrictions on the price level, which is contained in an interval determined by the minting point and the melting point

Perform a Byte-Level Computer Audit Essay

1. What is the main purpose of a software tool like WinAudit in computer forensics? Answer: WinAudit is a great free tool that will give you a comprehensive view of the components that make up your system, including hardware, software and BIOS. 2. Which items within WinAudit’s initial report would you consider to be of critical importance in a computer forensic investigation? Answer: Computer Name, OS, Security Settings for Windows Firewall, Drives, Running Programs, and Installed Programs and Versions. 3. Could you run WinAudit from a flash drive or any other external media? If so, why is this important during a computer forensic investigation? Answer: Yes, WinAudit is a portable Application. Because if you’re conducting audits on several computers, having the app on a Flash Drive can make the process much easier and more time efficient. 4. Why would you use a tool like DevManView while performing a computer forensic investigation? Answer: DevManView is an alternative to the standard Device Manager of Windows, which displays all devices and their properties in flat table, instead of tree viewer. In addition to displaying the devices of your local computer, DevManView also allows you view the devices list of another computer on your network, as long as you have administrator access rights to this computer. 5. Which item or items within DevManView’s list would you consider to be of critical importance in a computer forensic investigation? Answer: Most likely the Hdrives and USB storage devices and/or any other computer hardware on the network. 6. What tool similar to DevMan View is already present in Microsoft Windows systems? Answer: WinHEX is similar to DevMan. 7. Why would someone use a HEX editor during a forensic investigation? Answer: To see if the files and data recovered from the hard drive are original and authentic. 8. What is the purpose of a software tool like WinHEX in computer forensics? Answer: It’s a tool that can recovery important and sensitive data that has been deleted. This tool is also used for editing or whipping the info from the drive. 9. What was the proper extension of the file you analyzed using WinHEX? How did you find it? Answer: 10. Why do you need to keep evidence untampered? In order to guarantee legal admissibility? Answer: For legal reasons. So, the evidence can be used in Court. If the evidence is not authentic, it can be thrown out of court.

Behavioral Change: Rubbing Snuff

Rubbing snuff, like other forms of tobacco use, is an addictive behavior that poses a serious challenge to individuals who want to change their habits. Perhaps an even greater challenge looms for those whose partners would like to change their behaviors! Paul’s habit of rubbing snuff is the ideal opportunity to enact a well-planned behavior plan intended to motivate lasting change. The specific targeted overt behavior is the act of swallowing tobacco juice. To understand this behavior, it’s important to consider the dimensions of the broader act of rubbing snuff.The frequency of Paul’s dipping is estimated around 5-8 times per day with the frequency of swallows much greater. Dipping is described as replacing or adding additional tobacco to the mouth. Intensity increases with the progression of the day, starting with smaller amounts in the upper lip and ending with larger quantities in the lower lip by nighttime. The intensity of swallowing also rises with this in crease in use. The duration of Paul’s tobacco use holds the greatest possibility for change.At baseline, he dips constantly from the moment of waking to seconds before retiring to bed. The latency of Paul’s dipping of additional interest in the development of an intervention. At baseline, he began dipping approximately 2. 5 seconds after opening his eyes in the morning. The latency of Paul’s first swallow of tobacco averages approximately 2 minutes after waking. The action of concern, swallowing of tobacco juice, is a behavior excess. Any swallowing greater than 0 times per day qualifies as the presence of this behavior in excess.The intervention selected to extinguish Paul’s swallowing behavior was the use of a pop bottle for spitting. Paul established a reasonable goal of less than 3 swallows per day for one week followed by less than 2 the next week. This decreasing trend would continue for several weeks until complete extinction is achieved. With the decrease in swallowing, it will be important to document the increase in spitting behavior. Paul will document the number of times he spits for two 30 minute intervals throughout the day.As he begins changing his behavior, it is hoped that increased spitting will aid the decrease in swallowing. A few ground rules will also be established to enforce the intervention. Paul should have his spit bottle, spittoon, and/or other spitting place on hand wherever he goes throughout the day. Along with targeting the decrease of swallowing tobacco juice, this intervention should also serve to increase the behavior of spitting. The reaction of poor Paul’s wife to this change is yet to be determined! The effectiveness of this intervention was assessed on a daily and then weekly basis.By the third week, Paul experienced complete swallowing cessation and had increased his frequency of spitting from relatively nothing to dozens of times a day. The result was the elimination of vomiting behavi or, a perceived increase in energy, and self-reported decreases in fatigue. According to subjective and objective reports, Paul accomplished significant behavioral change. To improve the likelihood Paul would maintain his behavioral change, one final reporting and documentation measure was used two months after the start of the intervention.Hidden cameras were placed in Paul’s home and place of work to record each and every time he demonstrated the primary target behavior (swallowing tobacco juice) and the secondary desired replacement behavior (spitting in the bottle). The results were encouraging. Paul had completely stopped swallowing, but had also decreased the frequency of his need to spit throughout the day. With careful review, this was related to a decrease in duration of Paul’s dipping habit during the day. Paul was on his way to rubbing snuff out of his life! Behavioral Change: Rubbing Snuff Rubbing snuff, like other forms of tobacco use, is an addictive behavior that poses a serious challenge to individuals who want to change their habits. Perhaps an even greater challenge looms for those whose partners would like to change their behaviors! Paul’s habit of rubbing snuff is the ideal opportunity to enact a well-planned behavior plan intended to motivate lasting change. The specific targeted overt behavior is the act of swallowing tobacco juice. To understand this behavior, it’s important to consider the dimensions of the broader act of rubbing snuff.The frequency of Paul’s dipping is estimated around 5-8 times per day with the frequency of swallows much greater. Dipping is described as replacing or adding additional tobacco to the mouth. Intensity increases with the progression of the day, starting with smaller amounts in the upper lip and ending with larger quantities in the lower lip by nighttime. The intensity of swallowing also rises with this in crease in use. The duration of Paul’s tobacco use holds the greatest possibility for change.At baseline, he dips constantly from the moment of waking to seconds before retiring to bed. The latency of Paul’s dipping of additional interest in the development of an intervention. At baseline, he began dipping approximately 2. 5 seconds after opening his eyes in the morning. The latency of Paul’s first swallow of tobacco averages approximately 2 minutes after waking. The action of concern, swallowing of tobacco juice, is a behavior excess. Any swallowing greater than 0 times per day qualifies as the presence of this behavior in excess.The intervention selected to extinguish Paul’s swallowing behavior was the use of a pop bottle for spitting. Paul established a reasonable goal of less than 3 swallows per day for one week followed by less than 2 the next week. This decreasing trend would continue for several weeks until complete extinction is achieved. With the decrease in swallowing, it will be important to document the increase in spitting behavior. Paul will document the number of times he spits for two 30 minute intervals throughout the day.As he begins changing his behavior, it is hoped that increased spitting will aid the decrease in swallowing. A few ground rules will also be established to enforce the intervention. Paul should have his spit bottle, spittoon, and/or other spitting place on hand wherever he goes throughout the day. Along with targeting the decrease of swallowing tobacco juice, this intervention should also serve to increase the behavior of spitting. The reaction of poor Paul’s wife to this change is yet to be determined! The effectiveness of this intervention was assessed on a daily and then weekly basis.By the third week, Paul experienced complete swallowing cessation and had increased his frequency of spitting from relatively nothing to dozens of times a day. The result was the elimination of vomiting behavi or, a perceived increase in energy, and self-reported decreases in fatigue. According to subjective and objective reports, Paul accomplished significant behavioral change. To improve the likelihood Paul would maintain his behavioral change, one final reporting and documentation measure was used two months after the start of the intervention.Hidden cameras were placed in Paul’s home and place of work to record each and every time he demonstrated the primary target behavior (swallowing tobacco juice) and the secondary desired replacement behavior (spitting in the bottle). The results were encouraging. Paul had completely stopped swallowing, but had also decreased the frequency of his need to spit throughout the day. With careful review, this was related to a decrease in duration of Paul’s dipping habit during the day. Paul was on his way to rubbing snuff out of his life!

Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Argument - Essay Example In my opinion, higher education is never a right, but a privilege for every interested citizen to utilize. It is an opening advanced to the citizens to make use of at their will. Remember it is never unavoidable. To say that higher education is a right is to assert that everyone, even those who have no interest in it whatever must have it. It also means that the government must provide it to all citizens at no cost. It is worthy to note, that the government must cater for all the advanced schooling costs. The government does not do that in the actual sense. In the community system, disabled students have a right to access proper education. Students with low incomes also have the right to get cheaper or free lunches in schools. It is impossible to compare higher schooling to the right of disabled students to access a proper education the community. You cannot, in a similar way compare higher education for citizens with low-income students receiving cheaper or free or lunch in schools. Education is indeed something of merit, and it is essential for progress in the society. It is because an educated people are required to maintain a proper democracy. This does not qualify education to be a right. A right is usually sponsored fully and defended by the government as it is meant for the interest of a special group of people. It is worth noting that the right to public education was endorsed and is supported by legislation. It is given freely to all citizens. Nevertheless, students are not forced to take this path. They may opt for other ways. Some may go to private schools that are not usually government sponsored. The reason people need college education is to have them competent enough to meet the standards and demands of the job/ employment market. It is obvious that a more learned person has more skills and competence to execute workplace duties upon training. Most employers prefer those with higher learning because they

Supply Chain Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Supply Chain Assignment - Essay Example These include a lean supply chain, an agile supply chain and lastly a hybrid supply chain. This study will seek to discuss the growing supply chain relationship in today’s supply chain management while analysing the various established relationship management models and exploring both the strategic and operational considerations that are extremely essential for enabling a relationship posture that is appropriate within the supplier (Christopher 2004). Additionally, the study explores the various emerging concepts of lean supply management while discussing the importance of both the efficiency and effectiveness brought about by a lean approach and consequently proposing a general approach an organization can initiate, develop and sustain. The growing importance of the supply chain relationship in today’s supply chain management Numerous studies have observed a highly interesting trend amongst the leading companies in the world. The companies are discovering a somehow ver y powerful new source of competitive advantage in the market (Christopher 2004). This is what is increasingly gaining popularity as the supply-chain management. Supply chain comprises of all the integrated activities responsible and that can be traced to the final product in the market and which determines customer satisfaction. Supply chain management by the nature of its existence heavily depends on relationships and connections. In the context of supply chain management, the term relationship implies a lot. This may include strategic relationship, internal relationship, and transactional relationship amongst many more others. What has made supply chain necessary is the benefit that is derived from supplier relationships, most notably the increasing value and supply chain cost minimization. Additionally, the need by most companies to gain competitive advantage has made maintaining supply chain relationship very serious (Robert, Ernest 2002). The programs related to supply chain ma nagement integrates topics from all the departments of the organization which include the manufacturing operations of the company, purchasing of the company’s products, and transportation of the sales, in addition to, physical distribution into a unified program (Robert, Ernest 1989). For supply chain management to be considered successful, it must coordinate and ensure there is integration of all the above stated activities into a process that is seamless (Robert, Ernest 2002). The supply management team should further, in addition to, embracing link all the partners in the chain. Consequently, in addition to, the various departments within the organization, the other partners include vendors, carriers, information system providers and third party companies. The most fundamental objective of the supply chain management has always been to add value. Supply Chain Management has been transformed into a tool that is essential for accomplishing corporate strategic objectives (Fin ancial Executive 2002). Amongst these would include reducing working capital, accelerating cash-cash cycles, taking assets off the balance sheet and increasing inventory turns amongst and most importantly monitoring average annual sales (Carlisle & Parker 1989). Supply chain management has in the recent past become top managements new main focus area. In light

Service Request - HR Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Service Request - HR Systems - Essay Example The information gathered from this group of stakeholders is highly imperative since they act as the core connection to all other members of the company (Stellman & Greene, 2008). Information gathering is a very vital stage in ensuring that the Human Resource system is a success as it acts as the focal point to capturing the right set of information expected to deliver the precise functional requirements for the system. In order to achieve this, the following set of information gathering techniques are proposed for the project. Firstly, Interviewing, a process that employs both one on one and team based data capture from the expected users of the system will provide a wide set of relevant information for the project. Secondly, the Joint Application Development method that utilizes conduction of workshops with the key stakeholders of the system will ensure that the stakeholders are willing and motivated to providing relevant information. ... the system and then testing it against the expected functionalities guarantees that all important information regarding system functionality is captured and put into proper use in the system (Stellman & Greene, 2008). Since the ability of information to satisfy its targeted users to the highest degree lies on information analysis, the following data analysis tools are proposed for the project. The Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) is a data analysis tool that is highly significant in performing a thorough analysis of statistical information gathered. Thus, the SPSS perfectly fits for this project, as it will provide well-organized information about the services to be offered by the system. In addition, the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) is further proposed since it can play an important role in aiding programmers with information retrieval from existing software, data management and quality improvement (Stellman & Greene, 2008). Thus, the above proposed data analysi s tools are very essential in making sure that the information gathered is precisely analyzed with emphasis laid on meeting the user requirements. As aforementioned, information gathering is a key determinant of the system’s success. That is, it aids in clarifying the set of both functional and non-functional requirements for the Human Resource system. When the right information as regards to the expected functionality of a system is gathered, it provides great room for the system to function as expected by its targeted users (Stellman & Greene, 2008). In this sense, the following factors act as the driving ends to ensuring that the information required for the project is successfully gathered. Planning is a very crucial factor in information gathering (Stellman & Greene, 2008). It aids

Police Roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Police Roles - Essay Example In the story of how the inmate overpowered the corrections officer, the inmate pleaded that he had to use the restroom. Preying on the corrections officer's compassion and empathy, the inmate was allowed to break free. The efficiency of teamwork and manpower was phenomenal in this story. "The 24/7 operational demands of a police officer's job can have serious consequences. A significant body of scientific and operational literature clearly establishes that around the clock operations can degrade safety, performance, health, mood, and alertness" (Amendola, Hamilton, Wyckoff, 2006, p. 3) In Findlay, Ohio; the police force knows all too well that the hours can be long and the job can be stressful. But in the same sense, the officers know that community involvement is key in order to keep in touch with the public. The County has started a program named NEAT (Neighborhood Enhancement & Abatement Team). The program was established in 2004, and helps deal with nuisance problems and neighborhood cleanups. In Modesto, California two police officer while on duty working on a holiday (labor day), assisted a woman in giving birth to a baby boy in a parked car, not very far from the nearest medical center. The role of social servant rings true in this story, where the call of duty was performed in an over exceeded amount of time. When officers are placed in position, like in this story, they have to keep the "victim" calm and focused, using amateur psychology tactics. In crime shows on television, such as Law & Order, SVU, The Shield, or COPS; they show a sort of distorted view of how officers have to handle situations with quick reflex's and snap decisions. What normally would take hours to handle in real life, in television the situation is under wraps in a matter of minutes. In fact, the real scenario in life takes a major amount of time in order to achieve a positive outcome. The Fine, Fading Art of Directing Traffic Albeit, it takes a certain amount of talent, the art of flowing ease, and knowing your fellow humans in order to direct traffic. It's about multi-tasking and by not bringing the spotlight on yourself as an entertainer with your orange vest and white gloves, but keeping the driver focused on the road. The role of order maintainer in this story is depicted in such a way that it seems almost glamorized. The job in itself can be dangerous, but for the most part, directing traffic is a basic act of maintaining order where there is chaos. Simple as that. In the Findlay County Police Station, they too have had to direct traffic several times. Not one officer is in charge of this, instead one is assigned from the list of officers that are on duty. Several times even while on their "beat", officers have had to come to a site and direct traffic without getting prepared until medical crews or backup has arrived. They take this

Major Theorists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Major Theorists - Essay Example This pool of guilt and pain is where creativity, which is closely related to neurosis, comes from. Creativity is thus motivated by the need to express some of this guilt and pain in a more physical or outward arena as well as the means by which it is expressed. B.F. Skinner is one of the most well-known behaviorists, who believed that people were a product of the environment in which they were raised. Skinner suggested this occurred through operant conditioning as people were rewarded for approved behavior and punished for undesirable behavior. Rewards are thus seen as a means of strengthening behavior, even undesired behavior, while the failure to reward weakens these behaviors. In some situations, punishment can be interpreted as reward, such as when the ignored child receives attention through punishment for bad behavior. Creativity is thus seen as a mere product of the environment working on the individual who possesses latent creative talent. If the environment does not reward creativity, the child will be less likely to engage in it. It is important for the child to have an adult model that demonstrates creative behavior before the child can envision this as a likely activity for them. This is because they see the rewards for the cre ative adult as well as receive rewards from this adult as they engage in their own creative efforts. Humanism rejected the ideas of psychoanalytic theory of personality and creativity as a biological process and the ideas of behaviorism theory of personality and creativity as an environmental process and instead preferred to view creativity as a process in itself that provided individuals with the ability to discover their inner selves. In other words, creativity was an act of self-actualization. The main theorists of humanism are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Maslow defined self-actualization as the tendency to realize our own potential based on our

Basic Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Basic Economics - Essay Example The next step of the decision making model is to explore alternative options or solutions. Decision makers always face some challenges at the time of taking decisions. Decision makers are required to have some alternatives, which influences their decisions. The forth step of the decision making model is to make prediction for the future consequences. Prediction is important for decision makers to be prepared for the future. The fifth step is to prepare and make a selection of all the outcomes of the model and last and very important is to execute a sensitivity analysis for ensuring that decisions are made on the basis of analysis. For instance, absence of any step in the procedure of decision making will be accountable for inappropriate analysis of a situation, which will be accountable for making unsuitable decision by managers leading to losses in businesses (Samuelson and Marks 7-14). Marginal analysis is an important factor in managerial economics for the managerial decision making. There are several advantages of marginal analysis in the business as well as individual life. Marginal analysis helps to maintain the balances among the desire of individual needs and business needs. A firm is benefited from marginal analysis in the procedure of decision making, so that business operations can be conducted systematically. Additionally, marginal analysis aids policy makers of firms for managing the resources in a proper manner (Samuelson and Marks 29-75). The marginal cost is the additional cost, which occurs at the time of production. Marginal cost includes the extra cost of labour and materials cost. On the other hand, marginal revenue is the additional profits earn by a firm at the time of surplus sale of products. Marginal revenue aids a company in performing business operations in a better competitive nature. Marginal analysis is mainly calculated at the time of additional turnover. In this

Candide by Voltaire Essay Example for Free

Candide by Voltaire Essay Through Candide’s perplexing adventures and enlightening encounters, Voltaire illuminates the numerous diverse cultures of which Europeans consider themselves superior. Yet rather than supporting the foreign practices of cannibalism, bestiality, and the abolishment of priests, Voltaire is ridiculing the Europeans’ own methods of torture in an abusive social hierarchy. Therefore, while freedom of expression and a consensus of the majority constitute faucets of good behavior, the European practice of elitist rule and inequitable punishments is revealed as unjust. This criticism suggests the need for reform by deriving authority from somewhere other than the traditional roles of the royalty, clergy, and nobility, a rather radical move at the time. Voltaire at first reveals the fault of Europeans through his description of the savage land of Oreillon. Upon their dissent from Paraguay, Candide and Cacambo come across two women, completely nude, who cry out and â€Å"spryly† run away from two monkeys who snap â€Å"at their buttocks† (73). Instantly sympathetic, Candide shoots his musket and kills the monkeys, thinking that he has redeemed himself from earlier sins by saving these distressed women. However, to his surprise he discovers that he has just killed the ladies’ lovers. Without questioning the practices of this foreign society, Candide reacts based on his own perceptions of right and wrong. His actions reflect the naivety of Europeans concerning what is thought to be normal based on their own â€Å"superior† culture. As punishment for Candide’s rash actions, the Oreillons attempt to roast the travelers over a spit to eat, justifying this through the proclamations that Candide and Cacambo are Jesuits and thus deserve to die. This behavior is explained by Cacambo as being â€Å"appropriate† because â€Å"if we Europeans do not exercise our right to eat others, it is because we have other ingredients for a good meal† (pg. 74). He recognizes that each society contains its own equally valid practices which cannot be altered or condemned by those who think they are predominant. In addition, Voltaire is not justifying that bestiality and cannibalism constitute a righteous society, but rather satirically commenting on the Europeans own practices, for it would be hypocritical to condemn these practices without evaluating whether the European’s own forms of punishment are just. As the innocent Candide ventures to Eldorado, he is once again introduced to a land unlike that found in contemporary Europe. Upon their arrival, the travelers bewilderingly walk upon pavement made up of rubies, emeralds, and gold and rapture in the delights of a free feast at a common inn. The generous, humble citizens then guide them to an old man and, later, even the approachable king, in order to answer their many questions. Through these communicators they come to realize that the most striking aspects of the village do not constitute its physical features, but rather its ideology. They are told that all men are free, and thus there is no need for the establishment of courts, trials, or prisons. While Candide is quite baffled by these assertions which completely contrast the structured social organization of Europe, he is even more confused by the lack of priests or an enforced religion, upon which he exclaims, â€Å"What! You have no monks who lecture, debate, govern, conspire, and burn people who don’t agree with them?† (79). These seemingly sarcastic remark is a reflection of the binary thinking in which the Europeans have taught their citizens to believe. Candide had always considered the church as an institution which interjects in every aspect of life and constantly ridicules and punishes others while denying the fact that there are other practices and religions besides the order of the church and Catholicism. Voltaire is not suggesting the elimination of priests, which would be a radical idea at the time, but is rather demonstrating a deeper criticism of Europeans who assume that they are superior and must punish all those who defy this idea. Although Oreillon and El Dorado are societies completely unlike that of the Europeans in law and culture, they are seen as portraying decent human behavior because they allow their citizens to express free will and they derive authority from the consent of the masses. For instance, in Oreillon, women are allowed to mate with whomever they please without judgement or persecution from others. This freedom of expression illustrates that the culture seeks to facilitate the happiness of its people. Additionally, when the two monkeys are murdered by Candide, the leaders instantly capture and attempt to punish the travelers, reflecting the society’s dedication to protect its citizens from harm and condemn those who impinge on basic freedoms. While this culture may seem bizarre compared to more civilized nations, the fact that it derives its authority from the people illustrates that bestiality and cannibalism are enforced as appropriate human behaviors so long as there is a general consensus. Similarly, good behavior does not necessarily need to be derived from praise towards the king or daily sacrifices to a church, as portrayed in Eldorado. Unlike in Europe, the king is humble, approachable and genuinely concerned with the welfare of his citizens. For example, the feast the travelers consume at the inn is free because the state is said to assist business, thus revealing that the government is willing to contribute to the success of its people despite their class or wealth. Therefore, despite their practices, these societies emulate good behavior. However, Voltaire forms a critic of the Europeans due to the unjust practices in which they derive and maintain authority. In Candide’s hometown of Westphalia, for example, the naive Candide is exiled from the castle of the Thunder-ten-tronckh because he kissed the Baron’s daughter, Cunegonde. He was unfairly punished because he stepped out of the social hierarchy to which he was born, while Cunegonde was not disciplined for her actions due to her rank. Similarly, in places like Paris, the elites haughtily criticize their fellow man’s creations and do not hesitate to manipulate and greedily conspire against others. When Candide is led into a ploy by the despicable Abbe and arrested even though he had not committed any crimes, he is able to buy his freedom with three diamonds. The officer then exclaims, â€Å"Ah sire, even if you committed every crime imaginable, you’re still the best man in the world† (97). One’s fate depends on the inconsiderate word of the elite, one’s wealth, and the act of bribery. Since Candide had money, he was able to secure his freedom while the majority of peasants who are near penniless would have to suffer. These scenarios represent the unjust rule of the elites over the consensus of the majority. While Voltaire formulates the components of good behavior based on the legitimacy the authority derives from its citizens, he also constitutes bad behavior as punishment without just cause. For instance, when Candide and Martin arrive in Portsmouth, they view the execution of a British Admiral. The Admiral’s crime was explained in that he had stayed too far from the French enemy and that his death would encourage others to fight more fervently during war. This nonsensical behavior represents the paradox of European punishments which reduce war heros to criminals. Another such scene is presented when Candide and Pangloss reach the city of Lisbon in which a haphazard earthquake kills thirty thousand people. Faculty of a university decide that, in order to prevent another earthquake, they must â€Å"roast several persons over a slow fire They had therefore seized a man from the Basque province who had been convicted of marrying the godmother of his godchild, and two Portuguese men, who when eating a chicken, had removed the bacon seasoning† (52-53). As a manner of electing their sacrifices, they choose those who had committed even questionable offenses, though even those forms of misconduct can be viewed as unsubstantial enough to deserve punishment, much less death. While it is firstly completely unreasonable to attribute a natural phenomenon to personal actions, Voltaire goes so far as to satirically illustrate that this is a commonsense European belief, for both offenses appear inconsequential to the victims’ punishment. Meanwhile, most Europeans would be disgusted with the culture of the Oreillons who engage in cannibalism after enacting a punishment. However, Candide’s death penalty after murdering two of its citizens is a much more equitable offense in terms of its punishment than removing bacon seasoning from chicken, such as in Europe. Furthermore, once a body has been burnt, it seems inconsequential whether it is eaten or not. Voltaire is thus able to portray the irony as well as the unjust nature of European punishments as a bad behavior of society. The figures of the time who would be most notably perturbed by Voltaire’s suggestions constitute the royalty, the nobility, and the clergy. Firstly, for centuries the royalty had uncontestedly derived authority through lineage and from claims to divine right. Candide’s embrace with the King of Eldorado would probably be perceived as strange because the royalty was considered far above the common people in class, stature, and rights, and thus did not need the consent of its citizens to govern. Thus, the monarchy would be opposed to Voltaire’s ideas because they undermine his authority. This is reflected in eighteenth century Europe when the National Assembly made a radical move by sending Louis XVI to the guillotine as a symbol of the growing dissatisfaction of the peasants and workers. Secondly, the nobility consisted of a small number of elites who mainly derived their elevated status from patronage. Voltaire’s view of this social class, at least in Paris, is illustrated in the abode of Marquise de Parolignac, in which these morose intellectuals portray that their sole interests are to spread slander, hypocritically belittle art, and greedily take advantage of Candide’s treasures. Similarly to the monarchy, Voltaire’s proposal that society’s values and laws should be supported by the consensus of the masses was a scandalous assertion because it would undermine the power of the elites and force them to surrender their privilege. Finally, the clergy’s word penetrated all aspects of life in eighteenth century Europe while Religious Orthodoxy formed local allegiances and bound communities together by preaching sacred traditions. However, it can also be said that the institutions of the church hypocritically valued their own self-preservation over educating the masses. Therefore, these religious authorities would not consent in being forced to adhere to stricter laws by having to give proper, legitimate reasons as a means to punish nonbelievers or delinquents of the church. Despite these opponents, Voltaire suggests a need for reform by deriving authority from somewhere other than the norm. Although European society appears far more advanced than that of the savages and more structured than Eldorado, that does not necessarily determine that its laws and people are superior. In fact, Voltaire constitutes good behavior in a society as something that has been consented upon by its people, while bad behavior derives from unjust punishment and the dangerous rule of elites. Voltaire thus forms a critic of Europeans through comparisons to these foreign lands and furthermore questions whether a reformation of authority is a necessary means to benefit society. Source Voltaire. Candide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999.

Rape Law Reform in England and Wales

Rape Law Reform in England and Wales 1. Introduction The beginning of the 21st Century has seen a major overhaul of the sexual offences legislation in England and Wales. Prior to this reform the law on sexual offences was based on legislation implemented in 1956[2], with some parts dating as far back as the 19th Century. It goes without saying that this legislation was grossly dated and unsuitable for the 21st Century. A number of important amendments had been made since the 1956 legislation, including the inclusion of marital rape and male rape in 1994[3]. However, these piecemeal changes resulted in very confusing laws, to the extent that many different Acts had to be accessed in order to decipher where the law stood on any given matter. The Home Office acknowledged that this had led to a ‘patchwork quilt of provisions (Home Office, 2000, pg. iii). The previous law was also plagued by anomalies, inappropriate language[4] and discrimination, some of which may have been construed as violating human rights legislation. Starting with a pledge by the newly elected 1997 Labour government to help victims of sexual offences obtain justice, a detailed and lengthy review process was initiated in 1999 (the Sexual Offences Review). This was followed by a Sexual Offences Bill and then, finally, the arrival of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force in May 2004. This article outlines the criticisms feminists have previously made about rape law in England and Wales and describes and evaluates as far as possible the new legislation as it relates to rape. 2. The attrition problem The criticisms feminist academics and activists have highlighted in terms of rape law in England and Wales are similar to those described in other countries with adversarial legal systems. These include: the difficulties in proving non-consent; cross-examination; rape myths; the use of sexual history evidence in court; and the 1976 ruling in Morgan[5] that an ‘mistaken but ‘honest belief in consent should lead to an acquittal even if this belief in consent is not a ‘reasonable one. The incredibly high attrition rate for rape cases has been a major concern underpinning many of these criticisms and acted as a strong push factor towards the strengthening of the law on sexual offences. Quite simply, most rape victims who report the offence to the police will never even see their case reach court, never mind see the perpetrator convicted for rape. Many studies have documented the high attrition rate and how it has increased over time. While more and more men are being reported to the police for rape, the proportion that are convicted for rape has been steadily falling since records began (Smith, 1989; Chambers and Miller, 1983; Lees and Gregory, 1993; Harris and Grace, 1999; HMCPSI and HMIC, 2002; Lea, Lanvers and Shaw, 2003). These studies show that the ratio of rape convictions to reported rapes has steadily fallen from one in three in 1977 to one in 20 in 2002 (Kelly, 2004). Comparative analysis has found that the high rape attrition rate is not confined to England and Wales but is echoed to different extents across Europe (Kelly and Regan, 2001). Bearing in mind that most rapes are not even reported to the police[6], this of only one in twenty is particularly concerning and has been the basis of much campaigning by activist groups. Moreover, Kelly (2002) warns that attrition may actually be even higher than research has fo und because such studies do not take into account rapes that are reported to but not recorded by the police, or any convictions that are overturned on appeal. New research has found that around one in ten convicted rapists later have their convictions overturned or sentence reduced on appeal (Cook, 2004). 3. The reform process The Sex Offences Review began in 1999 and aimed to achieve ‘protection, fairness and justice within the Home Offices overall aim of creating a ‘safe, just and tolerant society (Home Office, 2000b)[7]. The reviews terms of reference were: ‘To review the sex offences in the common and statute law of England and Wales, and make recommendations that will:  · provide coherent and clear sex offences which protect individuals, especially children and the more vulnerable, from abuse and exploitation;  · enable abusers to be appropriately punished; and  · be fair and non-discriminatory in accordance with the ECHR and Human Rights Act. This third point is likely to have been an important factor in why the Government felt the pressing need for legislative reform; in October 2000 the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force and thereby incorporated the rights guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) into the domestic law of England and Wales. Although the Human Rights Act 1998 did not actually give citizens any ‘new rights it gave judges the power to make a statement of incompatibility if a piece of legislation failed to respect an individuals human rights. Moreover, the European Court of Human Rights has in the past held states accountable for violations of human rights where they failed to enact appropriate rape legislation[8]. An internal steering group and external reference group were set up as part of the review; the latter including established feminist academics[9], representatives from feminist organizations working with victims of rape[10] and feminists campaigning for rape law reform[11]. Intentionally or unintentionally, the review was therefore guided by a strong feminist influence. Two lengthy documents were then produced, consisting of literature reviews, reports from consultation seminars and recommendations (Home Office 2000a, 2000b) and from this review, the white paper ‘Protecting the Public was published (Home Office, 2002) setting out the Governments proposals. In the foreword by Home Secretary David Blunkett, he described the existing law on sexual offences using words such as ‘archaic, ‘incoherent and ‘discriminatory. The Sexual Offences Bill was introduced in January 2003 into the House of Lords, where some amendments were made. The Bill was passed to the House of Commons in June 2003 where it was reviewed by a Home Affairs Committee. In July 2003 this review was published, along with oral and written evidence submitted as part of an inquiry into specific sections of the Bill (House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, 2003). The Sexual Offences Bill was given Royal Assent on the 20th November 2003 and became the Sexual Offences Act 2003 with effect from May 2004. This replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and its various amendments. It is widely acknowledged that the new Act represents the largest overhaul of sexual offences in over a century (Editorial, Criminal Law Review, 2003). 4. The Sexual Offences Act 2004 In order to secure a conviction for rape it is necessary to prove beyond reasonable doubt not only that the defendant committed an act that meets the legal definition of rape but also that the defendant knew that the victim was not consenting. These are known as the actus reus (the guilty act) and the mens rea (the guilty mind, or criminal intent). These two aspects of rape are now described in turn in terms of the reforms that have taken place. 4.1 The actus reus (guilty act) The actus reus of rape within the Sexual Offences Act 1956 was simply defined as unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman, which was amended in 1976[12] to unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent. The 1990s saw two major changes relating to the actus reus of rape. In 1991, after over 100 years of feminist campaigning rape within marriage became illegal within the common law system and this was placed into statute in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 when the word ‘unlawful was removed from the definition. It had previously been judged in common law that married women had no capability or authority to ‘not consent: ‘The sexual communication between them is by virtue of the irrevocable privilege conferred once for all on the husband at the time of the marriage †¦ (R v Clarence, 1888). ‘But the husband cannot be guilty of rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for their matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband, which she cannot retract. (Sir Matthew Hale, 1736 History of the Pleas of the Crown) The criminalisation of marital rape was controversial within legal circles. This is because when it was criminalized in 1991 it was seen as being criminalized by judge-made law rather than the elected government. The case in question was R v R[13] where it was alleged a husband had attempted to have sexual intercourse with his estranged wife without her consent and physically assaulted her by squeezing her neck with both hands. In this case the issue was not whether he had attempted to force his wife to have sexual intercourse without her consent, but rather whether this fell under the legal definition of ‘unlawful sexual intercourse. Relying upon Hales now infamous statement (cited above) the defence argued that because the acts were against his wife this could not be classed as unlawful. In considering this defence, Mr Justice Owen argued that Hales statement could not longer be seen as valid because it was ‘a statement made in general terms at a time when marriage was indissolvable. However, this dismissal of Hale appeared to relate more to the fact that there was physical force used in the attempted rape than the lack of consent per se: ‘I am asked to accept that there is a presumption or an implied consent by the wife to sexual intercourse with her husband; with that, I do not find it difficult to agree. However, I find it hard to believe †¦ that it was ever the common law that a husband was in effect entitled to beat his wife into submission to sexual intercourse †¦ If it was, it is a very sad commentary on the law and a very sad commentary on the judges in whose breasts the law is said to reside. However, I will nevertheless accept that there is such an implicit consent as to sexual intercourse which requires my consideration as to whether this accused may be convicted for rape. Mr Justice Owen ruled that the act could be classed as attempted rape and sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment. The defendant appealed, arguing that Mr Justice Owen had been wrong to rule that rape within marriage was against the law when the marriage had not been revoked. The appeal was dismissed unanimously at the Court of Appeal[14], where Lord Lane dismissed Sir Matthew Hales statement as being a ‘statement of the common law at that epoch, where ‘the common law rule no longer remotely represents what is the true position of a wife in present-day society. The Court of Appeal concluded: ‘We take the view that the time has now arrived when the law should declare a rapist a rapist subject to the criminal law, irrespective of his relationship with his victim. This judgement was later upheld on appeal to the House of Lords[15] and at the European Court of Human Rights[16]. The second of the two previously mentioned changes was also made within the 1994 Act when it was acknowledged that a man could be a victim of rape and the actus reus of rape was amended to cover vaginal or anal intercourse against a woman or another man without their consent. Although other parts of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 were revised between 1995 and 2003, the actus reus of rape retained its definition as in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 until the new definition in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 defines the actus reus of rape as penile penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent. Therefore, in terms of its actus reus, rape has slowly changed over nearly half a century from unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman to penile penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent. The widening of the actus reus to include penile penetration of the mouth is based on arguments made in the Sexual Offences Review that other forms of penetration (for example: penile penetration of the mouth, or vaginal or anal penetration with an object or another part of the body) should be treated just as seriously as penile penetration of the vagina or anus. It was decided that rape should be extended to include penile penetration of the mouth, on the basis that ‘†¦ forced oral sex is as horrible, as demeaning and as traumatising as other forms of penile penetration (Home Office, 2000a, pg. 15)[ 17]. This means that it remains a gender-specific offence with regard to the perpetrator (i.e. the act requires a penis) but a gender-neutral offence with regard to the victim. A new offence of assault by penetration was introduced to cover penetration by objects other than a penis, as with rape carrying the maximum sentence of life imprisonment[18]. The second part of the actus reus relates to a lack of consent. There are generally three lines of defence used in rape cases; that intercourse never took place, that it took place but not by the accused or that it took place but that the victim consented to it or that the accused believed that the victim consented to it (Baird, 1999). Baird (1999) highlights that there are very few rape cases that are ‘whodunnits, and the defence that sexual intercourse never took place is also rare. These defences are likely to have become even less common since developments in DNA testing (Lees, 1996). The issue of consent is therefore what many rape defence arguments focus on, and one of the aims of the review of sexual offences was to ‘clarify the law on consent'[19]. The root of the ‘consent problem lies with the requirement of the prosecution to prove the absence of consent (rather than requiring the defence to prove that they had taken steps to ascertain consent), and in many ways this problem is unique to rape cases. If, for example, a person reported that their car had been stolen it would not be necessary to prove that it had been taken without their consent. Similarly, if an individual were physically assaulted, for example punched in the face, they would rarely be asked if they agreed to be punched in the face. A further problem in rape cases is that the only direct witness is likely to be the rape victim, which means that cases often come down to one persons word against the other. If the defendant says that the victim consented and the victim says she did not consent then it is difficult to validate either persons statement of the act[20]. Because of the nature of sexual offending it is unlikely there would be a third party availab le to directly corroborate either statement. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 was the first to use the term ‘consent in statute – previously it had been force that was named as the relevant factor. However, consent had been an issue within common law since 1845 in Camplin in which the woman was drugged with alcohol and it was ruled that, although no force had been used, it was clear that the act was against the womans will and that she could not have consented to it. Since then, there have been other cases where consent is automatically deemed to be absent[21], which Temkin (2000) refers to as the ‘category approach. The case of Olugboja[22] in 1981 however, appears to have changed the standards needed to show non-consent. In this case it was ruled that consent was a state of mind and that the jury should be directed to make up their own minds as to whether consent was present based on the victims state of mind at the time of the rape. This appears to overturn the legal standards that had been develop ed using the ‘category approach. However, this is unclear and Temkin (2000) described the situation as having a ‘threefold uncertainty. The first element of uncertainty was because there was no statutory definition of consent. Secondly, the Olugboja decision individualised cases regarding consent hence moved away from the idea of a legal standard of non-consent. Finally, there was uncertainty regarding whether or not Olugboja had replaced the previous common law ‘category approach. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 addressed these uncertainties by defining consent as ‘a person consents if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice (section 74) and by returning to the category approach by listing the categories in statute. However, the 2003 Act differentiates between six categories where consent is presumed to be absent, unless there is sufficient evidence to the contrary to raise an issue that the defendant reasonably believed that the victim consented, and two categories where consent is conclusively presumed to be absent. This means that the issue of consent still, to some extent, relies upon the mental state of the defendant, even in cases such as where the victim was asleep, experiencing violence from the defendant, or unlawfully detained[23], although the burden of proof is reversed in these situations with the defendant required to demonstrate the steps he took to ascertain consent. 4.2 The mens rea (guilty mind) This second part of the offence of rape – the mens rea – is based on the premise that an individual should not be punished for an act that they did not know they were committing at the time of the act. Although the actus reus and the mens rea are components of all crimes, the mens rea only becomes relevant when the conduct in question contains some level of ambiguity. The need to prove both the actus reus and the mens rea is applicable to other crimes besides rape. The most regularly used example is the crime of trespass; it is against the law to trespass onto anothers property, but a person cannot be convicted if they did not know they were trespassing (i.e. if private property was not clearly marked). Whether or not a person intended to commit a crime is probably more central in rape cases than for other criminal offences when it comes to proving the ‘guilty mind. Previously, if a man committed the actus reus of rape – the guilty act, but he honestly believed that the woman was consenting regardless of how unreasonable that belief was, he can not be convicted of rape because the mens rea[24] – the guilty mind – was not present. This was known formally as the ‘mistaken belief clause and informally as the ‘rapists charter (Temkin, 1987) because it meant that a woman could be actively non-consenting, even shouting ‘no and struggling to free herself, and a man could still be acquitted of rape. It is a defence that is very difficult, if not impossible, to disprove because the defence relies upon what was going on the defendants mind. The ‘mistaken belief clause was first introduced in Morgan[25] in 1976 when a husband colluded in the raping of his wife by three of his friends. He allegedly told his friends that his wife would struggle and say ‘no, as though she did not want to have intercourse with them, but that this ‘turned her on because she was ‘kinky. The accused men claimed that they honestly believed she was enjoying it and consenting and that they did not intend to rape her – in other words they never had a guilty mind. Although in the Morgan case the men were convicted, and the husband convicted of aiding and abetting, this case set a new precedent. The House of Lords ruled that if a man honestly believed that a woman consented, regardless of how unreasonable this belief was, he could not be found guilty of rape. Feminist activist groups campaigned for many years that the mistaken belief defence should be based on some test of reasonableness or that the mistaken belief clause should be abolished altogether. These are issues that have been widely debated throughout the common-law world. In Australia this issue divided rape law reform campaigners into two groups; the ‘subjectivists who argued that the Morgan ruling should be upheld – i.e. if a man honestly believes that a woman consents to sexual intercourse regardless of how unreasonable that belief is he should not be found guilty of rape, and the ‘objectivists, who argue that the belief should be reasonable (Gans, 1997). In Victoria, Australia, the argument against the amendment or abolishment of the ‘mistaken belief defence was based upon data from an empirical study commissioned by the Law Reform Commission of Victoria. This research found that in an examination of 51 rape trials the ‘mistaken belief defence was used in 23 per cent of cases. Furthermore, it was found that acquittals were actually less likely in these cases (Law Reform Commission of Victoria, 1991a, 1991b). They concluded that although the adoption of objectivism would have some effect on the outcomes in rape trials, this impact would be very slight (Law Reform Commission of Victoria, 1991b). This opinion did not meet with universal agreement, and Gans (1997) argues that the methodology, and hence the findings, of this part of the research was fundamentally flawed, invalid and misleading. He criticises the research for not taking into account pre-trial decisions on attrition, and argues they should have included all reported rape cases when publicising the conviction rate rather than just those cases that got to court. Gans also argues the Victorian research ignored the role of the ‘honest belief within juror decision making and had vague coding categories around consent and honest belief. He suggests that, by re-c oding the data, at least 74 per cent rather than 23 per cent of the trials actually had at least some element of the ‘mistaken belief defence and warns that while successful law reform should be based upon empirical research, caution should also be exercised. In England and Wales no empirical research has ever addressed this subject, and it is therefore impossible to know the scale of the problem here[26]. In the Sexual Offences Review there was much debate about the mistaken belief defence, but no clear agreement was reached as to what should be recommended. Around a third of the respondents to the rape and sexual assault section of the Review argued that Morgan should be changed so that a belief must be both honest and reasonable (Home Office, 2000a). Alongside these responses, a postcard campaign to Jack Straw (then the Home Secretary) was organised by the feminist activist group Campaign to End Rape, which called for a total dismissal of the Morgan ruling. The debate within the review was not whether Morgan should be changed per se (the Home Office rape seminar and the Reviews External Reference group agreed that it should be changed), but rather how it should be changed, and what, if anything should replace it. After much debate, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 defined the mens rea of rape as if ‘A does not reasonably believe that B consents (section 1c). Whether or not the belief is classed as reasonable is determined after regarding all the circumstances, including any steps A may have taken to ascertain whether B consents. It is too early to consider what impact this may have had, and the lack of any baseline s makes evaluation difficult unless this were to be conducted retrospectively or using interviews with lawyers. 5. Conclusions The reformed rape law, as of May 2004 can thereby be summarised as if ‘A intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of ‘B with his penis, and if ‘B does not consent to the penetration and ‘A does not reasonably believe that ‘B consents (paraphrased from section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003). Although there were piecemeal reforms made between 1956 and 2003, none of these had any impact on the continued decrease in the conviction rate. It is too soon to know how the 2003 Act will be interpreted and what, if any, impact it will have. Although consent has now been defined in statute, this does not solve many of the issues relating to consent. It remains a problem that the law equates passivity or non-resistance with consent (Henning, 1997), especially when there is no evidence of physical violence or if the victim had consented in the past (Harris and Weiss, 1995). The re-wording of the mens rea so that the belief in consent must be reasonable is a significant step forwards, however it is too early to know how ‘reasonable will be interpreted in case law (i.e. reasonable to who? under what circumstances?). There was some scepticism relating to what impact the Sexual Offences Act 2003 would have even during the consultation stages. In 2001, for example, Rumney warned that the review might lead to ‘another false dawn (pg. 890) because of its sole focus on the black letter law. In other words, it is unlikely that men will ‘decide not to rape simply because the laws have been slightly strengthened. Similarly, the high attrition rate is not solely related to how rape is defined in law, so the impact here may also be marginal. Goldberg-Ambrose (1992) suggests that law reform should focus on the trial process, particularly on how rules of evidence and the ways in which rape cases are constructed relate to social perceptions of gender, coercion and sexuality. This suggests that it may be necessary to look further than the ‘black letter law towards the trial process in an attempt to explain why the problems around the prosecution of rape persist. Although campaigning for rape law reform is important it may not be enough. This has been acknowledged by feminists for some time; for example, in 1984 Jeffreys and Radford argued that reforms can only ever be effectively implemented alongside a transformation of mens attitudes. In its most simple terms, it is likely that laws are easier to change than prejudiced attitudes (Gaines, 1997). Although there remain many issues relating to the prosecution of rape defendants, few feminists in England and Wales will deny that the reformed rape law represents a huge step forwards. The same can be said for the other sexual offence laws that were reformed and with regard to the new offences that the legislation created. Decades of previously dismissed feminist campaigning have now come to fruition and the new legislation tempts ‘told you so type comments in some places. The major achievements of the legislation can be held as being: the retention of rape as a gendered offence in terms of its perpetration; the need for an ‘honest belief in consent to also be ‘reasonable; and a complete revision of what it means to truly consent. However, it is highly unlikely that a new law alone will see an end to the problems women who are raped face within the criminal justice system and it is important that monitoring of the new Act begins and is made publicly available as s oon as possible. References Baird, V. (1999) Changes to section 2 of Sexual Offences Act 1976, Medicine, Science and the Law, 39 (3), 198-208. Chambers, G. and Miller, A. (1983) Investigating Rape, Edinburgh: HMSO Cook, K. (2004) Rape Appeal Study: Summary Findings, available at www.truthaboutrape.co.uk Gans, J. (1997) Rape Trial Studies: Handle with Care, The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 30, 26-35. Hale, M. (1736, published in 1971) The History of the Pleas of the Crown, London: Professional Books. Harris, J. and Grace, S. (1999) A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s, London: Home Office. Harris, L.R. and Weiss, D.J. (1995) Judgements of Consent in Simulated Rape Cases, Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 10 (1), 79-90. Henning, T. (1997) Consent in sexual assault cases: the continuing construction, Violence Against Women, 3, 4-10. HMCPSI and HMIC (2002) A Report on the Joint Inspection into the Investigation and Prosecution of Cases involving Allegations of Rape, London: HMCPSI and HMIC. Home Office Review of Sex Offences (2000a) Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the law on sex offences (Volume 1), London: Home Office Communication Directorate. Home Office Review of Sex Offences (2000b) Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the law on sex offences (Volume 2), London: Home Office Communication Directorate. Jeffreys, S., and Radford, J. (1984) Contributory negligence or being a woman? The car rapist case, in P. Scraton and P. Gordon (eds) Causes for Concern, London: Penguin books. Kelly, L. (2002) A research review on the reporting, investigation and prosecution of rape cases, London: HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. Kelly, L. (2004) Legal Reform, Sexual Autonomy and the Justice Gap: Sexual Offences Law in the 21st Century, paper presented at the European Rape Congress, Brussels, 1st – 2nd April 2004. Kelly, L. and Regan, L. (2001) Rape: The Forgotten Issue? A European research and networking project, University of North London: Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit. Law Reform Commission of Victoria (1991a) Rape: Reform of Law and Procedure: Appendixes to Interim Report No 42, Melbourne: LRCV. Law Reform Commission of Victoria (1991b) Rape: Reform of Law and Procedure, Report No 43, Melbourne: LRCV. Lea, S.J., Lanvers, U. and Shaw, S. (2003) Attrition in rape cases; developing a profile and identifying relevant factors, British Journal of Criminology, 43, 583-599. Lees, S. (1996) Carnal Knowledge – Rape on Trial (1st edition), London: Hamish Hamilton. Lees, S. and Gregory, J. (1993) Rape and Sexual Assault: A Study of Attrition, London: Islington Council. Rumney, P.N.S. (2001) The Review of Sex Offences and Rape Law Reform: Another False Dawn? Modern Law Review, 64 (6), 890-910. Smith, L.J.F. (1989) Concerns About Rape, Home Office Research Study No. 106, London: HMSO. Temkin, J. (1987) Rape and the Legal Process, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Temkin, J. (2000) Literature Review: Rape and Sexual Assault, in Setting the Boundaries, London: Home Office www.bristol.ac.uk/sps [1] Nicole Westmarland is a Research Associate in the area of gender and violence at the University of Bristol, UK and a PhD candidate at the University of York, UK. Her activism work includes Tyneside Rape Crisis Centre and the Truth About Rape Campaign. [2] Sexual Offences Act 1956 [3] Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 [4] For example the use of the term ‘defective for individuals with learning disabilities. [5] Morgan v DPP [1976] AC 182 [6] Research on non-reporting in England and Wales vary depending on who is conducting the research and when the research was conducted. Recent governmental research found that two in ten women who have been raped reported the incident to the police (Myhill and Allen, 2002). However, dated non-governmental research suggested this may be even lower at one in ten women (Painter, 1991). [7] This is part of an overall Labour strategy to put support victims of crime and bring more criminals to justice. (c.f. ‘Justice for All; ‘Speaking up for Justice; the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and plans for a new Victims and Witnesses Bill in the future) [8] In X and Y v The Netherlands in 1985 the Netherlands was held to have violated the rights of a mentally handicapped 16 year old girl because of a loophole in the law which meant that she was not able to make a rape complaint. In M.C. v Bulgaria in 2003 Bulgaria was held to have violated the rights of a girl because she could not prove non-consent because the legal definition of non-consent required force to be used and she was not physically restrained during the rapes. [9] Including Professor Jennifer Temkin and Professor Liz Kelly [10] Rape Crisis Federation [11] Campaign to End Rape [12] Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1976 [13] R v R [1991] 1 All England Law Reports, 747 [14] R v R [1991] 2 All English Law Reports 257 [15] R v R [1991] 4 All England Law Reports 481 [16] CR and SW v UK [17] Previously, pe

Development of Conceptual Framework in Accounting

Development of Conceptual Framework in Accounting Introduction In this essay we will assess the extent to which a conceptual framework can be developed in accounting, with examples of past and current attempts from standard setters. Accounting is a subject which is based on economic information about entities financial affairs. Accounting is defined as a process of identifying, measuring and communicating economic information according to US Generally Accepted Accounting Policies (GAAP). Accounting is not an exact science and therefore, consists of many subjective areas, namely in the valuation of assets, provision policies, recognition of revenue and costs etc. Some commentators are of the option that economic theory should form the basis of any conceptual framework within accounting. In recent times with the issues facing the financial markets, accounting framework has come under increased scrutiny, with both UK and International standard setters having to define the fundamental concepts of accounting, namely, accruals, going concern, prudence, consistency and materiality. The conceptual framework has now placed greater emphasis on ‘true and fair view’ within financial reporting standards. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) working closely with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FRSB) is developing a new conceptual framework which is based on qualitative characteristics as well as historical quantitative characteristics (Accruals, Prudence, and Consistency). The aim of the joint conceptual framework is to ensure that companies annual reports represent a true and fair view of the entities financial health, the new concepts being considered for inclusion within the framework are, Understandability, Rationality, Preciseness, Simp licity and Acceptability. In developing the conceptual framework the IASB and FRSB need to decide if it should be rules based or principles based. Conceptual Framework of Accounting The FASB (US Accounting Body) attempted to form a conceptual framework during the 70’s and during the late 80’s the International body (IASB) developed a summary revised conceptual framework for companies, specifically dealing with the preparation and presentation of financial statements. This was followed by the Statement of Principles for financial reporting in 1999. The ASB has embraced current value accounting, which is based on value to the business measurements like Replacement Cost, Economic Value and Net Realisable Value (NRV). In order to determine the extent to which a conceptual framework can truly be developed for accounting, we must first examine the definitions of a conceptual framework. The Accounting Standards Community defines it as â€Å"a consultative document, which is a set of broad, internally consistent fundamentals and definitions of key terms† (ASC, 1978) FASB defined the conceptual framework as part of the scope and implications of the conceptual framework project in 1976 as â€Å"a constitution a coherent system of interrelated objectives and fundament’s that results in consistent standard and prescribe the nature, function and limits of accounting standards†. The qualitative characteristics in the FASB’s conceptual framework above forms the fundamentals and enables financial statements to be objective and sets out the alternative accounting methods. The measurement at the operational level sets out the rules for determining the monetary amounts within financial statements, i.e. historical cost, present value, replacement costs etc. Therefore, we can conclude that the purpose of a conceptual framework is to provide standard setters with a consistent guideline of accounting principles which are consistent with each other. It will also offer guideline in applying accounting standards in the most appropriate form with treatment of transactions when the standard offers scope for judgement. Other purposes of conceptual framework are found in the ASB Statement of Principles for Financial Reporting (1991): Assist in development of future standards Assist in reduction of alternative treatments Assist in preparation of financial accounts and guidance on areas where no specific standards exist Assist auditors in forming opinion on adherence to standards (Thomas, A. (2005) pp.499) Issues Surrounding the Development of a Conceptual Framework of Accounting In recent times there has been much debate in the UK surrounding the development of a conceptual framework. The main issue in the development has been in terms of costs and whether it was beneficial and possible to develop a consistent set of fundamentals that would lead to improvements in the UK accounting standards. The other issue is in terms of whether standards will make companies accounts more consistent rather than comparable. The development of conceptual framework will presumably result in more standardisation of accounts. There are two schools of thoughts on development of conceptual framework and its underlying theme. Normative Vs. Deductive Theories Normative theories are concern with technical processes which aim to measure ‘true income’ as influenced by Hicks (1946). Normative theories would produce a set of consistent rules that would form the basis of the conceptual framework. Accounting is also viewed as a technical process via deductive theory, but supports a user needs approach in identifying the objectives of financial statements. This is the view taken in all current projects trying to deliver a comprehensive and definitive conceptual framework of accounting. Lastly, positive views accounting and in particular the process of setting standards as a political process, which can lead to exploitation of class interests. This results in standard setting being viewed as quasi-legislation as company law is set by the parliament; therefore, it’s a political process. Standard setting process need to be one of consensus and not dictatorial assertion based on a conceptual framework, which is itself is the product of a particular set of class interest namely, shareholders interest. Environmental Issues and Accounting Framework An Example of an area which requires guideline from published conceptual framework is environmental and social reporting issues. Currently there is no legal or accounting standards in operation and no legal requirement for companies to carry out such accounting. But, many large companies carry out environmental and social accounting and reporting, as it’s a part of their core business values. The body Shop, Traidcraft and others now see environmental reporting as increasingly significant issues in business and regard it as important to gather and present information about their activities in these areas. In the past traditional accounting framework has neglected such environmental matters as it was not capable of being measured objectively. Environmental accounting has proven to be technically easier than social accounting, as social accounting is seen as more political and forms part of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting (CSR). Due to the varying nat ure of environmental and social accounting within individual companies, any conceptual framework would find it difficult to promote consistency and comparability of accounting policies. The above example highlights of how accounting is changing in the area of social and environmental accounting. This change has resulted in extension to both UK GAAP and US GAAP. This has come about as a result of the growing concern over the impact of organisations on society Conclusion Financial reporting has come under scrutiny post Asian crisis in the global markets and the fairness of accounting standards has been questioned. The global financial crisis has illustrated that under the forces of financial globalisation it is vital for standard setters to increase the regulation and transparency of financial reporting, in order to achieve global market efficiencies. It is without doubt very important to have a flexible conceptual framework of accounting in order to tackle the diverse and complex markets in which companies operate today. The FASB, IASC and ASB have all published conceptual frameworks of accounting. The conceptual framework must ensure the development of relevant accounting standards which the users can understand. However, in developing conceptual framework the standard setters need to be mindful of the fact that organisational practices and market conditions will evolve, and the standards need to evolve in order to remain relevant. The framework needs to be one that is compliant with Corporate Governance rules and regulations. Rule based standards are easier to police than principles based standards, which can lead to inconsistencies within accounts of companies within the same industry, therefore, not promoting comparability and reliability. Conceptual framework development has adopted the principle based approach in allowing companies to be flexible in order to deal with new challenges of the global market place. Rule based method had come under intense criticism post Enron failure. Supporters of a pragmatic deductive theory of accounting seem to have been triumphant in the conceptual framework debate within the UK. What is still unclear is whether the monetary costs of developing a conceptual framework by the ASB can be supported in terms of the potential benefits it will deliver in financial reporting through improvements in ASBs standard setting process. The development of a conceptual framework is regarded as unbeneficial by those who believe that the framework may lead standards which will promote more consistency between financial accounts of entities but it will not achieve greater comparability. This is due to the fact that standards set in accordance with the new conceptual framework will push organisations to use similar accounting treatments, when those may not necessarily be the most appropriate for the individual company and this will result in misleading comparisons. Therefore, oppositions to the development of a conceptual framework in accounting argue that it will lead to misleading standardisation due to lack of flexibility being offered within accounting standards, hence, more rigidity and less innovation. However, the need for a conceptual framework of accounting is recognised and being addressed around the world, with the USA, the UK and IASB all taking the same principle based approach in its development and commencing with a consideration of the objectives of financial reporting, qualitative characteristics and description of elements and when these are to be recognised in the financial statements. However, concurrence on measurement has yet to be achieved. Word Count: 1,608 References Bibliography Glautier, M.W.E; Underdown, B.; Accounting Theory and Practice 5th Edition (1994) Pitman Publishing Hendriksen, E.S.; Accounting Theory 4th Edition (1982) Richard D. Irwin Atrill, P; Harvey, D; Mclaney, E; Accounting for business 2nd Edition (1994), Butterworth Heinemann Thomas, A. (2005), Introduction to Financial Accounting – 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill Accounting Standard Community, (1978) Setting accounting Standards: A consultative document, ICAEW. Financial Accounting Standards board (1976), Scope and Implications of the Conceptual Framework Project, FASB Perks, R. (2008), Financial Accounting – Understanding and Practice – Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Britton, A., Waterston, C. (2006), Financial Accounting – Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall Elliott, B.; Elliott, J. (2008), Financial Accounting and Reporting – 12th Edition, FT Prentice Hall

The Poweful Message of Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse Five Essay

The Poweful Message of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five From Ancient Greek playwright, Euripides, ("To die is a debt we must all of us discharge" (Fitzhenry 122)) to renowned Nineteenth Century poet, Emily Dickinson, ("Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me -/ The carriage held but just ourselves/ And Immortality" (Fitzhenry 126)) the concept of death, reincarnation, rebirth, and mourning have been brooded over time and time again. And with no definite answers to life's most puzzling question of death being given, it only seems natural that this subject is further explored. Kurt Vonnegut is one of many modern writers obsessed with this idea and spends many of his novels thematically infatuated with death. His semi- autobiographical novel, dealing with his experiences in Dresden during WWII, named Slaughterhouse Five, The Children's Crusade or A Duty Dance With Death, is no exception to his fixation. "A work of transparent simplicity [and] a modern allegory, whose hero, Billy Pilgrim, shuffles between Earth and its ti meless surrogate, Tralfamadore" (Riley and Harte 452), Slaughterhouse Five shows a "sympathetic and compassionate evaluation of Billy's response to the cruelty of life" (Bryfonski and Senick 614). This cruelty stems from death, time, renewal, war, and the lack of compassion for human life; all large themes "inextricably bound up" (Bryfonski and Mendelson 529) in this cyclically natured novel that tries to solve the great mystery of death for us, once and for all. Billy's life had revolved around these ideas from the time he was a child. At the age of twelve Billy "had undergone the real crises of his life, had found life meaningless even if he could not then articulate that concept, an... ...Vol. 12. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1980. \ Bryfonski and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson, eds. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1978. Fitzhenry, Robert I., ed. The Harper Book of Quotations. New York City: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993. Gurton and Jean C. Stine, eds. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1982. Riley and Barbara Harte, eds. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1974. Riley, Carolyn, ed. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1975. Shepard, Sean. "Kurt Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse Five." http://erme.bgsu.edu/~jdowell/kvandsh5.html Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. New York City: Laurel Books, 1969.

Chaucer on the Web :: Geoffrey Chaucer Internet Essays

Chaucer on the Web It has been only a few years since the Internet has become available to most of us. Since then, it has played an amazing role, and it changes our lives every day. We use the Internet to communicate with friends, to check news, and to find information. The Web contains a great amount of data about everything, and Geoffrey Chaucer is one popular subject. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to this great poet who was born in London between 1340 and 1345. The Harvard site describes his very busy official life: â€Å"He held positions as an esquire of the royal court, as the controller of the customs for the port of the royal court, as the controller of the customs for the port of London, as a participant in important diplomatic missions, and in a variety of other official duties.† Chaucer was an important diplomat, yet he also became known as a great poet and The Canterbury Tales made him famous. There are many sites about this author, of which three caught my interest. Each sit e has a different layout, format and information. Joseph P. Thomas defines Chaucer’s life at http://www.newadvent.org: â€Å"John Chaucer, Geoffrey’s father, was a vintner and his mother Agnes was a heiress. John was connected with the Court, and once saw Flanders in the royal trim. Geoffrey was well educated, but whether he entered at either university remains unknown.† Chaucer married above his class to Philippa Roet who was a daughter of Sir Paon or Payne de Roioet Guienne, the knight at arms. They had three children, and their marriage was unhappy. Thomas inserted a lot of detailed information about Chaucer’s work, although his site is unattractive. The text is plain without any pictures, frames, or interactive sites. This web site is not easy to read and is unappealing, although it is a very useful tool in a search for details about Chaucer’s life and his time. The Luminarium organization at http://www.

Apush Brinkley Chapter 12 Terms

APUSH Chapter 12 Antebellum Culture and Reform Hudson River School – The first great school of American painters, based in New York. The painters portrayed that America’s â€Å"wild nature† made them superior to Europe. Cooper and the American Wilderness – James Fenimore Cooper was the first great American novelist (The Last of the Mohicans, The Deerslayer) His novels â€Å"The Leatherstocking Tales† were a celebration of the American spirit and landscape Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry D. Thoreau – rejected societal norms as a whole and supported individual independence. Controversial, though they gained many followers.Brook Farm – established by George Ripley as an experimental community in West Roxbury, MA. Individuals would gather to create a new form of social organization, permitting everyone to self-realization. Brook Farm failed but inspired many similar communities. The Oneida Community – one of the most enduring utopian communities. It was declared that all residents were married to all other residents. Women were protected against unwanted childbearing and children were raised communally. Shakerism – commitment to complete celibacy, openly endorsed the idea of sexual equality.Reform Movements – worked on behalf of temperance, education, poor, handicapped, etc Charles Finney – similar to Thoreau/Emerson, said that everyone could find salvation through individual effort. Gained support from women and eventually became very popular and gained a following. Temperance Crusade – against alcohol! Women were in favor. Access to alcohol was growing and with it was abuse. States started passing restriction laws. Phrenology – argued that the shape of a person’s skull determined their character and intelligence. Reforming Education – Horace Mann said that education was the only way to protect democracy.He lengthened the academic year, doubled teachers salaries, and his examples lead to similar institutions in other states. Rehabilitation Reforms – the creation of â€Å"asylums: for criminals and mentally ill. Prisons were also reformed, with tighter restrictions meant to reform the criminals. Many such institutions soon fell victim to over-crowding. American Colonization Society/Failure of Colonization – proposed a gradual manumission of slaves with compensation to their owners. Met resistance from slaved themselves – the antislavery movement was rapidly losing strength.Chapter 13 The Impending Crisis Racial Justification – manifest destiny cited the superiority of â€Å"the American Race† Opposition to Expansion – Henry clay and others feared that territorial expansion would reopen controversy over slavery and threaten the stability of the union Stephen Austin & Texas – A young immigrant from Missouri established the first legal American settlement in Texas in 1822. Mexicans in the region attempted to refute further American immigration but it was too late – by 1835 already 30,000 Americans were established there.San Jacinto – Sam Houston defeated the Mexican army and took Santa Anna prisoner, Mexican government eventually gave up on Texas Opposition to Annexation – Sam Houston offered to join Texas with the rest of the union, northerners opposed acquiring a large new slave territory and increasing the southern votes Oregon – Both Britain and the US claimed the territory but soon significant numbers of white Americans began emigrating to Oregon, outnumbering the British settlers. They killed much of the Indian population in part due to the measles epidemic.Oregon Trail – 2,000 miles from the Great Plains and through the Rocky mountains. Difficult journey – thousands of people died on the trail though Indians were often helpful. Families worked together, most people walked for most of the time. James K. Polk – expresse d â€Å"that the re-occupation of Oregon and the re-annexation of Texas at the earliest practicable period are great American measures. † Argued that if Britain did not cede all of Oregon to the US, war would be held, and neither party really wanted that, and so Oregon came to be.Slidell Mission – Mexicans in Texas rejected Slidell’s offer, war was declared after American troops were attacked. California Gold Rush – started around 1848 and increased the population from 14,000 to 220,000 in four years. Created serious labor shortage in CA and Indians were forced into work Kansas-Nebraska Act – divided one territory into two to keep the slave balance equal; it immediately destroyed the Whig party, divided the democrats, and parties who opposed the bill came to form the Republican Party Election of 1856 – Fremont v. Buchanan who was nominated at 65 Dred Scott vs.Sanford – Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, owned by an army surgeon who ha d taken Scott into Illinois and Wisconsin where slavery was forbidden. Now, the surgeon’s brother was claiming ownership of Scott. The court was extremely divided but eventually declared that Scott didn’t have a case because he wasn’t a legal citizen. Lincoln – nominated in the election of 1860. Believed that slavery was morally wrong, but he was not an abolitionist – he could not envision an easy alternative to slavery in the areas where it already existed. He wanted to â€Å"arrest the further spread† of slavery

Digital Marketing Plan Essay

Introduction In the current age of advanced technology and media, where customers have access to broad marketing information any time, it is not easy for a business organization to grow and develop efficiently without implementing sound marketing strategies. Such strategies should mainly include digital marketing because of the broad use of computers and adoption of internet and other associate devices. With insignificant investment on web based marketing and creation of website, a large population of customers and new markets may be highly attracted by such marketing technique. The present paper major in providing a digital marketing plan for Bagel Nash Limited. The hospitality industry, is normally fast changing and dynamic sector. It constitutes to the leading sectors in the global economy, considering its turnover and transactions. As a result, hotel sector is highly sophisticated and competitive industry. As Bagel Nash has greatly grown and operating in many nations in the globe, it is now a must for Bagel Nash Ltd to adopt a digital marketing strategy to enable the company stay ahead of its competitors. Adoption of digital marketing strategy will also enable the company to attract and retain a large population of customers, market share, and maximize its profits in the today’s competitive environment whose customers have enough information regarding the market (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick 2012, p. 15). Digital marketing is one of the current fast cheap and growing solutions that enable companies to attract maximum  customers under no boundaries. If Bagel Nash adopts a digital marketing strategy, the company will find it easy to send messages to its potential customers, and as a result, this strategy will end up attracting many new customers (Ryan & Jones 2012, p. 56). The economy of the today’s world is actually demanding every business owner to look for the best marketing deals he or she can find. Usually, one can only find these deals on the internet. Digital marketing helps companies to maximize their exposure to consumers who are highly looking for the products and services of the companies. This aspect makes digital marketing more operative than any other form of advertising. Increasing the exposure of the company through adoption of digital marketing is highly portrayed by big firms especially McDonald’s (Parkin 2009, p. 67). Digital marketing will have numerous benefits for both Bagel Nash Ltd and its customers. However, on the other hand, adoption of digital marketing strategy has some drawbacks, which arose from the use of technology and internet marketing as well as its popularity of the target market. When using digital marketing Bagel Nash will not cut back its marketing budget in the current economy. Instead, this fast food organization will only focus on using its marketing budget efficiently by investing in digital marketing campaigns (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick 2012, p. 25). Actually, this is the appropriate time for Bagel Nash Corporation to review its marketing plans and bring digital marketing into its focus due to the rising costs of marketing using traditional Medias such as Magazines, which do not give the company a guarantee that it is actually targeting its potential customers. Situation analysis There are very view business organizations that operate without marketing in the current era of information communication and technology. If fortunately, a certain business is efficiently growing, this does not entail that the organization has captured all the entire market leaving no more growth opportunities. If an organization is already progressing, such an organization can perform much better by adopting a digital marketing strategy, thus enabling it to increase its market share (Chaffey 2000, p. 157). If an individual has a business in the modern marketplace, it will definitely be hard to run it with implementing a marketing strategy and not enough running a local newspaper advertisement to maximize the business  exposure (Bird & Bird 2007, p. 78). In addition, running an advertisement on a local TV station is currently useless because the most appropriate forms of marketing are those based on online marketing. In summary, before an organization starts getting the advantage of a large consumer base the organization should ensure that it attracts them to its website, and that is when the tools of online marketing come into action. There is need to present goods and services in a visually and clear appealing manner on the organization’s website. The website, will be the â€Å"store† of the company on the internet. The services and food substances offered by Bagel Nash will be convenient to access, having fair prices, and clearly defined delivery methods (Ginty, Vaccarello & Leake 2012, p. 134). The company should also add a blog to its website for the purpose of providing fresh content, innovations, and photos for customers to have a look. Adding a blog will also aid in satisfying the criteria of the search engine f or active renewal as well as use. Adding a blog to the company’s website also helps during replacement of the search engine (Chaffey 2008, p. 143). Other popular approaches that can be used to help Bagel Nash to market its website are social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, link building, Buzz, and other tactics of search engine optimization (Wind & Mahajan 2001, p. 89). The company can also market the website through the use of Google tools such as Google Local in order to maximize its online exposure. Despite the benefit of all these methods and tools, where an organization can promote its website using online marketing, organizations still have to deal with some issues that are related with digital marketing (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick 2012, p. 45). Online security issue is the key concern with customers who prefer online shopping and need some kind of security to be sure that the information they will be provide for their transaction cannot be accessed by other users or abuse in future. A company can resolve this matter of security by acquiring some verification certificates for online security and incorporating them on its website (Kaufman 2014, p. 90). Other concerns of online marketing include viral marketing, annoying banner ads that may discourage customers, placing much information about products and services on the home page that is unnecessary to the customers, and problems when searching for a product or service on the website (Payne, Frow & Cambridge University Press 2013, p. 79). Therefore, it is recommended that, before an  organization launches a digital marketing strategy, it should clearly understand whether the customer do online shopping frequently and whether they have skills of surfing the internet. As far as Bagel Nash is concerned, its target market is tourists and people who like fast foods and are always updated about the latest trends in fast food industry (Greenberg & Kates 2014, p. 115). Therefore, these people rely on internet to get new updates about hospitality services and do interactions most of their time on the internet. Objectives Achieving although challenging objectives are already set for the company to achieve in the next three years. Due to the current poor economic status that the company is operating in, achieving these objectives in the first year will be slow. The objective of the first year will be to build brand awareness to the market. Bagel Nash will aid in maximizing the awareness of its fast food products and services and their availability as well. We have already created the company’s page on Facebook, which has more than 1,000 customer â€Å"likes†. Theses â€Å"likes† are for people from different countries around the world. The company’s marketers will promote the website by using other main social networking sites, in-store advertisements, and emails. Optimization of search engine and updating process of the company’s data will be carried out more efficiently in order to ensure the website is always in front in searching results using different search eng ines. During the year, the company will also introduce secure online shopping which will aid in improving the company’s growth rate. The rate of growth of the company with increase from 6% of 2014 to 10% before the first year ends. In the following year Bagel Nash will be growing steady growth and will be among the leading search engines. In this year, the company will highly focus on introducing innovative technology and ensure that it uses the latest web technologies to enable attraction of new visitors. The growth rate in this year will be expected to increase by 7% because the company will open new branches in other countries. Bagel Nash will offer online selling to the countries it will be operating in (Ferrell 2014, p. 56). In the third year, the company will revive for the world’s economy, hopefully. The company will be able to capture a 25% market share. For British, aggressive marketing technique to maximize its market share. Online shopping  will be introduced to Britain countries in order to facilitate the company’s valuable customers as well as maximizing its market share. As a result, this will increase footfall-struggle attracting new customers (Dholakia 2002, p. 57). Strategy The following are the strategies that will be used to make the digital marketing plan more successful. Facebook lookalike audience- Using Facebook, lookalike audience will enable the company to reach new customers who will be interested in the services of the company because they are like the existing customers the company cares about. Using Custom Audiences, the company can decide to develop a similar audience that aims at targeting people who have similar characteristics with the Custom Audience list (Marich 2013, p. 76). For instance, if the company has over 5,000 contacts in its marketing database, the company can upload this contacts onto Facebook and enable targeting a demographic that is similar to the existing buyers. Email marketing- another strategy that will be used is email marketing. This fast food company will double the number of emails it sends per month. In case the company has compelling content of information that it would like to send to customers, it will be easy to inform all the subscribers that are in company’s email list via email communications. It is logical to argue that, email marketing is the leading digital channel used by many companies for ROI (Hemann 2013, p. 89). Bagel Nash will start strategizing highly on making email marketing a digital marketing strategy. Better blogging- most customers like referring to the content of a company’s blog as the â€Å"match a company should use to start the fire.† The marketers of Bagel Nash LTD will try to come up with a compelling content of the company’s blog. A compelling blog content always has a potential of ranking well in all search engines. 90% of blog accesses are new and therefore, this will act as a driver for the website traffic of the company. In addition, the blog will also be used to serve as a Twitter and Facebook post content and also as a puzzle for email marketing campaigns. By ensuring that the blog of the company has better content, its web traffic will rise as well as the content becoming more compelling. Digital PR- one can build contribution of the content through implementation of Digital PR strategy. Reaching out to several websites and sending them using a solid pitch, they  can end up writing an article of the company or try to feature the Company’s CEO on a blog post. The more people talk about the company and its services and Tweeting and chatting about the company, the more the company will be exposed in the upcoming years. Unique promotion- the marketers will brainstorm a very unique form of promotion that will attract more people and, as a result, this unique promotion will drive enormous publicity for the company in the next three years. The unique promotion of Bagel Nash will come up with user made jingle contest and photo upload promotion to entice its great buffs on social media networks to fully understand the services offered by the company in a clever way. In case this promotion will become successful, it will be ranked as one of the most popular promotions for the company in the next years. We expect that this digital marketers plan will hit if the above discussed strategies are implemented properly. In the list of the above discussed strategies are new while some have been being used for the past years. If these strategies will be incorporated properly, the company will have a perfect development and growth for the next three years using a digital marketing perspective. The strategies will highly contribute towards attraction of new customers and as a result increase sales and profit of the company. Tactics The most commonly used tactic by many companies is e-mail marketing. However, most studies conclude that even if e-mail marketing is broadly used digital marketing tactic because it is measurable and less costly, services offered by Bagel Nash Company need other tactics to coordinate with e-mail marketing. Discussed below are the tactics that will be used during the implementation of digital marketing plan. Social media- marketers tend to focus highly on social media and spend more money on it than other digital marketing tactics. This is due to the fact that this tactic is the most commonly used online activity in most countries. Just like any other tactic such as e-mail marketing, social has a higher capability of retaining customers and increase the company’s exposure. In addition, social media has low negative impact regarding rewarding existing customers (Greenberg & Kates 2014, p. 25). Referral marketing- referral marketing is the leading tactic in terms of acquiring customers and shaping conversions. Most people are aware of referral marketing and argue that it is among the efficient  tactics. Bagel Nash will use referral marketing to lead generation possibilities (Fenwick & Wertime 2013, p. 34). The tactic will enable the company to attract new customers as well as building stronger customer relationship. The marketers of Bagel Nash will enjoy one of the main advantages of this digital marketing tactic. Referral marketing will highly optimize the sales volume of the company, giving the company a qualified predictions that will increase its sales funnel (Vassos 2006, p. 95). Referral marketing will help the company’s marketers achieve a more qualified appearing from customers due to their satisfaction. Referral marketing is a very good tactic used in many organizations to attract and retain customers. It is a methodical customer cycle that is based on the strength of effect (Jones & Silverstein 2009, p. 58). Content marketing- according to most studies, content marketing is the second leading digital marketing strategy after social media when it comes to matters of spending. In addition, content marketing is ranked as the most effective tactic in the area of achieving marketing goals such as retention and awareness. Customers seek advice and information on fields they have interest. Therefore, Bagel Nash will put much effort to give its customers relevant information to enable it gain authority on its field by being a reliable and helpful resource (Ginty, Vaccarello, & Leake 2012, p. 145). According to economics such as Jeremy Chandler, content marketing portrays the company’s human side to people. The website developers will be encouraged to make use of personal voice and try by all means not to eliminate human voice on the company’s website (Lee & Ebrary 2001, p. 98). Customers tend to become more addicted to organizations that offer reliable content about their goods and services and incorporating content marketing into the digital marketing strategy will help in attracting and retaining a large population of customers (Bailey 2011, p. 67). In order to attract more customers and achieve the set goals, it will be necessary to combine all the above discussed tactics into the digital marketing plan. In additional, Bagel Nash should not at any time forget treating its customers with quality care. Action Successful implementation actions of digital marketing can bring significant advantages to an organization. Digital marketing will be the main effective means of achieving the goals and objectives of Bagel Nash LTD. The marketers  will ensure that they build up a reliable customer relationship as well as business contacts through the use of digital tools. These will not only be used to communicate with the customers but also to get their suggestions and comments. Secondly, it will be of great advantage to contact marketing research in order to enable the marketers use the appropriate platform for the digital marketing strategy. It is important to understand the target group of customers in order to choose the correct channel of reaching them (Wilson 2001, p. 123). Another action that will be put into practice is considering the benefits achieved through the use of different digital channels in order to choose the suitable one. Email marketing will be one of the most effective means of reaching the company’s target audience. The marketers will make use of this tool and design a quality content that can attract more customers. Controls- Bagel Nash is among the leading fast food restaurants in Britain and always focuses on the quality of food and services it offers to its customers. The staff members are all the time ready to improve the company’s marketing system and implement digital strategies. With the availability of both external and internal controls the marketing management will be able to upgrade the current marketing system and evaluate performance accordingly (Flores & Palgrave Connect (Online service) 2014, p. 67). The management of the company is always in a process of improving their food and services and always ready to hear the views of their customers (Thomas 2011, p. 90). The company already focuses on improving customer services and the introduction of the new digital marketing strategies will enable the company improve customer satisfaction and attract more customers. The marketing department will comprise of advertisement manager, advertisement analyst, promotion manager, promotion analyst, sales manager, and market research analyst. Implementation plan table Conclusion In conclusion, digital marketing is broadly being used by a large number of companies. In the current age of advanced technology and media, where customers have access to broad marketing information any time, it is not easy for a business organization to grow and develop efficiently without implementing sound marketing strategies. Implementing digital marketing strategy will highly contribute towards the growth and development of Bagel Nash Ltd. Bibliography Bailey, M 2011, Internet marketing: An hour a day, Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley Technology Publishing. Bird, D, & Bird, D 2007, Commonsense direct & digital marketing, London: Kogan Page. Chaffey, D 2000, Internet marketing: Strategy, implementation and practice, Harlow, Engl. [u.a.: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. 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