Progressive Era Essay Example for Free

Progressive Era Essay The progressive era was a thirty-year period in which the United States was completely reformed. Actions were taken to improve working conditions for laborers and women. President Roosevelt and Wilson were both reformers for the rights and voice of the people. Theodore Roosevelt used his presidency to put regulations of businesses and make sure the government is still higher than corporations. Individual Reformers and the government in the progressive era went through a great deal to bring about change in the united states, with teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting and political reform, improvement of laborers and goods, and the restrictions of child labor and women rights. Teddy Roosevelt became known as the great trustbuster. He didn’t get this name for no reason. Roosevelt could identify which trusts were good and which were bad. He could determine which trusts helped the people and which ones hurt them. Roosevelt would hunt down the bad trusts and take them down. He would destroy the bad trusts and restrain the good trusts from becoming bad trusts. Roosevelt believed that the government should police the corporations of America. (A). He took the Sherman Anti-trust act and enforced it so that companies could price their products and make sure not one company could not take control of the market. He did this by creating the Clayton anti-trust act to keep regulations on anti-competiveness. (E) Roosevelt also believed in changing the ways that politicians were elected. Senators in particular were being corrupted because officials were appointing them. He believed that the US senate was just a club basically for high privileged people. This lead to the passage of the seventeenth amendment which said that direct election of senators was to be the new way of choosing who would be in the US Senate. (D) This amendment got the people involved even more with politics and gave them more of a say in government. Politically the government was reformed with the US senate, and the trust busting and making sure that the government was a police force to big corporations. Laborers in the progressive era had it rough. They were not treated with respect, or the consideration that they deserve. The goods that were produced were not of quality and contained harmful hazardous materials. Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who wrote The Jungle, a book about the horribleness of the meatpacking industry. The meatpacking industry was a brutal and unsanitary way of life. The people who worked in the industry were subjected to disease such as tuberculosis and terrible working conditions. The workers were ignorant of the relationship of disease and cleanliness. They didn’t understand that a working condition should be clean and not filled with disease. A lot of the workers had tuberculosis while they worked, and it would get in the meat that they work with, which provided for unsafe meat for people to eat. (B) In other businesses it was just the same. Labors were never treated fairly. Up until recently laborers were not even allowed to go on strike. The government was not helping people; they were staying out of business affairs. Up until the age of reform, and the progressive era. The government was then trying to help out laborers and give them rights. Child laborers and women’s rights were also two big things that came up during the progressive era. Children were expected to work alongside grown men. They were subjected to the same harsh conditions as the adults. Children were not able to be educated because they had to work in the factories. A lot of children only went to school for a short time. The educators acted as if the industrial work was good for children. So children had to go through terrible disease ridden conditions of work. C) The children were not helped by the case of Hammer vs. Dagenhart which ruled that child labor is not a government problem; it is to be judged by the state legislatures. Even some parents felt like it was their kids duty to work, and that the children should work. (G) Eventually however the children were set free from the bondage of labor. But women were still subjected to discrimination. Women at this time didn’t have very many rights. Women want to be treated equally and to have a say in government. Women suffrage was big at this time. They felt like they could not do anything with the life that they had. So they pushed for reform, which was not happening at this time. It was unusual since the progressive era was a big reforming time. (H) The progressive era was a time of great change for the US. It came in the political with the trust busting and the senate voting, it came in the improvement of laborers, and it came in the way child laborers were treated and the women movement. The progressive era was big and it made people really understand what the US was all about.

Consumer Buying Behavior And Decision Making

Consumer Buying Behavior And Decision Making Recent research discovered that consumers are just likely to make purchase and to be influenced not only by relatives and peers, by endorsers but also by attitudes, situations and emotion (Olsen et al., 2007). The process of consumer decision making can be viewed as three well defined stages namely the Input, the Process and the Output as shown below (Schiffman, 2005). The Input Stage influences the individuals recognition of a product need and consists of two main sources of information which is the firms marketing efforts in term of its price, promotion, location of the retail outlets and the second source is the external sociological influences on the consumer which includes family, friends, neighbors, social class amongst others. The Process stage emphasizes on the way consumers make their decisions. The psychological factors built-in each individual like motivation, perception, learning, personality and attitudes which affect the way external elements from input stage affects the consumers recognition of a need, pre-purchase search for information and evaluation of alternatives. The output stage comprises of two related post-decision activities namely the purchase behaviour and post-purchase evaluation. A low-cost and non-durable product may be influenced by the manufacturers coupon and may actually be a trial purchase. The consumer evaluates the product through direct use. For a relatively durable product such as a laptop, the consumer decision-making model is examined in greater depth (Schiffman, 2005). 2.1 Factors influencing Consumer Buying decision 2.11 Cultural Factors In a sense, culture is a societys personality (Wayne, 2008). According to Hawkins (2009), culture is defined as the sum of total learned belief, values and customers that serve to direct the consumer behavior of members of a particular society. Individual are brought up to follow the beliefs, values and customs of their society and to avoid behavior that is considered as taboo. (Graham, 2009). Overall societies are segmented into subcultures. The sub-cultural divisions are based on nationality, religion, geographic locality, race, age and sex. 2.12 Social Factors A reference groups are groups that serves as frames of reference for individuals in their purchase or consumption decisions. Indirect reference group consist of groups with whom a person does not have direct face to face contact, such as movie stars, TV personalities, sports heroes or even interesting-looking people on the street (Graham, 2009). An individual who has little or no experience with a durable product is more likely to seek out the advice or example of others (Solomon et al., 2009). When consumers are concerned with obtaining accurate information about the performance or quality of a product or service, they are likely to be persuaded by those whom they consider trustworthy and knowledgeable (Hoyer et al., 2007). Appeals by celebrities and other reference group are used very effectively to communicate with their market. For many consumers, their family is their primary reference group for many attitudes and behavior. The members of a family assume specific roles in their everyday functioning, such roles or tasks extend to realm of consumer purchase decisions. 2.13 Psychological Factors Psychological factors arousing within individuals relatively drive general behavior of consumers and thus affect their behavior. The main influences on consumer behavior are personality and self-concept, motivation, learning and perception (Sorensen, 2009). 2.14 Individual Factors Demographic variables are individual characteristics which consist of occupation, sex, income, origin, ethnic, race and age (Kanuk,1999). 2.2 Organizational Buying Behavior The decision making process by which formal organizations confirm the need for products and services to be purchased, consider and select among alternative suppliers and brands (Glavee, 2009). (Hutt, 2009), as an outcome of the vast area of prior research, proceeded the characterization of the industrial buying behavior divided into three major aspects: The Buying Process, The buying Centre and Factors influencing the buying centre. As Kelly (2007), the buygrid model is a conceptual model, which describes the different combinations of buying phases and buying situations. It incorporates three types of buying situations: (1) the new task, (2) the straight re-buy, and (3) the modified re-buy, combined with eight phases in the buying decision process. The model serves as an easy framework for visualizing the otherwise complex business buying process and enables the vendor to identify the critical phases and situation requiring specific types of information. 2.3 The Buying Centre As Hutt (2009) mentioned, companies do not buy, people do. It is of utmost importance to have a concrete knowledge about those involved in the buying decision making process of the goods or services that a vendor aim to sell. It has been indicated that many individuals are pertained in the buying process of industrial goods. 2.4 Roles of the Buying Centre members Buyers are known to assume some common roles in a buying process (Wind, 1967). These roles are classified into six groups which are shown below. Initiator is the one or group of individuals who become aware of a company problem and recognize that the problem can be solved via acquisition of a product or service. The influencers are those who have a say in whether a product or service is bought or not. The more critical a purchase is to companys business, the higher the number of influencers. Gatekeepers usually act as problem or product experts. They have information about a range of vendor offerings. Other buying centre members therefore rely on their information for their assessment of prospective vendors offerings. Thus, by controlling information, and, by having access to decision makers in the firm, the gatekeepers largely determine which vendors get the chance to sell. Deciders are those who make the actual purchase decision. For instance, they say yes or no to what vendors offer. The buyer is one who makes arrangements for the delivery of the goods. He is also often directly involved in negotiating the conditions under which the transactions will be made. Users are those who usually make use of the products in normal working process. 2.5 Factors influencing the buying process and the buying centre Different attributable influences that affect the buying process and the buying centre previously addressed ( Nielson, 2008) : Aspects influencing the buying process Brief description Organizational Technology, goal, task, actors, structure. Interpersonal Formal authority, persuasiveness Personal Status, politics, ethics. Environmental Physical, economic, technological, legal, political and cultural. 2.6 WOM in Consumer Environment Word of mouth is about disseminating information by verbal communication, particularly references including general information in an informal or person-to-person approach. Word of Mouth is usually regarded as a verbal communication, although web dialogue, such as, message boards, emails and blogs (Olson et al., 2010). 2.7 WOM influencing consumer buying behavior WOM is considered to be of utmost importance in shaping consumers attitudes and behaviors. Silverman (2011), studied the diffusion of technology products and concluded that the pattern of ownership may be justified by the presence of an effective network consisting of neighbours exchanging product information. Songe (2006) pointed out that WOM is the most essential source of influence in the purchase of technology and household goods. It is three times effective as radio advertising, newspapers and magazines. 2.8 Characteristics of WOM WOM can be seen as positive as well as negative (Jantsh, 2010). Negative WOM arose when consumers gather information on lack of service, high prices or impolite sales personnel. PWOM is a reference to the passing of positive information. Scharffer (1998) indicated that dissatisfied customers made complain twice than when they are satisfied. Goodman (2009) justified that the services recovery programmes, service guarantees and complaints process affect the direction of WOM. WOM is considered to be an unlimited activity to consumers. The WOM activity can be perceived as a function where the individuals with whom the organization and its employees come into contact like the customers, suppliers, competitors, the general public, or other stakeholders (Misner, 1999). Throughout a decision making process, WOM may be employed at different stages. WOM can be used before or after a purchase. The use of WOM in a pre-purchase stage is referred to as input WOM and Output WOM is issued after the purchase (Assael, 1997). The effectiveness of WOM is far from being unnoticed. Some organizations regard customer WOM as one of the most strong marketing tool (Wilson, 1994). According to Scharffer (1998), marketers attempt to directly influence opinion leaders, incite WOM communication in advertising or depict communications form opinion leaders. 2.9 The Nature of WOM Nail (2002), distinguished three main types of WOM communications in an evaluation on personal influence in buying technology products namely product information, private experience and recommendation. Product information is informing about the product such as benefits of the products. Private experience includes explanations about reasons for purchasing the product. Recommendation refers to point of views about the product. These categorization implies that WOM attends to inform and to influence. Product news, for example, is efficient in bringing awareness about a product and its features. Listening about the experiences of the product from a friend help the consumer in evaluating the absolute merits of one brand or another. Eventually through the perceptions of others, advice is essential in making the purchase decision stage (Solomon et al., 2009). 2.10 Opinion leaders and followers According to Rosen (2002), mass media messages are caught and disseminated by opinion leaders. He also pointed out that mediated communication are circulated to opinion leaders who disseminate it through WOM to their peers. This in turn exert some influences. According to his theory, opinion leaders are present in all groupings of society and may be persuasive on specific topic (Songe, 2006). Lois (2007), could not differentiate between followers and opinion leaders. In his research, he inclined to talk of influencers rather than opinion leaders. He pointed out that influencers are active information searcher, more dependent and more innovative. The follower is active and may ask for information as well as considering opinions of others Those who diffuse information are also likely to receive it which denote that opinion leaders are also followers and vice versa. Wilson (1994) has certified that there is a dominance of personal influence in decision making. In his study, Hutt (2009) added that people who received positive WOM about a new product were more likely to purchase it rather than those who received negative WOM. The powerful effect of WOM is linked to various factors. There are situations where consumers referrals are perceived as being more rational and reliable than commercial sources of information (Rosen, 2002). Dialogues with either friends or relatives tend to be friendly and can help for trying out certain behaviours. Potential consumers of a particular product can acquire some of the product experience by searching for someone who has acquired recent experience with the product (Silverman, 2011). 2.11 Importance of WOM in service sector Good service is essential to promote positive WOM. Consumers depend largely on personal communication with other customers since their experiences are regarded as a trial (Goodman, 2010). Wilson (1994), in turn found that services consumers choose to search for reference from relative and peers rather than promotional sources. Customers are skeptical. They do not believe anymore about what they see or hear. (Kelly, 2007). According to Finch (2003), it is considerable when reference groups are likely to influence especially when the customer is dealing with a decision process and the purchase of the product involve certain risk. Proctor (1995) noted the individuals who have ongoing involvement are more prone to be opinion leaders. Consumers would rather seek information from friends and family if risk is likely to emerge when making a purchase (Scharffer, 1998). 2.12 Motives for engaging in WOM communication Finch (2003), concluded that there are a multitude of reasons for engaging in WOM communication. Sernovitz (2009), supported with evidence that those who disseminate information are certainly those who are experiencing the product. The involvement in the product-related decision is an essential component in personal communications. According to Songe (2006), WOM communication is the basic interest in the product category concerning ongoing involvement. Individuals who have an enduring interest in a product category experience satisfaction in discussing about it (Wilson, 1994). Additionally, Rosem (2002), pointed out that WOM communication is usually introduced to remove any doubt about product choice. According the theory of Wilson (1994), a consumer may try to decrease discomfort by explaining the positive aspects of a recently purchased product to peers and family. Furthermore, purchasing the similar product by a friend or relative proves the original judgment of the consumer (Skubal, 2002). Discussing about the product may likely to drive people to personal satisfaction (Songe, 2006). 2.13 Post-Purchase Decision-Making Negative WOM is known to be a framework of customer complaining behaviour. Harris (2008) suggested that consumers can either express their dissatisfaction or end up the relationship when confronting with unmet expectations. Furthermore, Burg (2005) classified three main reactions to dissatisfaction namely switching to another brands or substitute, making a complaint to the retailer or personnel and finally informing others about the unsatisfactory product or service. Concerning minor dissatisfaction consumers are not likely to complain nor do they spread negative WOM (Finch, 2003). When the level of dissatisfaction is important, consumers are more likely to complain (Kelly, 2007). Goodman (2009), referred that after purchases, consumers are likely to engage in a post-purchase evaluation of the product. If the consumer is not satisfied, psychological discomfort may occur. 2.14 Pre-Purchase DM According to Scharffer (1998), WOM is seen as a process through which consumers convey both informational influence in evaluation of the product and the purchase intention of fellow consumers. This type of information can thus be expressed according to the choice of the referral source or the task of selecting the product (Lees, 2007). 2.15 WOM has a powerful influence on organizational DM WOMC is thus considered as a growing necessity in B2B markets. According to Neilsen (2000) , WOM consists of informal communications directed by consumers at other consumers about ownership or characteristics of particular goods or services and or their sellers. WOM is perceived as an exit outcome to dissatisfaction with the product quality it can be perceived a behavioral manifestation of a latent loyalty towards the supplier or the brand (Canning, 2007). The WOM system is referred to a network where personal, verbal, face to face communication take place. It is also defined as the attribute of the information dealt and how these information would determine the role of the participants (Balter et al., 2009). 2.16 Provision of WOM While in any prevailing WOM circumstances, recommendations, opinions, information are likely to succeed in both ways. Emotions influence how decisions are formulated. In B2B purchase, the buyer does not encounter the overall benefit of the solution and may not be compensated for making a good purchase, but a bad purchase can damage the reputation and job security of the buyer. The study of Prahalad (2004) revealed that organizational buying decisions are normally influence fear. Organizational buyers tend to reduce fear by reducing risk. Personal risk is mostly hidden from the rational process and is considered as an important factor in B2B buying. Like in quality judgments, satisfaction can result to positive WOM through an exit, voice and loyalty logic argument (Nielson, 2002). To such a degree that satisfaction has affective bases, the statement specified earlier about the influence to WOM route has validity as well (Robins, 2008). The involvement with a product certainly provides a person with the motivation and ability to come up with product-related conversations with others. Like Jantsch (2010), observed an individuals frequent engagement with a product or service brings out to overflowing thoughts and emotions that can easily recalled in WOM experiences, frequently willfully so, in order to clear out the tension or the experience. Dissatisfaction with a product presumed to be essential by the individual is particularly filled with WOM potential (Balter et al. 2009). Researchers have been able to separate several product-related factors that reduce the occurrence and extent of WOM activity. Price awareness for product, for one, has been encountered to correspond remarkably with WOM transmission. Preceding a dissatisfactory experience, individuals have demonstrated to participate in more or less WOM conversations depending on the seriousness and controllability and composure of the problem (Bowman, 2009), as well as the perceived likelihood of a favorable redress (Wilson, 2006). Positive outcomes concerning complaint handling and redress, like the diffusive and synergetic justice of the redress orientation and the convenience of recovery, can lead positive consequences for a provider as individuals have the tendency to respond to positive things about the provider (Balter et al., 2009). 2.17 Strategies for managing risks Rosen (2009) introduced three strategies for managing risk namely: Approved supplier list. B2B buyers are prone to select companies they already know. If a member from the buying centre has pre-approved a supplier, the risk is reduced even if it is not the right solution. Word of mouth for example colleagues and friends. User communities are one of the main sources of information for researching B2B purchases. A recommendation from a credible source tend to reduce risk. Word of mouth from existing suppliers. A good representative build good relationship with their suppliers to create a credible source for referrals. 2.18 Buyers seek personal recommendation The most influential channels across decision making process were blogs, word of mouth, websites, trade journals and other form of media. According to Nail (2002), organizational buyers valued WOM communication which provide a personal recommendation. 2.19 The Buying Process Bowman (2009) made the conclusion that B2B buying is a decision process driven by the emotions of the people involved. Business buyers are mostly motivated to reduce personal risk of making mistakes. The decision making process in the B2B environment is not an easy task. Generally doers are those making the purchase of the product or service. The buyer has the entire responsibility for reducing corporate risk. The presence of a broad chain of gatekeepers in organizations means determine the level of complexity in decision-making process in B2B environment. In the B2B environment, decision making process is much more puzzling where there is no specific decision-maker across organizations (Nail, 2002). Graham (2009) implied that in an organization there is a gatekeeper who is allowed to share ideas and information to the members in the buying centre. Both the doers and the buyers need to search for information in the buying process. B2B website should take into consideration the information needs of those who search the Internet. Person to person meetings are crucial to reach the emotional needs of prospects. Building credible relationship through person to person meetings with both doers and buyers is necessary in the complex decision making process. Analytical plan offer recommendations about which options and information to consider or to reject. This help the organization to facilitate decisions to their relevant core. 2.20 The impact of Social Media Robins (2008) declared that online channel, precisely the social media occupied an essential role in how research is proceeded and finally the decision on business purchases in the future. Social media like Website, Blogs or Facebook are also considered to be influential. Inactive channels like the press advertising are equally influential. Robins (2008) pointed out that decision-makers need to search social media channels for information to their actions. Colleagues and peers add value to decision and thus minimizing risks (Siguardarson, 2000). Factors like the ability to learn from experiences of others, the ability to access to information and the ability to communicate with others. According to the study of Robins (2008), B2B buyers refer to trade journals as well as professional online media for B2B decision making. The study also regards word of mouth and personal reference from professional colleagues or peers which is considered as the most influencing source in buying decisions. According to the study of Fader (2010), there is a noticeable change in the influence of supplier websites at the beginning of the purchasing process. He further characterized websites as very influential. Personal recommendation is clearly approved as the most valuable factor in B2B purchasing decisions. Channel like Trade journals, Website, Blogs and Facebook are seen as large influencers concerning the provision of information to help buyers identify potential suppliers. Buyers and deciders are personally involved in the final decision making process. The members in the buying centre regularly used word of mouth and supplier websites as sources of information (Bowman, 2009). Mass media is a mean of reaching directly opinion leader, follower or the gatekeeper (Jantsch, 2010). According to Santeller (2010), the gatekeeper is considered as a source of information to both opinion leaders and followers. The research of Hoyer et al. (2006) showed that diffusion of social of social media is increasing constantly. According to the study of Sorensen (2009), some B2B buyers prefer to use of social media channels while others refer more to traditional information channels. He further observed that B2B buyer opted for issue-based information from supplier websites as a main source of information at the beginning of the buying process. Furthermore the level of influence are reduced towards later stages.

Principles of Fairness in Taxation

Principles of Fairness in Taxation Is it true to say that some forms of taxation are fairer than others? How might the present taxation system in the UK be improved to make it fairer? Ideas about the fairness of systems of taxation will always be subjective. Whilst wanting to enjoy the protection of the state and other benefits that taxation can provide, few citizens will be as keen to pay their taxes. There is little argument against the principle that taxes should be paid – the more difficult question is what constitutes a fair tax system? Adam Smith was one of the first economists to try and address the issue. He devised four principles for a fair tax system: that citizens ought to make a financial contribution to the state according to their own income and ability to do so; that taxes should be certain rather than arbitrary; that the collection of taxes should be done at a time and in a manner that is convenient for the taxpayer and; that taxes should be kept as low as possible and involve as little time and expense to the taxpayer as is possible. In a more modern setting, Smith’s principles can be summarised as equity, certainty, convenience and efficiency.[1] Equity of taxes is perhaps the most important of the principles. The Poll tax protests of the early 90s show what public reaction can be like if a tax is widely believed to be unfair and the Council Tax in place today continues to court controversy. The tax forces people on low incomes to pay out up to thousands of pounds a year in tax, with rates often dictated by central government. It is also unfair as the levels of council tax can vary greatly according to the efficiency of their local council. People on the same income living in different areas of the country can have vastly different council tax bills, with no great difference in the quality of their local services. Again, it appears to be the poorest that suffer – the poorest in the UJ pay four times as much as the rich as a proportion of income.[2] A contrary argument in respect of council tax however is that taxation should be agreed more at a local level when possible. 96% of taxes in the UK are levied centrally [3] More flexibility for local councils and the involvement of local people into taxation and spending decisions could help ensure that local needs are better met. Central Government cannot always make the correct local decisions and communities need to have the capacity to respond to local issues. There is certainly evidence that the UK tax system as whole is unfair and weighted so that the poor have a proportionately larger tax burden than the rich. Looking at all taxes paid, the poorest 20% of the UK population pay 42% of their income in taxes as opposed to 34% paid by the richest 20%.[4] The administration of a tax system should also be fair and efficient. Whilst self-assessment in the UK has helped improve this to some extent, a large part of the administrative tax burden in the UK is still with the taxpayer and this is unfair. Also, with a complex tax system, administration becomes even more expensive with small businesses in particular having to find funds for tax experts to conduct their tax affairs. Fair taxation also entails that citizens have a good understanding of the taxes that they have to pay and that the legislation for taxation is clearly defined. Poorly written legislation will always be open to misinterpretation and accusations of unfairness. Some taxes in the UK, such as corporation tax or VAT are often misinterpreted and this can again be seen as unfair on those who pay more simply because they do not have their own tax expert to make the most of the legislation for them. The confusion amongst UK taxpayers as to how and when they pay their taxes is clearly a weakness in the system. A summary of the principle taxes collected in the UK is required in assessing the fairness of the UK’s system. There are three types of tax base within the UK system; income which includes income tax and corporation tax; wealth capital which includes capital gains, inheritance tax and stamp duty and; expenditure which includes value added tax and excise duties. The income tax base that includes personal income tax and corporation tax is the tax that provides the most revenue. Total tax receipts for 2005/06 were an estimated  £483 billion and income tax provided 28.1% of this income.[5] There are however arguments that current levels of personal taxation are unfair. The Tax Reform Commission for example suggests that the basic rate of income tax should be set at 20%, that the personal allowance should be increased to  £7185 and that the 10% rate should be abolished altogether, something that would see 2.5 million of the lowest paid people stop paying income tax altogether. [6] Some personal allowances within the income tax system do already help in terms of equity – for example those over 65 have a personal allowance of  £7090 before tax compared to a £4895 allowance for those under 65. What is clear however is that the current levels of personal taxation against the lowest paid in the UK seem inappropriately high and should be reconsidered. National Insurance is a further example of this. Like income tax it is a direct tax on earnings yet different in that that it is linked to certain social security benefits. In practice however there is little relation between National Insurance payments made and benefits received for many individual contributors. There are a number of failures in the UK’s personal taxation in terms of fairness and it is the least well off that suffer Including income tax, NI contributions and loss of tax credits, somebody working 30 hours a week on the minimum wage can pay a marginal tax rate of up to 70%, plus the likelihood of further penalties through the loss of means tested benefits.[7] The marginal tax rate is much noticeably lower for those with a higher income,. There are certainly reforms that could improve and make fairer the current personal tax system. Reduced personal taxation, increased personal allowances and a reduction of the basic rate to 20% would help with this. The abolition of tax-free employee benefits and allowances would also simplify the system and a merging of income tax and National Insurance should be considered. Capital gains tax is the primary tax collected within the wealth tax base. It is a tax levied on gains made from the disposal of assets by individuals. The timing of this tax allows planning by the taxpayer who can prevent the accruing of excess liabilities – in this respect the tax meets the requirements of certainty. It had generally been seen as one of the fairer taxes from when indexation allowance was introduced in 1965 yet this can be questioned in more recent years since the indexation allowance was abolished and taper relief. Introduced. The timing of capital gains tax is also relatively fair in that it allows taxpayers to plan their returns to prevent excess liabilities being accrued. Inheritance tax is the other principle capital tax. This is seen as an unfair tax by many of the middle classes who see it as an unjust tax on properties and savings that their parents have left for them. Inheritance tax brings in substantial funds for HM Treasury with an estimated yield of  £3.3 billion[8] , yet a fairer system suggested by the Tax Reform Commission would be a shorter term capital gains tax on death excluding the family home – for many citizens liable for inheritance tax, the inclusion of property in this tax is seen as the most unfair aspect. Finally, there is scope for making business taxes in the UK fairer and more appealing to investors. The current tax rate of 19% for small companies is fairly low in comparison to international standards, yet in other areas such as relief on capital expenditure, rules on inward investment and taxation of overseas profits, UK taxes are less attractive to overseas investment. Changes to aspects of business taxes would help small businesses in particular and seem fairer to those who pay them. The complexity of business tax is also seen as unfair by many small businesses. It increases the cost of running a business the administrative burden of tax regulation on UJ businesses currently runs at  £5.1 billion, equating to 0.5% of GDP. [9] The fairness of taxation systems is a contentious issue. Some systems of taxation will always appear fairer than others, yet this will largely depend on who is paying them and the financial position of the individual. In the UK today, the burden on the lowest paid initially seems unfair, yet the richest in society will argue that a higher tax on their wealth is a disincentive to enterprise. The middle classes will see something like inheritance tax as unfair, whilst the poorest will see it as perfectly reasonable. A lower overall tax burden for UK citizens is desirable and lower tax margins for the poorest would undoubtedly make the system fairer. More radical proposals such as the introduction of a much more simplified flat tax have been mooted, yet it is improbable that such a system could meet the demand for public expenditure in the UK today. The basic principles of Adam Smith should still apply to the system of taxation in the UK today. Taxes should be fair, certain, convenient and efficient and whilst the UK system does not fully meet those criteria at present, tax reform should continue to work towards this standard. References Adam S Browne J, A Survey of the UK Tax System, Institute for Fiscal Studies Briefing Note, BN09, March 2006 Lymer A, Oats L Hancock D, Taxation Policy and Practice, Accounting Education Ltd, Birmingham, 2003. May J King M, The British Tax System, Oxford University Press, New York 1990 Tax Reform Commission, Tax Matters – Reforming the Tax System, institute for Fiscal Studies Publication 2006 http://www.libdems.org.uk/community/issues/counciltax.html 1 Footnotes [1] p2 Ch 2, Lymer, Oats Hancock, Taxation Policy and Practice, Accounting Education Ltd, Birmingham, 2003 [2] www.libdems.org.uk [3] (Stoker Gary, Councils need more taxation freedoms, p22 The Guardian July 3 2001). [4] www.libdems.org.uk [5] p3 Adam Browne, A Survey of the UK Tax System, Institute for Fiscal Studies Briefing Note, BN09, March 2006) [6] p7 Tax Matters 2006 [7] p57 Tax Matters 2006 [8] p17 Adam and Browne 2006 [9] p21 Tax Matters 2006.

Free Essays on A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Lessons of the Darkness :: Midsummer Nights Dream

Lessons of the Darkness in A Midsummer Night’s Dream The physical darkness impairs normal vision: the dark is intense enough for characters to fear being alone. Helena cries out to Demetrius not to abandon her "darkling," or in the dark (2.2 l. 93). Hermia seems certain that her abandonment in the dark by Lysander could lead to her death: "Speak, of all loves. I swoon almost with fear. / No? Then I well perceive you are not nigh. / Either death or you I'll find immediately" (2.2. ll. 160-2). The dark forest is far from hospitable to Hermia's imagination, but Shakespeare's night actually protects and instructs the lovers. Hermia's line give a clue to how they must learn to cope without their eyes: she does not see that Lysander is not near, but rather "perceives"-her hearing is the sense on which she comes to depend. Hearing and sight operate quite differently: while sight can be controlling (consider Foucault's panopticon, and the use of observation as power), listening requires openness. The temporal element of listening necessitates patience (Tu Wei-ming, 2/11/99). Hermia is able to find her lover eventually by using her hearing to its full potential: Dark night, that from the eye his function takes, The ear more quick of apprehension makes. Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense, It pays the hearing double recompense. Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found; Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound. (3.2 ll. 178-183) Here is the power of night to transform the gaze. The eye's power is taken, but the ear's is augmented. This Hermia seems far more confident than the Hermia of only a few scenes ago, who was certain she would perish without her lover. She speaks with a kind of triumph about her own ability to improvise: her ear paid "double recompense" has been more than adequate to the task. The night "pays," rewards, gives gifts in place of what it takes away. Hermia, thrilled to see her lover and to discover her own ability to improvise, goes so far as to thank her own ear. Relying on different kinds of perception leads Hermia to Lysander, just as the night world brings all four lovers to a truer understanding of themselves and their loves, making possible a happy ending for everyone by the end of the play. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the nighttime forest, by disrupting and transforming vision, forces introspection and improvisation that help the four lovers on their way to self-understanding.

Do Ufos Exist? :: essays research papers

Do UFOs Exist? I have gathered many sources and have come to the conclusion that UFOs do exist. Sightings of unusual aerial phenomena date back to ancient times, but only after 1947, have UFOs been widely discussed because of publication world wide. Many things support this concept such as sightings, crop circles, encounters, and abductions. At least 90% of UFO sightings can be identified as conventional objects, Although time consuming investigations are necessary for such identification. The objects most often mistaken for UFOs are bright planets and stars, peculiar clouds, birds, aircraft, balloons, kites, aerial flares, meteors and satellites. Between 1647 to 1969 at total of 12,618 reports have been received concerning unidentified flying objects, of which 701 of the reports (5.6 percent) were listed as unexplained. Some people claim that they have been abducted by extraterrestrials. A Harvard professor has taken these "abductees" and puts them in a hypnotic trans. Under hypnosis, sometimes weeping and shouting with agony and terror, they recover buried memories of alien encounters. There has never been physical proof of any abduction yet to be provided. The Roswell incident is now generally regarded as one of the most important UFO events in history, an extensive review of the UFO literature of the 1950s finds no mention of it beyond the first press accounts in early July 1947. The only know reference to it as a UFO crash was in a 1955 lecture by broadcaster and UFO enthusiast Frank Edward. Even in the 1960s the UFO literature mentioned it only three times, twice in both brief instances, in the latter rather vaguely. A widely published story reported that personnel from Roswell Field had a "flying disk" in their possession. When the material was flown to Fort Worth, Texas, the commander told the press that the "disk" was really just a weather balloon and produced balloon remains to "prove" it. Pictures were taken, there were chuckles all around and the press fell victim to a lie and a cover up it was able to maintain without challenge for over three decades. Crop circls Have been found to occur mainly in corn and wheat, but have also been found in other crops such as barky, oats, canola, grass, flowers, trees, and even snow. Crop circles have appeared on every continent and have been reported in over 70 countries around the world. Only countries in mainland China and South Africa haven't reported any crop circles at all. A lot of then have appeared in the former Czech Republic . Most crop circles have been formed in the center of fields with none of the surrounding crops disturbed. Do Ufos Exist? :: essays research papers Do UFOs Exist? I have gathered many sources and have come to the conclusion that UFOs do exist. Sightings of unusual aerial phenomena date back to ancient times, but only after 1947, have UFOs been widely discussed because of publication world wide. Many things support this concept such as sightings, crop circles, encounters, and abductions. At least 90% of UFO sightings can be identified as conventional objects, Although time consuming investigations are necessary for such identification. The objects most often mistaken for UFOs are bright planets and stars, peculiar clouds, birds, aircraft, balloons, kites, aerial flares, meteors and satellites. Between 1647 to 1969 at total of 12,618 reports have been received concerning unidentified flying objects, of which 701 of the reports (5.6 percent) were listed as unexplained. Some people claim that they have been abducted by extraterrestrials. A Harvard professor has taken these "abductees" and puts them in a hypnotic trans. Under hypnosis, sometimes weeping and shouting with agony and terror, they recover buried memories of alien encounters. There has never been physical proof of any abduction yet to be provided. The Roswell incident is now generally regarded as one of the most important UFO events in history, an extensive review of the UFO literature of the 1950s finds no mention of it beyond the first press accounts in early July 1947. The only know reference to it as a UFO crash was in a 1955 lecture by broadcaster and UFO enthusiast Frank Edward. Even in the 1960s the UFO literature mentioned it only three times, twice in both brief instances, in the latter rather vaguely. A widely published story reported that personnel from Roswell Field had a "flying disk" in their possession. When the material was flown to Fort Worth, Texas, the commander told the press that the "disk" was really just a weather balloon and produced balloon remains to "prove" it. Pictures were taken, there were chuckles all around and the press fell victim to a lie and a cover up it was able to maintain without challenge for over three decades. Crop circls Have been found to occur mainly in corn and wheat, but have also been found in other crops such as barky, oats, canola, grass, flowers, trees, and even snow. Crop circles have appeared on every continent and have been reported in over 70 countries around the world. Only countries in mainland China and South Africa haven't reported any crop circles at all. A lot of then have appeared in the former Czech Republic . Most crop circles have been formed in the center of fields with none of the surrounding crops disturbed.

Choice theory

The term choice theory has originated from the work of Dr. William Glasser, MD, an American psychiatrist from Cleveland, Ohio; and which was popularized through his book of the same title released in 1998. Choice theory is the culmination of Glasser’s research work on psychology and counseling spanning 50 years. It used to called control theory, and is the foundation of Glasser’s Reality Therapy, a particular approach used in psychotherapy and counseling which was developed in the 1960’s. This approach focuses on the present emotional status of a person and the possible ways on creating a better future, instead of concentrating on his past.Reality therapy establishes a person’s ability in making decisions, taking actions in his life, and being able to control his life. This approach allows a person in discovering what they really want in their lives, and learns whether their current activities are actually leading them to their actual goals. Reality therap y has gained a decent following in the United States and is now widely used in the field of education. Choice theory considers that behavior is the center of human existence. Human existence is further determined by the five genetically driven needs, which includes survival, belonging, power, freedom, and fun.According to Maslow, survival includes man’s basic biological needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. The remaining four are the fundamental psychological needs. This theory considers that among the five, the most important need is love, or belonging, due to the fact that a person’s closeness to the people he love and care about is an essential factor in satisfying all the five needs. Choice theory also includes the â€Å"seven caring habits†: supporting, encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting, and negotiating differences.Against these habits are the â€Å"seven deadly habits†: criticizing, blaming, complaining, nagging, threateni ng, punishing, and bribing or rewarding in order to control. Choice theory and the seven caring habits are aimed to replace and counteract the so-called external control psychology and the seven deadly habits, which is believed to be the present state of mind of most people in the world. The seven deadly habits are believed to be destroying relationships because it ruins a person’s ability to find satisfaction in his relationship.This further results to people getting disconnected from the people they care about, and which would prove to be the cause of most problems in the society at present: illnesses, depression, substance abuse, and uncontrolled violence, and rising crime rates. Choice theory then presents ten axioms, and these are: 1. The only person whose behavior we can control is our own. 2. All we can give another person is information. 3. All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems. 4. The problem relationship is always part of our present life . 5.What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future. 6. We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World. 7. All we do is behave. 8. All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology. 9. All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think. 10.All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable. The idea of the existence of a â€Å"quality world† is presented by choice theory, which states that a person, beginning at birth and throughout his life, places everything important to him, including people, his beliefs, materials things, and other valuables into this world. The person then b ehaves throughout his life to achieve a real world based on his quality world. Related to the ideas of a person’s real and quality worlds is the â€Å"comparing place† where the real world is compared to the quality world.With the idea of â€Å"total behavior†, Glasser believes that among the four components, a person can only exert control over two, which are acting and thinking; and have limited capacity to influence the other two, feeling and physiology. As these four are interconnected, the manner by which a person acts and thinks has tremendous impact on his feelings and physiology. Glasser’s choice theory is one that is based psychology. The theory further states that most mental illnesses being experienced by most people in the world are caused by unhappiness.Mental illness is actually brought about by a person’s unhappiness and dissatisfaction in life. Although contested by most mainstream psychiatrists, Glasser’s theory is now used in a wider range of social issues including education, family, management, and mental health. His theories have gained popularity not only in the United States where they are most commonly used in education, but also in the global arena. Glasser’s choice theory is all about being able to choose how to live happily, how to make better decisions that satisfy a person’s need, how to responsibly take action, and how to take control of one’s life.This theory is all about living satisfactorily in order to lessen unhappiness, promote better relationships among people, and therefore eliminate mental illness in the world today. Sources: Furr, Lee W. and W. Hugh Furr. (2006, March 14). Choice Theory Psychology. [Electronic Document]. http://www. choicetheory. com/ The William Glasser Institute. (2006, May 11). Choice Theory. [Electronic Document]. http://www. wglasser. com/whatisct. htm Schneller, Peter L. (2005, August 30). Choice Theory. [Electronic Document]. http://ra ider. muc. edu/~schnelpl/Control Theory – Overhead. html

Expository Paragraph Essay

Time travel which everybody thinks scientists will make it happen someday would give us a lot of informations about past if it’s exist. First of al lif time travel is really exist I would definetely g oto the era which dinosaurs lived and ruled the World so that I would be able to see how they lived and maybe contact one or two of them if they are small enough for me to handle. For example Hypsilophodon which is a name of a dinosaur that is so small that it’s not even trying to eat meat or another dinosaur. On the other hand there is T-Rex which means â€Å"Tyrant Lizard King† was the most fearful dinosaur in the World. Secondly I would be glad to go and see if humans we evolved or it is just a theory. For instance people seperated in two about this some say we evolved in time and others say we were like this even in the very begennig of the human race spesifically Charles Darwin has made some researches about this and eventually came up with this theory. After those two for the third time I would go to end of the 15. Century so I could try to meet Leonardo Da Vinci and ask him about his studies, paintings and Works. Like â€Å"Mona Lisa† everybody is curous about her smile and eyebrows another thing the society wonders is how dd he find so much time to search so much thing. To sum up if I could use a power that can help me travel in time I would do it to understand and answer some questions which scientists and people research into for many years.