Free

Free Will and Determination Essay Do you make your own choices or your destiny has been decided for you by circumstances behind your control? For thousands of years, this question has puzzled philosophers, scientist and anyone who thinks about how they choose to act and live. Part of the complexity of the matter is related to the metaphysical nature of the subject which has a close affinity with the concept of GOD. Some people think that Everything that happens in nature and life is predetermined. Morality, love, hate and free will is just an illusion(Ward, 2005) while others think, human beings have an absolute and total freedom to enjoy all the deeds and actions unconstrained by any external forces, fate or divine intervention ( Sadegh, 2011). There are at least three main approaches to the problem of free will and determinism. First is deterministic approach. Determinists main idea is that all events are caused and the caused events are never free, (Ward, 2005). The future state of things can be explained and predicted by knowing the current state of the things and the way they are affected by the work of natural laws, (Ward, 2005). This approach implies that the urge to eat, for example, is governed by our internal need and the search for food is also a natural reaction to this need. When a person is on a diet and limits his food intakes at the time of hunger, the deterministic view explains that this restriction is not by choice but it is a natural response to the health concern. To make things more complicated, if the person fails to follow his diet and fall off the wagon, the failure is attributed to the winning of the hunger force over health conscious force. The Libertarianism approach on the other hand, recognizes free will, and the ability to make choices unconstrained by forces such as physical laws, fate and divine desire. Man’s decisions are influenced, but not caused (Sadegh, 2011). The question of free will has important implications for our moral responsibility. If we do not have free will, and our behavior is determined by what came before us, like our environment, genetics and our parents then what does that mean for our justice system and our idea of crime and punishment? How do we treat individuals who commit crimes if we believe their backgrounds led them to the crimes? The third approach towards the issue of Free will and Determinism is the compatibility view or a combination of both. This simply means that determinism and freewill are not absolute concepts and freedom is compatible with determinism because freedom essentially just a matter of not being constrained in certain way when one acts or makes a choice. The reality is that humans have some degree of free will within the boundaries of determinism. Normal adult human beings in normal circumstances are able to act and choose freely. No one is holding a gun to their heads. Therefore they are fully free to choose and act even if their whole physical and psychological makeup is determined by thing that they had no control over like genetic inheritance and early upbringing. It is true that our choices are limited by some circumstances, but it does not mean that we are not free in those circumstances. Only compulsion, panic or uncontrollable impulse really removes our freedom to choose. Even when our finger is being forced down on the button, we can still act freely in resisting the pressure. Going back to my hunger example, although hunger is a natural reaction to seek food, and man might not have control over this mechanism, he is certainly in control of the way he is reacting toward this need. What to eat, when to eat and even how much to eat, are some of the decisions that man can make. Of course we can’t do everything we want to do, we might want to fry unassisted or end civil war in Africa or even free all women from abuse. But that is not free will, free will is simply a matter of having true and genuine options and opportunities for action, and being able to choose between those options according to what we want and think. One of the strongest evidence for supporting free will is human conscience. When people do something that is against their moral values they feel shame and regret and they try to use their negative experience to avoid making the same mistakes in future. This behavior and emotional response indicate that humans have a free nature. The existence of shame is unexplainable with a deterministic view. The fact that people admire and praise the good and rebuke the evil is also a confirmation of free will. Growing up and going to school in a Muslim society, we were encouraged to think, talk and write about free will and determination. The main reason was to teach us the responsibility of our actions, despite knowing that God is aware and in control of everything. It might have been difficult to understand such a philosophical concept at the time but now I am at peace with this concept due to the early teaching of Islam. Islam provides a comprehensive answer to the Free will and determinism debate. Islam, more than 1200 years ago stated: No Determinism, No Free will but something in between. According to Islam, the choices of man are not entirely determined by God. Man indeed is a free agent and freely makes choices, but these choices are limited. One of the reasons for the creation of the world is to provide a ground for humans to flourish and qualify for divine satisfaction. God will reward or punish people in the hereafter based on their deeds. One way to characterize the concept of ultimate responsibility for one’s action is by refereeing to the story of hell and heaven. If we are responsible for what we do, then it make sense to propose that it could be just to punish some in hell and reward others in heaven. It makes sense because what we do is absolutely up to us. But, one certainly does not have to believe in the story of heaven and hell in order to understand and believe the notion of responsibility. Karl Popper, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century also recognised that there had to be some balance between complete determinism (clocks) and complete disorder and chance (clouds), (Haselhurst ,2012). â€Å"What we need for understanding rational human behaviour and indeed, animal behaviour is something intermediate in character between perfect chance and perfect determinism something intermediate between perfect clouds and perfects clocks (Popper, 1972, p.232)† (Haselhurst ,2012). 1. Ward, K. Baron, D’Holbach And Determinism, open source buddhism Oxford University Press (2005) 2. Sadegh, M (2011) Citing website. Free will and determination in Islam. Retrieved Feb 20, 2013, from http://www. bsharat. com/id/1/2/1jabr. html 3. Haselhurst, G, (2012) Citing website. Philosophy of Education. Retrieved Fed 20, 2013, from http://www. spaceandmotion. com/Philosophy-Free-Will-Determinism. htm.

Medieval Diary Essay Example for Free

Medieval Diary Essay Tomorrow is the day I start out on my journey to King Richard’s court. I will not be bringing much in my wagon, as I only have one horse and it cannot carry a significant amount of weight over that far of a distance. Perhaps I will bring some old wine bottles or blunt daggers for my performance in front of the King, as well as a few scrolls of my most favored jokes and poems. Since this will be my first time appearing before the King, I am quite nervous and wish to make him laugh as much as possible. Not only are the King and his court going to be witness to my act, but a large audience as well. When I was summoned, I was told that this was going to be an ornate fayre. Even though I have always received applause by the Dukes and other Lords I have performed for thus far, I hear that King Richard have proven himself to be quite fierce and ferocious, especially in battle; and I only hope that this does not carry over to his sternness in court next week. I am planning on returning home right after the King’s festivities, as I have greatly missed this humble house by the river. Canterbury is always so pleasant this time of year, and traveling around the country for the entire summer and winter of 1196 was extremely exhausting. To be honest, the thought of a long trek ahead leaves me a bit weary; but since this is the first time the King of England has personally requested the services of me, Henry Walter the Jester, I absolutely could not refuse. 4 April 1197 It is noontime right now, and I am resting after a few hours of travel. I did not feel the need to set out too early, as I have given myself enough travel time so that my horse and I may travel at a moderate pace. This morning was a great treat, as I was visited by Rowan the baker, who gave me half a dozen of his freshest loaves of bread, two large sacks of grain for my horse, a sack of oats, and two of his famous meat pies. He had gotten word that I will be appearing before the King and offered me all of this food as a congratulatory gift. Together, with the wheels of cheese, salted pork slabs, and jugs of ale I have already packed, this will surely be enough rations to last me to the King’s fayre and back; and of course, there are several villages I may stop at along the way. I probably loaded up one too many jugs of ale, but it is the surest thing that will keep me in high spirits during my journey. 5 April 1197 Today, I came across a minstrel named Ulric while resting my horse. He is also headed towards King Richard’s fayre, so we have decided to travel together. I suppose one could say it is safer to travel with a companion, but he is quite an interesting character and makes the trip not so monotonous. He comes from York and travels around the same way as I do, earning wages and receiving ample food and shelter from the nobles for which we perform. We both have similar lives and we are both lucky enough to be experienced enough in our professions as wandering performers to make a sizeable income. He, too, was summoned by the King. After we set up camp for the night, Ulric showed me some of the songs he could play on his lute, along with some of the poems he would recite with his music. I must say, he is a very talented musician. I offered to lend him some of the poetry I have brought; but after I showed him my poetry scrolls, he pointed out that they are much too comical to be paired with the performance he had planned for the King. He prefers more artistic pieces of literature based upon love. Perhaps I have spent too much time as a single man to particularly care about love, but I would rather make jokes about the subject and exercise my unique right of having the complete freedom to say anything I wish, mocking anything I choose. 6 April 1197 Ulric and I had to make a quick stop at a village today. During our lunch break, I was searching in my wagon for a jug of ale when I accidentally knocked my jester hat into a muddy puddle; so we had to make haste and find a well. Luckily while I was laundering my hat, Ulric somehow managed to find a box holding a worn chess board with its pieces intact. We spent nearly two hours tonight playing chess, trying to see who had the superior mind. To anyone who mistakes jesters for being uneducated and foolish, I ask them to come and witness a show of my intellect as it is displayed during this game! It does get tiring when ladies and lords all over England assume that I am nothing more than a dunce, simply because of the way I make a living. Could a fool make up witty jokes and stories? I think not. People are so quick to forget that humor is one of the greatest signs of intelligence. 7 April 1197 As I write tonight, I am huddled by the fire. The night air has been so frigid, that I have developed a sore throat. If my voice is too hoarse, then I will not be able to speak will proper volume or unleash my signature robust laugh in the King’s court. I plan to speak very quietly and sparingly until my performance, and eat lots of hot pottage. Ulric may become bored with the lack of conversation, but at least now we have chess. There is no need for conversation when there is chess. During these hours of quiet, I have come to realize how much I truly love my humble home in Canterbury by the river. It is no grand castle, but my village is welcoming and nurturing, and makes me feel as if I have a great extended family. All of their faces greet me whenever I come back from a long journey of being a jester in courts all over England, and it is comforting to know that they will all greet me again after I return from this fayre. 8 April 1197 I am so tired, I can hardly write in this diary even though it is only noon. I did promise myself I would document every step of my first performance before a King, however, so I cannot go without writing for the day. Ulric and I are hoping to arrive at the palace by nightfall and be able to sleep in comfortable quarters rather than the backs of our cramped wagons. As much as I would like to celebrate the end of our journey by finishing off the last two jugs of ale, I plan on retiring early tonight. My throat is feeling much better and my normal voice has returned, so I refuse to do anything to sabotage my recovery. Our horses are nearly done feeding, so I must get ready to travel the last bit of our trek if we are to arrive tonight. 9 April 1197 After a good night’s rest in a comfortable bed, I feel refreshed and ready to be seen by King Richard the Lionheart. I have decided to perform an exaggerated victory of a battle between two lions as a pun on his nickname. As a jester, after all, nobody is off-limits in terms of mockery—not even the King himself. If I am to gain his favor and make him laugh, I might as well use all of my tricks and wit to do so. I must say, this is the grandest of all fayres I have witnessed. Ulric has been charming the court all afternoon with his lute playing and poetry, there are lines of trumpeters, archery tournaments, and hoards of people enjoying the festivities. I cannot wait until after the King’s royal feast, when it will be my turn to be granted an audience. Although my nerves are a bit on edge, I feel confident. My new red outfit is freshly pressed, the bells on my hat are extra shiny, my marotte is in hand, and I am positive that I have enough energy to evoke laughter from all people of the court. I am certain that today’s performance will be the greatest I have given, and that I will return to Canterbury with only positive stories to tell.

Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs

Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Introduction SMEs are those industries, which are unquoted in a stock exchange, run by few individuals or a type of family businesses having connection with shareholders. According to South West Venture Fund, SME is a company or business that has less than 250 employees and has an annual turnover not exceeding approximately  £24 million. SME sector is very large in UK economy. There are 3.7 million businesses in UK according to the survey conducted in 2003 by Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) and 99% of those are small and medium sized and survey also suggested that UK gains 50% of its total turnover from SME sector. On the other hand according to the report of HM Treasury 2008 there are 4.7 million SMEs in the UK and are responsible for more than 52 per cent of total UK business turnover. Therefore it can be seen that SMEs have an important role to play to drive UK growth and the average productivity of SMEs has increased in the last ten years. On the other hand SMEs are struggling in accessing to finance whereas there are many sources of finance available in UK. The main problem with SMEs to obtain finance is that of uncertainty. Investors most of the time dont rely on SMEs in investing because SMEs does not have a long track record of success. Banks are quite nerves of SMEs to investment because SMEs represent high credit risk. The problem is, banks are not increasing the loan amount without increasing security given and most of the SME owners are unable to provide security. There are many SMEs without tangible assets to use as a security for all lenders. All the financial sources for SMEs are listed below with brief description. Business Angles Business angles are private individuals who invest their own assets in SME or start-up businesses. Business angles also share their personal business experience with other entrepreneurs. LBA (London Business Angles) provides great services to innovative starting-up businesses who seeks the capital more than  £100 k for their future growth. London Business Angle runs by Greater London Enterprise (GLE). The main reason behind investing by business angles is that they are very experienced and successful entrepreneurs and they not only provide finance they also train new business through sharing their experience. The fact on the other hand is only few companies can find business angles, LBA receive 1000 business plan and after the whole selection procedure only 42 business have been invited to invest with. Another group of business angles BBAA (British Business Angles Association) is also working to provide financial help to early stage businesses. Every year private individual or these business angles invest between  £800 million to  £1 billion in starting-up business and SMEs. Overdraft Financing Overdraft financing is another most popular way of accessing to finance for SMEs. In overdraft financing, payments are made from the current account of business when the amount exceeds the available balance. Through the overdraft facility business gets short-term funds whereas the amount which is loaned is repayable according to the bank demand. There are some benefits of overdraft facilities such as the borrowed amount can be changed within the limit and interest is only payable on the amount borrowed. The main disadvantages of overdrafts are, bank can ask to pay back the money very sooner than expected time, overdraft limit can be changed at any time by the bank, overdraft facility cannot be used if large amount is needed and the interest rate is higher than the bank loan. Some other factors must be considered when using overdraft facility to obtain finance. Such as the amount that is borrowed should not go beyond the given or agreed limit, interest also differs according to the am ount borrowed and the interest rate is higher than the bank base rate , sometime bank can charge the overdraft fee and finally overdraft cannot be obtained for long term. One more difficulty for SMEs to obtain finance through overdraft is SMEs can be asked to provide some kind of security depending on the size of overdraft facility. Security may be of any type for an example it can be tangible fixed assets or personal guarantees given by company directors. Venture Capital Venture capital provides long-term, committed share capital, to help unquoted companies grow and succeed. If an entrepreneur is looking to start-up, expand, buy-into a business, buy-out a business in which he works, turnaround or revitalise a company, venture capital could help do this. Obtaining venture capital is substantially different from raising debt or a loan from a lender. Lenders have a legal right to interest on a loan and repayment of the capital, irrespective of the success or failure of a business . Venture capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business. As a shareholder, the venture capitalists return is dependent on the growth and profitability of the business. This return is generally earned when the venture capitalist exits by selling its shareholding when the business is sold to another owner. Venture capital in the UK originated in the late 18th century, when entrepreneurs found wealthy individuals to back their projects on an ad hoc basis. This informal method of financing became an industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a number of venture capital firms were founded. There are now over 100 active venture capital firms in the UK, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies mostly located in the UK. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction It being any country, small and medium enterprises has become an integral part of it and provides remarkable contribution to its economy. SMEs play a pivotal role in job creation and in progress of country. Like UK, many countries now understand the importance of small business and started to diversify it for job creation and also for the long term development of the countrys economy. . SMEs constitute the majority of economies around the world, these highly contribute in private sector and one of which seems to be growing in folds with time. According to the reports of Bank of England (2003), approximately 54% of the total value is added by small and medium firms in the UK. In fact, in some sectors SMEs have contributed more than larger firms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship The word entrepreneur has been defined numerous times by the researchers in their research. There is no specific definition of entrepreneurship but there is a generally accepted definition which highlights its significant contribution in the growth of economy. An entrepreneur has the ability to provide momentum for the change, innovation in the traditional strategies and approach. They always try to introduce new ideas in the business market. Entrepreneur is someone who can gauge the financial risk during the business startup and has the ability to capitalize the opportunity of benefit of an enterprise. Besides, various researchers have determined different characteristics of an entrepreneur. For instance, according to Adler, 2002; Aldrich, 1989; Alstete, 2003; Anderson et al, 1992; Anna et al, 1999, an entrepreneur is very creative, skilful, innovative and always keen to explore new ideas and strategies. While, according to others the traits are Hunger for achievement Desire of total control Need of independence and leadership Low traditionalism Risk taker Dominance Moreover, Yonekura in 1984 suggested the characteristics like assertiveness, insistence, forward looking, critical thinking, creative, innovative, broad minded, creative etc. On the other hand, Burk (2002) proposed that optimistic, hard working and desire to achieve are the qualities which are common in entrepreneurs. There are various reasons for people to choose entrepreneurship and start their own business. This area has also been widely researched (Walker, 2004). Result of most of the studies done in this area show that people are motivated by personal and financial reasons like achievement need, independence, and the creation of wealth (Bird, 1989; Birley and Westhead, 1994; Burns, 1996; Hisrich, 1986; Kuratko et al., 1997). Generally, most of the studies suggest that personal internal reasons are more important motivations as compared to financial reasons in going into entrepreneurship (Gray, 1993). Despite of the above mentioned reasons, his/her present job situation also plays an important part and can influence them for business adoption. According to the Moore and Buttner (1997), unfavorable conditions experienced within the organization, for instance- lack of opportunities and less salary may also push them to start their own business. Furthermore, people who are jobless are also sometimes forced to become entrepreneurs (Still and Guerin, 1991), even though the clarity of the entry of business and its form are not that clear to them at the start (Praag, 2003; Vodopivec, 1998; Walker, 2004; Walker and Brown, 2004; Burke et al., 2002; Burns, 1996; Buttner Moore, 1997; - Process Involved in Business Start up Over the period of time remarkable changes have taken place in the work environment and culture of small and medium enterprises. The failure or the success of any organization depends upon the initial or the kick off stage of the business. The start up of any business activity depends upon the manner or the way in which the business makes arrangements or provisions of funds. The growth of the firm is the most important aspect and has to be done with taking care so that it can grow up to its full potential (Carter et. al., 1996; Carter Anderson, 2001; Carter Cannon, 1988; Chaganti Parasuraman, 1996; Cliff, 1998). Steps involved in the start up of any business activity can be classified as under:- Business Start up:- The theoretical aspects behind the set up or start up of any business are quite different from the practical ones which can be classified as under:- The creation of an idea Theory:- The start-up of the business by the entrepreneur begins with the setting of an idea. Idea is the stepping stone on which the business relies and most of the aspects of the business are considered in the initial idea itself. There are pros and corns to everything and in the business set-up the setting of idea itself leads to the same. Opportunity Recognition The recognition of the right opportunity at the right point in time is what the entrepreneur must be able do. The task of recognizing opportunity for the same is not an easy task at all. There may be loads of opportunities which arise in the market like they may be in the form of a new product or service that has to be offered to the customer (Kotler, 1972; Deshpande, 1983). Research of the market and forming of the Business plan Research plays a key role before the starting up any activity and business also demands for the same i.e. to conduct research and then formulate a business plan. The key role in set up of any business plan is by carrying out SWOT analysis of the same which means to recognize the Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats that the organization has to offer (Kotler, 1990; Dyer, 1994). Finance Arrangement Finance is the blood stream of any organization and without the induction of finance no organization can operate. There are loads of sources available for the firms both small and medium sized. Basically for the small and medium enterprises there are mainly two sources of finance internal and external. The basic difference between the internal and external source is the element of interest. Internal sources as the name suggest is from friends family and the saving element and external is all that which leads to the payment of interest basically borrowed funds from sources such as banks, financial institutions etc. (Feldman Bolino, 2000; Fielden et al., 2003; Fitzgerald and Muske, 2002; Leazar, 2002). The small and medium firms in the initial stage cannot afford to bear any additional cost and the interest element also becomes a burden for them and they are mostly concerned with the internal sources of finance i.e. the money invested in the firms by family and friends (Lee Mathews, 1999; Hisrich, 1986). The other aspect of business is the big business houses which have their operation on a large scale and the finance is procured by them from banks and other leading financial institutions. Optimum Use of Resources Resources are the tools and materials which form the crux of any organization and making a proper use of the same plays a very important role in the growth and overall development of the organization. It is vital to make the best possible use of resources as in small towns the scope of business activities is limited as compared to big cities wherein the opportunities as well as the resources required are more and readily available Gimeno, 1997; Gray, 1993; Gatewood et al., 1995; Gundry Welsch, 2001) Resources are portrayed as being distanced from main markets and main centres of business activity, have lower and more dispersed population, a weaker infrastructure, local markets are limited due to lower population. Despite the apparent difficulties in starting up and running a business to towns, the number of businesses has grownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Anderson, 1997) Problems in Starting Up a Business When starting up a business, the owner is bound to face some problems. There are basic steps and procedures that should be followed by the entrepreneur, while starting a business. But the problem arises when the successful implementation of these steps becomes difficult, due to the problems in the market. Sometimes things do no happen in reality as they were expected and also it may take longer time than expected (Martins et al., 2002; Marschack, 1994; Morrison, 2000; Olson, 1992; Praag, 2003; Rainbird, 1991). Major problems in starting up a business can be classified as: Goodwill- When a business is new, it lacks good reputation in the market, which is called Goodwill. In business, it is very important to have goodwill. It means that the business has trustworthy image in the market. Sometimes, just because of lack of goodwill, customers dont trust the company (Reynolds, 2000; Robichaud et al., 2001). Market Prediction- It is essential for the entrepreneur to have the market predictions. The market trends keep on fluctuating. Thus the entrepreneur has to mould himself according to the market situations. If he does not maintain pace with the market trends it becomes very difficult to be in the race. This is not a very easy job (Robinson, 1994; Shane, 1995; Smith, 2000). Financial Gap- The existence of a financial gap arises because demand from small firms is greater than the willingness of financial institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions. For finance such as bank loans, these gaps may be termed as credit rationing (Stanworth Stanworth, 1997). Getting the premises in prime location- Getting a good location to set up the business is a very big issue. The entrepreneur should keep in mind to get the best location. If the location is good and is very close to all the available resources then he can grab the opportunities of using these resources (Taylor, 1980). Judging the customer expectations- It is very hard to match the ever changing expectation and demands of the customers. It is very difficult to have an exact idea about the choice of the customers. In this case it becomes very difficult for the new firms to have an idea about the customer expectations (Timmons et al., 1985). Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom Source: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf. According to the department for business innovation and skills the profile of the small and medium scale enterprises are as follows: As per to the reports there were approximately 4.81 million private sector enterprises in the UK during the starting of 2008, which showed the increase of 104,0003 (2.2 per cent) since the start of 2007. These are the highest levels after the time series began in 1994. Approximately, 23.1 million people were employed by these enterprises with an estimated combined annual turnover of  £3,000 billion. Moreover, 99.9 percent of all enterprises were together accounts by the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.7 million, 287,000 (2.1 per cent) higher than in 2007.Turnover in SMEs is estimated at  £1,500 billion,  £61 billion (4.2 per cent) higher than 2007.More industries experienced growth in the number of enterprises between the start of 2007 and the start of 2008, than experienced a fall. In percentage terms, the biggest increases were in the Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (19.3 per cent) and Financial Intermediation (10.2 per cent) sectors and the biggest falls in the number of enterprises were in the Manufacturing (- 6.9 per cent) and Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities (-4.7per cent) sectors (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? As such, out of the 4.81 million private enterprises in the United Kingdom, 99.9 percent are classified as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and they are responsible for 59.4 percent of employment in the country as well as 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. The sector also experienced growth from 2007 to 2008 (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf). Most of these private enterprises are (see Table 1) small which is 99.3 percent of the total and they employ about 0 to 49 employees per enterprise while the medium enterprises is 0.6 percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. The large enterprises employs more than 250 employees per firm percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. ISSUES FOR SMEs AND ENTREPRENEURS According to Deakins and Freel (2003), small and medium sized firms do not easily get finance because of the restrictions imposed on them. Notably these SMEs have very less equity and very high risk is associated with them. As a result, most of the sources of finance are not accessible, for instance Stock Exchange. There are mainly two sources that entrepreneurs use that is Internal Source and External Source. Internal source includes personal equity, which are usually remortgages, savings and money taken from friends and family members. While external sources of finance comprises loan taken from bank, venture capitalist, formal investors. Few more sources include leasing, hire purchase and factoring. However, there are various sources of finance available for the SMEs; it is worth discussing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs and constraints of financing. Major issues for SMEs are Financial gap Getting finance from bank Role of security Credit scoring Financial Gap: It mainly occurs when the financial need of SMEs is not fulfilled by financial institutions because of the current market conditions the present situation (credit crunch) further adding problems to the same. It happens when the demand side of the curve exceeds the supply. However, it is still a debatable topic whether this gap is the result of information asymmetries or it is due to the reputational effects. Informational asymmetries are basically considered as the imperfect information provided to the financing institutions, which suggests that there will be insufficient funds available for the firms (Stiglits and Weiss, 1981). According to Shane and Cable (2008), it is likely that few firms specially manufacturing and technology based companies are often reluctant to give full information about their company to avoid the disclosure which can make it easier for others to use it. Moreover, there are few more categories which can face financial gap, such as young entrepreneurs and those who belong to remote areas. Young entrepreneurs mainly lack to provide the security, while for the entrepreneurs in the remote areas, it is quite difficult to get access with the banks (OCED, 2008) Getting finance from bank: However, banks are easily accessible; it is less likely that entrepreneurs get favourable offers from them. Short-term financing given by banks only looks theoretically attractive. Besides, banks also face issue in assessing the proposition from the borrower, which generally arises when both provider and borrower share different set of information. For banks, two main issues are: Adverse Selection Moral Hazard Adverse Selection: This arises when a bank is unable to assess a proposition correctly. For instance, when it refuses to provide for a proposition which could have been successful or when it accepts the position which results as failure. Moral Hazard: It causes more serious problem for banks and ultimately causes problems for the entrepreneurs having less/no security to offer. It can occur when a firm misuses the security-free financing from the banks, as there is no guarantee taken from the firm to repay the loan. This is a monitoring problem for banks and for comparatively smaller amount of loans; it is not economic to observe them closely. However, this creates problem for the entrepreneurs who lack sufficient equity and security. Role of security: This has now been widely used to overcome the shortcomings like moral hazard and adverse selection. However, bank officers can also choose to have frequent monitoring of the information to reduce the adverse selection, a cost minimisation approach (role of security) seems to be a better option. Furthermore, collateral seems to be a better option because it ensures commitment from the borrower and allows bank to make safer deal. It also enhances the chances of loss recovery in case of adverse selection. Credit Scoring:- Nowadays, this computerized technique has been widely used by banks. Credit scoring is based on considering various variables of the borrower such as, occupation, post code of home address, previous payment records and other commitments Taking all the above mentioned things into consideration, a computerized acceptance or rejection report is generated. Credit scoring has brought a remarkable reduction in decision making for the bank managers. In most of the leading banks of UK like NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, Bank of Scotland, use different systems to measure credit of the loan applicant. Albeit, few above mentioned banks have adopted this technique completely, there are some banks still relying and using both methods (Credit scoring and decision making) However, credit scoring has proved to be a boon for the banks, it has some demerits as well. It only judges the applications on the basis of past records. This technique may reject the proposal which sounds beneficial and successful but dont have good credit history and past records. Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Introduction SMEs are those industries, which are unquoted in a stock exchange, run by few individuals or a type of family businesses having connection with shareholders. According to South West Venture Fund, SME is a company or business that has less than 250 employees and has an annual turnover not exceeding approximately  £24 million. SME sector is very large in UK economy. There are 3.7 million businesses in UK according to the survey conducted in 2003 by Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) and 99% of those are small and medium sized and survey also suggested that UK gains 50% of its total turnover from SME sector. On the other hand according to the report of HM Treasury 2008 there are 4.7 million SMEs in the UK and are responsible for more than 52 per cent of total UK business turnover. Therefore it can be seen that SMEs have an important role to play to drive UK growth and the average productivity of SMEs has increased in the last ten years. On the other hand SMEs are struggling in accessing to finance whereas there are many sources of finance available in UK. The main problem with SMEs to obtain finance is that of uncertainty. Investors most of the time dont rely on SMEs in investing because SMEs does not have a long track record of success. Banks are quite nerves of SMEs to investment because SMEs represent high credit risk. The problem is, banks are not increasing the loan amount without increasing security given and most of the SME owners are unable to provide security. There are many SMEs without tangible assets to use as a security for all lenders. All the financial sources for SMEs are listed below with brief description. Business Angles Business angles are private individuals who invest their own assets in SME or start-up businesses. Business angles also share their personal business experience with other entrepreneurs. LBA (London Business Angles) provides great services to innovative starting-up businesses who seeks the capital more than  £100 k for their future growth. London Business Angle runs by Greater London Enterprise (GLE). The main reason behind investing by business angles is that they are very experienced and successful entrepreneurs and they not only provide finance they also train new business through sharing their experience. The fact on the other hand is only few companies can find business angles, LBA receive 1000 business plan and after the whole selection procedure only 42 business have been invited to invest with. Another group of business angles BBAA (British Business Angles Association) is also working to provide financial help to early stage businesses. Every year private individual or these business angles invest between  £800 million to  £1 billion in starting-up business and SMEs. Overdraft Financing Overdraft financing is another most popular way of accessing to finance for SMEs. In overdraft financing, payments are made from the current account of business when the amount exceeds the available balance. Through the overdraft facility business gets short-term funds whereas the amount which is loaned is repayable according to the bank demand. There are some benefits of overdraft facilities such as the borrowed amount can be changed within the limit and interest is only payable on the amount borrowed. The main disadvantages of overdrafts are, bank can ask to pay back the money very sooner than expected time, overdraft limit can be changed at any time by the bank, overdraft facility cannot be used if large amount is needed and the interest rate is higher than the bank loan. Some other factors must be considered when using overdraft facility to obtain finance. Such as the amount that is borrowed should not go beyond the given or agreed limit, interest also differs according to the am ount borrowed and the interest rate is higher than the bank base rate , sometime bank can charge the overdraft fee and finally overdraft cannot be obtained for long term. One more difficulty for SMEs to obtain finance through overdraft is SMEs can be asked to provide some kind of security depending on the size of overdraft facility. Security may be of any type for an example it can be tangible fixed assets or personal guarantees given by company directors. Venture Capital Venture capital provides long-term, committed share capital, to help unquoted companies grow and succeed. If an entrepreneur is looking to start-up, expand, buy-into a business, buy-out a business in which he works, turnaround or revitalise a company, venture capital could help do this. Obtaining venture capital is substantially different from raising debt or a loan from a lender. Lenders have a legal right to interest on a loan and repayment of the capital, irrespective of the success or failure of a business . Venture capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business. As a shareholder, the venture capitalists return is dependent on the growth and profitability of the business. This return is generally earned when the venture capitalist exits by selling its shareholding when the business is sold to another owner. Venture capital in the UK originated in the late 18th century, when entrepreneurs found wealthy individuals to back their projects on an ad hoc basis. This informal method of financing became an industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a number of venture capital firms were founded. There are now over 100 active venture capital firms in the UK, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies mostly located in the UK. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction It being any country, small and medium enterprises has become an integral part of it and provides remarkable contribution to its economy. SMEs play a pivotal role in job creation and in progress of country. Like UK, many countries now understand the importance of small business and started to diversify it for job creation and also for the long term development of the countrys economy. . SMEs constitute the majority of economies around the world, these highly contribute in private sector and one of which seems to be growing in folds with time. According to the reports of Bank of England (2003), approximately 54% of the total value is added by small and medium firms in the UK. In fact, in some sectors SMEs have contributed more than larger firms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship The word entrepreneur has been defined numerous times by the researchers in their research. There is no specific definition of entrepreneurship but there is a generally accepted definition which highlights its significant contribution in the growth of economy. An entrepreneur has the ability to provide momentum for the change, innovation in the traditional strategies and approach. They always try to introduce new ideas in the business market. Entrepreneur is someone who can gauge the financial risk during the business startup and has the ability to capitalize the opportunity of benefit of an enterprise. Besides, various researchers have determined different characteristics of an entrepreneur. For instance, according to Adler, 2002; Aldrich, 1989; Alstete, 2003; Anderson et al, 1992; Anna et al, 1999, an entrepreneur is very creative, skilful, innovative and always keen to explore new ideas and strategies. While, according to others the traits are Hunger for achievement Desire of total control Need of independence and leadership Low traditionalism Risk taker Dominance Moreover, Yonekura in 1984 suggested the characteristics like assertiveness, insistence, forward looking, critical thinking, creative, innovative, broad minded, creative etc. On the other hand, Burk (2002) proposed that optimistic, hard working and desire to achieve are the qualities which are common in entrepreneurs. There are various reasons for people to choose entrepreneurship and start their own business. This area has also been widely researched (Walker, 2004). Result of most of the studies done in this area show that people are motivated by personal and financial reasons like achievement need, independence, and the creation of wealth (Bird, 1989; Birley and Westhead, 1994; Burns, 1996; Hisrich, 1986; Kuratko et al., 1997). Generally, most of the studies suggest that personal internal reasons are more important motivations as compared to financial reasons in going into entrepreneurship (Gray, 1993). Despite of the above mentioned reasons, his/her present job situation also plays an important part and can influence them for business adoption. According to the Moore and Buttner (1997), unfavorable conditions experienced within the organization, for instance- lack of opportunities and less salary may also push them to start their own business. Furthermore, people who are jobless are also sometimes forced to become entrepreneurs (Still and Guerin, 1991), even though the clarity of the entry of business and its form are not that clear to them at the start (Praag, 2003; Vodopivec, 1998; Walker, 2004; Walker and Brown, 2004; Burke et al., 2002; Burns, 1996; Buttner Moore, 1997; - Process Involved in Business Start up Over the period of time remarkable changes have taken place in the work environment and culture of small and medium enterprises. The failure or the success of any organization depends upon the initial or the kick off stage of the business. The start up of any business activity depends upon the manner or the way in which the business makes arrangements or provisions of funds. The growth of the firm is the most important aspect and has to be done with taking care so that it can grow up to its full potential (Carter et. al., 1996; Carter Anderson, 2001; Carter Cannon, 1988; Chaganti Parasuraman, 1996; Cliff, 1998). Steps involved in the start up of any business activity can be classified as under:- Business Start up:- The theoretical aspects behind the set up or start up of any business are quite different from the practical ones which can be classified as under:- The creation of an idea Theory:- The start-up of the business by the entrepreneur begins with the setting of an idea. Idea is the stepping stone on which the business relies and most of the aspects of the business are considered in the initial idea itself. There are pros and corns to everything and in the business set-up the setting of idea itself leads to the same. Opportunity Recognition The recognition of the right opportunity at the right point in time is what the entrepreneur must be able do. The task of recognizing opportunity for the same is not an easy task at all. There may be loads of opportunities which arise in the market like they may be in the form of a new product or service that has to be offered to the customer (Kotler, 1972; Deshpande, 1983). Research of the market and forming of the Business plan Research plays a key role before the starting up any activity and business also demands for the same i.e. to conduct research and then formulate a business plan. The key role in set up of any business plan is by carrying out SWOT analysis of the same which means to recognize the Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats that the organization has to offer (Kotler, 1990; Dyer, 1994). Finance Arrangement Finance is the blood stream of any organization and without the induction of finance no organization can operate. There are loads of sources available for the firms both small and medium sized. Basically for the small and medium enterprises there are mainly two sources of finance internal and external. The basic difference between the internal and external source is the element of interest. Internal sources as the name suggest is from friends family and the saving element and external is all that which leads to the payment of interest basically borrowed funds from sources such as banks, financial institutions etc. (Feldman Bolino, 2000; Fielden et al., 2003; Fitzgerald and Muske, 2002; Leazar, 2002). The small and medium firms in the initial stage cannot afford to bear any additional cost and the interest element also becomes a burden for them and they are mostly concerned with the internal sources of finance i.e. the money invested in the firms by family and friends (Lee Mathews, 1999; Hisrich, 1986). The other aspect of business is the big business houses which have their operation on a large scale and the finance is procured by them from banks and other leading financial institutions. Optimum Use of Resources Resources are the tools and materials which form the crux of any organization and making a proper use of the same plays a very important role in the growth and overall development of the organization. It is vital to make the best possible use of resources as in small towns the scope of business activities is limited as compared to big cities wherein the opportunities as well as the resources required are more and readily available Gimeno, 1997; Gray, 1993; Gatewood et al., 1995; Gundry Welsch, 2001) Resources are portrayed as being distanced from main markets and main centres of business activity, have lower and more dispersed population, a weaker infrastructure, local markets are limited due to lower population. Despite the apparent difficulties in starting up and running a business to towns, the number of businesses has grownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Anderson, 1997) Problems in Starting Up a Business When starting up a business, the owner is bound to face some problems. There are basic steps and procedures that should be followed by the entrepreneur, while starting a business. But the problem arises when the successful implementation of these steps becomes difficult, due to the problems in the market. Sometimes things do no happen in reality as they were expected and also it may take longer time than expected (Martins et al., 2002; Marschack, 1994; Morrison, 2000; Olson, 1992; Praag, 2003; Rainbird, 1991). Major problems in starting up a business can be classified as: Goodwill- When a business is new, it lacks good reputation in the market, which is called Goodwill. In business, it is very important to have goodwill. It means that the business has trustworthy image in the market. Sometimes, just because of lack of goodwill, customers dont trust the company (Reynolds, 2000; Robichaud et al., 2001). Market Prediction- It is essential for the entrepreneur to have the market predictions. The market trends keep on fluctuating. Thus the entrepreneur has to mould himself according to the market situations. If he does not maintain pace with the market trends it becomes very difficult to be in the race. This is not a very easy job (Robinson, 1994; Shane, 1995; Smith, 2000). Financial Gap- The existence of a financial gap arises because demand from small firms is greater than the willingness of financial institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions. For finance such as bank loans, these gaps may be termed as credit rationing (Stanworth Stanworth, 1997). Getting the premises in prime location- Getting a good location to set up the business is a very big issue. The entrepreneur should keep in mind to get the best location. If the location is good and is very close to all the available resources then he can grab the opportunities of using these resources (Taylor, 1980). Judging the customer expectations- It is very hard to match the ever changing expectation and demands of the customers. It is very difficult to have an exact idea about the choice of the customers. In this case it becomes very difficult for the new firms to have an idea about the customer expectations (Timmons et al., 1985). Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom Source: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf. According to the department for business innovation and skills the profile of the small and medium scale enterprises are as follows: As per to the reports there were approximately 4.81 million private sector enterprises in the UK during the starting of 2008, which showed the increase of 104,0003 (2.2 per cent) since the start of 2007. These are the highest levels after the time series began in 1994. Approximately, 23.1 million people were employed by these enterprises with an estimated combined annual turnover of  £3,000 billion. Moreover, 99.9 percent of all enterprises were together accounts by the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.7 million, 287,000 (2.1 per cent) higher than in 2007.Turnover in SMEs is estimated at  £1,500 billion,  £61 billion (4.2 per cent) higher than 2007.More industries experienced growth in the number of enterprises between the start of 2007 and the start of 2008, than experienced a fall. In percentage terms, the biggest increases were in the Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (19.3 per cent) and Financial Intermediation (10.2 per cent) sectors and the biggest falls in the number of enterprises were in the Manufacturing (- 6.9 per cent) and Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities (-4.7per cent) sectors (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? As such, out of the 4.81 million private enterprises in the United Kingdom, 99.9 percent are classified as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and they are responsible for 59.4 percent of employment in the country as well as 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. The sector also experienced growth from 2007 to 2008 (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf). Most of these private enterprises are (see Table 1) small which is 99.3 percent of the total and they employ about 0 to 49 employees per enterprise while the medium enterprises is 0.6 percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. The large enterprises employs more than 250 employees per firm percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. ISSUES FOR SMEs AND ENTREPRENEURS According to Deakins and Freel (2003), small and medium sized firms do not easily get finance because of the restrictions imposed on them. Notably these SMEs have very less equity and very high risk is associated with them. As a result, most of the sources of finance are not accessible, for instance Stock Exchange. There are mainly two sources that entrepreneurs use that is Internal Source and External Source. Internal source includes personal equity, which are usually remortgages, savings and money taken from friends and family members. While external sources of finance comprises loan taken from bank, venture capitalist, formal investors. Few more sources include leasing, hire purchase and factoring. However, there are various sources of finance available for the SMEs; it is worth discussing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs and constraints of financing. Major issues for SMEs are Financial gap Getting finance from bank Role of security Credit scoring Financial Gap: It mainly occurs when the financial need of SMEs is not fulfilled by financial institutions because of the current market conditions the present situation (credit crunch) further adding problems to the same. It happens when the demand side of the curve exceeds the supply. However, it is still a debatable topic whether this gap is the result of information asymmetries or it is due to the reputational effects. Informational asymmetries are basically considered as the imperfect information provided to the financing institutions, which suggests that there will be insufficient funds available for the firms (Stiglits and Weiss, 1981). According to Shane and Cable (2008), it is likely that few firms specially manufacturing and technology based companies are often reluctant to give full information about their company to avoid the disclosure which can make it easier for others to use it. Moreover, there are few more categories which can face financial gap, such as young entrepreneurs and those who belong to remote areas. Young entrepreneurs mainly lack to provide the security, while for the entrepreneurs in the remote areas, it is quite difficult to get access with the banks (OCED, 2008) Getting finance from bank: However, banks are easily accessible; it is less likely that entrepreneurs get favourable offers from them. Short-term financing given by banks only looks theoretically attractive. Besides, banks also face issue in assessing the proposition from the borrower, which generally arises when both provider and borrower share different set of information. For banks, two main issues are: Adverse Selection Moral Hazard Adverse Selection: This arises when a bank is unable to assess a proposition correctly. For instance, when it refuses to provide for a proposition which could have been successful or when it accepts the position which results as failure. Moral Hazard: It causes more serious problem for banks and ultimately causes problems for the entrepreneurs having less/no security to offer. It can occur when a firm misuses the security-free financing from the banks, as there is no guarantee taken from the firm to repay the loan. This is a monitoring problem for banks and for comparatively smaller amount of loans; it is not economic to observe them closely. However, this creates problem for the entrepreneurs who lack sufficient equity and security. Role of security: This has now been widely used to overcome the shortcomings like moral hazard and adverse selection. However, bank officers can also choose to have frequent monitoring of the information to reduce the adverse selection, a cost minimisation approach (role of security) seems to be a better option. Furthermore, collateral seems to be a better option because it ensures commitment from the borrower and allows bank to make safer deal. It also enhances the chances of loss recovery in case of adverse selection. Credit Scoring:- Nowadays, this computerized technique has been widely used by banks. Credit scoring is based on considering various variables of the borrower such as, occupation, post code of home address, previous payment records and other commitments Taking all the above mentioned things into consideration, a computerized acceptance or rejection report is generated. Credit scoring has brought a remarkable reduction in decision making for the bank managers. In most of the leading banks of UK like NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, Bank of Scotland, use different systems to measure credit of the loan applicant. Albeit, few above mentioned banks have adopted this technique completely, there are some banks still relying and using both methods (Credit scoring and decision making) However, credit scoring has proved to be a boon for the banks, it has some demerits as well. It only judges the applications on the basis of past records. This technique may reject the proposal which sounds beneficial and successful but dont have good credit history and past records.

Pacifisim vs. Realism Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive War Essays

Pacifisim vs. Realism In this paper I will be analyzing and critiquing the theory of pacifism. This theory is the belief that war is never an option under any circumstance. Even if a nation is being attacked a pacifist will believe that retaliating is morally wrong for a number of reasons. Such reasons behind pacifism are supported by issues of morality and what the pacifist themselves feel to be morality. I will provide three arguments to the pacifist way of thinking. It is an inevitability that with war lives will be lost, but that also innocents not officially involved in a war will lose their lives. There is simply no way around the loss of innocent lives amidst war in this age of advanced weaponry, which is specifically designed to take the lives of many with just one use. The pacifist argues that the inevitable losses of innocent lives are unacceptable and therefore war is an unacceptable solution to a conflict. This is my first and most prominent argument for pacifism. Those in opposition of the theory of pacifism argue that the targets of all military operations are the enemy or those with evil intent, but history shows us through such events as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II that innocents can be lost in massive amounts, which far outweighs any possible good done by such military operations. The fact of the matter is, innocents are lost during times of war and that alone should be enough reason to make war unjus tifiable. Robert Holmes put it best when he wrote, "There must be a new conception of how to get along in the world, a recognition that only the individual person is of ultimate value - not governments, not abstractions, not collectivities - and that if we do not cherish the life... ... many to overlook. We do not live in a "John Lennon" world. We can imagine it, but to make it reality is an impossibility and our stance on war should reflect this impossibility. A country cannot survive alone on an optimistic look at things. Sometimes action is necessary. Sometimes the lives of many must be sacrificed to preserve a nation. Realism ensures safety through out the country. By keeping ourselves safe other countries may decide to follow our example and thus world peace is spawned. Though total world peace can never be reached due to the imperfect world we live in realism can lead us closest to it because of its ignoring of morality. Trusting facts will produce a far more positive result in the long run than trusting feelings. Feelings can cloud our judgments, but the realistic view helps us avoid that. It helps us ensure peace throughout the country. Pacifisim vs. Realism Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive War Essays Pacifisim vs. Realism In this paper I will be analyzing and critiquing the theory of pacifism. This theory is the belief that war is never an option under any circumstance. Even if a nation is being attacked a pacifist will believe that retaliating is morally wrong for a number of reasons. Such reasons behind pacifism are supported by issues of morality and what the pacifist themselves feel to be morality. I will provide three arguments to the pacifist way of thinking. It is an inevitability that with war lives will be lost, but that also innocents not officially involved in a war will lose their lives. There is simply no way around the loss of innocent lives amidst war in this age of advanced weaponry, which is specifically designed to take the lives of many with just one use. The pacifist argues that the inevitable losses of innocent lives are unacceptable and therefore war is an unacceptable solution to a conflict. This is my first and most prominent argument for pacifism. Those in opposition of the theory of pacifism argue that the targets of all military operations are the enemy or those with evil intent, but history shows us through such events as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II that innocents can be lost in massive amounts, which far outweighs any possible good done by such military operations. The fact of the matter is, innocents are lost during times of war and that alone should be enough reason to make war unjus tifiable. Robert Holmes put it best when he wrote, "There must be a new conception of how to get along in the world, a recognition that only the individual person is of ultimate value - not governments, not abstractions, not collectivities - and that if we do not cherish the life... ... many to overlook. We do not live in a "John Lennon" world. We can imagine it, but to make it reality is an impossibility and our stance on war should reflect this impossibility. A country cannot survive alone on an optimistic look at things. Sometimes action is necessary. Sometimes the lives of many must be sacrificed to preserve a nation. Realism ensures safety through out the country. By keeping ourselves safe other countries may decide to follow our example and thus world peace is spawned. Though total world peace can never be reached due to the imperfect world we live in realism can lead us closest to it because of its ignoring of morality. Trusting facts will produce a far more positive result in the long run than trusting feelings. Feelings can cloud our judgments, but the realistic view helps us avoid that. It helps us ensure peace throughout the country.

Hitlers Rise To Power :: essays research papers

How Hitler got into Power At the end of the war Germany underwent a rapid political restructuring. Following this transition from authoritarian monarchy to democratic republic, Weimar Germany immediately began to display weaknesses that it would ultimately never fix. Germany had to create a government that the Allies would be prepared to negotiate with, so Hindenburg ordered a government which had the support of the Reichstag. When Kaiser William II fled the country, Germany could still have remained a monarchy, as William's son was eligible for the throne. The Weimar Republic was not based on strong public convictions, which must, in part, explain its weakness. There were many flaws in thew Weimar Republic. Weimar had great problems gaining acceptance throughout Germany, too. The terribly harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles angered Germans, especially the military everywhere and many directed their resentment at the Weimar government who signed the Treaty. Defeat in a large-scale war always signals the beginning of a difficult period for a nation. Following World War I, Germany was virtually crushed by the harsh demands of the Treaty of Versailles. The German economy was weighed down heavily by the enormous reparations bill. Weimar governments struggled to meet the huge reparations payments and their failure to do so was the basis of further problems. One such event was the additional humiliation of the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr in 1923. The French took control of the coal mines and factories of the region, so the workers, following a policy of passive resistance, went on strike. The French employed their own men to work the area, whilst the German government committed to paying the wages of the striking workers. This was a very expensive exercise and, on top of that, Germany lost profits from industry in the Ruhr and actually had to spend money importing coal. These massive drains on the German economy caused inflation to soar to incredible levels, paralleling the dramatic drops in the value of the reichsmark. It is true that the Reichsbank printed more and more money to the point where over 44 trillion marks was in circulation. Some historians argue that the Weimar government did this deliberately, to devalue their currency, making it cheaper to pay reparations. The downside of this was that middle and working class Germans lost their savings and the value of their wages. For instance in November 1923, the cost of a loaf of bread in Berlin was about 201 billion marks!

control in brave new world :: essays research papers

Control in Brave New World   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley illustrates ways in which government and advanced science control society. Through actual visualization of this Utopian society, the reader is able to see how this state affects Huxley’s characters. Throughout the book, the author deals with many different aspects of control. Whether it is of his subjects’ feelings and emotions or of the society’s restraint of population growth, Huxley depicts government’s and science’s role in the brave new world of tomorrow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One aspect of control that is touched upon from the beginning of the novel until the end is the control of the population birth and growth. As a way to maintain the society’s motto of â€Å"Community, Identity and Stability,† the number of inhabitants is managed through the artificiality of the brave new world’s use of technology. In the first chapter of the novel, the reader is introduced to the process of creating humans in this Utopia. The advancement of science made it possible for the building of an artificial arrangement with the reproductive glands and equipment needed for fertilizing and hatching the resulting eggs. The fact that machines do what is done by human reproductive systems shows how science has dominated over man in this world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The actual process of creating humans is made possible through the use of a single ovary which makes thousands of identical people. Since these people are similar in appearance, thought and relations, they are able to live in perfect harmony with each other. Huxley uses Lenina and Fanny, two of his female characters who are distant relatives from the same ovary, as people who get along well and are on the same page on issues concerning Utopian lifestyles. This is how the government of Utopia, made up of only ten controllers, is able to maintain stability among its people. Since stability is part of the brave new world’s motto, it is a crucial deal for the government to uphold.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Something else that is controlled by government and science is any thing to do with marriage, romance and pregnancy. It is a rule by the government for everyone to freely have sex with anybody at anytime they want. It is against the rules of the Utopia to date anyone regularly. Government forbids anyone to go towards thoughts of monogamy and romance because they require too much time and bring no stability to life.

Unknown Mixtures Lab Report

-Unknown Mixtures Lab- Purpose: The aim of this experiment was to find out the two substances of the unknown mixture from salt, sugar, dirt, and baking soda by looking at its properties. Hypothesis: Find the unknown substance by testing it out by heating it, pouring water, vinegar, and observing it . Procedure: 1) Materials- * 100ml of water * Vinegar * Bunsen Burner * 2 beakers * 1 spatula 2) First, do steps (3-6)to find out the properties of salt, sugar, dirt, and baking powder. 3) Observe and record the appearances of the four known substances. ) Burn the known substances one by one to see what will happen. When it starts to burn take the beaker off of the burner. 5) Add water to all substances. Make sure to stir well (until the salt and sugar dissolve) to see how each substance reacts with water 6) Add vinegar to all substances. Make sure to stir well (until the salt and sugar dissolve) to see how each substance reacts with vinegar 7) Observe your unknown substance and write down how it looks 9) Add water to the unknown substance.Check to see if it turns to mud and that the white substance dissolves. 10) Heat up unknown substance until it starts to burn. Check and see if the substance starts to turn brown and smell good and dry up and crack. This is to see if the unknown substance is a combination of dirt and sugar. Safety Precautions- * Remember to wear closed shoes just in case someone drops something like glass and it lands on your foot. * Always wear goggles, and for girls tie their hair, when near a burner so it doesn’t burn your hair or get something in your eye. Be careful not to drop the beakers so that there will be no danger of accidently stepping on glass. Observations- The sugar turned brown and smelled good when heated, salt turned black and smelled like burnt rubber when heated, dirt turned to mud when water was added, and baking soda started to bubble when vinegar was added. DATA: TABLE 1: CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBSTANCES SUBSTANCE| Chara cteristics| Appearance | Sugar| Heat: sugar turns brown and smells goodWater: sugar dissolvesVinegar: sugar dissolves| White, shiny, looks similar to sugar. Salt| Heat: turns black, smells like burnt rubberWater: dissolvesVinegar: dissolves| White, looks like sugar except it isn’t shiny| Dirt| Heat: dries up and starts to crackWater: turns to mudVinegar: turns to mud| Brown, has bits of rock and dried grass in it| Baking Soda| Heat: Water: turns water whiteVinegar: starts to bubble | White, soft, kind of like flour| These are some of the characteristics and appearances of the four known substances after experimenting (heating, adding water, adding vinegar, observing) to find their properties.This will help when trying to figure out the two substances in the unknown mixture. TABLE 2: UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE Substance| Characteristics| Appearance| Result| Unknown| Water: the substance turned to mud and the white specks dissolvedHeat: while the dirt turned hard, the white substance st arted to turn brown and smell good | * pieces of rock and dried and grass * small white shiny specks mixed in | Dirt and Sugar| This is the data collected from observing the unknown substance.From looking at table 1 and then comparing the appearance of the known substances to the unknown substance the unknown substance is the most similar to the appearances and characteristics of dirt and sugar. DATA ANALYSIS: The data collected states all the characteristics and appearances of the four known substances. This helps when trying to find the two substances in the unknown mixture. To gather the data the substances were burned, added with water and vinegar, and observed. Then with the information of the known substances was compared with the characteristics of the unknown substances.The unknown substance had characteristics similar to dirt and sugar, and so the unknown substance was experimented to check if they were really dirt and mud by adding water to see if it turned to mud and heat ing the substance to see if it would turn brown and smell good. CONCLUSION/ EVALUATION/IMPROVEMENTS: The purpose of this experiment was to find out the two substances of the unknown mixture out of salt, sugar, dirt, and baking soda. For this experiment my hypothesis was correct.The purpose of this experiment was achieved by observing and finding out the characteristics of each substance. The sugar turned brown and smelled good when heated, salt turned black and smelled like burnt rubber when heated, dirt turned to mud when water was added, and baking soda started to bubble when vinegar was added. According to table 1 the data shows that the unknown substance had similar characteristics to both sugar and dirt. And so to find out if my hypothesis was correct or not experiments were carried out based on tests that were characteristics of either sugar or dirt.One experiment was heating the unknown substance to check if it would start drying up and bubbling brown. The other was adding wa ter to test if it would turn into mud. Some mistakes that could be improved in the experiment next time is- making sure not to pour a lot of salt into the beaker when heating it, since there was a lot of salt when heating it the smell was more nastier and shocking. Also when heating the dirt not to let it burn for a long time because when washing it, it was hard to get some of the dirt off.