Essay Structure

The reality that an alarming number of qualified school leavers will not get spaces at universities in the United Kingdom has left many in shock. This could have serious implications for students who have long held dreams of acquiring university education. These students are left with the option of missing out on university education entirely or finding alternative means of acquiring this much sought after education. I will explore the reasons that have resulted in this crisis in the United Kingdom’s higher education learning system.I will also offer a study abroad alternative to students who still wish to acquire a university education. Finally, I will explore the advantages of this study option in comparison to universities in the United Kingdom. One factor that has contributed to this crisis is basically a demand and supply crisis. I intend to discuss how the cuts on government funding have affected the uptake of students who have completed their A-levels. I will explore in detail how the announcement by the Coalition of a two hundred million pound cut from the higher education budget has reduced the number of available spaces a the universities.In contrast, reports indicate that there has been a sharp increase in the number of students who made applications to universities. This increase in applications is taking place at a time when universities are planning to cut places available to British and European Union students. I will also discuss how the threat that faces universities for recruiting above the specified number of students of hefty fines guarantees that they will not admit extra students. These universities face fines of up to three thousand seven hundred pounds for each student above targets.The plans by government to introduce new graduate taxes which will inevitably result in a rise in fees will give more students enough motivation to reassess their study options. Interestingly, universities have not reduced their intake of foreign stude nts (Tony, 2010). Many universities have more places available to foreign students than British students and in other cases places are only available to foreigners. This is because foreign students are charged higher fees and are a source of profitable funding for the universities. I will also point out the alternative option of abroad study available to students.Students in the United Kingdom have over the years displayed a reluctance to study elsewhere, I will analyse this option in detail. I will highlight how the United Kingdom’s strong economy has made it a historic importer of students and labour rather than an exporter. This has resulted in attracting high quality academics and excellent standards. This has undoubtedly led to the reluctance by students to leave the United Kingdom due to the presence of institutions with established reputations like Cambridge and Oxford for academic excellence.To further support the option of studying abroad I will examine the benefits it offers. One advantage is the potential savings of several thousand pounds for students studying at reputable universities elsewhere in the European Union (Morgan, 2010). This would appeal to British students who expect to graduate with twenty five thousand pounds of debt (Morgan, 2010). I will also discuss the QS World University Rankings which indicate that many universities in the United Kingdom continue to perform better than others across the continent.However, many institutions across Europe outperform UK universities in specific subject areas. The University of Amsterdam which is ranked position thirty two worldwide for social sciences has been placed above all UK universities except Cambridge, University College of London and Oxford. They offer these courses at significantly reduced costs compared to universities in the UK. The exciting opportunity for a deeper cultural appreciation presented by abroad study will also be analysed.The acquisition of new language skills, inc reased cultural awareness and how this will serve to set the student apart in the competitive job market will be discussed. I will also point out the advantage one gains by acquiring an impressive portfolio of contacts. Finally I would include the QS World University Rankings, 2009 in the appendices. Written Evidence The numbers of students who will miss university places is alarming. Due to the stiff competition for these places even qualified students will miss out on the much coveted university positions. The vice-chancellor of Worcester University, Prof David Green commented that:â€Å"I think there will be many tens of thousands of young people, in particular young people with good A-levels, who will just miss out on the university offer made to them, meaning they won’t get a place. My earlier prediction that there will be around 220,000 unhappy people will be about right. Of those, about 100,000 will be pretty well qualified and motivated students who would have been a ccepted in previous years. † (Graeme, 2010, p. 7) This implies that an increased number of students will have to seek university education elsewhere or risk missing out on it altogether (Hannah, 2010).This has left many students confused and unsure about their fate. Aaron Porter the president of the National Union of Students said that these youth were â€Å"facing a very uncertain future. † He recommended that these students would have to review other options that may be available to them. The Universities Minister, Mr. Willets said that he felt ‘sorry’ for the students who had missed university places at the universities of their choice and advised them to lower their sights. This is a very disappointing situation for the thousands of students who studied very hard to pass their examinations.The government proposals for graduate taxes will also increase the already high fees paid by students in the United Kingdom (Clark, 2010). These have been subject to public outcry and political debate. A contender for Labour Party leadership, Mr. Miliband commented that: â€Å"They are attacking the poorest people in our society through VAT, attacking people on benefits, attacking people in the public sector and making a series of cuts well beyond what Labour would have done and in a way which is cavalier in terms of what it means for society. † (Tony, 2010, p.15) Universities are also cutting back on the admission of local students in favour of international ones. These students are also not subject to the stringent requirements of grades or restriction in places offered at the universities. In a report, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education termed that this increase in foreign students was ‘unsustainable, ’due to various complications that arose. Sally Hunt, the University and College Union secretary urged the Business Secretary to exercise caution in the introduction of graduate taxes:â€Å"We urge Vince Cable to look again at the idea of taxing big business for the substantial benefit it gains from a plentiful supply of graduates, rather than merely looking to penalise students further. † (David, 2010, p. 24). REFERENCES Clark L. , Freeman S. (2010) I’m sorry: Minister tells students to lower their sights as frantic scramble for university places begins. The Mail. Pp10-11 David T. (2008). University push to lure foreign students branded ‘unsustainable'. Financial Times p 24 Graeme P. , Andrew H. (2010)’ More students to be rejected from university. ’ The Telegraph pp 7-8 Hannah R.(2010) University place scramble gets underway. www. bbc. co. uk Morgan J. (2010) Graduate tax could prompt brain drain. Retrieved from: www. timeshighereducation. co. uk Tony K. (2010). Labour needs ‘deep renewal', says challenger. Northern Echo, pp15. BIBLIOGRAPHY Green M. (2004) Competition slows lucrative foreign student share to 12% higher education: [London 3rd editi on]. Financial Times, Laurence Norman. 2010. U. K. to Maintain ‘Competitive' Tax Regime. Wall Street Journal Martin Wolf. 2010. Why Britain does not need a graduate tax. Financial Times, Miranda G. (2004). An insight into university education taxes. Financial Times, p. 4.

Satirical Essay on Facebook

Facebook and MySpace are one of the many social networking tools that teens use to communicate. Many spend most of their day browsing other teen’s profiles and updating their own. After all, having a cool profile page and lots of friends is very important in showing off your cyber social status. I don’t like to boast, but Tila Tequila accepted me as her friend on MySpace. I leave her comments fairly often and I’m hoping that one day she will actually reply! Although she has almost 1,000,000 friends, I’m convinced she visits my profile often. We have never had a real conversation but I read her bulletins all the time. I know she is always aware of my updated status and I am positive that’s why she never comments. I myself have about 200 friends. I have only had real conversations with about 50 of them, the rest are people I have spoken to once or twice in my life. Of course I have many other music and movie stars, in addition to Tila Tequila. They are really good at keeping in touch with me thru bulletins. Being constantly made aware of my friends status updates such as, â€Å"I am going to an awesome party tonight†, or â€Å"Today was such a good day†, puts me ahead of the crowd. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t know what my friends were doing every minute of every day. Like everything else, there are some downsides to MySpace and Facebook. The biggest problem I have encountered is what to do when someone I know, but don’t like adds me as a friend. I occasionally get friend requests from strange people who I met once, but am glad I have never seen again. The problem occurs when they add me as a friend and I don’t want to accept them. Not accepting a person is another way of telling them you don’t like them. However, if you accept them you risk having a long and awkward conversation with someone you don’t like. I guess this is just a problem you have to overcome when maintaining your virtual life. On the brightside, there are many upsides to MySpace and Facebook. You can use programs to remove pimples from your face when uploading your pictures. You can look at the extremely useful surveys people take and find out their favorite band, what their favorite food is, how long they shower for, and many other important facts. You can fake your identity and get pictures of really good looking people with nice cars and claim they are you so you can become really popular. You can even stay in your room for 7 hours straight and not get bored! I truly feel that Facebook is â€Å"a place for friends†. It is friends who have too much time to remain online each day. This realization comes to me very sadly, however, as I do enjoy reading about how Tila Tequila’s day is going. Maybe one day she will come to the same realization and we can have a conversation in the real world.

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address Essay

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address The Inaugural Address, by John F. Kennedy is about the people cooperating to make America a better place for everyone. John F. Kennedy’s speech was delivered in the east side of the capitol on January 20, 1961. In John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, he emphasizes the need for unity among mankind. John F. Kennedy utilizes anaphora to evoke togetherness throughout the world. Throughout his speech, Kennedy repeats, â€Å"we pledge† several times. Kennedy means to convey unity by using â€Å"we† to connect to the people. Because the phrase is repeated so many times it shows how bad he wants the idea grasped in to the peoples minds. By using the word â€Å"pledge† he is able to emphasize the promise that the people made to America. Kennedy also reiterates the phrase, â€Å" we shall† many times. Through the phrase â€Å"we shall† he is able to highlight that everyone is going to help. It makes the people see that they have a part in constructing America, for Kennedy cannot do it on his own. He wants to build a unity where everyone is on the same team; together they will help each other out and strive for the unity of America. Kennedy wants to be on the same side as the people; he constantly say’s â€Å"let both sides† so that he can come into an agreement with them. If Kennedy makes a connection with the people they will do as he says. He wants â€Å"both sides† to collaborate with each other to create a strong nation. If he were able to create a unified nation, the people would live in a civilized manner, all-willing to help. Through anaphora, Kennedy is able to present the theme that together you can conquer all.

Derivatives and Alternative Investments Assignment

Derivatives and Alternative Investments - Assignment Example First, if management understands about the corporation’s risks better than shareholders, the corporation, not its stakeholders, can hedge. Subsequent, corporation could be capable to hedge at a lower cost. Corporate hedging can be justified if default costs are significant, since it reduces the possibility of default (Johnson, 2010). Lastly, if the corporation encounters progressive taxes, it can decrease tax accountabilities by hedging which steady corporate earnings. To calculate the appropriate number of bonds and equity futures that should be sold the following are considered and done. Bond estimation is a technique used to establish the predictable trading price of a bond. The anticipated trading value is computed by adding the total of the current values of all coupon costs to the current value of the par value (Johnson, 2010). German federal state bonds with a minimum issuing volume of EUR 1 billion. FDAX = opening price 8,218.50 Low price 8,164.00 High 8,259.00 Daily s ettlement price 8,197.50 Bond face value = â‚ ¬ 1 000 000 000 Annual coupon rate = 3.723% Maturity in years = 1 year Market interest rate = 7.2% Future Bond Price = 3.723% * 1000 000 000 * 1-(1+7.2%)-10/7.2% + 1000000000/ (1+7.2%)10 =32,230,000*6.94 +1000000000/2.004 =223676200+499001996 =â‚ ¬ 722,678,196 Future Equity Present value = â‚ ¬50,000,000 Question 2 Interest rate swap amount = â‚ ¬5,000,000 Term: 5 year fixed rate payer The risks of the interest rate swap To explain the risks of the interest rate swaps position taken by the European asset manage the following are considered. In addition, the possibilities of hedging the scenario are also explained. Management decisions relating to a bank’s interest rate risk challenge should consider the risk or reward swap of interest rate risk positions. This is why the trade-off, in form of interest rate swaps, is necessary in this scenario (Corb, 2012). Management must compare the possible risk such as impact of unp leasant rate actions of an interest rate risk situation or approach against the possible reward (impact of positive rate movements).To assess the potential impact of interest rate danger on a corporation’s operations, a well-managed company will reflect on the affect on both its incomes (the profits or accounting viewpoint) and fundamental economic worth (the capital or economic perspective). Both perspectives must be evaluated to establish the full scope of a corporation’s interest rate risk vulnerability, particularly if the company has significant long-term or multipart interest rate risk positions (Corb, 2012). The current situation warranty interest rate swaps consideration so as to avert too much risk exposure. An interest rate swap is an accord by two entities(the European asset corporation and the central Bank) to swap or exchange floating rate interest compensations for fixed rate interest compensations and vice versa. It is significant for the European asset manager to appreciate that swaps are between corporations and not between personal investors; however, the outcome of these swaps may influence his/her job activities or the cost he/she may pay for a bond. The most ordinary kind of swap is a vanilla exchange in which fixed rate interest compensations are swapped for floating rate interest payments according to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) (Corb, 2012). The London Interbank Offered Rate is the interest rate that financials institutions with high credit ratings from ratings organizations charge one another for

Fraud Fears in Internet Banking 1.Introduction Dissertation

Fraud Fears in Internet Banking 1.Introduction - Dissertation Example Banking industry is no different; banking operations and processes have become more accessible and convenient for the customers due to the introduction of internet banking. Banking operations are no longer restricted to the limited business hours of the bank, rather can be done at any time via the internet. However, this technology has also proved to make customers’ details and intellectual assets of the companies vulnerable in the presence of increasing security threats from hackers and intruders. Internet frauds related to the banking sector have become major concerns for customers around the world. Some of the most common online banking frauds have been discussed in the paper, along with the discussion of few real life instances of such crimes. 2. Internet Banking Internet banking offers a wide range of activities like balance inquiries, transfer of accounts etc. The acquisition and transfer of customer details and information on the internet makes the whole process vulnerable, along with the presence of internet scams that aim to steal the information of customers. Financial institutions have suffered great losses over the years by becoming victims of malicious activities of cyber criminals. Cicutti (2008) quoted the results of a research study by Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs); it concluded that instances of ‘cardholder not present’ are increasing around 37% after every year. The losses reached to an enormous amount of ?290m in 2007. These figures include fraudulent attempts via the internet, mail and phone. Few other figures have been reported by Financial Fraud Action UK in Sky News (2009); it pointed out that only first half of 2009 marked a 55% increase in the rate of internet banking frauds with the figur e of ?390m as compared to the figures for the year 2008. The alarming increment of internet banking crimes denote that the cyber criminals are getting more technology savvy who are adopting innovative technologies to overcome the security measures of the financial institutions to violate the privacy of the customers’ data. Internet banking has been widely accepted by customers due to its convenience. Spam Laws (2009) stated that around 45% of the 141 million grownups in US opt for online payment of their bills. Along with convenience, comes a huge price for the customers who prefer online banking. Spam Laws (2009) also provided the information that around 2 million Americans became victims of fraudulent actions in the year 2004, where customers were reported to suffer losses of around $1, 200 on average at every instance of fraud. After the analysis of the findings, it was concluded that the increasing number of fraudulent actions were known to have the source as online banki ng. 2.1 Types of Internet Frauds There are numerous types of internet banking frauds. Few of the most common ones have been discussed below: 2.1.1 Phishing/ Scam Emails The concept of phishing originates from two words; password and fishing. Zin andYunos (2005) explained that this technique is used to retrieve customer’s bank details by making the activity look like a regular procedure from his respective bank. Several types of information may be aimed to be extracted by the user, such as social security numbers, online banking credentials, credit card numbers etc. The sender might pose to be a bank officer who wants to update the customer’s data in the bank database. Recipients might reply to such emails with the understanding that it is a

Large TNCs are merely instrumental Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Large TNCs are merely instrumental - Essay Example The redefining of the means of production as well as the production of luxury goods, the overall orientation of the society has changed a lot. Traditionally economics measures the society’s well being through GDP however, it also ignores the personal and social well beings of the individuals. The alternative views however do suggest that economies rather than serving the consumers are actually serving the large corporations. Corporations are not just the entities which fulfill the needs of the consumers but rather the wants of the consumers are created by the corporations so that they can profit from them. By limiting the brands available to the public, corporations however limit the choices available to the consumers hence forcing them to consume their products. This paper will basically argue and debate two opposing views of whether consumers are in control while making their choices or their choices can be reshaped through advertising and other channels which can ultimately create a culture which force consumers to spend. Markets and Consumers Traditional economics focuses on the consumers as a rational individual capable of making decisions based upon rationality. This view therefore also outlines that the choices of the consumers are independent and cannot be influenced. As such corporations as well as advertising can only help the consumers to make better choices. This view therefore outlines that the demands and choices of the consumers are internally generated and the markets can only support the consumers and firms to interact with each other to fulfill these internally generated needs and wants of the consumers. In a market based economy, consumer is considered as a king and based upon the notion of consumer sovereignty the decisions on production are made. As such this view therefore outlines that the demands and supply for the goods and services is primarily driven by the consumer choices with little role or influence from the external actors such as firms and advertising. The role of the firms therefore is just limited to providing what a well informed and rational consumer wants. JK Galbraith in his phenomenal book, The Affluent Society however maintained that it is not always the case that the consumer choices or demands are internally generated. Galbraith therefore believes that these demands and wants have been created through the advertising and what he called machinery for consumer demand creation. Galbraith therefore went on to such suggest that such extravagant spending by the consumers whose choices are largely driven by the advertising put burden on the public spending and investment. (Galbraith, 1998)Â   How corporations affects our choices Galbraith’s analysis suggested that the consumer choices may not be necessarily internally generated as the Post War US economy progressed in a manner which gave enormous power to the corporations. He also argued that the mechanics of consumer demand and supply ar e not just driven by the consumers but by the long term planning by the large corporations also. According to him, large as well as small firms do not just work as instruments to provide what well informed consumers want but rather through advertising they can create the demands.( Galbraith, 1971)Â   This view is radically different from the conventional wisdom in economics because it exposes the vulnerabilities of the assumption of perfect markets. Market based economics works on the basis of the

Introduction to Consumer Behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to Consumer Behavior - Assignment Example 2. Search engine companies are responding to the capability of apps to limit or exclude identity of the user by using technology related bias that threatens values such as privacy and favor values related with scrutiny and monitoring. The companies tend to manipulate search results by systematically giving prominence to some sites. Search engine companies have also resorted to offering of personalization and customizing features (Johnson 26-9). Security of users, data and the network has been given first priority by the search engine companies through robust security architecture and rigorous security programs. There are flexibility required for open platform such as protecting user data, system resources and offering application isolation. There is secure inter-process communication, application signing and application defined and user defined permissions. 3. Tagging apps users is helpful in grouping customers and the usefulness is evident when searching on a tag. Tagging further assists in identifying users deemed significant for categorizing app users. New methods of tagging app users also play a significant role in driving repeated usage where new products and services can be built. The new tagging capabilities may further help to expand app landscape and making mobile marketing more competitive (Johnson 29-30). The new methods may also help in optimizing strategies for ranking and maintenance of a user-base in the social media and even change the way users discover apps. 4. Facebook’s challenges of transferring its targeted ad to mobile platforms may play reach a huge number of mobile phone users worldwide. Consumers will be able to learn about different ads at their convenience. Many companies will be able to offer their ads information to the targeted customers globally and provide them with variety of products and services. In this case, consumers will enjoy variety of