Case Overview (International business) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Overview (International business) - Essay Example To fight this inflationary fire, the central bank of Vietnam, the State bank of Vietnam has raised the key interest rates to 14%. This was the latest in a flurry of interest rate increases since February 2011. This interest rate increase is to be accompanied by usual anti-inflationary measures like tighter monetary policy and tighter control on credit. The government of Vietnam has also pledged to cut the burgeoning budget deficit and check the bleeding public sector enterprises of the country. The package introduced by the government to counter this inflation is known as Resolution 11. The Resolution 11 clearly states that the government seems determined to control inflation even at the cost of economic growth. At the meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Hanoi, Vietnam’s Minister for Planning and Investment conceded that because of the priority of the government to control inflation, the Vietnamese economy will fall short of its targeted growth rate of 7% to 7.5%. The private credit of Vietnam is a massive 120% of the GDP. This means that Vietnam is a sort of global record holder in credit creation. However, the saving grace is that bank deposits have kept pace with this record credit growth. Because of this high inflation, the dollarization and ‘goldisation’ of the economy have increased. Ordinary Vietnamese citizens are resorting to hedging against the inflation by keeping their reserves in dollars and gold instead of dong. What has helped this dollarization is the easy availability of dollars because of the large stock of it. In spite of the capital controls, the stock of dollars in Vietnam is high, because of the remittances sent by the large army of Vietnamese migrant workers working abroad .The banks of Vietnam also offer dollar deposits to the customers. To check the move to dollar deposits, the government has capped interests on dollar deposits to 3% against the very high interest rates of 14% on dong deposits. The country also has

Literature Review of 14-19 Education Essay Example for Free

Literature Review of 14-19 Education Essay Abstract This literature review compares research conducted and articles written about the development of 14-19 education and the changes it has gone through since 2002. It briefly outlines the initial implementation of 14-19 education during the Thatcher government before going on to concentrate on how the Labour government introduced Diplomas and what the Coalition government are doing to push this agenda forward. It asks whether academic and vocational education can ever be valued equally and whether the introduction of 14 year olds in further education establishments is successful or not. The majority of the literature was commissioned either by the government or conducted in 14-19 educational establishments. Similarities and comparisons between the research are identified and questions are asked as to how successful it might be in the future. . History of 14-19 Education The idea of 14-19 education was introduced in 1983 by the Conservative government under its leader Margaret Thatcher. The first development was called the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI), and was a pilot scheme was rolled out into schools and colleges in1988. The scheme was run by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC,) which came under the Department of Employment not the Department of Education and Science. Jeremy Higham and David Yeomans point out in the London Review of Education (2011) that, from 1988 to 2002 14-19 vocational education was on simmer and it was not until 2002 under the New Labour government that we saw renewed enthusiasm to for this area of education. The initiative came from the Curriculum 2000 Reform of Advance Qualifications. Between 2002 and 2010 the focus was back on the progression of our young people and, essentially, the future of our work force. The Labour government commissioned an independent enquiry by Mike Tomlinson in 2004 who proposed a new vision for 14-19 education, recommending the introduction of Diplomas. These would build on the strengths of the education system already in place. However the government rejected this and decided to keep GCSE and A levels but to offer diplomas as an alternative the initiative gained respect from schools, colleges and local authorities. Diplomas were introduced in 2008 but have not been successful in gaining credit in industry or education; this has brought forward many issues relating to 14-19 education from teaching and learning, funding, employer contributions and the integration of school age pupils in FE colleges. The current Coalition government commissioned Alison Wolf to review 14-19 education in 2011. Academic/Vocational Education and Funding A major divide in 14-19 education is attitudes towards academic and vocational training. To give equality and value to both sides of what is still an educational ‘divide’ we need to alter society’s thinking and social attitudes. The review of the 14-19 Green Paper by the Department for Education (2002) states that, ‘Pushing for parity of esteem in the current educational climate leads to ‘academicising’ vocational subjects. It was felt by some that the vocational was being forced into the traditional classroom-dominated achievement environment, rather than realistically accepting the different teaching and assessment demands of vocational courses. ’ (DfES, 2002) Even though there are differences between the academic and vocational routes, teaching and assessment methods have to be different, can the value of learning and the qualification be equal? The DfES review does state that to make attitudinal changes requires substantial investment as well as long term consultation and marketing campaigns which they compare to the commitment to improving the long term plan of the National Health Service (NHS). Connexions consulted with learners in 2001 to gain their view on government papers entitled: Green paper-Schools: Building on Success, 2001 and white paper-Schools: Achieving Success, 2001. The focus group of learners conducted by Connexions produced a positive response. Learners were enthusiastic about being asked to participate in the consultation and formulating opinions on education, they concluded that, ‘†¦the choice of core subjects was generally right. They wanted to maintain the entitlement to study a modern foreign language, design and technology, the arts and the humanities. The subjects, deemed essential for personal development for example citizenship (which is to be introduced as a statutory subject within the National Curriculum from September 2002), religious education, sex and health education, physical education, work related learning and careers education should all be compulsory although not necessarily studied to GCSE level if the young person does not want to. ’ (Connexions, 2002) Regarding the discussion on the equality of academic and vocational training young people were of the opinion that, ‘vocational pathways needed to be heavily publicised to young people themselves, employers and higher education institutions so that the pathways became quickly established to form part of the traditional pathways for entry to higher education. ’ (Connexions, 2002) Comparing the two opinions, the DfES review of the 14-19 Green Paper by the Department for Education and the consultations conducted by Connexions both from 2002. The DfES wanted to take their time to ensure development of 14-19 education was more successful, but the learners wanted action to be quick, as they could see the benefit of changing views and progression. This showed that they want to progress and do have aspirations of Higher Education (HE). Tomlinson’s (2004) VE proposal was not taken on board fully, only in part with Diplomas being introduced as an alternative to GCSE and A Levels. Do we need a radical reform of 14-19 education as he suggested? To change deep rooted attitudes and opinions in society about academic and vocational education, maybe it is necessary. An article in the guardian stated prior to launch of the diplomas, ‘We have never seen big new public qualifications arrive with so little input from people who have experience in qualifications and teaching. ’( Meikle 2007) It would seem that the implementation of diplomas has been rushed; therefore they have not achieved the status needed to change opinions. In response to Tomlinson’s (2004) proposals for diplomas the Nuffield Review (2009) asks the question, who is responsible for the Vocational Training Education system? In the UK it is not clear, but does include a long list of people: parents, students, the government, education and training providers and employers. Vocational courses have been seen to have less value than traditional educational routes with fewer opportunities to progress to HE and advanced qualifications but, as Alison Wolf (2011) points out, other countries have reformed their systems and increased numbers of students taking two and three year learning programmes. She states, ‘Bringing vocational pathways into a single framework would give formal equality of standing between, academic, vocational, and mixed pathways, recognise areas of overlap between them; provide opportunities to combine, transfer, and progress between them; and ensure greater educational content within vocational programmes. It would make them easier for learners to identify progression routed to advanced level and beyond. ’ (Wolf, 2011) Wolfe (2011) agrees with the views of Tomlinson (2004) over the integration of academic and vocational education. With this in mind, as well as the research from the DfES and Connexions I quoted earlier, I believe it is the roles and responsibilities that need definition, from the education and political establishments to all people involved as well as those undertaking the training. However, a structured achievement and progression route in VE is necessary to engage employers and bring value to FE training and qualifications if we are to see equality between academic and vocational training. Wolf has recommended that the government extends funding up to the age of 24, as not all students will have achieved a Level 2/3 by the age of 19. To ensure students achieve their potential in Maths and English, extending funding was also proposed. Wolf criticised the funding structure at present, saying that it gave colleges the incentive to create programmes for profit but not for the benefit of the students. She agreed with Foster‘s opinion in 2005, and The Nuffield Review 2009, that funding should follow the learner encouraging institutions to collaborate which would integrate education and provide the best educational programme for each individual student: ‘Policy levers, i.e. funding and performance measures, should focus on collective action rather than promote institutional competition’ (Nuffield, 2009) Funding used as a ‘policy lever’ could achieve more integration of academic skills into vocational areas. Teaching and Learning and Inspection VE has been taught in FE colleges because they are equipped for vocational subjects. Schools have primarily chosen classroom based vocational subjects as they do not have the facilities to offer practical vocational learning, which defeats the object of VE. The opening of new educational establishments currently planned to open between now and 2014 University Technical Colleges (2012) (UTC) will give VE an identity of its own as well as integrate it with the national curriculum. Compulsory education to the age of 18 will be introduced from 2013 with more opportunity and choice being given to students to access VE making it more important than ever to progress 14-19 education. Issues were raised during research by the Learning and Skills Research Network (LSRN) who researched ‘the capacity of the teachers and their institutions to meet the needs of younger learners’ (Harkin, 2006). For example, the college environment could be overwhelming and frightening, especially at lunchtimes. The research questioned who was responsible for the students, were they mature enough to be treated in an adult way? This identified conflicting views: some teachers thought they needed supervision all the time at college but others commented that colleges were not ‘in loco parentis’, but still had a duty of care. They did, however say that college support in the classroom was essential to maintain the safety of the student as well as managing behaviour. In conclusion, it was identified that getting feedback from 14-16 year old students about teaching and learning was difficult due to their unpredictability and poor literacy skills. For example, discussion was often an alien concept for formulating and articulating their opinions and views, it is a more andragogical approach, one not used enough in a school environment for them to feel confident in expressing themselves. FE tutors need to have a clearer understanding of how teaching is carried out in schools, as it probably follows a more pedagogical approach. To ensure that college tutors adapt their teaching to the needs of younger student the TLRC said that, ‘There is a particular need for pedagogical training, rather than training in behaviour management, and for staff to understand the prior attainment of the students’ (Harkin, 2006, p. 36) I feel that there is a need for behaviour management training during professional development as it complement teaching and learning in the classroom. The Nuffield Review (2009) highlighted the importance of teachers being central to the planning of the curriculum for 14-19 year olds, ‘Teaching quality and the relationship between teachers and learners is central to successful education. This requires a respect for the profession of teaching – for the role of teachers as the custodians of what we value and as the experts in communicating that to the learners. Teachers should be central to curriculum development, not the ‘deliverers’ of someone else’s curriculum. (Nuffield, 2009) Tomlinson (2004) said that the quality of learning depends ‘heavily on the quality of the teaching’ and that teachers would need time to develop their own skills in their subject area to keep up to date and inspired, especially in vocational teaching. Foster (2005) also said that, more emphasis was needed on updating professional knowledge and industry development and even suggested sabbatical and secondment opportunities between education and industry. This I feel is idealistic in today’s economic climate but I have in recent years seen increased opportunities to update professional skills within my own teaching establishment. He also asked that FE colleges improve employability and skills in their local area to contribute to economic growth and social inclusion and offer a range of courses that have solid foundations. With these extra roles are FE colleges spreading themselves too thinly? FE colleges are like the ‘middle child’ aiming to please both compulsory education and higher education as well as employers. How can they do this most effectively and gain respectability for the diversity they offer both in courses, abilities, social backgrounds and disabilities of their students? Foster 2005 compared the situation in this country to the one in America where they have no formal inspection process and colleges have a strong self-regulation policy. Giving responsibility and trust to our colleges would see the higher levels of achievement already evident in America. Assessment of institutions is an added pressure. Working in English education we have come to accept it, but is the English system’s controlling, heavy- handed approach necessary? Foster compared Britain with its European neighbours and concluded that they had a much lighter touch. Such development here would give FE tutors more self-esteem, less pressure and more time to teach. Employer contribution FE has always had to promote and build strong relationships with industry and employers, including, supporting apprenticeships and work experience, and forming partnerships with employers to develop qualifications and make them relevant to industry. The TLRP in 2006 concluded that, ‘We need a sector-by sector analysis of the distinctive role apprenticeship can play in providing the knowledge and skills required in the contemporary economic and occupational context. Further and higher education, as well as employer bodies and trade unions, need to be involved in a forward-looking partnership that lifts the work-based route out if its social inclusion ghetto’ (The Teaching and Learning Research Programme 2006, p.40) In 2004, Foster commented that the LSC National Skill Survey of 2004, found that only 15%, of employers had made use of FE colleges when enquiring about training and skills needed in industry. Whilst Tomlinson ( 2004) wanted to reform 14-19 education and merge VE and academic learning, he had no view on how industry and employers would be an imperative and central part of the development in VE. College qualifications and skills teaching will not stand up to industry standards if employers are not consulted thoroughly. They need to be consulted initially to develop qualifications that are relevant as well as periodically to integrate changes, updates and progression within industry. Links with employers have traditionally been through apprenticeships, mainly for 16-18 year olds. The introduction of adult apprenticeships has had an impact on apprenticeships available to young people as older apprentices can offer life skills and additional qualifications to an employer, The Wolf Report confirms this, stating that 19+ students with A levels took the majority of Advanced Apprenticeships. In 2008/9 there was a 7% fall in the number of 16-18 year olds starting on apprenticeships. This was due to the promotion of adult apprenticeships as well as the economic downturn of the country. With the age of compulsory education rising and a lack of apprenticeships being offered by employers, it will be important to strengthen the links with employers to help young people stay in education, learn valuable skills and contribute to society for our future work force. The Wolf Report (2011) highlighted the need for employer engagement, saying that employers have gradually been ‘frozen out’ of the way VE operates. Strengthening links between employers and VE is one of Wolf’s major recommendations, as well as prioritising the development of apprenticeships and work experience and increasing the involvement of employers in FE colleges to improve employability. Her report recommendations summed up below, state; ‘Implementing its recommendations should raise the quality of provision, increase the time spent teaching and thinking about students, reduce the time spent on pointless bureaucracy, increase young people’s skills in critically important areas and make a real difference to young people’s ability to obtain employment’ (Wolf, 2011, p.144). From the TLRP report 2006 and the Wolf Report 2011, 5 years apart, has much changed or been implemented? Working with employers, I have seen the effect of the economic decline in employment opportunities and feel that some of the changes necessary are beyond the power of education specialists and need to come from alternative government policies to increase employment opportunities. The future The future involves change and evolution of what we have in place at present to ensure FE tutors keep up to date with knowledge and skills. The government have introduced 13 University Technical Colleges (UTC) which will start to open in September 2012, with a government commitment to another 24 and plans for 100 in the next 5 years. UTCs are linked to a university and will be open all year round with a timetabled day between 8. 30am and 5. 30pm and cater for between 600-800 students. They will cover academic subjects in Maths, English, Sciences, Humanities and Languages as well as transferable employment skills. UTC students will have two specialist vocational subjects i. e. Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing. The lengthened day will ensure that all homework, enrichment and work experience is covered in the timetable. FE colleges will have the opportunity to become co-sponsors but they will be led primarily by a university. Does this reduce the role of FE colleges? more seems designed to strengthen the progression forward to HE and not FE, whereas Foster (2005) described FE as essential to widening participation in HE and removing barriers. Another emerging education route is Studio Schools which will be state-funded and accommodate 300 students, time tabled between 9am and 5pm. Six are already open with another 6 planned by the end of 2012. They will teach through community projects, enterprise and work experience. By focussing on how subjects are delivered they may be able to contribute to closing the divide in vocational and academic education. These 2 different types of establishments are similar in the way they are designed to transform of 14-19 education, such as opening times and their work and the community experiences approaches to learning. The biggest difference is the number of students enrolled. It seems that large academies have been growing over the last couple of years with numbers in excess of 1000 students. Throughout the research I have read there has been no mention of class sizes. It has been proved in the past that some students do not flourish in a large class environment but yet no one has thought to research this. I think on occasions students become a number and I hope that in the future we can still personalise education for the individual as they are all unique. Conclusion During this literature review I found a diverse range of opinions articles written about VE and academic education and how they can be both valued in society . In January 2012 Alison Wolf backed the action to remove the equivalency of GCSE’s from most vocational subjects. I feel this widens the gap of value between the two education routes but, UTC’s and Studio Schools offer alternatives and it may be an advantage to separate academic and VE entirely. Through this research I have looked at many areas, concerns and government policies and one of the areas that I think is more important and has a direct relationship to teaching is how 14-16 years old learners integrate into FE colleges and whether learning is appropriate and meets their needs this is an important consideration that requires more research. Word Count-3100 Bibliography Connexions. (2002). Results of the Connexions Service consultations held with young people on the green paper. 14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards. Connexions. DfES. (2002). 14-19 green Paper Consultation Workshops Review. DfES. Foster, A. (2005). Realising the Potential, A review of the future of further education colleges. Nottinghamshire: DfES Publications. Nuffield Foundation. (2009). Educational for All The Future of Education and Training for 14-16 Year Olds. The Future of Education and Training for 14-16 Year Olds. Fuller, A. and Unwin, L. (2011). London Review of Education, Vocational education and training in the spotlight:back to the future for the UKs Coalition Government. London: Routledge. Harkin, J. (2006). Behaving like adults:meeting the needs of younger learners in further education. London: Leaning and Skills Council. Higham, J and Yeomans, D. (2011). Thirty years of 14-19 education and training in England: Reflections on policy, curriculum and organisation. London Review of Education, 217-230. Hodgson, A. and Spours, K. (2010). Journal of Education and Work, Vocational qualifications and progression to higher education: the case of the 14-19 Diplomas in the English system. London: Routledge. Hodgson, A. and Spours, K. (2011). London Review of Education, Educating 14-19 year olds in England: a UK lens on possible futures. London: Routledge. Hodgson, A. , Spours, K. , and Waring, M. (2005). Higher Education, Curriculum 2000 and the future reform of 14-19 qualifications in England. London: Routledge. Huddleston, P, Keep, W, Unwin, L,. (2005). Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training Discussion Paper 33, What might the Tomlinson and white paper proposals mean for vocational education and work based learning? Teaching and learning Research Programme (2006). 14-19 Education and Training. London: Teaching and Learning Research Programme. Teaching and Learning Research Programme. (2006). 14-19 Education and Training:A Commentary by the Teaching and Learning Research Programme. London: Teaching and Learning Research Programme. Tomlinson, M. (2004). 14-19 Curriculum and Qualifications Reform, Final Report on the Working Group on 14-19 Reform. Wolf, A. (2011). Review of Vocational Education-The Wolf Report. Websites Studio Schools Trust. n. d. [online] Available at: www. studioschooldtrust. org [Accessed 30 January 2012] University Technical Colleges. n. d. [online] Available at:. www. utcolleges. org [Accessed 30 January 2012] Newspaper Articles Baker, L. (2011). ‘Wolf’s backing of vocational training is great, but she ducks the question of how much it will cost ‘The Times Educational Supplement. 25 March 2011, p. 31. Meikle, J. (2007) ‘Diplomas being introduced too fast, warns MP’s’, The Guardian. 17 May 2007. [online] Vasager, J. (2012). ‘Thousands of vocational qualifications to be stripped out of GCSE league tables’. The Guardian. 31 January 2012. [online] Wolf, A. (2012) ‘An end to qualifications that have no real value’ The Guardian. 31 January 2012. [online].

Being a Vegetarian Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Food Health Essay

Being a Vegetarian "Animals are my friends and I don't eat my friends." -George Bernard Shaw Vegetarianism used to be an unusual lifestyle choice. Today it is becoming more common and accepted by mainstream society. While there are many reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet, the most important are health reasons, environmental and economic reasons, and, above all, ethical reasons. Health reasons alone are sufficient grounds for becoming a vegetarian. Research has shown that we do not require meat in our diets and that it is actually healthier to avoid meat. Meat is high in saturated fats which are known to cause clogged arteries Cultures that consume less meat than North America have much lower cholesterol and lower rates of heart disease. For example, Japan used to have a lower incidence of heart disease, as well as cancer, before meat consumption increased. There is also reason to believe that humans have naturally evolved to be herbivores, rather than carnivores. Human teeth resemble the teeth of other herbivores, and human intestinal tracts are long, unlike the short intestines found in carnivores. What is natural is usually healthier, and people who become vegetarians frequently report a feeling of increased energy and well being. There are also environmental and economic reasons for becoming vegetarian. Some people are not aware of these reasons, but a lot of environmental destruction is linked to meat production, especially cattle farming. Huge areas of f...

Computerized Physician Order Entry Essay

CPOE stands for Computerized Physician Order Entry and it is the feature of the electronic health record that improves quality of care, patient safety, and clinical efficiency. The CPOE can help the improvement of the medical workflow process in many kinds of ways. This is because the CPOE monitors any generating of related orders, any duplicate orders, prevent lost orders, eliminates any errors due to handwriting that is hard to read, reduce medication errors, reduce time that is spent filling orders, and improve productivity in the doctor’s office. Results that are computerized improve the medical workflow process because it eliminates any lagging time that is spent. This leaves more time for the patient to spend more time with the doctor and be treated faster. These results are easier to access rather than flipping through paper file. Having these improvements are beneficial to the patient. CPOE protects all patients because it helps reduces the medication errors of drug allergies, dosage issues, and interactions with drug to drug. With Computerized Physician Order Entry systems it detects all interactions and allergies and alerts them to the pharmacy. Once the alert comes in, the pharmacist will call the doctor and get it fixed before anything seriously bad would happen when the patient takes their medication. Thanks to CPOE, all these alerts help with saving lives. There are many benefits that come with the CPOE. One benefit is that it improves all documentation that is received by the ancillary department in the medical field. It reduces the mistakes that are made with the misinterpretation of prescription orders. With the CPOE, there is no need for re-entry of any data into the system of the ancillary department. Another great benefit is that it reduces all medical errors dealing with medications. When it comes to the medical field, CPOE helps catch all drug allergies that patients may have and any drug to drug interactions. The CPOE is the best benefit that a patient can have. The CPOE is so efficient that it allows doctors to spend more time treating patients instead of writing notes in the patient’s files. The doctor has more time to come up with a treatment plan for the patient and they would be able to sit there to explain it to them better. The CPOE can be time consuming and cost money. Once a medical facility passes the time and the cost then they would see the great benefits to the facility and to their patients. In conclusion, the Computerized Physician Order Entry will help with the improvement of a facility’s safety and care standards. That would give the patients satisfaction of their doctor and their treatment. The medical facility would also appreciate how easy the system is to use and the medical personnel would appreciate how much time they are saving with the system so they can attend to important matters. Technology in the medical field is going to continue to grow every year and it will focus on the patients and the medical staff.

Neo-Realism vs Neo-Liberalism

Kayla Ferry Political Science 150 Dr. Byron October 5, 2010 1) Neo-realism, also known as structural realism see international politics as a power struggle between states. Conflicts between states and security competition are due to a lack of â€Å"an overarching authority above states and the relative distribution of power in the international system† (Dunne 98). Scholar Kenneth Waltz defined the structure of the international system in three elements: organizing principle, differentiation of units, and distribution of capabilities.To structural realists the distribution of capabilities gives important insight to grasping international outcomes, and the relative distribution of power in the international system is the strategic variable to understanding such outcomes. Structural realists argue that the number of great powers that exists concludes the structure of the international system. Waltz describes the structure as the â€Å"ordering principle of the international syst em, which is anarchy and the distribution capabilities across units, which are states† (Dunne 127).Neo-realists also believe the structure of the international system shapes all foreign policy choices and see power as the collective competences of the states. In other words the more power a state has in the international system the more influence they have on world affairs. However the flaw that accompanies neo-realism, is the increase of the application of â€Å"self-help†, a. k. a. increase of military security. Neo-liberalist agrees largely with the views and beliefs of neo-realists, â€Å"the anarchic international structure, the centrality of states, and a rationalist approach to social scientific inquiry† (Dunne 115).The main difference between the two theories is neo-liberalist believe that anarchy does not mean the arrangements of cooperation are impossible. International regimes are the implementer for cooperation. Arguments made by neo-liberalists belie ve that academic inquiry is guided by a commitment to a scientific approach to theory building. In other words, personal beliefs and views cannot alter hypothesis made towards international politics. A separation of fact and values is the only way to insure an accurate theory. According the neo-liberalist, â€Å"the post-1945 orld order has been successful and durable because US hegemony has been of a liberal character† (Dunne 117). The downside of the hegemonic power is it has produced unequal gains for the West and the rest of the world. It is unresponsive to the needs of weaker states and people, which is seen with how the hegemonic power flexes its authority by the controlling of institutions, markets and resources. In contemporary international system, the application of the neo-liberal theory is apparent throughout foreign policy.Even in President Bush’s speech on the after math of 9/11. 2) Although neo-realism and neo-liberalism theories both agree that the inte rnational system is anarchic, they differ on all other accounts. Neo-realists believe that anarchy puts more constraints on foreign policy. Neo-realists also argue that neo-liberals overlook the importance of relative gains, and the most important goal of states in cooperation with each other is to prevent others from gaining more.With neo-realism, advocates believe that in the international system, anarchy forces states to be more concerned with relative power, security and survival. According to neo-realists, capabilities of states are a necessity for the security and independence of a state, and by not knowing another states intentions or interests forces other states to focus on their capabilities. In regards to institutions and regimes, neo-liberals â€Å"claim that they facilitate cooperation, and neo-realists say that they do not mitigate the constraining effects of anarchy on cooperation† (Dunne 133).The neo-neo debate goes back and forth and many other topics, only b ecause they study different worlds of international politics. Globalization has raised even more concerns for neo-realists, largely because they are more cautious about cooperation and see the world and its politics as very competitive. It is clear, in my opinion that neo-liberalism is by far the better theory. It allows the more powerful states to boost their economy, increase a state’s gains and gives states more influence on foreign policy. 3) Marxism gives a different view of world politics.Marxists believe that the world should be studied as a whole, and that the process of historical change is an effect of the economic development of the society. It is a different view of the world politics since it focuses more on economies of key states. Constructivists believe that the world is socially constructed, allowing them to investigate global change and transformation. This provides constructivists to use diffusion, which concerns how â€Å"particular models, practices, nor ms, strategies, or beliefs spread within a population† (Dunne 168).Institutional isomorphism (an issue that is observed by conservatisms, sees that the organizations that contain similar environments will eventually resemble each other), and internalization of norms (the belief that what is considered normal for a society, does not come out of nowhere but evolves through a political process), raise issues of an increasing homogeneity in world politics, a closer international community and socialization process. These different theories provide a different grasp and insight on world politics, allowing the liberalism theory to be better molded and applied to a larger area of the international system.

Meningococcal essays

Meningococcal essays Meningococcal disease, a form of meningitis, is becoming more common and widespread and just as deadly around the world everyday. There are numerous different types of Meningococcal disease, which include A, B, C, Y and W135. A and B are the cases mainly found throughout the world, Type A mainly being in Africa and type B throughout the New Zealand, USA and England. They have cures for Type A, C, Y, and W135, but the one that is most deadly and devastating, Type B, has yet to find a cure of any sort. Type B used to just be mainly found in newly born babies, since their immune system isnt as strong to viruses. But it has more than doubled its amount of infections in teens and adults aging from 15-24 going from 300 cases to 600 cases found in the US. They think its becoming more common in college students because of their late night partying and drinking. Type B has become so deadly that in England they have a response team devoted to Meningococcal disease cases. Meningococcal acts very quickly and spreads 100 to 1000 times faster than a normal bacteria infection. It can be deadly within only a few hours. Some symptoms of Meningococcal disease are flu like symptoms (high fever, nausea, etc), stiff neck, purple rash, and a sore throat. They think that Meningococcal is spread similar to mono, through sharing drinks and kissing and so on. They also think that almost everybody has come in contact with it and contracted the bacteria, but it is dormant in there throats. It infects someone when the bacterium breaks through your tissue in your throat and spreads into the bloodstream. The bacterium then begins to affect the heart and it makes blood vessels bleed causing the purple rash of your now dead limps and causes loss of fingers, toes, arms, and legs. Even though there is no cure to prevent it, there is medicine to reduce and stop it. St. Marys hospital in London, England leads the w ...

Calculators on the SAT Tips from Experts

Calculators on the SAT Tips from Experts SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Calculators are allowed on the SAT, and not using them correctly can put you far behind. SAT experts Fred Zhang and Allen Cheng discuss which tips and strategies worked for them in getting perfect scores. Intro to Calculators on the SAT Allen: So just how important are calculators to the SAT? Fred: I would say they're of medium importance on the SATMath section. You absolutely need to have the right calculator strategy. On the one hand, most of the work on the math section (even the calculator section!) is interpreting the problem - a calculator can't do that for you. On the other hand, not using a calculator or using the wrong calculator strategy can really mess you up. Allen: I agree. Calculators can't make your day, but can definitely break your day.You need to avoid mistakes to get a good score on SAT Math, which you need to do if, for example, you are aiming for a top engineering school. Here are our top tips. Tip 1: Bring a Calculator The College Board Official Calculator Policy says that you don't need a calculator for the SAT. They say that because the College Board needs to make the SAT seem accessible to people of all income levels. The reality is that a calculator,and the right calculator at that, is an absolute must. We've taken the ACT, SAT, GRE, MCAT, and a whole slew of standardized tests as well as class tests. Whenever calculators were allowed, 9 out of 10 times they were of substantial help. When you need to multiply 2392 x 323, it's faster and more accurate to do so on a calculator. Bring your calculator! Tip 2: Always Double-Check the Entry Line What's an entry line? It's a lineat the top of the calculator that shows you what you've typed: Many Scientific Calculators, like the Casio fx-300MS (Fred's personal favorite for the SAT), have an entry line, as do the Ti-83, Ti-84 and Ti-89. Fred: Always, always glance at this to double-check before you hit enter. Glancing takes less than a second, and so many times I caught myself typing (425+25) instead of (424+25) or reversing a decimal. A few mistakes like that on the math section can cost you up to 50-100 points! By double-checking, I have managed almost never to make a computation mistake. Allen: Absolutely. My favorite SAT calculator is the Ti-89, and I check the entry line all the time. If you're a high scorer, it is crucial for preventing careless mistakes. If you're not a high scorer, it lets you double check the order of operations, and lets you match the equation on the paper. Fred: Oh, and implicit in all of this is that you should stay away from calculators that don't have an entry line.That 4-function (only does add, subtract, multiply, divide) calculator in the closet? No way. Some scientific calculators don't have an entry line - using one would put you at a big disadvantage. Tip 3: Be Familiar With Your Calculator Allen: What would you say your worst calculator experiences were? Fred: Oh, by far, in school when I had to use one I wasn't used to. I'd be hunting around for the "sine" symbol. I'd find it, but then realize I have to hit another button at the same time to activate it. And to add to that, halfway through the quiz, I realized the calculator angle unit was set in radians instead of degrees, so my answers would be all wrong. As an aside, do you know how to swim or ride a bike? If so, then you know how important being familiar with an activity is. Calculator familiarity is no different. If you’re hoping to get the most out of your calculator, you must, must, must use one that you are used to. One that you've used for 20 hours or more, ideally. You have a vague muscle memory of where the keys are, what settings there are, and so forth. Remember this: the worst calculator is an unfamiliar calculator. A familiar scientific calculator is far better than an unfamiliar Ti-89. How do you gain familiarity with a calculator? Pick one you like, and then use it for tests, homework, and anything else. To the extent possible, when doing classwork, don't borrow other people's, don't use the class calculator. Gain familiarity with one calculator model. Tip 4: Know When to Put the Calculator Down Allen: Is there such thing as believing in the calculator too much? Putting too much faith in it? Fred: Oh, absolutely. Throughout my career, I've seen so many students who think that the right calculator will magically solve all their math problems.These students go through the trouble of firing up their Ti-84, navigating a slew of menus to find a high-powered cubic equation solver, slowly enter in the equation carefully, hit enter, and get a rounded answer like .588 that they have to convert back to 10/17. Allen: I've seen those in my day, and the kicker is that the math problem would take 2 minutes to do on the calculator, while if you just thought creatively about the problem, you'd get it in 15 seconds. Fred: For sure, calculator over-users suffer from typos on the calculator, and the conversion of rounded numbers to fractions. Beware of Using a Calculator When: You feel like you have to use a super-complicated program to solve it. You know the answer is a fraction like 5/13, but the calculator only outputs decimal equivalents. When you have to use a large number of key-presses or menu navigations to get to your answer. More key presses means more chances for mistakes. Our golden rule: If what you're trying to do with your graphing calculator is NOT doable on a scientific calculator, you are likely overusing your calculator. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you should really only be using the calculator to do combinations of the four basic functions,like (425+25)/3 - (42*4)/3. You Should Use Calculators: To improve the accuracy of 4-function calculations (but be careful what you type!). To speed up complex 4-function calculations (typing 3823 * 84 is much faster than doing it by hand). For minimal other uses. Bonus QA: What's Your Favorite Calculator for the SAT and Why? Fred: For sure, the Casio fx-300MS. I have so many reasons for loving this calculator (and they're not paying me to say this): It has an entry line, and we talked about how important this is. It's a relatively simple calculator, meaning all teachers will let you use it for exams that allow calculators, so you can get a lot of practice using this calculator. Since it's a simple calculator, you'll also never be tempted to boot up the cubic equation solver, which we discussed before is often less than optimal. The only drawback is that, if you find that there is some graphing calculator function you must use, and you've found it to be helpful, it won't be on this one. But I've personally never found such a "mandatory" graphing calculator function, at least not for the SAT. Allen: I like the Ti-89 the most. It's one of the most powerful calculators acceptable on the SAT. Why do I love it? It has much more functionality that most other calculators (and is more expensive as well). It gives you answers back in fraction and "rationalized" format: so if the answer is 10/17, it will give you that, instead of a decimal jumble like0.5882352 (which leaves you to match it up). I find the equation solver to be pretty helpful. Solving 3x+4y=6, 9x+2y=-10 is kind of a pain manually, and you can just type this in on the Ti-89. But typing it in correctly takes not much less effort that solving on paper, so I can go either way on this. It's definitely not a "mandatory feature." Key CalculatorActionables The most important lesson for calculator use, again, is to have a calculator at all. Secondly, it's key double-check all entries. Thirdly, you have to develop familiarity with the calculator. And finally, use it mainly for four functions, plus just a bit more. What does this mean you should do? Master one calculator. Bring a backup to the test, or at least backup batteries. What do we not recommend? Spending hours loading complicated programs into that Ti-84. Relying on using the advanced functions of each calculator. Obsessing over the calculator as the golden ticket to your 800. Now that you know these tips, go out and conquer the SAT Math section! What's Next? Not sure what score to aim for on the SAT? Read our guide to learnhow to figure out your target SAT score! Need more helpprepping for the SAT Math section?We're here to help! Check out our ultimate SAT Math guide for everything you need to know to ace this section of the SAT. Hoping for a top SAT Math score? Read our guide, written by a perfect scorer, on how to get an 800 on SAT Math. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by SAT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Metaphor Definition and Examples

Metaphor Definition and Examples A metaphor is a  trope or figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. A metaphor expresses the unfamiliar (the tenor) in terms of the familiar (the vehicle). When Neil Young sings, Love is a rose, the word rose is the vehicle for the term love, the tenor. The word  metaphor  itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek term meaning to transfer or carry across. Metaphors carry meaning from one word,  image, idea, or situation to another. Conventional Metaphors Some people think of  metaphors  as little more than the sweet stuff of songs and poems- such as love is a jewel, a rose, or a butterfly. But people use metaphors in everyday writing and speaking. You cant avoid them: They are baked right into the English  language. Calling a person a night owl or an early bird is an example of a common  or  conventional metaphor- one that most  native speakers  readily understand. Some metaphors are so prevalent  that you may not even notice that they  are  metaphors. Take the familiar metaphor of life as a journey. You can find it in advertising slogans: Life is a journey, travel it well.- United AirlinesLife is a journey. Enjoy the Ride.- NissanThe journey never stops.- American Express Many other categories  of metaphors enhance the English language. Other Types Metaphor types range from conceptual and visual to dead metaphors, which lose their impact and meaning due to overuse. (You might say, metaphorically, they are done to  death.) A specific type of metaphor is even used in psychological counseling. Following are the main types of this figure of speech: Absolute:  a metaphor in which one of the terms (the  tenor) cant be readily distinguished from the other (the  vehicle). Your Dictionary  notes that these metaphors compare two things that have no obvious connection but are joined to make a point such as: â€Å"She is doing a tightrope walk with her grades this semester.† Of course, she is not a circus performer, but the absolute metaphor- tightrope walk- clearly makes the point about the precarious nature of her academic standing. Complex:  a metaphor in which the  literal meaning  is expressed through more than one figurative term (a combination of primary metaphors). The website  Changing Minds  says that a complex metaphor occurs where a simple metaphor is based on a secondary metaphoric element, such as using the term light to indicate understanding, as in the sentence He  threw light  on the subject. Changing Minds also gives these examples: That lends weight to the argument.They stood alone, frozen statues on the plain.The ball happily danced into the net. Conceptual: a  metaphor in which one idea (or  conceptual domain) is  understood in terms of another- for example: Youre  wasting  my time.This gadget will  save  you hours.I dont  have  the time to  give  you. In the last sentence, for example, you cant actually have or give time, but the concept is clear from the context. ​Creative: an original comparison that  calls attention to itself as a figure of  speech. It is also known as a  poetic, literary, novel, or  unconventional metaphor, such as: Her tall black-suited body seemed to carve its way through the crowded room.- Josephine Hart, DamageFear is a slinking cat I find / Beneath the lilacs of my mind.- Sophie Tunnell, FearThe apparition of these faces in the crowd; / Petals on a wet, black bough.- Ezra Pound, In a Station of the Metro A body cant carve anything, fear is not a slinking cat (and no mind contains lilacs), and faces are not petals, but the creative metaphors paint vivid pictures in the readers mind. Extended:  a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. Many lyrical writers use extended metaphors, such as this drawn-out circus image by a best-selling author: Bobby Holloway says my imagination is a three-hundred-ring circus. Currently, I was in ring two hundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cartwheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down.- Dean Koontz, Seize the Night Dead:  a figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative effectiveness through frequent use, such as: Kansas City is  oven hot, dead metaphor or no dead metaphor.- Zadie Smith, On the Road: American Writers and Their Hair Mixed:  a succession of incongruous or ludicrous comparisons- for example: Well have a lot of new blood holding gavels in Washington.- Former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), in the  Savannah Morning News, Nov. 3, 2010Thats awfully thin gruel for the right wing to hang their hats on.-   MSNBC, Sept.  3, 2009 Primary:  A basic intuitively understood metaphor- such as knowing is seeing  or time is motion- that may be combined with other primary metaphors to produce complex metaphors. Root:  An  image,  narrative, or fact that shapes an individuals perception of the world and interpretation of reality, such as: Is the whole universe a perfect machine? Is the society an organism?- Kaoru Yamamoto,  Too Clever for Our Own Good: Hidden Facets of Human Evolution Submerged:  a type of metaphor in which one of the terms (either the  vehicle  or tenor) is implied rather than stated explicitly: Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. Therapeutic:  a metaphor used by therapists to assist clients in the process of personal transformation.  Getselfhelp.co.uk, a British website that offers psychotherapy resources and information, gives this example of passengers on a bus: You can be in the driving seat, whilst all the passengers (thoughts) are being critical, abusive, intrusive, distracting, and shouting directions, or sometimes just plain nonsense.  You can allow those passengers to shout and chatter noisily, whilst keeping your attention focused on the road ahead, heading towards your goal or value. The metaphor aims to help present someone seeking help with a way to stay focused on whats important by shutting out distracting, negative thoughts. Visual: the representation of a person, place, thing, or idea by way of a visual  image  that suggests a particular association or point of similarity.  Modern advertising relies heavily on visual  metaphors. For example, in a magazine ad a few years ago for the banking firm Morgan Stanley, a man is pictured bungee jumping off a cliff. Two words serve  to explain this visual metaphor: A dotted line from the jumpers head points  to the word You, while another line from the end of the bungee cord points to Us. The metaphorical message- of the safety and security provided by the firm in times of risk- is conveyed through a single dramatic image. The Value of  Metaphors We need  metaphors,  James Grant wrote in his article Why Metaphor Matters published on OUPblog, a website operated by Oxford University Press. Without metaphors, many many truths would be inexpressible and unknowable. Grant noted: Take Gerard Manley Hopkins’s exceptionally powerful metaphor of despair: selfwrung, selfstrung, sheathe- and sheterless, / thoughts against thoughts in groans grind. How else could precisely this kind of mood be expressed? Describing how things appear to our senses is also thought to require metaphor, as when we speak of the silken sound of a harp, the warm colours of a Titian, and the bold or jolly flavour of a wine. Science advances by the use of metaphors, Grant  added- of the mind as a computer, of electricity as a current, or of the atom as a solar system. When  using metaphors  to enrich writing, consider how these figures of speech are more than just ornaments or decorative accessories. Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering readers (and listeners) fresh ways of examining ideas and viewing the world. Source Noyes, Alfred. The Highwayman. Kindle Edition, Amazon Digital Services LLC, November 28, 2012.

REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT - Essay Example The percentage of unemployed people in Scotland have been reducing due to the massive expansion of businesses in the region such as the oil and gas sector (Herald Scotland, 2015). This growth has brought about job creation thus the improvement of employment rates to a â€Å"record high†. The unemployment rates in North Ireland also match those in Scotland in being the lowest among the four due to an improving economic situation that as resulted in more job offerings in the public and private sector (Houston, 2014). In Wales, programs implanted by the government such as the Jobs Growth Wales have played a significant role in reducing the unemployment rates (Gov.wales, 2013). The government may use policies that create good economic conditions for businesses to thrive on such as encouraging the creation of new business. These conditions will enable businesses to grow that translates into the need for more workers in the particular. The authorities can also sponsor the youth and educate them on how to create successful enterprises so that they can also use their skills to earn a living and employ themselves such as through web design among others. Therefore, the unemployment rates are reduced in the process. The government can also undertake an analysis of the labor market in various regions to determine places inhabited mostly by unemployed individuals. They can reduce the tax levels for the business in the area so as to increase the level of unemployment. They can also create institutions that enabled the unemployed to learn skills that may help them to get jobs. LondonlovesBusiness.com. [online] Londonlovesbusiness.com. Available at: http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/economic/why-are-one-in-10-londoners-unemployed/259.article [Accessed 13 May 2015]. Month - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. [Online] BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Available at:

Initiate the Steps of Evidence Based Practice Essay

Initiate the Steps of Evidence Based Practice - Essay Example Therefore, this paper aims at highlighting the skills and knowledge that the implementation of evidence based practice requires, given the consistency that this process demands. The clinical practice that the paper will focus on is the reason behind proper washing of the hands and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a measure of infection control. The background questions that guide the relevance of this clinical practice is how often do we see nurses on a unit washing their hands. In addition to that, the practice is based on the definition of effective hand washing and what the purpose of personal protective equipment is in the nursing practice. Besides, the question of how healthcare providers get bacterial contamination comes into light. The practice of hand washing is a first break of infection. It represents the cheapest and most effective way of preventing infections including the nosocomial infections. Many of the HAI cases are preventable by implementing a combination of strategies, which include environmental cleaning and control, the use of personal protective equipment and the utilization of precautions concerning isolation. The use of antiseptic agents as a concept of hand washing began in the 19th century. In 1961, the United States Public Health Service released a film that demonstrated the training of techniques used in effective hand washing and recommended it for use by healthcare workers. In the years 1975 and 1985, there were releases of formal guidelines on the practices on hand washing in hospitals as published by CDC (Isaacs, 2012). Moreover, the history of personal protective equipment dates back to 1970 when the United States CDC recommended the use of seven categories of isolation. Fast track to the year 1983, the precautions of isolation on secretion or drainage, tuberculosis, blood and body fluid were recommended. The CDC further extended the precaution levels in the year 2007 to envisage safe injection

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Macroeconomics - Essay Example The paper concludes with the role of various entities in controlling voluntary unemployment. Classical economists viewed labour market similar to other markets based on supply and demand in that price would adjust to ensure that quantity demanded equaled quantity supplied. However, labour market differs in setting price and quantity of supply and demand. In case of labour market, effective supply of labour is a challenge as it depends on factors such as time, skills, wages and availability. A rise in overall wages may not result in more supply of labour; on the contrary, may lead to less supply of labour or no change in labour. Within the overall labour market, particular segments are assumed to be subject to more normal rules of supply and demand as workers are likely to change jobs due to various reasons, particularly in response to differing wage rates leading to unemployment for certain period of time. Unemployment is one of the serious problems that can affect people directly or indirectly, in any nation. Every country faces this problem; however, it widely varies in proportion. Labour economics is one of the important sections of market economics, besides financial market and product market, and is studied at micro and macro levels. While, microeconomics of labour market deal with role of individuals and individual firms in the labour market, macroeconomics looks at the interrelations of labour market, the goods market, the money market, and the foreign trade market. Understanding of labour market is the centre feature of any macroeconomic theory. In the classical view of the labor market, all unemployment is voluntary. When the economy goes into a recession and the demand for labor falls, the wage rate will decline and people will opt out of the labor force. However, the classical theory could not explain situations the 1930 recession thoroughly. Economics has various definitions of voluntary and involuntary

1.Identify 10-15 food crops that originated in the Old World (Africa, Essay

1.Identify 10-15 food crops that originated in the Old World (Africa, Asia and Europe) and the New World (the Americas) - Essay Example Each of these groups of food crops originating from the separate worlds has an impact on the modern global food system. Rice is considered one of the most significant and main sources of food for more than three billion individuals in the world today. In the modern world, rice cultivation has contributed to poverty eradication in many parts of the world, enhanced food security, and also contributed to a lot of developments. In other worlds, rice cultivation has enable people from all corners of the world to access enough food to sustain their lives (419). As fruits, pineapples have a lot of health benefits. Including them in the diet means that an individual is benefiting from a balanced diet and hence certain illnesses associated with poor diets are eliminated. Pineapples are either sold fresh or are used to make fresh fruit juice. Fresh juice has a lot of health benefits. Cultivation of pineapples is also a source of revenue or capital to a lot of people in the world. People are also able to purchase pineapples and its products locally instead of importing. In doing so, revenue is maintained locally and hence farmers are able to expand and sustain their farming

Applying The Western Model Of Government On Countries Around The World Essay

Applying The Western Model Of Government On Countries Around The World - Essay Example If in the West the non-fulfillment of such standards are interpreted to basically indicate government failure, applying the same Western model in assessing another country's government would also require the same standards to be met in order for that government to be deemed successful. In the Western model of Democracy, for example, due process of law, respect for human rights and individual liberty, and the general population's participation in the democratic electoral process are among the standards that have thus far been raised by the Western school of thought to measure a country's level of democracy. When non-Western Democratic countries and governments, therefore, fail to provide adequate evidence that these specific standards are being met, these countries risk immediately being condemned by the global society as undemocratic. Organizations and individuals insisting on the application of Western models of government and the implementation of Westerns standards deduced from such models have thus been quick to condemn any and each country that have failed to meet these Western standards. Repressive regimes that fail to meet Western standards of Democracy, and who have a history, for example, of human rights violations, staggering judicial systems, and a weak electoral process, have thus been pressured in numerous instances to reform and meet these Western standards in order to gain the acceptance and approval of the dominant West. To be sure, the notion that a universal set of standards can be deduced from Western models of government and applied indiscriminately to all countries in the World, rests on some very thin assumptions-that there is only one path towards the development of a specific form of government, and that a country's progress down this path is but a naturally occurring process, one that is not influenced by internal and external factors. We can see these assumptions more clearly for what they are if we investigate the global movement towards Democracy. The application of a Western model of Democracy for all countries, for example, presumes that a country's progress towards democracy is a naturally occurring phenomenon, one that is dictated upon by a single process and occurs naturally without regard for a country's socio-political status nor influenced by any external and internal forces. Basically, this means, that countries would generally develop into democracies as they progress regardless of any internal and external pressure or movement. This has largely been disproved by numerous studies, most notably, an examination conducted in 1996 which showed that 58 out of the 61 democratic countries that were studied became democratic unnaturally and that democratic progress was as a matter of fact induced by way of economic sanctions and conditional aid that demanded for democratic legislation. (Whitehead, 1996) With today's governments leaning decisively towards Democracy and democratic forms of governance, the implementation of a universal model of democracy-one that is produced and upheld by the dominant West-presumes that for a country to successfully implement and uphold a democratic form of

1.Identify 10-15 food crops that originated in the Old World (Africa, Essay

1.Identify 10-15 food crops that originated in the Old World (Africa, Asia and Europe) and the New World (the Americas) - Essay Example Each of these groups of food crops originating from the separate worlds has an impact on the modern global food system. Rice is considered one of the most significant and main sources of food for more than three billion individuals in the world today. In the modern world, rice cultivation has contributed to poverty eradication in many parts of the world, enhanced food security, and also contributed to a lot of developments. In other worlds, rice cultivation has enable people from all corners of the world to access enough food to sustain their lives (419). As fruits, pineapples have a lot of health benefits. Including them in the diet means that an individual is benefiting from a balanced diet and hence certain illnesses associated with poor diets are eliminated. Pineapples are either sold fresh or are used to make fresh fruit juice. Fresh juice has a lot of health benefits. Cultivation of pineapples is also a source of revenue or capital to a lot of people in the world. People are also able to purchase pineapples and its products locally instead of importing. In doing so, revenue is maintained locally and hence farmers are able to expand and sustain their farming

Basics of finance and investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Basics of finance and investment - Essay Example Bad news is always remembered more because it is human nature that people’s miseries create a stronger impact in our minds. But it should also be remembered that if there is a Leeson, there is also a Warren Buffet. Money was lost on internet stocks, but just before that, money was also made on the same internet stocks. And Bernard Madoff was one of a kind, who took advantage of people’s confidence to him as a SEC consultant. There was nobody before or after him who operated at the level he did, because the there is usually in place an effective regulation of the market and most such operators are caught early on (Arnold, 2004). If there are no extreme developments such as market crashes and financial crises, investing for value long-term has always been sound strategy for enhancing wealth. There are several vehicles for investment: the savings account, the money market, certificates of deposit and common stocks are some of them. Each of these instruments is associated with a particular level of rate of return. The rate of return is the percentage gain an investment makes – in short, how much yearly earnings are expected as a proportion of the capital invested. The rates of return fluctuate, but they maintain a more or less consistent relationship with those of the others. For instance, the savings account in a bank would normally have the lowest rate of return which is denoted by its interest rate. The money market placement has a slightly higher interest rate, followed by certificates of deposit, and then the stock investment. The average rates of return for each of these instruments is shown in th e second row of Table 1 (source: UK National Statistics Online). The rate of return plays an important part in the concept of compounding. In compounding, the returns that have been accumulated for one year becomes part of the

The tragic Hero Essay Example for Free

The tragic Hero Essay Oedipus, the classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles, is one in which the protagonist is portrayed as a tragic hero. The author does this by combining the elements of irony, personal tragedy and heroism. In the play, Oedipuss character evokes pity because of his misfortune appears to be greater than he deserves hence the reader is left to empathise with him. His actions are controlled by fate and the reader is left to wonder why such a terrible thing is happening to such a good man. Power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely. Humans seem to have a common running trait, and that is one of power and heroism. The quest for heroism becomes the basis of Oedipus the Kings demise. If this power however gets into ones mind, the results could be detrimental, and Oedipus the King is a living testimony of this. Since his actions are controlled by fate, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot prevent good or bad things from happening to him. Since fate is cannot be prevented from taking its course, his actions are quite futile. Aristotle said A tragic hero evokes our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly evil but a mixture of both. The tragic effect is stronger if the hero is more mortal than we are. Oedipus is a mixture of both good and evil. In the opening scene he is seen as a compassionate king who is intelligent and caring. Oedipus prides himself on his intelligence and it is this along with his questioning personality that lead to his downfall. These are his good sides with his evil side being that is guilty of killing King Laois and sleeping with his own mother. Oedipus tries his best to be morally upright with everything that he does, which is more than the average person does. Aristotle also goes on to say the tragic hero suffers a change in fortune from happiness to misery because an error in judgement which leaves the tragic hero to ignore or violate a divine warning or moral law. In the play, Oedipus runs away form Corinth to Thebes and solves the riddle of the sphinx and is thus made the king of Thebes. He however marries the widowed queen and has children with her thus violating a moral law. His fortune changes from happiness to misery when he realises what he has done. A tragic hero evokes our pity because he is not evil and his misfortune is greater than he deserves. He evokes our fear because we realise we are fallible and could make the same error said Aristotle. Oedipus is flawed in many ways and as a result comes out as imperfect since he has a balance mixture of both good and evil. His fortune in saving Thebes becomes his downfall when he fulfils the oracle by sleeping with the queen, who unknown to him is his mother. Oedipus is imperfect and this is seen through his moral and physical flaws. He limps as a result of his feet being pinned together when he was quite young. Unknowingly sleeping with his mother and killing his father is his moral flaw. Thus, combining the heroism of Oedipus with his flaws makes him imperfect though higher than the ordinary man in many ways. Sophocles portrays the result, a classic example of a tragic hero in this play. Sophocles use of irony throughout the play brings to bear on the reader the gloom of Oedipuss situation. We constantly find Oedipus trying to escape the Oracle, but in doing so, ends up fulfilling it. This is seen when he says in the opening scene Everybody everywhere knows who I am. This ironic statement is said in the opening scene of the play when Oedipus comes out to meet the people. His true identity is unknown to him but he exclaims that everyone else knows who he is. Also, since he is such a great riddle solver, you would think he would be able to solve the riddle of his identity but he is unable to in the sight of overwhelming evidence, which is quite ironic. An example of the irony of his fate is when his parents try to prevent the oracle form being fulfilled by sending him away to be killed. He however returns and on his way fulfils the oracle by killing his father and later on marrying his mother. It seems strange to the reader that Oedipus is not more careful about what he does. For example, when he killed king Laois at the crossroads, he should have realised with the oracle in mind that anybody he kills is likely to be his father. He however reacts carelessly by succumbing to his emotions when the King annoys him. Oedipus returns to Thebes and saves it by solving the riddle of the sphinx. However, he leads to its destruction since he is the cause of the plague. It is destroying themes. Thus his fortune tends to be his misfortune. These examples show how Oedipus fulfils the oracle even though he is trying to escape. The reader gets a haunting glimpse into the mindset of Oedipuss wife and mother. This is portrayed to the reader through the actions that she takes. She is a woman who after all who wanted want to kill her son to prevent the oracle from being fulfilled only to find out years later that she is married to him, which leads her to commit suicide later on. She expresses her disbelief in the oracles by telling Oedipus that they are powerless, however, in the next scene she is praying to the oracles to help Oedipus to stop his strange behaviour. Also in this scene, a messenger brings news from Corinth that Polybos is dead and Oedipus should return to Corinth. Though Oedipus is pleased about the kings death since he proves that the oracles dont come true. Yet still he refuses to return because Merope is alive. His fear is that he will fulfil the prophecy since his mother is alive. Oedipus, remains a mystery to both the reader and himself. He does not know his true identity and this becomes the source of his demise. He comes to find out his true identity, but in doing so, his sudden tragic end is brought closer. The reader at this point is left to wonder, what is the way out. Unfortunately, the answer as we come to realise in the latter parts of the book is one that is not easy. Fate has already chosen Oedipuss destiny and nothing can change it. A feature of tragic plays by Shakespeare. The writer connotes a certain sombre picture and depressing mood, which is characteristic of most of Shakespearean tragedies. The employments of understatements that lead to humour are also evident in most parts of the text, and this makes for an interesting reading. For example throughout the play, there are references to sight such as, you cannot see, yet you know the nature of this plague and light, o light, light now everything is clear which are ironic because Oedipus blinds himself later on. Also, the blind prophet Teireseis knows about Oedipususs true identity but Oedipus who isnt physically blind does not know his true identity. His servant Kreon whose name means king is also an irony since he turns form a messenger to a king. Throughout the play, there are references to sight such as, you cannot see, yet you know the nature of this plague and light light, light now everything is clear which are ironic because Oedipus blinds himself later on. Also, the blind prophet Teireseis knows about Oedipususs true identity but Oedipus who isnt physically blind does not know his true identity. His servant Kreon whose name means king is also an irony since he turns form a messenger to a king There are three hero archetypes that suit the character of Oedipus; The quest, the initiation and the sacrificial scapegoat. Oedipus delivers Thebes by solving the riddle of the sphinx and thus fulfils the first archetype which is that of a hero who who solves an unanswerable riddle to save his kingdom. He does this on his journey to discover his true identity. The second archetype is that of the phase of separation. This happens when he leaves Thebes, is transformed and returns to become king and save his kingdom. The third archetype is when in order to save Thebes he has to banish himself from the kingdom to restore it back to fruitfulness. This has the elements of a tragedy because no matter the decision he makes he it is going to be detrimental to him. Even though Irony plays a crucial role, other elements such as heroism and tragedy come in the text. We find Oedipus entangled by his own principles. He is always in that twilight zone, one between acceptance of the harsh reality and total rejection of the things he goes through. The choice of the latter is detrimental to both his character and that of the people he leads and governs and he thus chooses the former remaining a true tragic hero.

Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects

Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects Introduction Start-Up Entrepreneurs who wish to transform their business dreams into reality will one way or another reach out for the external finance. Many new entrepreneurial start-up businesses do not obtain start-up financing (Gruber, 2004; Mason Harrison, 2004b). Private individual investors with a high net worth, known as business angels, represent the largest source of start-up financing for new entrepreneurial businesses (Aernoudt, 2005a). Establishment of new businesses is vital to the development and growth of the countrys economy (Reynolds et al., 2003). Since the first publication on a business angel was published by (Wetel, 1981), many authors have researched on the informal investment market and studied closely monitoring business angels characteristics, investment criteria and issues related to an investment. According to (Masons Harrison, 2000), it is cited that over the past generations many researches have been carried out in different countries and compared with each other. This dissertation will discuss about the mind of an investor and how they operate in terms of investing their financial assets in a start-up business they believe in succeeding. The main reason is to broaden our understanding of investment aspects of a business angel and how an entrepreneur should respond to it. To find out information sources on business start-ups, refer (Appendix 1). Problem Discussions Many business entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of initial capital thats needed to start-up a new business as it requires a vast amount of finance equity (Clarke, 2005; Sohl, 2006). How do entrepreneurs find the initial capital and which investor will trust the business ideas and fund the company? What is the difference between a good investment and a poor decision? What are the requirements of a business angel? These are the main issues SME business starters go through in the initial stages of a business (Wiltbank Boeker, 2007). The answers for all these issues vary depending on several criteria. For example, it could vary due to the type of the business the entrepreneur wish to start, the capacity of the risk involved, the return of investment period and especially the preference of the entrepreneur working alone or with the influence of the investor (Kaplan Schoar, 2005). The dissertation tries to reach active business angels view points on the issues of SME entrepreneurs and investment aspects. The researcher is confident that this thesis will benefit both the business angels and entrepreneurs. Introduction Of The Research Subjects According to a survey conducted by the (EIRO), the governments Bolton Committee in its 1971 report clarified that there is no single definition to explain Small to medium enterprises because of the wide diversity of businesses that operate in the United Kingdom. The report also explained that small to medium business varies according to the type of sector it operates. However section 249 of the Companies act of 1985 affirms that a small company will have to attribute at least two of the following characteristics; Turnover less than GBP 2.8 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 1.4 million Employees less than 50 And a medium sized entrepreneur should operate under the following regulations; Turnover less than GBP 11.2 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 5.6 million Employees less than 250 However in real practice, business functions that operate under small to medium terms, take on a range of working definitions depending on their business objectives (Leedy Ormfod, 2001). EIRO European Industrial Relations Observatory Formal And Informal Venture Capitalists Venture Capital is also known as risk investment (Langberg, 2004). Risk investment is invested as shares and the financier expects a superior â€Å"rate of return to recompense for the amount of risk invested (Kelly Hay, 2003). There are 2 main types of venture financing in the UK and they are; formal venture capitalists (large financial institutions) and informal venture capitalists (wealthy private investors commonly known as business angels). The UK Formal Venture capitalism began in the 18th century (Harding Bosma, 2007). During that time Entrepreneurs found affluent individuals to get support for their new businesses. This informal tradition of funding eventually formed a business trade by a number of venture capital firms created by many wealthy. Currently there are over 120 venture capital establishments in the UK, which fund billions of cash annually to the UK SME market (Frielinghaus et al., 2005). Informal venture capitalists are mainly recognized as Business Angels who are wealthy individuals with a high class reputation of managing well run businesses (Masson Harrison, 2004). As investors business angels bare a larger risk than venture capital firms as they have to be liable for the loss of the investment incase the business they invest lose out. On the other hand venture capital firms have many investors who can be hand in hand to one another in a bad situation (Masson Harrison, 2004). Business angels are more common in UK where they tend to invest more on SME businesses where banks and venture capital firms decide not to, which will be further discussed under evidence analysis (Madill et al., 2005). Business angels tend to be get more closer to the entrepreneur with a higher level of involvement in the firms operations, which shows that their choice of target firms are somewhat different than venture capital firms requirements and business angels investment decisions are made solely on the basis of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the investor (Masson Harrison, 2002). Although entrepreneurs could use formal informal investors at different stages in the business as shown in the (figure 1), it shows where business angels are needed where we will further discuss later on (Aernoudt, R., 1999). Figure 1: Financial sources and their involving stages Source: (VENTURE CAPITAL, 1999, VOL. 1, NO. 2, 187 – 195) Objectives Understand a business angel, an entrepreneur and their relationship in a SME start-up businesses in UK Identify detailed requirements of business angels when it comes to an investment Determine how different countries cultures undertake investments Literature Review This literature review is concerned about the academic groundwork of the research objectives which inquires about investment categories business angels tend to invest in a small to medium sized business sector. It also looks at how different authors have elucidated about the investment natures of different countries like New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden etc. In order to give a clear structure of this academic review, it will be categorized into subsections to converse different authors views about the research objectives. First the review will discuss about the academic Theories of investments. Then it looks at Business angels and entrepreneurs in the UK. Finally the review will investigate different countries nature of investments in their own markets. 2.1 Theories of Investment There are several investment theories defined and compared by many authors. This thesis mainly focuses on informal investors who wish to invest on SME start-up businesses. Although Stock market related investment theories are irrelevant for our objectives it will be impolite to ignore discussing all investment theories. Therefore lets investigate the theories and in the later chapters discuss the practical concepts (evidence) used currently by successful investors. Among the following theories, Efficient Market Theory will be related to investment in stock listed companies and â€Å"principal-agent, prisoners dilemma framework resource based theory† will be about business angels investing in SME businesses. 2.1.1 Efficient Market Theory (EMT) According to (Burton Malkiel, 1973), the stock values that show in the stock market almost define where the company is in its territory and how well it performs compared to its competitors. He suggests that stock prices may not always be accurate but it can be correct most of the time. On the other hand few business managers disagree, explaining that there companys values are priced unfairly and stock prices do not accurately replicate the performance of their companies (Burton Malkiel, 1973). The following discussion will communicate what efficient market theory is about and explore the arguments against it. According to (Michael Firth, 1975), it is stated that there were many academic researches carried out to monitor the share price behavior by investment advisory firms and investors to obtain profitable investment strategies. What is EMT or EMH? (Burton Malkiel, 1973) explained that Efficient Market Theory (EMT) is also known as Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on a more technical term. This theory is a method of defining how stock values behave the way they do in terms of investment decisions. (Eugene Fama, 1965) later categorized EMH into three sub assumptions and they are as follows; 1. Weak form (EMH) This method assumes that current stock values replicate all past information about the specific company such as performance measurements, returns etc. By analyzing the stocks price chart, it can help the investors verify as to what the future holds for the companys stock values (Eugene Fama, 1965). 2. Semi strong (EMH) The assumption built on this method is that all the publicly available information and historical information replicates the values of a companys stock prices in the market. So the investors could gain more knowledge and confidence through a companys financial statements and recent developments. It will enable the investors to judge the company future performance (Eugene Fama, 1965). 3. Strong form (EMH) This method expressed that, other than publicly available information, the investors get an inside look into the company which largely reflects the stock value (Eugene Fama, 1965). Principal Agent Theory In general terms Principal Agent theory is defined as a business management framework to observe the behavior between employer contractor or employer employees (Spence and Zeckhauser, 1971; Ross, 1973). So here this theory can be applied to the business angel entrepreneur relationship and discuss its implication on the investment process (Jenson and Meckling, 1976; Harris and Raviv, 1978). In the corporate business, the principal (Business angel) usually appoints the agent (manager) or else make sure the entrepreneur works according to the principals ideas in the business (Jenson and Meckling, 1976). The principal usually make sure that the agents business intentions are as similar to him/her (www.financemind.com). In other words, the principal wishes to make sure that the business runs well and succeed the way he/she believes best (Eisenhardt, 1989). But on the other hand, over an informational advantage the agent could think otherwise for the business. This is where the problem of shared risks arises as (Eisenhardt, 1989) explains, where the Investor (principal) and the agent (manager) could end up having different opinions towards the business. The agency theory is widely used in venture capitalism (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000a). Having conflicts due to differences in interests, it is essential to minimize these risks as (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000b) agrees with Eisenhardt. To reduce these risks investors make sure that they actively monitor the companies they invest and build a better and close relationship with each other (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). According to (Sweeting Wong, 1997), using a principal agent theory to evaluate a business angel investment is not highly recommended anymore. It is much better to have a mutually agreed relationship. The agency theory shows that money motivates both the principal and the agent (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). But financial motivations or economic factors do not relate business angels relationship with the entrepreneur in this theory (Wijbenga et al., 2003). Prisoners Dilemma Framework (PDF) This is yet another theory that can be used in an investment study. In this framework there can be either a conflict or a development between the two parties involved (Cable Shane, 1997). In this theory, both parties can either go in their separate interests and gain a certain pay off or co-operate with each other and achieve a higher pay off (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000). The prisoners dilemma framework promises better fitting for the business angels and the entrepreneurs because it does not presume a hierarchical relationship between the two parties (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000; Cable Shane, 1997). Still the PDF theory only focuses on the investor – entrepreneur relationship and not any of the business angel investment activities or impacts. It concludes that the theory is not suitable enough to define a business angel entrepreneur relationship (Cable Shane, 1997). Resource Based Theory The resource based theory has many influences on the entrepreneurship. Business angels can contribute many resources other than cash it self. According to Freear, Sohl and Wetzet (2002), angel investors can contribute five types of resources to an entrepreneur: Human, physical, social, organizational financial. Human capital can be taken as angel investors contribution of business knowledge, skills and business experience to the firm (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001a). Social capital can be gained when business angels provide their business contacts (Angel networks). By this, the entrepreneur has the opportunity to meet other investors and extend the funding possibilities to the business. Physical resources can be machines or factories and organizational capital can be described as the influence and advice the investors can give for the business for an example making the business improve on its experience (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001b). Financial capital consists of the funding provided in the beginning of the start-up phase (Cassar, 2003). By far this presumed to be the best suited theory to define a relationship between a Business angel and an Entrepreneur where all aspects are covered (Rose, 2005). Summary Of Theories Looking back at the efficient market theory, Agency theory, Prisoners dilemma framework and Resource based theory; it seems to be that the â€Å"Resource based theory† is the most suitable theoretical framework for the Business angel investments. However the Resource based theory has to be amended with few assumptions: Human capital should be taken as the (knowledge, skills business experience) investors contribute with (Ardichvili et al. (2002). Although we discussed the above theories, many researchers have described and tried to apply other similar theories to the investor investee relationship [Example: Procedural Justice (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004), learning and knowledge-based view (De Clercq Sapienza, 2002), resource exchange theory (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin Welbourne, 1990)]. All the investment theories have a common characteristic that have only a few relevant investment features in them to the investor-investee concept. To make it applicable for the Business angels and entrepreneurs all these theories should have few amendments and adaptations (Sapienza, Manigart Vermeir, 1996). Small And Medium Enterprise (SME) William Kendall, the Chief Executive of Whole Earth Ltd stated, â€Å"SME business is a fantastic place to work. You have to think innovatively to be an entrepreneur. Its thrilling and its enjoyable.† According to (European Industrial Relations Observatory) there is no general definition for SME. But the (Governments Bolton Committee, 1971) cited that the characteristic of a SME firm is a self-sufficient business being owned by a single owner with a small market share. The report also stated that the size of the SME changes in different industries. Although it is hard to give one specific definition for SMEs, it can be measured and classified by numbers (employees revenue rates). The defining measurements are as follows: Definitions: (The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – BERR, UK) has defined SME with 3 types of measurements and those are based on amount of employees: Micro firms: 0-9 employees; Small firms: 0-49 employees and Medium firms: 50-249. The (European Commission) changed the definition of the SME to increase the partnerships and innovations. The definition which took affect on 2005 is: â€Å" A Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprise (SME) is made up of firms which employ less than 250 employees and have yearly revenue less than 50 million euro†. Importance Of SME In The Uk The country has raised the level of growth productivity in the last era reducing the competition gap between other countries like US, France Germany (BERR, 2008). Currently UK is reacting well to the global prospects and challenges. The growth of the SME market increases each year promising to boost the economy of the country. According to (European Business Angels Network (2007) Dissemination Report on the Potential for Business Angels Investment and Networks in Europe), the employment and annual revenue contribution of the SME industry as a whole is more than 50 percent of the total. The UK government provides necessary support for people to step up and start their innovative business to increase the competition level of the country (www.berr.gov.uk). The Entrepreneur Earlier it was discussed that previously recognized agency theories explains that the investor, ensuring a healthy relationship is highly regarded as a successful investment aspect in an investment (Kelly Hay, 2003). Therefore exploring more about what authors have studied about entrepreneurs and investors is vital. The difference between a formal venture capitalist and a business angel is that a venture capitalist invests looking at the company and its ability to perform (Schramm, 2004). On the other hand the business angel focuses mostly on the entrepreneur to make sure there can be a good business relationship (Mark and Robinson 2000, p138). The entrepreneur is the only key to get the funding needed for a start-up business. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to gain the investors trust and confidence in the business idea. According to (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p123), it is cited that during a business start-up there is a high percentage of entrepreneurs failing to make good management decisions in the initial stages. It is very sensible for an entrepreneur to seek a business angel as they pay special interest on the business they invest in with all their resources including non-financial contributions. It could help fill all the management weaknesses of an initial stage of the business and sav e huge amounts of consulting and managerial costs (Mason and Stark, 2004). Entrepreneur Evaluation (Osnabrugge Robinson, 2000) had explained that entrepreneurs should be aware that the investor not only pays attention on the business proposition but also the entrepreneur himself to ensure the safety, confidence, enthusiasm and the ability to depend on the entrepreneur. Trust is something investors work hard to find in an entrepreneur, because they invest large amounts of financial resources on a person they met in a short period of time (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p125). According to a study conducted by Stedler and Peters; entrepreneurs capability to convince the business angel to invest is very important and showed that 81% of business angels has expressed that a positive first impression established in the first meeting as important (Stedler and Peters, 2000). When it comes to angel investment decisions being made, business angels need to ensure that the entrepreneur should be a proficient manager (Gerald and Joel, 2000). Loyalty, leadership, reliability and personality are important characteristics that angel investors look into when they evaluate entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur should be able to have those qualities to gain an influence of the investor (Aernoudt 1999 Sappa 2006). The characteristics that separate a good ownership from a poor is, that if the entrepreneur is able to establish trust and leadership skills with confidence and make the employees follow him/her (Micah Baldwin 2007). Investors find it comforting to know that the entrepreneurs have invested partly on the business before seeking external investment. This gives the investor the idea that the entrepreneur has given all the effort in the involvement of the process and that the financial value of the business is appreciated (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p127). According to (Sappa 2006), business angels take lots of time and effort into finding out background information on the entrepreneur to ensure that the owner has the right expertise to manage the business he proposes. (Haines and Riding 1998) corroborates furthermore by adding that the entrepreneur sharing his/her previous business experiences and being much more practical about the business brings more information and confidence to the investor. Finally all the above characteristics that were discussed are very important for a new start-up entrepreneur to influence investments from professional business angels. Business Angels As we have gone through the theories of business angels it is important to know who business angels are in the minds of researchers. A business angel is a highly prosperous individual who can be a business person and willing to invest part of his/hers finance on a promising entrepreneur who has a potential to succeed (Isakssin 2000, Helle 2004). According to (Harrison Manson, 1999), there are three eras of business angel researches conducted in the investment business: First era of business angel research was conducted by United States of America in early 1980s. Authors like; (Landstrom, 1993) from Sweden and (Harrison Manson, 1992) from United Kingdom repeated the same work by giving out similar results. In this era it was solely concentrated on business angels thoughts, activities and characteristics (Freear, Sohl Wetzel, 2002). Second era enabled researchers to go deep into business angels by investigating their post investment involvements. Theory building up and applying for business angels began in this era. Although there were theories built for business angels, it wasnt developed enough to be completely suitable for the activities of angel investors (Connolly et al., 2006). Third era will be the era about the future researches of business angels. There were many faults in the previous researches done and they need to be taken in a new direction to make sure the researches investigated will produce good results (Arenius Minniti, 2005). This would finally make us understand the minds of business angels and match the Business angel – Entrepreneur relationship under changing economy, culture competition (Connolly, OGorman Bogue, 2006). By the help of (Harrison Mason) Swedish researchers like (Sorheim 2005) will enable to investigate on the changing environment of Business angels. This also mean that the theories being found in the previous eras could finally be developed enough to apply on the business angels current investment methods and get positive results (Gompers Lerner, 2007). Characteristics Of Business Angels Almost all the business angels who actively invest on new businesses have few common characteristics. They all have the main motive to increase the potential of their financial capital (Duxbary, Haines Riding 1996). But (Landstrom 1993, Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000) explained that all business angels should not be profiled in a similar way because cultures and person to person could make them different to each others ways in terms of making a personal investment decision. Although there could be many differences between business angels, (Osnabrugge and Robinson, 2000) also stated that there are general motives behind all business angels when it comes to a certain result they expect out of an investment. When Venture capitalists and business angels are taken together it is wide clear that Business angels are individuals who prefer to invest less financial capital than of the formal investors who invest large amounts. Business angels also prefer to invest their money mainly on initial stages of a business (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000). When it comes to formal investors, they are selective in industries they invest on depending on a lot of information and research. But the Business angels invest on the entrepreneur regardless of what industry sector the business idea would succeed on. They do little research on the industry but heavy research on the entrepreneur they expect to build a trust worthy relationship, because they depend on the entrepreneur mu ch more than the venture capitalists that only rely on the market and the performance of the company (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p63). Furthermore a research conducted in the Norwegian angel market and studies conducted in the US have identified several angel categories. There could be cultural and economical differences among countries like (UK, Sweden Singapore) but angel investors do have likely investment standards in those countries (Landstrom 1993). (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998) explained that the markets which business angels are currently active are where they are wiling to invest more on. There could be many differences in Business angels personalities and points of views of the whole investment process. There are studies that showed the â€Å"most regular business angel†. It is stated that the age, where successful individuals decide to invest their money on a business is when they get to their 50s. This shows that it is almost a retirement phase from a business point of view. This can be confirmed by a research carried out in Germany where it stated that 95% of BAs were male individuals, 56% were directors or owners of their businesses and 17% were individuals who were in the director board on other organizations (Stedler Peters, 2003). Even (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p156) supported Stedler and Peters by explaining that the individuals were in director posts and had good business experiences before they decide to move on into personal investments. Most business angels involve themselves heavily during the initial stages of start-up businesses. They wish to invest near to their homes to make sure of convenience. And Business angels are well educated, wealthy beyond a certain average and expect to have a good life with their feet up on a desk holding a glass of wine, which we all hope to achieve one fine day (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998). Although this thesis aims to look at the characteristics of UK business angels, it was clear by all previous studies that there are common statistics about their decisions and behaviors. This tells us that, UK angel investors too are not far from what was described before in the theories. Still it is important to point out few common characteristics of UK business angels; Common Characteristics Of UK Business Angels According to (Ardichvili et al., 2002), Business angels in the UK have been or still are active business owners. They invest in more similar markets to what they are operating in, which saves them a lot of time trying to understand the market and the operations. Like all business angels, UK investors are highly motivated by the return of their investments and the effort (non financial motives) they have put in to the start-up business. They do enjoy being a part of a new business hoping to succeed for the better part of the community and the country (Landstrom 1993). Furthermore UK business angels prefers and makes sure they invest on new businesses that they could visit regularly, which means they invest in promising firms which will locate geographically near to where they reside (Ardichvili et al., 2002). BAs would rather invest in firms within their residing area, than investing in a location where they find it hard to meet the entrepreneur even though it would double their investments (Harrison, Mason Robson, 2003). Most British angels prefer their entrepreneurs operate within 100 miles of their homes although investors who invested on technological businesses are willing to travel long distances (www.bbaa.org.uk). According to Mason, British angels mostly prefer to invest on small businesses during its initial stages where it is not too late to put in not just their finance sources but their advice and experience to get things on the right track. This, in a way gives them satisfaction of being a part of a promising business (Mason, 2002). After going through the common characteristics of British Angel Investors, it is quite clear that there isnt a major difference compared with the international countries like Sweden and Denmark which will be discussed later. We discussed about Business angels and it is vital to know the categories of their investments. Investment Aspects Of A Business Angel One of the objectives of this thesis is to find out how Business angels in UK and other similar countries decide to invest on a certain investment they find it promising. An investor looking for good reasons to decide on an investment is known as Investment Aspects or Investment Criteria (Landstrom, 1993). It is a way of evaluating the business and the entrepreneur to ensure the security and the profitability of the business proposal. According to the venture capitalism and angel investment comparison carried out by (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000), it revealed that although there were similarities among their attributes in their investment standards there were a certain amount of dissimilarities which makes business angels favorites for a new start up business. For an example, venture capitalists are prepared to invest almost in all stages of a business and therefore they look into all the past and probable financial records of the company. On the other hand the business angels much prefer to invest on a start-up phase of a new business where past financial experiences are not so important to them (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000). Most business angels give similar priorities to investment aspects, when it comes to making a decision. With much researches conducted over the past years (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000) has come up with a selected summary that illustrates the criteria of an investment. The following (Table 1) of twenty-five selective factors are prioritized by well known angel investors; Priority order Priority factors for an investment 1 passion of the industrialist 2 Dependability of the industrialist 3 Sales prospective of the product 4 proficiency of the industrialist 5 Entrepreneur(s) first impression 6 Development prospective of the market 7 Quality of the product 8 Benefits Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects Introduction Start-Up Entrepreneurs who wish to transform their business dreams into reality will one way or another reach out for the external finance. Many new entrepreneurial start-up businesses do not obtain start-up financing (Gruber, 2004; Mason Harrison, 2004b). Private individual investors with a high net worth, known as business angels, represent the largest source of start-up financing for new entrepreneurial businesses (Aernoudt, 2005a). Establishment of new businesses is vital to the development and growth of the countrys economy (Reynolds et al., 2003). Since the first publication on a business angel was published by (Wetel, 1981), many authors have researched on the informal investment market and studied closely monitoring business angels characteristics, investment criteria and issues related to an investment. According to (Masons Harrison, 2000), it is cited that over the past generations many researches have been carried out in different countries and compared with each other. This dissertation will discuss about the mind of an investor and how they operate in terms of investing their financial assets in a start-up business they believe in succeeding. The main reason is to broaden our understanding of investment aspects of a business angel and how an entrepreneur should respond to it. To find out information sources on business start-ups, refer (Appendix 1). Problem Discussions Many business entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of initial capital thats needed to start-up a new business as it requires a vast amount of finance equity (Clarke, 2005; Sohl, 2006). How do entrepreneurs find the initial capital and which investor will trust the business ideas and fund the company? What is the difference between a good investment and a poor decision? What are the requirements of a business angel? These are the main issues SME business starters go through in the initial stages of a business (Wiltbank Boeker, 2007). The answers for all these issues vary depending on several criteria. For example, it could vary due to the type of the business the entrepreneur wish to start, the capacity of the risk involved, the return of investment period and especially the preference of the entrepreneur working alone or with the influence of the investor (Kaplan Schoar, 2005). The dissertation tries to reach active business angels view points on the issues of SME entrepreneurs and investment aspects. The researcher is confident that this thesis will benefit both the business angels and entrepreneurs. Introduction Of The Research Subjects According to a survey conducted by the (EIRO), the governments Bolton Committee in its 1971 report clarified that there is no single definition to explain Small to medium enterprises because of the wide diversity of businesses that operate in the United Kingdom. The report also explained that small to medium business varies according to the type of sector it operates. However section 249 of the Companies act of 1985 affirms that a small company will have to attribute at least two of the following characteristics; Turnover less than GBP 2.8 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 1.4 million Employees less than 50 And a medium sized entrepreneur should operate under the following regulations; Turnover less than GBP 11.2 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 5.6 million Employees less than 250 However in real practice, business functions that operate under small to medium terms, take on a range of working definitions depending on their business objectives (Leedy Ormfod, 2001). EIRO European Industrial Relations Observatory Formal And Informal Venture Capitalists Venture Capital is also known as risk investment (Langberg, 2004). Risk investment is invested as shares and the financier expects a superior â€Å"rate of return to recompense for the amount of risk invested (Kelly Hay, 2003). There are 2 main types of venture financing in the UK and they are; formal venture capitalists (large financial institutions) and informal venture capitalists (wealthy private investors commonly known as business angels). The UK Formal Venture capitalism began in the 18th century (Harding Bosma, 2007). During that time Entrepreneurs found affluent individuals to get support for their new businesses. This informal tradition of funding eventually formed a business trade by a number of venture capital firms created by many wealthy. Currently there are over 120 venture capital establishments in the UK, which fund billions of cash annually to the UK SME market (Frielinghaus et al., 2005). Informal venture capitalists are mainly recognized as Business Angels who are wealthy individuals with a high class reputation of managing well run businesses (Masson Harrison, 2004). As investors business angels bare a larger risk than venture capital firms as they have to be liable for the loss of the investment incase the business they invest lose out. On the other hand venture capital firms have many investors who can be hand in hand to one another in a bad situation (Masson Harrison, 2004). Business angels are more common in UK where they tend to invest more on SME businesses where banks and venture capital firms decide not to, which will be further discussed under evidence analysis (Madill et al., 2005). Business angels tend to be get more closer to the entrepreneur with a higher level of involvement in the firms operations, which shows that their choice of target firms are somewhat different than venture capital firms requirements and business angels investment decisions are made solely on the basis of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the investor (Masson Harrison, 2002). Although entrepreneurs could use formal informal investors at different stages in the business as shown in the (figure 1), it shows where business angels are needed where we will further discuss later on (Aernoudt, R., 1999). Figure 1: Financial sources and their involving stages Source: (VENTURE CAPITAL, 1999, VOL. 1, NO. 2, 187 – 195) Objectives Understand a business angel, an entrepreneur and their relationship in a SME start-up businesses in UK Identify detailed requirements of business angels when it comes to an investment Determine how different countries cultures undertake investments Literature Review This literature review is concerned about the academic groundwork of the research objectives which inquires about investment categories business angels tend to invest in a small to medium sized business sector. It also looks at how different authors have elucidated about the investment natures of different countries like New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden etc. In order to give a clear structure of this academic review, it will be categorized into subsections to converse different authors views about the research objectives. First the review will discuss about the academic Theories of investments. Then it looks at Business angels and entrepreneurs in the UK. Finally the review will investigate different countries nature of investments in their own markets. 2.1 Theories of Investment There are several investment theories defined and compared by many authors. This thesis mainly focuses on informal investors who wish to invest on SME start-up businesses. Although Stock market related investment theories are irrelevant for our objectives it will be impolite to ignore discussing all investment theories. Therefore lets investigate the theories and in the later chapters discuss the practical concepts (evidence) used currently by successful investors. Among the following theories, Efficient Market Theory will be related to investment in stock listed companies and â€Å"principal-agent, prisoners dilemma framework resource based theory† will be about business angels investing in SME businesses. 2.1.1 Efficient Market Theory (EMT) According to (Burton Malkiel, 1973), the stock values that show in the stock market almost define where the company is in its territory and how well it performs compared to its competitors. He suggests that stock prices may not always be accurate but it can be correct most of the time. On the other hand few business managers disagree, explaining that there companys values are priced unfairly and stock prices do not accurately replicate the performance of their companies (Burton Malkiel, 1973). The following discussion will communicate what efficient market theory is about and explore the arguments against it. According to (Michael Firth, 1975), it is stated that there were many academic researches carried out to monitor the share price behavior by investment advisory firms and investors to obtain profitable investment strategies. What is EMT or EMH? (Burton Malkiel, 1973) explained that Efficient Market Theory (EMT) is also known as Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on a more technical term. This theory is a method of defining how stock values behave the way they do in terms of investment decisions. (Eugene Fama, 1965) later categorized EMH into three sub assumptions and they are as follows; 1. Weak form (EMH) This method assumes that current stock values replicate all past information about the specific company such as performance measurements, returns etc. By analyzing the stocks price chart, it can help the investors verify as to what the future holds for the companys stock values (Eugene Fama, 1965). 2. Semi strong (EMH) The assumption built on this method is that all the publicly available information and historical information replicates the values of a companys stock prices in the market. So the investors could gain more knowledge and confidence through a companys financial statements and recent developments. It will enable the investors to judge the company future performance (Eugene Fama, 1965). 3. Strong form (EMH) This method expressed that, other than publicly available information, the investors get an inside look into the company which largely reflects the stock value (Eugene Fama, 1965). Principal Agent Theory In general terms Principal Agent theory is defined as a business management framework to observe the behavior between employer contractor or employer employees (Spence and Zeckhauser, 1971; Ross, 1973). So here this theory can be applied to the business angel entrepreneur relationship and discuss its implication on the investment process (Jenson and Meckling, 1976; Harris and Raviv, 1978). In the corporate business, the principal (Business angel) usually appoints the agent (manager) or else make sure the entrepreneur works according to the principals ideas in the business (Jenson and Meckling, 1976). The principal usually make sure that the agents business intentions are as similar to him/her (www.financemind.com). In other words, the principal wishes to make sure that the business runs well and succeed the way he/she believes best (Eisenhardt, 1989). But on the other hand, over an informational advantage the agent could think otherwise for the business. This is where the problem of shared risks arises as (Eisenhardt, 1989) explains, where the Investor (principal) and the agent (manager) could end up having different opinions towards the business. The agency theory is widely used in venture capitalism (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000a). Having conflicts due to differences in interests, it is essential to minimize these risks as (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000b) agrees with Eisenhardt. To reduce these risks investors make sure that they actively monitor the companies they invest and build a better and close relationship with each other (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). According to (Sweeting Wong, 1997), using a principal agent theory to evaluate a business angel investment is not highly recommended anymore. It is much better to have a mutually agreed relationship. The agency theory shows that money motivates both the principal and the agent (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). But financial motivations or economic factors do not relate business angels relationship with the entrepreneur in this theory (Wijbenga et al., 2003). Prisoners Dilemma Framework (PDF) This is yet another theory that can be used in an investment study. In this framework there can be either a conflict or a development between the two parties involved (Cable Shane, 1997). In this theory, both parties can either go in their separate interests and gain a certain pay off or co-operate with each other and achieve a higher pay off (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000). The prisoners dilemma framework promises better fitting for the business angels and the entrepreneurs because it does not presume a hierarchical relationship between the two parties (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000; Cable Shane, 1997). Still the PDF theory only focuses on the investor – entrepreneur relationship and not any of the business angel investment activities or impacts. It concludes that the theory is not suitable enough to define a business angel entrepreneur relationship (Cable Shane, 1997). Resource Based Theory The resource based theory has many influences on the entrepreneurship. Business angels can contribute many resources other than cash it self. According to Freear, Sohl and Wetzet (2002), angel investors can contribute five types of resources to an entrepreneur: Human, physical, social, organizational financial. Human capital can be taken as angel investors contribution of business knowledge, skills and business experience to the firm (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001a). Social capital can be gained when business angels provide their business contacts (Angel networks). By this, the entrepreneur has the opportunity to meet other investors and extend the funding possibilities to the business. Physical resources can be machines or factories and organizational capital can be described as the influence and advice the investors can give for the business for an example making the business improve on its experience (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001b). Financial capital consists of the funding provided in the beginning of the start-up phase (Cassar, 2003). By far this presumed to be the best suited theory to define a relationship between a Business angel and an Entrepreneur where all aspects are covered (Rose, 2005). Summary Of Theories Looking back at the efficient market theory, Agency theory, Prisoners dilemma framework and Resource based theory; it seems to be that the â€Å"Resource based theory† is the most suitable theoretical framework for the Business angel investments. However the Resource based theory has to be amended with few assumptions: Human capital should be taken as the (knowledge, skills business experience) investors contribute with (Ardichvili et al. (2002). Although we discussed the above theories, many researchers have described and tried to apply other similar theories to the investor investee relationship [Example: Procedural Justice (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004), learning and knowledge-based view (De Clercq Sapienza, 2002), resource exchange theory (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin Welbourne, 1990)]. All the investment theories have a common characteristic that have only a few relevant investment features in them to the investor-investee concept. To make it applicable for the Business angels and entrepreneurs all these theories should have few amendments and adaptations (Sapienza, Manigart Vermeir, 1996). Small And Medium Enterprise (SME) William Kendall, the Chief Executive of Whole Earth Ltd stated, â€Å"SME business is a fantastic place to work. You have to think innovatively to be an entrepreneur. Its thrilling and its enjoyable.† According to (European Industrial Relations Observatory) there is no general definition for SME. But the (Governments Bolton Committee, 1971) cited that the characteristic of a SME firm is a self-sufficient business being owned by a single owner with a small market share. The report also stated that the size of the SME changes in different industries. Although it is hard to give one specific definition for SMEs, it can be measured and classified by numbers (employees revenue rates). The defining measurements are as follows: Definitions: (The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – BERR, UK) has defined SME with 3 types of measurements and those are based on amount of employees: Micro firms: 0-9 employees; Small firms: 0-49 employees and Medium firms: 50-249. The (European Commission) changed the definition of the SME to increase the partnerships and innovations. The definition which took affect on 2005 is: â€Å" A Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprise (SME) is made up of firms which employ less than 250 employees and have yearly revenue less than 50 million euro†. Importance Of SME In The Uk The country has raised the level of growth productivity in the last era reducing the competition gap between other countries like US, France Germany (BERR, 2008). Currently UK is reacting well to the global prospects and challenges. The growth of the SME market increases each year promising to boost the economy of the country. According to (European Business Angels Network (2007) Dissemination Report on the Potential for Business Angels Investment and Networks in Europe), the employment and annual revenue contribution of the SME industry as a whole is more than 50 percent of the total. The UK government provides necessary support for people to step up and start their innovative business to increase the competition level of the country (www.berr.gov.uk). The Entrepreneur Earlier it was discussed that previously recognized agency theories explains that the investor, ensuring a healthy relationship is highly regarded as a successful investment aspect in an investment (Kelly Hay, 2003). Therefore exploring more about what authors have studied about entrepreneurs and investors is vital. The difference between a formal venture capitalist and a business angel is that a venture capitalist invests looking at the company and its ability to perform (Schramm, 2004). On the other hand the business angel focuses mostly on the entrepreneur to make sure there can be a good business relationship (Mark and Robinson 2000, p138). The entrepreneur is the only key to get the funding needed for a start-up business. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to gain the investors trust and confidence in the business idea. According to (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p123), it is cited that during a business start-up there is a high percentage of entrepreneurs failing to make good management decisions in the initial stages. It is very sensible for an entrepreneur to seek a business angel as they pay special interest on the business they invest in with all their resources including non-financial contributions. It could help fill all the management weaknesses of an initial stage of the business and sav e huge amounts of consulting and managerial costs (Mason and Stark, 2004). Entrepreneur Evaluation (Osnabrugge Robinson, 2000) had explained that entrepreneurs should be aware that the investor not only pays attention on the business proposition but also the entrepreneur himself to ensure the safety, confidence, enthusiasm and the ability to depend on the entrepreneur. Trust is something investors work hard to find in an entrepreneur, because they invest large amounts of financial resources on a person they met in a short period of time (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p125). According to a study conducted by Stedler and Peters; entrepreneurs capability to convince the business angel to invest is very important and showed that 81% of business angels has expressed that a positive first impression established in the first meeting as important (Stedler and Peters, 2000). When it comes to angel investment decisions being made, business angels need to ensure that the entrepreneur should be a proficient manager (Gerald and Joel, 2000). Loyalty, leadership, reliability and personality are important characteristics that angel investors look into when they evaluate entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur should be able to have those qualities to gain an influence of the investor (Aernoudt 1999 Sappa 2006). The characteristics that separate a good ownership from a poor is, that if the entrepreneur is able to establish trust and leadership skills with confidence and make the employees follow him/her (Micah Baldwin 2007). Investors find it comforting to know that the entrepreneurs have invested partly on the business before seeking external investment. This gives the investor the idea that the entrepreneur has given all the effort in the involvement of the process and that the financial value of the business is appreciated (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p127). According to (Sappa 2006), business angels take lots of time and effort into finding out background information on the entrepreneur to ensure that the owner has the right expertise to manage the business he proposes. (Haines and Riding 1998) corroborates furthermore by adding that the entrepreneur sharing his/her previous business experiences and being much more practical about the business brings more information and confidence to the investor. Finally all the above characteristics that were discussed are very important for a new start-up entrepreneur to influence investments from professional business angels. Business Angels As we have gone through the theories of business angels it is important to know who business angels are in the minds of researchers. A business angel is a highly prosperous individual who can be a business person and willing to invest part of his/hers finance on a promising entrepreneur who has a potential to succeed (Isakssin 2000, Helle 2004). According to (Harrison Manson, 1999), there are three eras of business angel researches conducted in the investment business: First era of business angel research was conducted by United States of America in early 1980s. Authors like; (Landstrom, 1993) from Sweden and (Harrison Manson, 1992) from United Kingdom repeated the same work by giving out similar results. In this era it was solely concentrated on business angels thoughts, activities and characteristics (Freear, Sohl Wetzel, 2002). Second era enabled researchers to go deep into business angels by investigating their post investment involvements. Theory building up and applying for business angels began in this era. Although there were theories built for business angels, it wasnt developed enough to be completely suitable for the activities of angel investors (Connolly et al., 2006). Third era will be the era about the future researches of business angels. There were many faults in the previous researches done and they need to be taken in a new direction to make sure the researches investigated will produce good results (Arenius Minniti, 2005). This would finally make us understand the minds of business angels and match the Business angel – Entrepreneur relationship under changing economy, culture competition (Connolly, OGorman Bogue, 2006). By the help of (Harrison Mason) Swedish researchers like (Sorheim 2005) will enable to investigate on the changing environment of Business angels. This also mean that the theories being found in the previous eras could finally be developed enough to apply on the business angels current investment methods and get positive results (Gompers Lerner, 2007). Characteristics Of Business Angels Almost all the business angels who actively invest on new businesses have few common characteristics. They all have the main motive to increase the potential of their financial capital (Duxbary, Haines Riding 1996). But (Landstrom 1993, Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000) explained that all business angels should not be profiled in a similar way because cultures and person to person could make them different to each others ways in terms of making a personal investment decision. Although there could be many differences between business angels, (Osnabrugge and Robinson, 2000) also stated that there are general motives behind all business angels when it comes to a certain result they expect out of an investment. When Venture capitalists and business angels are taken together it is wide clear that Business angels are individuals who prefer to invest less financial capital than of the formal investors who invest large amounts. Business angels also prefer to invest their money mainly on initial stages of a business (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000). When it comes to formal investors, they are selective in industries they invest on depending on a lot of information and research. But the Business angels invest on the entrepreneur regardless of what industry sector the business idea would succeed on. They do little research on the industry but heavy research on the entrepreneur they expect to build a trust worthy relationship, because they depend on the entrepreneur mu ch more than the venture capitalists that only rely on the market and the performance of the company (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p63). Furthermore a research conducted in the Norwegian angel market and studies conducted in the US have identified several angel categories. There could be cultural and economical differences among countries like (UK, Sweden Singapore) but angel investors do have likely investment standards in those countries (Landstrom 1993). (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998) explained that the markets which business angels are currently active are where they are wiling to invest more on. There could be many differences in Business angels personalities and points of views of the whole investment process. There are studies that showed the â€Å"most regular business angel†. It is stated that the age, where successful individuals decide to invest their money on a business is when they get to their 50s. This shows that it is almost a retirement phase from a business point of view. This can be confirmed by a research carried out in Germany where it stated that 95% of BAs were male individuals, 56% were directors or owners of their businesses and 17% were individuals who were in the director board on other organizations (Stedler Peters, 2003). Even (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p156) supported Stedler and Peters by explaining that the individuals were in director posts and had good business experiences before they decide to move on into personal investments. Most business angels involve themselves heavily during the initial stages of start-up businesses. They wish to invest near to their homes to make sure of convenience. And Business angels are well educated, wealthy beyond a certain average and expect to have a good life with their feet up on a desk holding a glass of wine, which we all hope to achieve one fine day (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998). Although this thesis aims to look at the characteristics of UK business angels, it was clear by all previous studies that there are common statistics about their decisions and behaviors. This tells us that, UK angel investors too are not far from what was described before in the theories. Still it is important to point out few common characteristics of UK business angels; Common Characteristics Of UK Business Angels According to (Ardichvili et al., 2002), Business angels in the UK have been or still are active business owners. They invest in more similar markets to what they are operating in, which saves them a lot of time trying to understand the market and the operations. Like all business angels, UK investors are highly motivated by the return of their investments and the effort (non financial motives) they have put in to the start-up business. They do enjoy being a part of a new business hoping to succeed for the better part of the community and the country (Landstrom 1993). Furthermore UK business angels prefers and makes sure they invest on new businesses that they could visit regularly, which means they invest in promising firms which will locate geographically near to where they reside (Ardichvili et al., 2002). BAs would rather invest in firms within their residing area, than investing in a location where they find it hard to meet the entrepreneur even though it would double their investments (Harrison, Mason Robson, 2003). Most British angels prefer their entrepreneurs operate within 100 miles of their homes although investors who invested on technological businesses are willing to travel long distances (www.bbaa.org.uk). According to Mason, British angels mostly prefer to invest on small businesses during its initial stages where it is not too late to put in not just their finance sources but their advice and experience to get things on the right track. This, in a way gives them satisfaction of being a part of a promising business (Mason, 2002). After going through the common characteristics of British Angel Investors, it is quite clear that there isnt a major difference compared with the international countries like Sweden and Denmark which will be discussed later. We discussed about Business angels and it is vital to know the categories of their investments. Investment Aspects Of A Business Angel One of the objectives of this thesis is to find out how Business angels in UK and other similar countries decide to invest on a certain investment they find it promising. An investor looking for good reasons to decide on an investment is known as Investment Aspects or Investment Criteria (Landstrom, 1993). It is a way of evaluating the business and the entrepreneur to ensure the security and the profitability of the business proposal. According to the venture capitalism and angel investment comparison carried out by (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000), it revealed that although there were similarities among their attributes in their investment standards there were a certain amount of dissimilarities which makes business angels favorites for a new start up business. For an example, venture capitalists are prepared to invest almost in all stages of a business and therefore they look into all the past and probable financial records of the company. On the other hand the business angels much prefer to invest on a start-up phase of a new business where past financial experiences are not so important to them (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000). Most business angels give similar priorities to investment aspects, when it comes to making a decision. With much researches conducted over the past years (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000) has come up with a selected summary that illustrates the criteria of an investment. The following (Table 1) of twenty-five selective factors are prioritized by well known angel investors; Priority order Priority factors for an investment 1 passion of the industrialist 2 Dependability of the industrialist 3 Sales prospective of the product 4 proficiency of the industrialist 5 Entrepreneur(s) first impression 6 Development prospective of the market 7 Quality of the product 8 Benefits