Tuesday, August 25, 2020

How Big Food Companies Influence Consumer Behaviour Marketing Essay

How Big Food Companies Influence Consumer Behavior Marketing Essay Food is one of the most basic necessities in people groups regular day to day existence. Since it is an essential piece of everyones life, individuals only from time to time consider how much food we devour and what sort of elements as a rule impact us when we eat and purchase. As indicated by National Statistics, in the previous one year, 63 million UK customers altogether burned through 173.6 billion beats on food, drink and cooking administrations, which implies food cost every British buyer 2,756 pounds in normal in 2011(Food Statistics Pocketbook 2011, 2011). It is very simple to gauge the sum food individuals expend in quantitative examination; nonetheless, to foresee buyers conduct in every day food utilization is troublesome. General data about some enormous food organizations Individuals appreciate advantages of present day transportation framework and go anyplace from neighborhood stores. In any case, a large portion of food represented on the racks of stores comes chiefly from some enormous food organizations. Those organizations have solid effects on buyers whether they understand it or not. The greatest two food organizations on the planet are Nestlã © and Kraft. As indicated by the key figures on Nestlã ©s worldwide site, their deals in the year 2011 was 83,642 million in Swiss franc (CHF), which equivalents to estimated 87,191 million in US Dollar(Nestlà ©, Inc.,2012). For Kraft, its income of 2010 was 49,200 million in US Dollar (Kraft, Inc., 2012). Nations like New Zealand, its GDP in 2010 were just around 119,200 million in US Dollar. From these figures, it gives an away from of the colossal size of these food organizations. Each and every day, they offer a huge number of bundled food to customers everywhere throughout the world. The impact of these combinations on buyers conduct is common. Meaning of Consumer Behavior How individuals settle on their decision in the process buying? How would they respond to value, advancements, deals and promotions? These sorts of inquiries can be replied in research extent of purchaser conduct. As indicated by Robert East (2008), advertising is a client of customer research. In spite of the fact that customer conduct is a confused idea, it very well may be estimated by some efficient examination somewhat. For instance, if the cost is dropped by 10%, what amount do deals change correspondingly? We can utilize strategies for insights, brain research and statistical surveying to quantify the size of impact (East, 2008). Undertaking explanation In this undertaking, it will fundamental spotlight on shopper conduct in food purchasing process. A few models and cases about industry-driving organizations will be given to show how these world-driving food organizations impact the most significant part-food, in people groups day by day life. Some basic investigation will be remembered for this postulation to assist customers with having a comprehension of purchasing food from an alternate point of view. East, R., Vanhuele, M. also, Wright, M. (2008). Customer Behavior Applications in Marketing. Oak, CA: SAGE Publications. Definition ( Consumer Behavior) what is purchaser conduct How individuals settle on their decision in the process buying? How would they respond to value, advancements, deals and commercials? These sorts of inquiries can be replied in research extent of buyer conduct. As indicated by Robert East (2008), promoting is a client of shopper research. In spite of the fact that purchaser conduct is a muddled idea, it very well may be estimated by some efficient examination somewhat. For instance, if the cost is dropped by 10%, what amount do deals change correspondingly? We can utilize strategies for insights, brain science and statistical surveying to quantify the size of impact (East, 2008). Customers as chiefs For customers, dynamic procedure is very like an assess procedure. As a rule, clients think about advantages and disadvantages of target merchandise with different other options. It is simple for us to accept that buyers are singular leaders. In any case, numerous choices are made in gatherings and advertisers utilize broad communications, verbal exchange and cost to impact gatherings of buyers decisions since these shoppers share some basic highlights. Dietary habit(behaviour) in food purchasing process As indicated by National Statistics : Food costs rose forcefully (12% in genuine terms) in 2007 and 2008 after ascents in agrarian ware costs and ascends in fuel costs. The multi year ascend between June 2007and June 2011 was 26%; over 12% in genuine terms. Be that as it may, Spend on eating out fell by 5.2% in genuine terms somewhere in the range of 2007 and 2010. (Food Statistics Pocketbook 2011, 2011, pp25-26). These figures show that with the expansion of food cost, spend on eating out by British was lower than previously. It implies the expense of eating out may expand as indicated by food cost and individuals are very touchy on the cost went through on cash As per National Statistics (Food Statistics Pocketbook 2011, 2011), in 2010 UK family units burned through  £24.50 on food and non-mixed beverages for family supplies, with 23% going on meat. National Statistics detailed: Generally speaking 15% of consumable food and drink buys are squandered every year. Various nourishments are squandered at various rates; 17%of generally speaking food buys, 7.1% of sodas and 6.3% of mixed beverages are squandered. Avoidable food and savor squander the house is evaluated by WRAP at  £12 billion every year or  £480 per family unit. These squanders were likely brought about by misestimating food utilization by family units or activated by the deals and advancements. Food advertising technique utilized by food organizations to impact purchasers Food industry support nourishment research In the new thousand years, it is very regular for organizations to put cash in logical exploration national boards of trustees in food and nourishment domain. A British report indicated that of 246 individuals, 158 are financed by food organizations (Nestle. M, 2001). As a matter of fact, it is a sort of ad and advertising system to impact purchaser conduct and the two sides gain intrigues together. Food organizations give money related backings to nourishment and horticulture schools for counseling advices, discourse of educators on meetings and discoveries of scholastic exploration. Organizations likewise promote in proficient diaries, papers and meetings. One examination report of nutrient maker indicated that if teachers are given travel appropriations, blessings or exploration reserves, they will be bound to have an uplifting disposition toward their supporters items (Nestle, 2001). It isn't to state that industry-supported exploration is constantly one-sided, however there demonstrates a higher tendency to support the patrons business interests. By along these lines, purchasers are impacted by the discoveries of logical exploration and their supporting organization. Publicizing is another significant advantage food organizations need to accomplish by supporting nourishment research. Food and drink organizations place promotions on program flyers, offer grant to extraordinary understudies in the office, and blessing free stationaries, frill espresso and snakes with their organization logos during the short breathers. For instance, the Mars Company financed weight avoidance and treatment meeting, which helped it to construct an invigorating and positive envision in the chocolate business. These sorts of ads influence publics mentalities toward wellbeing food from profound root, which will reflect in customer conduct during the time spent buying. Value motivators In the commercial center, purchasers are affected by numerous elements, for example value, activity of contenders, quality and so on. In spite of the fact that cost isn't the main factor that impact shoppers, as a rule, buyers are value situated and simple to be animated by value motivating forces. In like manner sense, if a produce is less expensive than it is normal, it will be bound to be purchased and the other way around. In any case, it isn't the main way that value impacts buyer conduct. In grocery store, we can discover deals and decrease in organizations, for example, purchase two jump on free, get one get the subsequent reduced cost, or up to half off. It is called value confining and those words make the advancements look appealing. Agreeing Nestles research (2001), he proposed that the utilization of value surrounding is a powerful estimating instrument and it can influence people groups decisions. In reality, various casings bring about a similar use (Nestle, 2001). There are some regular kinds of edges we can discover wherever in our life. Participation charges of Gyms can be introduced in 25 pounds for each month rather than aggregate sum 300 pounds for a year. 99-consummation shows a decent arrangement, since a value beginning with a 1 looks littler than a value beginning with a 2. All things considered, organizations don't lose cash in view of the 1 penny lower in cost yet it promotes the deals by causing purchasers to feel it is less expensive. Another fascinating finding by Yang. S and her partners (2009) called attention to that numerical value organizes additionally affect purchaser buy conduct. As indicated by their examination that the composed or scripted configuration of cost on menu can help individuals to remember idea of cost, since the word dollar or image $ may cause an agony of installment. This leads eaters to purchase less in the eateries. In the event that cafés maintain a strategic distance from these money related sign and use numbers just, it will bring about all the more spending (Yang.S and et al, 2009). Shockingly, it isn't just value itself however the arrangement of cost can likewise impact buyer conduct in purchasing process. Assemble brand reliability Brand dependability speaks to a good mentality toward a brand bringing about reliable acquisition of brand after some time said by Assael (2004). For instance, if there are a few brands of chips offered to an individual, the person picks one sort of these brand instead of the others for sufficient opportunity to show the fulfillment towards to this specific brand. It is called brand faithfulness. To buyers, the propensity for picking a similar brand for a few times implies the decrease of hazard. As indicated by the visually impaired test on two contending brands of cola did by Maison. Greenwald and Bruin (2004), numerous buyers who guaranteed they hav

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Role of a Midwife in Domestic Violence Cases

The Role of a Midwife in Domestic Violence Cases Abusive behavior at home and general wellbeing The job of the birthing assistant. For what reason is abusive behavior at home a general medical problem for midwives?The most recent triennial maternal mortality report (CEMACH, 2004) uncovers that for the years 2000-2002 eleven new moms were killed, inside about a month and a half of conceiving an offspring, by their accomplices. The report features that abusive behavior at home is a hazard factor for maternal demise from all causes. In this report 14 percent of the considerable number of ladies who kicked the bucket had proclaimed that they were exposed to abusive behavior at home. This means 51 ladies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the multi year time span. In the event that progress is to be made in diminishing maternal mortality cautious note should be taken of all the hazard factors.â Risk appraisal is presently a methods by which the kind of care got by the lady in pregnancy and work is resolved. This maternity care job is as of now settled for antenatal and intrapartum care. The study of disease transmission Domestic brutality has a high commonness. Wrongdoing figures for a solitary day, 28th September 2000, were acquired and broadcasted structure British police powers. On that day there were 1 300 calls to the police announcing abusive behavior at home. Extrapolating from this there is an occurrence of abusive behavior at home each six to 20 seconds. A large portion of the casualties are ladies. As indicated by Home office figures two ladies kick the bucket in Britain every week from brutality by either their current or their past accomplice (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). An investigation in London found in an example of ladies on antenatal and postnatal wards a 23% lifetime experience of abusive behavior at home. Three percent of these ladies were experiencing aggressive behavior at home in the current pregnancy (Bacchus, 2004). The effect of aggressive behavior at home What comprises abusive behavior at home changes immensely. It doesn't need to be physical viciousness. This is tricky. Assortment of insights is hampered by the obscuring of the limits between the maltreatment seriousness. While it tends to be agued that no amount of misuse is satisfactory some qualification should be drawn. Pregnancy may go about as a trigger for abusive behavior at home; it might begin as of now or change in nature once in a while turning out to be mental instead of physical yet here and there being increasingly focussed on hits to the mid-region. The puerperium is a period of specific weakness (CEMACH, 2004). The high pervasiveness of aggressive behavior at home effects financially on society. The expenses of managing 100,000 ladies looking for clinical assistance every year because of aggressive behavior at home and the way that of uses for cover by virtue of vagrancy 17 percent are brought about by abusive behavior at home might be costing London alone around  £250 million every year. Emotionally supportive networks are overstretched; there are 7 000 ladies and youngsters searching for spots of security consistently (Seymour, 2001). Physical viciousness to a pregnant lady expands the danger of unsuccessful labor, untimely work, low birth weight and intrauterine fetal demise. Abusive behavior at home may improve the probability of a pregnant lady smoking, drinking liquor or ingesting medications with pernicious impacts on the pregnancy and embryo. Aggressive behavior at home is related with sorrow and self destruction endeavors. Injury to the mid-region brings about danger of hazardous placental suddenness, crack of the uterus or other inner organs notwithstanding the fetal dangers. Ladies acquiring aggressive behavior at home are less inclined to have the option to get to antenatal consideration, many book late and a huge extent not in the slightest degree. They have issues getting to mind and frequently default on visits, change addresses and have no solid methods for being reached. Regularly the accomplice will practice smothering power over them and go with them during visits to the birthing specialist, answe r inquiries for them and stay present during assessments (Mezey, 2002). Activities to address the issue The Department of Health’s National Service Framework (2004) for Children, Young individuals and Maternity Services expresses the significance of distinguishing casualties of aggressive behavior at home and incorporates pointers for acknowledgment and activity during pregnancy and suggests that staff ought to know about the significance of these perspectives. Some accentuation is put on the steadiness of the earth and the affectability of the enquiry about the maltreatment. The Government has taken a gander at the issue of abusive behavior at home (The Government’s Proposals on Domestic Violence, 2003). Parliament has administered by means of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. This has broadened police forces of capture for regular attack under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. This has had some impact with a day break assaults to block guilty parties (Bird, 2004). Dimond (2005) contends that to truly handle the issue of abusive behavior at home individuals by and large should get included and this incorporates human services suppliers. It is as of now the case that following an ambush which prompts unnatural birth cycle the wrongdoer can be charged under s.58 of the Offenses against the Person Act 1861 (Bristol Evening Post, 2004). Where the ambush prompts unexpected labor from which the youngster passes on the charge is one of homicide. The Home Office is starting to lead the pack for the benefit of the Government on th is issue. Master aggressive behavior at home courts are arranged. In Leeds it is guiding a Domestic Violence Cluster Court. The point is to make the way toward managing the culprits quicker and to make custodial sentences longer. In 2000, the Department of Health supported routine examining of pregnant ladies regarding abusive behavior at home. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and NICE all mentioned this ought to occur. In a position paper in 1999 the Royal College of Midwives suggested that misuse be perceived and recorded and furthermore that such ladies ought to be offered data to decide for themselves what to do.â It is perceived that it is significant for a lady to have the option to discover the assistance that she needs when she is prepared (Smith, 2005). While the lady can be guaranteed of classification it is significant that the degree and impediments of this are clarified. For example in the event that she as of now has kids and there is a hazard that they may endure abusive behavior at home then classification should be broken. In the event that there is a genuine peril to the embryo once it is brought into the world on the other hand the classification between the lady and the birthing assistant should be broken. Up until the snapshot of birth the baby doesn't have any privilege of its own in law. In Wales and in Bristol there have been huge tasks to screening pregnant ladies for abusive behavior at home and finishing the positive answers. There have additionally been activities in Leeds and furthermore in London. An examination done in Bristol (Salmon 2004) and financed by the Department of Health demonstrated that where birthing specialists were prepared to get some information about abusive behavior at home more ladies unveiled it. Maternity specialists needed further preparing and without this lone 10% of birthing assistants would get some information about aggressive behavior at home by decision. Birthing assistance preparing in posing the inquiry expanded midwives’ trust in this area(Baird, 2005). The Bristol inquire about was imperative to decide the effect of the normal addressing about abusive behavior at home on birthing assistance training. The multi-office contribution of the work and training was evident. An imperatively significant part of the work on reve lation was conversing with the lady alone, explicitly without the nearness of her accomplice (Merchant, 2001). The inquiry is probably not going to be of advantage if the lady isn't inquired as to whether there is no powerful development (Ward and Spence, 2001). At times the main time the harsh accomplice will permit the lady to be separated from everyone else is the point at which she goes to the can. Thusly banners must be accessible in this area enumerating contact quantities of women’s shelters, social administrations, casualty support and so forth. Data can likewise be pre-imprinted on maternity records so that if an accomplice sees it is clearly not pointed explicitly at that lady and she is then not prone to endure further maltreatment because of him seeing the data. Another viewpoint, which may be thought of, is to have in the women’s can a banner demonstrating that if the lady is being mishandled she may check her normal pee holder here and there that alarms t he birthing specialist yet nobody else that she is in peril from aggressive behavior at home. Ladies from ethnic minorities where English isn't spoken by the lady present specific troubles. It is critical to utilize a translator who isn't a relative. The Bristol study was a pilot to advise about instruction needs of maternity specialists when getting some information about aggressive behavior at home. It was not planned as an investigation to assemble proof about whether it is viable to advance exposure and whether ensuing data and bolster giving is valuable in diminishing the issue. London based activities Mezey considered 892 pregnant ladies at St George’s Hospital, south London. Birthing specialists were prepared to pose the inquiry about abusive behavior at home. Ladies were bound to admit to aggressive behavior at home when legitimately interrogated regarding it. Women’s fears of loss of secrecy or that their youngsters may be expelled from them hampered exposure. A few maternity specialists discovered posing the inquiry was troubling and some dreaded response from the woman’s accomplice. It was obvious from the examination that birthing assistants can't handle this issue alone. Extensive back up from different offices is imperative and all organizations must cooperate. The qualities of the work and activities so far incorporate the comprehension and acknowledgment that while birthing assistants assume an essential job in this chance to screen ladies for aggressive behavior at home they can't handle the issue alone. It is acknowledged that preparation of maternity specialists can improve the level of ladies manhandled who revelation this. Different systems around upgrading divulgence additionally have a beneficial outcome. To be basic the significant shortcoming of the activities is that they are

Saturday, August 1, 2020

5 Ways to Apply Project Management Methods in Your School

5 Ways to Apply Project Management Methods in Your School I have experienced the frustrations and challenges that leaders in schools face from both sides of the fence. As a teacher and leader myself I had to constantly shift and adjust to changing goal posts, work around shrinking deadlines and time limits, and still try to remain calm and collected. As a consultant at LearnMaker I work with a wide range of leadership teams to apply theories behind effective project management in school. In this article I will offer ideas, practical steps, and personal experience spanning over ten years in education, and over three years working with multinational companies, to share with you what weve found to work well. So to begin, one of the fundamental systems that every school must develop is the ability to manage projects. With  a simple management process, schools can overcome problems with organisation, communication and tracking. In this post I’ll provide 5 steps on how to adapt and apply these processes in your school. 1.Keep everyone in the loop Ever been to a meeting that lasted for over two hours or where the previous items were never followed through? My teaching career was crammed with meetings like these, in fact most meetings I attended were rarely less than an hour, and often ended in a discussion about something completely irrelevant to the task at hand. Often meeting agendas were sent through on the day, rooms changed last minute, important attendees were absent and items were changed during the meeting. Not very productive. The key is to have one system in which everyone is kept in the loop. You may need to have private conversations with individuals within your team but, a central and simple system is imperative, for this we use MeisterTask. One of the difficulties when managing a project is making sure everyone is notified. I’ve had this problem on many occasions. You send out an email to all relevant  team members but accidentally leave someone off the list, so need to send it out again. These actions take time, cause stress, and slow down the project. Similarly, in most schools Ive taught in, theres a preferred device to use, so if you turn up with a mobile phone that isn’t supported you often have to cobble together a solution of workarounds. Having a system which works across platforms, and is truly mobile is fantastic. It means your team members can have notifications as they like. Perhaps a pop-up on their phones or an email breakdown of the day’s events. Staff members can work how they like, while guided by the system and free to interact how they see fit, as they don’t need to be at their class desktop. Using MeisterTask, team members on the right-hand column have one single place to chat, share resources, and work collaboratively. The simple commenting system, coupled with notifications, means teams have one point of contact for any project. 2. Liven up your planning documents As a teacher, the process of working on planning documents would always frustrate me. We would hold planning meetings using various versions of the same school improvement document annotated by hand, reprinted, online versions, sketches and notes. We would spend hours trying to consolidate the different versions as they were never up-to-date. Having a central place to store, share and work collaboratively on resources means your team can work on live documents, monitor version changes, and communicate and annotate on team documents. Once every so often our IT school improvement plan  would be wheeled out (sometimes literally, when printed they were huge folders) and the senior team and teaching staff would run through it, perhaps updating, mostly discussing what went wrong or not. Inevitably these meetings would last forever and nothing substantial would get done. The problem always came down to communication. People were left out of the loop, tasks were left undone, or people had conversations that weren’t recorded.  Often deadlines were missed. Having a project management system which included all of the relevant details a breakdown of tasks, staff members responsible, projected cost, deadline, and benefits if the tasks were completed would have solved virtually all of the issues I witnessed. 3. Talk in one place Many schools have several methods which allow staff to communicate well often though, many leaders find communication is one of the key challenges they struggle to solve. In my experience, the difficulty in communication comes down to a maths problem.  In a typical school, you would expect teachers and leaders to use the following ‘basic’ communication routes: Face to face conversation Email Telephone Paper message If you think of these as multipliers, one conversation could have many multiple routes to confusion. For example, I have a face to face conversation with you in the corridor about a meeting next week. I say I will email you the details. Back at my office I send you an email and type an agenda to place in your pigeon hole. You read the agenda, and phone me for a slight alteration. I email back the adjustment, then print a copy for all the staff. You can see how this could get tricky with multiple staff, each having multiple ways of communicating it becomes a spider’s web of communication lines. The odds of something going wrong or being left out increasing dramatically with each multiplier. Now if you layer onto that the movement and alteration of documents, the communications system becomes far more complicated. In addition,  staff often use different devices some have mobile phones, others tablets, some use good old desktop PC. One version of the file won’t open correctly on a particular device so we have to convert the file to make it work. A nightmare is created. This, I can guarantee, has or will happen at some point in your school. Being able to manage communication and file sharing through one project management system means your staff will only have one place to go to find what they need. Attachments can be viewed at the click of a button and don’t have to be searched for in a folder structure that requires a Doctorate to understand. You can quickly search through the whole of MeisterTask in one click. 4. Keeping track The key to a successfully managed team, and to avoid your own burn out, is to ensure team members are; accountable, responsible, and driven. I have found that initially when we talk about these things, accountability is often misconceived as ‘passing the buck’, with  responsibility seen as forced delegation. Staff gather evidence to cover their back, rather than focusing on the positives of the challenge. Ive found that by having a system where staff can see everything thats going on, with the number of private conversations and projects minimised, this issue quickly fades.  A way to achieve this is by having a system which encourages the ‘informal’, allowing users to add profile photos so that everyone can see who has been delegated each task. A massive benefit to allocating tasks on MeisterTask is the ability to hand over work when team members leave or join the project. There are many occasions where teachers do this, particularly new or training teachers who need to be orientated.  A project management system like MeisterTask, allows new team members to be delegated tasks quickly and simply, as well as see what their colleagues are up to within the project overview. 5. Money constraints Two things that always ring true in life: there is never enough money, and there is never enough time. Being able to save or reduce either of these is the golden ticket to great project management. When I look at the volume of emails school leaders have to tolerate, I go mad. If we just focus on emails relating to project management the emails notifying changes, asking for ideas or for approval â€" the emails still take time to process. Not long for each one, granted, but the sum total of the minutes are significant. By simply moving this type of email into a project management system, you will be surprised by how much time is freed up. In one primary school we managed to save over 4 hours a week by simply changing attitudes to email use in school. One 30-minute session on using email led to 4 hours saved per team member, which for a team of 7 meant 28 hours a week or about 1000 staff hours a year. Big numbers, by just working a few little things out. I first started using the free version of MeisterTask when LearnMaker was launched. When Jay and I started the company a few years ago, we had very little money, we joke we were living on beans, and it wasn’t that far off! We made the decision early on that we would need to be device agnostic, as our consultancy would focus on ideas and attitudes, not brands or devices. As such we wanted to shift as much of the ‘work’ our IT systems would use, into the cloud. In theory this is a great idea. Although, most cloud solutions cost, MeisterTask was the only free system I could find which integrated for free into Google Drive. For me this was key. We used Google Drive as a cheap alternative to expensive servers at the company offices, reducing costs massively. Subsequently, moving to the cloud is something we suggest to every school we work with. I have successfully managed 5 school projects using the free versions of MeisterTask, all concurrently. If you have the money, the Pro level is fantastic but you can even benefit instantly from using the free version. Key Takeaways So those are my steps for applying project management ideas in your school. If you have comments or more tips to add, please share below and with my leader hat on, here are the key take aways to consolidate the learning: Applying project management in school could be anything from lesson and curriculum planning, to working on a new campus or building Use a system which allows staff and leaders to communicate quickly and simply across multiple platforms and devices Make use of a project management system which tracks time, tasks and discussions this will allow you to save time and reduce the stress of project management Money constraints shouldn’t limit you when wanting to use a project management system. LearnMaker have used free versions of MeisterTask to manage large and complex projects in the past. Project management made simple.

Friday, May 22, 2020

The Constitution Of The United States - 1007 Words

The United States of America has previously experienced failure every now and then. With trial and error, the country has learned to correct its ways and move toward(s) perfecting itself. Realizing the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation is a prime example of the U.S. learning how to better itself. Subsequent to the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of the United States was set as our new and improved framework of government. Possessing knowledge on how America, although strong, is still progressing, the U.S. Constitution holds certain ways allowing the United States government to adapt to changes over time. Judicial review and the Elastic Clause are crucial principles of the document that permit America to do so.†¦show more content†¦Using the power to dub a law void makes room for change. If a law was passed due to it seeming fit during its time, but no longer has the same effectiveness later on, judicial review gives Supreme Court the ability to tak e it out of effect. Therefore, the U.S. would then adapt to modern day more than it already has through the removal of a law. This action originates from the first time a chief justice ruled an act of another branch unconstitutional. In the 1803 Marbury v. Madison case, Chief Justice John Marshall announced that Congress acted outside the bounds of its constitutional power. The circumstances that were deemed to be short of following procedural rules was, James Madison did not send commission to William Marbury, who had been appointed Justice of the Peace. This was a result of a President in a lame-duck session, where he or she has little time left in office and proceeds to enact what they desire with hardly any worry of retribution. Chief Justice John Marshall greatly contributed to U.S. history with his actions, and led to the ratification of judicial review. In more recent cases, Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 1966, a woman by the name of Annie Harper was prohibited from voting in a state election due to the inability to pay a poll tax. The fourteenth amendment guarantees your right to vote, which Harper claims was violated in her situation. She

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Factors That Affect Customer Choice Of A Bank Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3470 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Introduction of banks: For the past three decades Indias banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main reason of Indias growth process. The governments regular policy for Indian bank since 1969 has paid rich dividends with the nationalisation of 14 major private banks of India. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Factors That Affect Customer Choice Of A Bank Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Not long ago, an account holder had to wait for hours at the bank counters for getting a draft or for withdrawing his own money. Today, he has a choice. Gone are days when the most efficient bank transferred money from one branch to other in two days. Now it is simple as instant messaging or dial a pizza. Money have become the order of the day. The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in 1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of Indian Banking System can be segregated into three distinct phases. They are as mentioned below: Early phase from 1786 to 1969 of Indian Banks Nationalisation of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to Indian banking sector Reforms. New phase of Indian Banking System with the advent of Indian Financial Banking Sector Reforms after 1991. To make this write-up more explanatory, I prefix the scenario as Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. Phase I The General Bank of India was set up in the year 1786. Next came Bank of Hindustan and Bengal Bank. The East India Company established Bank of Bengal (1809), Bank of Bombay (1840) and Bank of Madras (1843) as independent units and called it Presidency Banks. These three banks were amalgamated in 1920 and Imperial Bank of India was established which started as private shareholders banks, mostly Europeans shareholders. In 1865 Allahabad Bank was established and first time exclusively by Indians, Punjab National Bank Ltd. was set up in 1894 with headquarters at Lahore. Between 1906 and 1913, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Mysore were set up. Reserve Bank of India came in 1935. During the first phase the growth was very slow and banks also experienced periodic failures between 1913 and 1948. There were approximately 1100 banks, mostly small. To streamline the functioning and activities of commercial banks, the Government of India came up with The Banking Companies Act, 1949 which was later changed to Banking Regulation Act 1949 as per amending Act of 1965 (Act No. 23 of 1965). Reserve Bank of India was vested with extensive powers for the supervision of banking in india as the Central Banking Authority. During those days public has lesser confidence in the banks. As an aftermath deposit mobilisation was slow. Abreast of it the savings bank facility provided by the Postal department was comparatively safer. Moreover, funds were largely given to traders. Phase II Government took major steps in this Indian Banking Sector Reform after independence. In 1955, it nationalised Imperial Bank of India with extensive banking facilities on a large scale specially in rural and semi-urban areas. It formed State Bank of india to act as the principal agent of RBI and to handle banking transactions of the Union and State Governments all over the country. Seven banks forming subsidiary of State Bank of India was nationalised in 1960 on 19th July, 1969, major process of nationalisation was carried out. It was the effort of the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 14 major commercial banks in the country was nationalised. Second phase of nationalisation Indian Banking Sector Reform was carried out in 1980 with seven more banks. This step brought 80% of the banking segment in India under Government ownership. The following are the steps taken by the Government of India to Regulate Banking Institutions in the Country: 1949 : Enactment of Banking Regulation Act. 1955 : Nationalisation of State Bank of India. 1959 : Nationalisation of SBI subsidiaries. 1961 : Insurance cover extended to deposits. 1969 : Nationalisation of 14 major banks. 1971 : Creation of credit guarantee corporation. 1975 : Creation of regional rural banks. 1980 : Nationalisation of seven banks with deposits over 200 crore. After the nationalisation of banks, the branches of the public sector bank India rose to approximately 800% in deposits and advances took a huge jump by 11,000%. Banking in the sunshine of Government ownership gave the public implicit faith and immense confidence about the sustainability of these institutions. Phase III This phase has introduced many more products and facilities in the banking sector in its reforms measure. In 1991, under the chairmanship of M Narasimham, a committee was set up by his name which worked for the liberalisation of banking practices. The country is flooded with foreign banks and their ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service to customers. Phone banking and net banking is introduced. The entire system became more convenient and swift. Time is given more importance than money. The financial system of India has shown a great deal of resilience. It is sheltered from any crisis triggered by any external macroeconomics shock as other East Asian Countries suffered. This is all due to a flexible exchange rate regime, the foreign reserves are high, the capital account is not yet fully convertible, and banks and their customers have limited foreign exchange exposure. History of financial services In the United States The term financial services became more prevalent in the United States partly as a result of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of the late 1990s, which enabled different types of companies operating in the U.S. financial services industry at that time to merge. Companies usually have two distinct approaches to this new type of business. One approach would be a bank which simply buys an insurance company or an investment bank, keeps the original brands of the acquired firm, and adds the acquisition to its holding company simply to diversify its earnings. Outside the U.S. (e.g., in Japan), non-financial services companies are permitted within the holding company. In this scenario, each company still looks independent, and has its own customers, etc. In the other style, a bank would simply create its own brokerage division or insurance division and attempt to sell those products to its own existing customers, with incentives for combining all things with one company. Banks A commercial bank is what is commonly referred to as simply a bank. The term commercial is used to distinguish it from an investment bank, a type of financial services entity which, instead of lending money directly to a business, helps businesses raise money from other firms in the form of bonds (debt) or stock (equity). Banking services The primary operations of banks include: Keeping money safe while also allowing withdrawals when needed Issuance of checkbooks so that bills can be paid and other kinds of payments can be delivered by post Provide personal loans, commercial loans, and mortgage loans (typically loans to purchase a home, property or business) Issuance of credit cards and processing of credit card transactions and billing Issuance of debit cards for use as a substitute for checks Allow financial transactions at branches or by using Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) Provide wire transfers of funds and Electronic fund transfers between banks Facilitation of standing orders and direct debits, so payments for bills can be made automatically Provide overdraft agreements for the temporary advancement of the Banks own money to meet monthly spending commitments of a customer in their current account. Provide Charge card advances of the Banks own money for customers wishing to settle credit advances monthly. Provide a check guaranteed by the Bank itself and prepaid by the customer, such as a cashiers check or certified check. Notary service for financial and other documents Other types of bank services Private banking Private banks provide banking services exclusively to high net worth individuals. Many financial services firms require a person or family to have a certain minimum net worth to qualify for private banking services. Private banks often provide more personal services, such as wealth management and tax planning, than normal retail banks. Capital market bank bank that underwrite debt and equity, assist company deals (advisory services, underwriting and advisory fees), and restructure debt into structured finance products. Bank cards include both credit cards and debit cards. Bank Of America is the largest issuer of bank cards. Credit card machine services and networks Companies which provide credit card machine and payment networks call themselves merchant card providers. Foreign exchange services Foreign exchange services are provided by many banks around the world. Foreign exchange services include: Currency Exchange where clients can purchase and sell foreign currency banknotes. Wire transfer where clients can send funds to international banks abroad. Foreign Currency Banking banking transactions are done in foreign currency. Investment services Asset management the term usually given to describe companies which run collective investment funds. Hedge fund management Hedge funds often employ the services of prime brokerage divisions at major investment banks to execute their trades. Custody services the safe-keeping and processing of the worlds securities trades and servicing the associated portfolios. Assets under custody in the world are approximately $100 trillion. Insurance Insurance brokerage Insurance brokers shop for insurance (generally corporate property and casualty insurance) on behalf of customers. Recently a number of websites have been created to give consumers basic price comparisons for services such as insurance, causing controversy within the industry. Insurance underwriting Personal lines insurance underwriters actually underwrite insurance for individuals, a service still offered primarily through agents, insurance brokers, and stock brokers. Underwriters may also offer similar commercial lines of coverage for businesses. Activities include insurance and annuities, life insurance, retirement insurance, health insurance, and property casualty insurance. Reinsurance Reinsurance is insurance sold to insurers themselves, to protect them from catastrophic losses. Other financial services Intermediation or advisory services These services involve stock brokers (private client services) and discount brokers. Stock brokers assist investors in buying or selling shares. Primarily internet-based companies are often referred to as discount brokerages, although many now have branch offices to assist clients. These brokerages primarily target individual investors. Full service and private client firms primarily assist and execute trades for clients with large amounts of capital to invest, such as large companies, wealthy individuals, and investment management funds. Private equity Private equity funds are typically closed-end funds, which usually take controlling equity stakes in businesses that are either private, or taken private once acquired. Private equity funds often use leveraged buyouts (LBOs) to acquire the firms in which they invest. The most successful private equity funds can generate returns significantly higher than provided by the equity markets Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided by professional, outside investors to new, high-potential-growth companies in the interest of taking the company to an IPO or trade sale of the business. Angel investment An angel investor or angel (known as a business angel or informal investor in Europe), is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital. Conglomerates A financial services conglomerate is a financial services firm that is active in more than one sector of the financial services market e.g. life insurance, general insurance, health insurance, asset management, retail banking, wholesale banking, investment banking, etc. A key rationale for the existence of such businesses is the existence of diversification benefits that are present when different types of businesses are aggregated i.e. bad things dont always happen at the same time. As a consequence, economic capital for a conglomerate is usually substantially less than economic capital is for the sum of its parts. OVERVIEW OF BANKS: All over the world, there is a shift in the economy from the manufacturing to the service sector. The contribution of banking to the service economy is duly recognized. Banking industry includes a number of businesses such as corporate banking, investment banking, wealth management, capital market etc. Retail banking is another segment of the banking industry. It is a typical mass-market banking characterized by a large customer base and a large volume of transactions. There is a high level of cooperation between banks, retailers, customers and consumers in this segment. Retail banks offer services like account opening, credit card, debit card, ATM, internet banking, phone banking, insurance, investment, stock broking and so on. The retail banking industry is facing a very stiff competition and current scenario is that of the survival of the fittest. All the banks are trying to increase their customer base and are developing their own strategies to be in the market. Product differentiation along with the application of technology for creating an optimum transaction model is one of the strategies employed by retail banks. The present day customers are technology savvy and they are more exposed to various kinds of goods and services. With globalization, the consumers are more aware of what type of services they get and from where. This has led to customer-demand-driven services to be offered by various service providers. Retail banks too have to design their products in such a way that customers are satisfied and that they return to the same bank for their services. In simple terms, customer retention is becoming the greatest challenge for retail banks. But the most challenges for banks is how banks attract their customers and what factor affect customer choice of a bank:ÂÂ   The various factors that affect the choice of customer in choosing a bank namely: ATM facility, Friendliness of employee, Debit card facility, Loan facility, Parking facility, Speed of services, Loyalty program, Internet banking facility, Rate of Interest, Bank timing, Convenient display of counters, Free home delivery of Drafts, Phone banking facility, Minimum account balance, Bank charges, Overdraft facility, Brand name, Close to where you live or work, Security arrangement, Locker facility, De-mat Facility, Referral from friend and relatives, Computerization of the bank, Continuous flow of information from bank and Simple application for all transactions. There are many other factors that affect the choice of customers in choosing the banks. The 14 different factors that could be identified, approximately in the order of their importance, are (1) Safety of Deposits, (2) Size and Strength, (3) Accuracy, (4) General Service Quality, (5) Speed of Delivery, (6) Proximity, (7) Security of Environment, (8) Cordiality of Staff, (9) Price and Service Charges, (10) Product Packaging, (11) General Public Impression, (12) Peer Group Impression, (13) Friendship with Staff and (14) Advertisement and Publicity. There are many factors who affect customer choice of bank. There are no of other factors also affect the customer choice of a bank which have also increased in importance are the offering of incentives, having a wide product range and economic factors, such as interest rate paid and fees and charges levied. Location factors, such as choosing a bank close to home or work place, have decreased significantly in importance in motivating choice. Certain criteria have remained broadly constant through time, amongst them, and perhaps surprisingly, are choosing on the basis of a banks image and reputation and expectations about level of service. Safety of Deposits: Depositors are the major stakeholders of the Banking System. Firstly a customer when he think about to open account in any bank then first question come in his mind is safety of deposits. His cash save or not in that bank in which he keep the amount. Reliability: It is the most vital factor, which explains of the variation. Reliability factors such as employees in the bank are friendly and courteous .Parking facility, Loyalty Program, good brand name of the bank, security arrangement with the bank and low bank has low bank charges emerge with good positive correlations. This yields a great influence while choosing a banking service. Convenience: There are four loads to this factor. The factor Convenience is the second important factor, which accounts for nearly of the variations. The factors parking facility with the bank free delivery of demand draft Phone banking and free home cash delivery signifies that consumers want convenience in banking and they want to save time. Assurance: There are three significant variables with a variation of and these factors are speedy services bank provide good rate of interest zero balance account facility depicts that the students want assurance of the services from the bank. Value Added Services: This factor has the two significant variables, which has 7.36% of the variation, and this comprises of depicting the value added services required by the consumers. The factor representing debit card facility, loan facility and loyalty programs respectively show value added services are also a significant factor in choosing a bank. Accessibility: The next important factor, which comprises of four loadings, ATM facility, debit card facility speed in services and internet banking signifies that easy accessibility to their bank accounts is vital factor in choosing a bank. Responsiveness: Responsiveness is the next factor, which influences a consumer in choosing a bank. This factor has two loading namely the employees in the bank are friendly and courteous and convenient display of counters. Location: when choosing a location for a branch, each bank takes various factors into account, such as the level of income, branch functions, competition, land value, growth potential, and the number of financial institutions. Also, from the methodological perspective, each bank employs. and develops various mathematical models or continuously strives to apply new methods. The recent introduction of Geographic Information System (GIS) can be viewed as an extension of such trend. Bank image: The customers were found to form an image of a bank from various information sources, and such formed image had a significant influence on the profitability of the bank. Branch image, level of service, value of products, and the building should be considered in the evaluation of a banks profitability. Quality: customer perceptions and preferences of service quality have a Significant impact on a banks success Service quality has received much attention because of its obvious relationship with costs, financial performance, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. Acceptability: The point of acceptance in case of cheques, RTGS, NEFT and ECS would be the bank branches providing these facilities. While cheques are accepted at all bank branches in the country, extending the availability of NEFT and RTGS depend upon the technological level of the banks. While the reach of payment systems like RTGS and NEFT has expanded to cover more and more bank branches, their further expansion is limited by the presence of bank branches. Level of Technology: The level of technological adoption in the banks would also decide the level of promotion of new payment products by banks. Banks which have implemented Core Banking Solutions are observed have provided the customers multiple delivery channels like ATMs, internet banking and mobile banking systems for initiation and receipt of payments. Substantial usage of new payment instruments are observed in these banks. These banks have also recorded cost savings from the migration of payments to electronic modes from the traditional cash and cheques. Customer Service: The customer service is the main stepping-stone of any service industry. The payment systems are no exception to this. Customer services include (1) service level at the point of service (2) information dissemination and (3) grievance redressal. For gaining the confidence of a customer it is necessary that the service providers address these issues adequately. Service Charges: Services charge constitute the charge levied by banks on their customers who avail payment services. Since 1999, when the practice of Indian Banks Association (IBA) fixing the benchmark service charges (which IBA had started prescribing from 1994) on behalf of the member banks was discontinued, the decision to prescribe the service charges was left to the discrete on of the Boards of individual banks. Banks were then advised that, they should ensure that the service charges were reasonable and were not out of line with the average cost of providing the services and the customers with low volume of activities were not penalized. Presently the Reserve Bank has prescribed the levying of service charges only for cheque clearing operations. An amount of Rs.2/- is collected per paper instrument (Re.1/- each to be collected from the collecting and paying bank) cleared by the MICR Cheque Processing Centers. In case the paper instruments are processed manually, the clearing houses are required to add up all the expenditure incurred and then recover them from the members (banks) of the respective clearing houses. The levying of cheque collection and electronic payment processing charges by banks from customers is left to the respective banks. But it was observed that instead of prescribing judicious charges a number of banks levy heavy fees for the use of electronic payment systems like RTGS / NEFT/ ECS systems.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Technological Momentum and Education Free Essays

Hughes presents a case for talking about technological momentum as a point between two opposite ideas; social constructivism and technological determinism. This raises questions as to what exactly the relationship is between technological momentum and soft determinism. Both ideas deal with the effect society has on technology and the effect that technology has on society. We will write a custom essay sample on Technological Momentum and Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now I will argue that while both ideas seem to be the same, there are important distinctions to make between the two. One is that Hughes’s idea of technological momentum is time dependent. So it is sensitive to society, culture, and the changes that occur to a technological system as it matures. On the other hand, soft determinism doesn’t distinguish between when a system will tend to be affected most by society, and when that technological system will have the most influence on society. In his essay, Thomas Hughes presents a case for technological momentum. The idea of technological momentum lies between the extremes of social constructivism and technological determinism. Social constructivism is when social or cultural forces determine technological change. Technological determinism, on the other hand, is the idea that technical forces determine social and cultural changes (Smith, 102). Within his essay Hughes points out how technological systems evolve during their lifetime to fall under either of these extremes. According to Hughes, the maturity of the system often times dictates its influence on society and the impression the society itself can have on the technological system. One might point out that the idea of technological momentum is similar to the idea of soft determinism. The soft view of determinism is the belief that technological changes drives social change, but social pressures also influence it. Both of the ideas use the view that technology effects society, and that society effects technology. The ideas of technological momentum and soft determinism are very similar in the ways that they view the relationship between society and technology, as both state that social development shapes and is shaped by technology (Smith, 102). However there are important distinctions between the two that prove that they are indeed different. One important distinction to make between technological momentum and soft determinism is that Hughes’s technological momentum is time dependent and takes into account the multitude of changes that a technological system undergoes during its lifetime. Hughes emphasizes that a young or less complex system will be influenced more by society than influence society, which maintains the social constructivist’s view that it is primarily society that influences technology and technological change within the system. Ultimately, technological momentum and soft determinism are not two concepts referring to the same idea because of the emphasis Hughes puts on time and the maturity of the technological system, and how that plays a role in whether it’s technologically deterministic or socially constructed. In his essay Technological Momentum, Hughes uses examples of various technological systems to help support his claims. His example for a system that both shaped and was shaped by society is EBASCO. The Electric Bond and Share Company (EBASCO) was an American electric utility holding company of the 1920’s. EBASCO provided financial, management, and engineering construction services for the utility companies. There are multiple instances of social construction within EBASCO’s history. Hughes begins illustrating the social constructivism side of the spectrum by showing the technological forces that helped shape the EBASCO system. â€Å"The spread of alternating (polyphase) current after 1900, for instance, greatly affected, even determined, the history of the early utilities that had used direct current, for these had to change their generators and related equipment to alternating current or fail in the face of competition. Smith, 106-107)† This example demonstrates how EBASCO was technologically influenced by society. If the new alternating current technology hadn’t been gaining popularity at the time, EBASCO wouldn’t have been forced to change their equipment to keep up with the competition. Not only did external technological forces shape EBASCO’s te chnical core, but economic ones did as well. Hughes points out the political forces that shaped the EBASCO system during its evolution. â€Å"Small urban utilities became regional ones and then faced new political or regulatory forces as state governments took over jurisdiction from the cities. Regulations also caused technical changes (Smith, 107). † This political influence shaped the EBASCO system as well. As the state governments took over they implemented guidelines that pushed for changes within the EBASCO system if they wished to stay in business. In addition to political and technical influences, Hughes uses an example of geographical forces playing a role in EBASCO’s development. He states â€Å"As the regional utilities of the EBASCO system expanded, the confronted geographical realities as they sought cooling water, hydroelectric sites, and mine-mouth locations (Smith, 107). Hughes would say that these geographical issues played a role in EBASCO’s development as they had to discover a way to work around some forms of geography and while learning the most efficient means to utilize the other. Hughes would say that from a social constructivists’ standpoint, these technological, economic, political, and geographic forces all, with varying levels of intensity, influenced the EBASCO system during its development. While all of these social components did influence EBASO over time, Hughes claims that â€Å"the interaction of technological systems and society is not symmetrical over time (Smith, 108). Here, Hughes emphasizes his claim that as a system becomes larger and more complex, it gathers momentum and becomes less shaped by and more the shaper of its environment. By the 1920’s the EBASCO system was now a large technological system with capital investment, customers, and influence on local, state, and federal governments. The company also largely interacted with many industries and communities. Hughes claims that these various components added to the momentum of the EBASCO system. Hughes also uses an example of another technological system in his essay to show the role of technological determinism. As merchant ships began to be replaced by submarines during World War I, the United States attempted to increase its supply of nitrogen compounds. They selected a process that required large amounts of electricity so the government had to construct a hydroelectric dam and power station. However, before the nitrogen-fixing facilities being built near the dam were completed, the war ended. Now, the supply of synthetic nitrogen compounds exceeded the demand. The U. S. government was left not only with process facilities but also a very large dam and power plant (Smith, pg 110). In 1933, however, a hydroelectric, flood-control, soil- reclamation, and regional development project sponsored by Senator George Norris and the Roosevelt administration and presided over by the Tennessee Valley Authority became created. The technological momentum of the dam had carried over from WWI to the New Deal (Smith, pg 111). Hughes views this process of creating a technological system and observing it go beyond its original purpose and going on to shape the society in which it resides as a prime example of technological determinism. Hughes sums up the technological determinism present in the hydroelectric dam example by stating that â€Å"this durable artifact acted over time like a magnetic field attracting plans and projects suited to its characteristics. Systems of artifacts are not neutral forces; they tend to shape the environment in particular ways (Smith, pg 111). † In his essay, Hughes has some claims about when social constructivism would be the dominant influence and when technological determinism would be the stronger influence. Hughes’s idea of technological momentum can be described as a spectrum that determines the way a technological system is manipulated. On one end you have social constructivism. On this end Hughes claims that younger developing systems tend to be on this end of the spectrum because they are more open to sociocultural influence. On the other end of the spectrum lies technological determinism. Hughes claims that technological systems that are technologically deterministic tend to be the more mature systems because they are older and prove to be more independent of outside influences and therefore more deterministic in nature. By defining technological momentum as being time dependent Hughes maintains that the concept of technological momentum avoids the â€Å"extremism of both technological determinism and social construction by presenting a more complex, flexible, time-dependent, and persuasive explanation of technological change (Smith, 104). † One objection to my claim might be the fact that just because soft determinism doesn’t explicitly address time doesn’t mean that it doesn’t consider time because it would be difficult for a technological system to be socially constructed and technologically deterministic at the same time. My response would be that while it may be assumed that only one action can be done at a given time, it is not specifically stated in the description. The idea of technological momentum looks at time within the context of the maturity of the technological system. Soft determinism looks solely at whether a system can be both socially constructed and technologically deterministic, but not how this may change overtime due to the maturity of the system and the momentum it has gained. In conclusion, Hughes explains his idea of technological momentum by placing it on a spectrum with social constructivism on one end and technological determinism on the other. Technol ogical momentum is related to soft determinism because of the effect society has on society and the effect that technology has on that society. However, it is important to make an important distinction regarding time. Hughes’s technological determinism is time dependent so it is sensitive to society, culture, and the changes that occur to a technological system as it matures. How to cite Technological Momentum and Education, Essay examples

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Which Of Your Possessions Reveals Most About You And Why Essays

Which of your possessions reveals most about you and why? "Observe, Watson." An unfamiliar voice caused me to stop dead in my tracks as I was coming back to my table. Surreptitiously glancing through the foliage, I noticed two men pointing at something. Hesitant to announce my presence, I was very perplexed by the fact that the object they were staring at was my backpack! I was studying in the park and walked off to get a drink of water, and when I came back, whom should I find examining my worldly possessions but the great detective and his chronicler! Maybe I should tell him to mind his own business...on the other hand, I would like to see Mr. Sherlock Holmes struggle to find clues to my identity. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson were engrossed in their usual exercise in deduction, with no feelings of professional integrity to preclude them from viewing the contents of my backpack. "What can you gather from this mundane article, Watson?" Watson dutifully furrowed his brow and attempted to employ his ingenious friend's methods. "Aside from noting its battered appearance and its distorted shape, which, no doubt, results from transporting great weights, I can produce no inferences about its owner. You, I should imagine, feel like you have known him all your life?" "Her, Watson, her. I conclude that the possessor of this book bag is a young lady of a scholarly nature, most likely a teenager, a student of various academic disciplines. Her eyesight is most likely poor, and it seems that she is very erratic, but tries to make up for her shortcomings. She obviously prefers to perform simple tasks in exciting, unusual ways, likes a good discussion, and is not afraid to reveal her opinions. Self-conscious of her mistakes, she likes to straighten them out at the first opportunity, and is well equipped to fight boredom. And this is my perfunctory opinion. Had I met the girl, I would be able to tell you more." Letting out his traditional gasp of awe, Watson exclaimed, "Once again, my dear Holmes, you have outdone yourself! Pray tell me, how do you deduce all this from such scarce clues?" "It is simplicity itself. First of all, note the writing in green puff paint. 'Omnia mea mecum porto'--Latin for "I carry all my possessions with me." A person who chooses to identify him or herself with such a phrase must be prepared to thoroughly explain and discuss it with any curious passersby. Then direct your attention to the contents of this bag. Your "great weights" are textbooks, and their diverse titles demonstrate our young lady's studiousness--Engineering Physics, Calculus, Exploring Language--hence my conclusion that she is diligent in many fields of learning. Other miscellaneous objects have enabled me to evaluate her personality and age. A "Star Wars" key chain, a case for eye glasses, white-out, nail polish--all these tell me that the possessor of this article is a teenager, a girl, with poor eyesight, and the white-out means she spots her own mistakes and tries to rectify them immediately. Having detected only one eating utensil--this pair of chopsticks, I assume that the simple process of nutrition has been promoted by this girl to the status of entertainment. The Swiss Army knife, the stapler, the flashlight, the bottle of aspirin all witness that she tries to be prepared for all situations. Interfering with these best of intentions is her forgetfulness--the knife is dull, the stapler is empty, as is the aspirin bottle. Finally, some poetry hastily scrawled on random sheets of paper tells me that she devotes her free time to productive activities." "Holmes, you are indeed a genius. But let's continue our walk." The two carried off their lively conversation elsewhere. Crawling out of the bushes, I resented the infringement of my privacy but also nurtured a vengeful thought: for someone as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes, you would think he'd notice toilet paper trailing behind his shoes. Which Of Your Possessions Reveals Most About You And Why Essays Which of your possessions reveals most about you and why? "Observe, Watson." An unfamiliar voice caused me to stop dead in my tracks as I was coming back to my table. Surreptitiously glancing through the foliage, I noticed two men pointing at something. Hesitant to announce my presence, I was very perplexed by the fact that the object they were staring at was my backpack! I was studying in the park and walked off to get a drink of water, and when I came back, whom should I find examining my worldly possessions but the great detective and his chronicler! Maybe I should tell him to mind his own business...on the other hand, I would like to see Mr. Sherlock Holmes struggle to find clues to my identity. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson were engrossed in their usual exercise in deduction, with no feelings of professional integrity to preclude them from viewing the contents of my backpack. "What can you gather from this mundane article, Watson?" Watson dutifully furrowed his brow and attempted to employ his ingenious friend's methods. "Aside from noting its battered appearance and its distorted shape, which, no doubt, results from transporting great weights, I can produce no inferences about its owner. You, I should imagine, feel like you have known him all your life?" "Her, Watson, her. I conclude that the possessor of this book bag is a young lady of a scholarly nature, most likely a teenager, a student of various academic disciplines. Her eyesight is most likely poor, and it seems that she is very erratic, but tries to make up for her shortcomings. She obviously prefers to perform simple tasks in exciting, unusual ways, likes a good discussion, and is not afraid to reveal her opinions. Self-conscious of her mistakes, she likes to straighten them out at the first opportunity, and is well equipped to fight boredom. And this is my perfunctory opinion. Had I met the girl, I would be able to tell you more." Letting out his traditional gasp of awe, Watson exclaimed, "Once again, my dear Holmes, you have outdone yourself! Pray tell me, how do you deduce all this from such scarce clues?" "It is simplicity itself. First of all, note the writing in green puff paint. 'Omnia mea mecum porto'--Latin for "I carry all my possessions with me." A person who chooses to identify him or herself with such a phrase must be prepared to thoroughly explain and discuss it with any curious passersby. Then direct your attention to the contents of this bag. Your "great weights" are textbooks, and their diverse titles demonstrate our young lady's studiousness--Engineering Physics, Calculus, Exploring Language--hence my conclusion that she is diligent in many fields of learning. Other miscellaneous objects have enabled me to evaluate her personality and age. A "Star Wars" key chain, a case for eye glasses, white-out, nail polish--all these tell me that the possessor of this article is a teenager, a girl, with poor eyesight, and the white-out means she spots her own mistakes and tries to rectify them immediately. Having detected only one eating utensil--this pair of chopsticks, I assume that the simple process of nutrition has been promoted by this girl to the status of entertainment. The Swiss Army knife, the stapler, the flashlight, the bottle of aspirin all witness that she tries to be prepared for all situations. Interfering with these best of intentions is her forgetfulness--the knife is dull, the stapler is empty, as is the aspirin bottle. Finally, some poetry hastily scrawled on random sheets of paper tells me that she devotes her free time to productive activities." "Holmes, you are indeed a genius. But let's continue our walk." The two carried off their lively conversation elsewhere. Crawling out of the bushes, I resented the infringement of my privacy but also nurtured a vengeful thought: for someone as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes, you would think he'd notice toilet paper trailing behind his shoes.