What will be the effect on stakeholders of the proposed change in fees Dissertation

What will be the effect on stakeholders of the proposed change in fees and funding for UK undergraduate degrees - Dissertation Example Since the second half of 2010, dramatic changes have occurred in higher education (HE) policies in the United Kingdom (UK). Although recent policy reforms in higher education have not been totally unexpected, their impact has far-reaching consequences to various stakeholders. With the expansion of HE happening in most OECD countries, there has been increasing shift towards relying on fees from students and the increase in contingency student loans (Greenaway and Haynes, 2003). Government has realised the budgetary implications, and looked for solutions in countries like the United States (US) where HE is considered an individual investment. Thus, when Lord Browne pushed forward his ‘recommendations for sustainable funding for higher education’, the coalition government accepted almost all proposals (Secured Loans, UK 2010). Central to these is that the government must cease making HE part of the state’s welfare (Secured Loans UK, 2010). Trade unions lament that fu nding cuts in HE will have serious impact on the education of the students (BBC, 2010). They predict that as many as 200,000 students will miss out on higher education. Administrators also fear that quality of education will suffer, especially for taught courses in comparison with research-based universities (BBC, 2011). Question one is therefore, with all these points highlighted, why is government pushing for such policy reforms?

Brand Life Cycle and Brand Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Brand Life Cycle and Brand Knowledge - Essay Example These parameters can be applied in brand positioning as well but the thought process needs to be different. For example, product positioning may possess metrics like product look, product features, product variants, overall analogous products in the industry, supply chain, customer support, replacement guarantees, etc. These aspects require a lot of operational considerations to be embedded in the product strategic framework. Hence, product life cycle assessed & planned by virtue of the realities in the market that includes customer perceptions, changing end user tastes, supply chain weaknesses (like obsolescence of raw materials) & creative destruction by new innovation activities by the competition. But brand positioning requires lot of thought process about the in-depth cultural & emotional aspects of the customers in the process of introduction, elaboration & fortification of brands that builds an overall "expectation framework" of end customers from the organization as a whole ( Park and Jaworski et al. 1986. pp137-139). It requires lot of strategic thinking at much wider perspective without looking much into the operational aspects. For example, going for an ISO 9001 certification can have one of the benefits as improved branding given that the customers develop better trust in the organization's commitment to quality of products. When we talk about products here, it is not specific to a particular product but is pertaining to the organization's overall quality commitment to its products. The products may become obsolete but such impressions last much longer - may die only if the next branding effort has not been made amidst changing market dynamics. For example, if the quality expectations of the consumers are modified to the latest version of ISO 9001 (ISO 9001:2008), the companies certified with the older versions may face brand obsolescence unless they tangibly demonstrate innovations in their internal quality control as per the new standard. Consumers may immediately realise this differentiating factor once one of the companies starts marketing their compliance with the latest version of the standard. Brand Knowledge and its impact on Retro Products and Brand Life Cycle Keller (2003. pp596) presented the key dimensions of brand knowledge as awareness, brand attributes, benefits, images (visualizations), thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and experiences. These dimensions form an important part of consumer memory that impact their buying behaviour. However, a closer look reveals that all these dimensions are volatile and possesses definitive risk of coming out of the consumer memory if the organization does not practice effective "memory refresh" or "brand reminder" techniques. Banbury & Mitchell (1995. pp178) and Hendricks & Singhal (1997. pp44) emphasized that incremental innovations and regular new product introductions impacts the business performance of organizations positively. These can result in complete refreshing of brand knowledge in the consumer's mind due to their door knocked by the innovative companies periodically to present new innovations & product releases.

Do Animals Have Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Do Animals Have Rights - Essay Example These differences do not exclude a person's right to being treated with respect and dignity. Human equal and natural rights are granted merely because we are humans (Regan, 1). However, extending this thinking to animals requires that we examine why they are excluded from the rights that are afforded to human beings. It is not because we perceive them as different. Equality and the moral claim to rights rests not in our willingness to overlook differences, but in our acknowledgement that we have a commonality that unites us into a unique moral class. The sameness that unites the human race is not born out of physical appearance or mental abilities. We treasure our uniqueness and individuality, but they do not make us the same. The attribute that unites our species as unique is our awareness of our status, well being, and self. On the most basic level of awareness, we can measure our differences in our abilities at math or academic pursuits. Our sameness resides outside our mind's ability to calculate and exists in our unconscious. Equality is a moral ideal that eludes the ability to be stated as a simple fact (Singer, 197). We attribute our sameness to our concept of history, our realization of self-awareness, and the ability to feel the emotions of pleasure and pain. These are the qualities that are ascribed to being unique to the human race by those that would argue that animals do not have rights. The human concept of histor... The social structure and survival skills are passed down through generations of an animal society. This is the definition of history that is invoked and kept active by the use of memory. Displays of emotion, as it relates to history, are evident when we observe animal grieving at a family member's death. This is a sense of history as the animal recalls what their relationship meant, and what the coming times will be with the absence of the animal. The human race is not the only animal on the planet that has self-awareness. All animals are aware of their image, their ego, and the limits of their abilities. A dog will groom itself and have an understanding of what it is and what is not the dog. We do not simply treat our pets well out of a sense of obligation, but because of a common spiritual connection (Cohen, 95). All species of animals demonstrate their self-awareness as they display themselves and understand their role in reproduction. The audible and visual manifestations that an animal creates is an expression of that self-awareness. The wide range of emotions felt by animals can be illustrated by the grieving process felt at the time of death. Birds and elephants have complicated rituals they perform at the death of a member of their society. Disappointment and frustration is expressed when an animal is faced with obstacles that require problem solving. The close study of animals has revealed societies where kindness, sharing, guilt, grief, and anger are felt ands expressed on a routine basis. Pain and pleasure are often used as uniquely human qualities that are not shared by animals. However, there is obvious pain when an animal is tortured. Animals show obvious signs of appreciation and happiness

Ethics in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Ethics in Criminal Justice - Essay Example on the variety of ideas and the effectiveness of its execution depends on dedication and commitment on part of people involved to carry out the decision. â€Å"Ethical decision making will be reserved for use in a group decision making context. Specifically, we will address ethical decision making in business as providing the guiding requirements or goals for right conduct† (Addressing Ethics in Decision Making, 2009). It is the most realistic and accurate expression of the fundamental feeling behind the ethical point of view, that is, benevolence. This principle states that there is room in the structure for conventional ethical rules, but adds that these principles can gain power only from maximizing usefulness during the long term. There is probably no one in the modern period whose visions have influenced moral reflection above those of 18th-century theorist Immanuel Kant. Kant creates his "supreme principle" in numerous different methods, all of which he claims to be equal. Unlike other two ethical principles, virtue ethics does not offer ethics for judging an act right or wrong. It gives attention to building up the character of human beings so that an individual is bound to do the right thing. Character traits such as self-control, courage, justice generosity, gentleness etc are developed through this. Virtue ethics revolves around achievement and promotion of human excellence. Every moral virtue is a means that gives extreme happiness. Sometimes it generates a feeling of doing too much or too little. The absolute mean is diverse from the mean as it is relative to the human being. Ethical decision-making in the organizations helps to change the future for the better. â€Å"Addressing ethics in decision making in business or other large organizations or groups (e.g., government) does point to the need to ensure that key focusing decisions have been made and are in place. In particular, the business decision for core values should be in place to provide the

Write a case study of a contemporary ecotourism issue in which you Essay

Write a case study of a contemporary ecotourism issue in which you integrate aspects of theory and practice from a wide range of material - Essay Example In the third section I will give examples of elements that threaten to saturate the carrying capacity of nature based tourism in Kenya. In the fourth and final section I will give a brief historical account of ecotourisms presence in Kenya and give ways in which it can be a possible source of sustainable development in the future. Part 1: What does sustainable development really mean? The most common definition of sustainable development is: development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).ï ¾ µ In essence, for sustainable development to occur there must be some sort of trade-off between the aspirations of the present and those of the future. Successful management of resources is the cornerstone of sustainable development. Creating sustainable development is especially important to nature based tourism because it completely relies on an ecological re source that is usually non-renewable and irreplaceable. Once the environmental resource has developed past the point where it is no longer attractive to perspective tourist the entire economy of the dependent host community will collapse. The maximum amount of positive development that can occur is determined by the carrying capacity. The carrying capacity is the saturation point where anymore development will result in the degeneration of future resources. All nature-based tourism locations have limited ecological, aesthetic, and social carrying capacities. The ecological carrying capacity is reached when the number of visitors starts to have a negative impact on the wildlife and environment (Whelan, p. 11.). The aesthetic carrying capacity is reached when tourists encounter so many other tourists that the intrinsic value of the beauty of the environment is marred (Whelan, p. 11). The social carrying capacity is reached when the number of tourist in relation to the host population

Postmodernism Families Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Postmodernism Families - Essay Example It is apparent that the everyday life in the postmodern family significantly changes with the increase of life tempo. Postmodern families thus try to stand afloat of democracy, pluralism, religious freedom and mobility. Families are also affected by increased access to entertainment and news. New postmodern families are provided with new world look meaning that postmodern age has created new beliefs and multiple realities. Nowadays families prefer to ignore the concept of absolute truth. (Hartman 1995) The author states that postmodern society is becoming more epistemological being able to relevance and validation in different ways. Actually it is mentioned that such moving from one type of relations to another will inevitably cause "a self in continuous alteration". (Hartman 1995)For example available technologies provide postmodern families with opportunities to be in different states of motion and mind. Hartman defines postmodern families as floating families suggesting that the boundaries are too porous and weak nowadays. (Hartman 1995) Power is an important attribute of the family and is considered traditional tool for decision-making process. Health care professionals state that oppressive, sexist and authoritarian families face serious problems. Families are also affected by increased access to entertainment and news. New postmodern families are provided with new world look meaning that postmodern age has created new beliefs and multiple realities. Nowadays families prefer to ignore the concept of absolute truth. (Hartman 1995) The author states that postmodern society is becoming more epistemological being able to relevance and validation in different ways.

Singer on Animal Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Singer on Animal Rights - Essay Example Several human activists have advocated the making and imposition of animal rights. This struggle on behalf of their loyal friends is not new and lasts over the last numerous decades. One of the most prominent human rights activists is Peter Singer who has an Australian origin. A renowned Philosopher and the professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, the sixty four (64) year old humanist has voiced his thoughts in favor of human rights for about four decades now. Peter Singer’s work â€Å"All Animals are Equal†, that came into print in the later part of the 1980s, highlights his decades old philosophy of safeguarding animal rights by voicing and maintaining the stance of respect of animals. This text is an attempt to voice Singer’s thoughts that he has advocated in the said work. The main theme of this article of Peter Singer is that animals, may they be ‘humans’ or ‘non humans’ deserve respect. He is quoted in this article as: †Å"I am urging that we extend to other species the basic principle of equality that most of us recognize should be extended to all members of our own species.† Singer does not emphasize that animals should have rights like humans but emphasizes that their rights should be recognized. He does not mean to say that animals are just like humans or should be treated just like humans. All he wants to say is that the discriminating factor between them should not be that one is an animal and the other is a human. Regardless of the species of a living being, rights should be associated with every individual thus attaching importance to their interests. The author compares the ambitions of human beings to those of an animal. Man has each and every step of his life planned. Every minute that passes brings him closer to his next planned task and then moreover to the next one. Animals however do not follow any such scheduled activity. Singer emphasizes that this fantasizing of humans does n ot give them any edge over animals with respect to rights. â€Å"If a being suffers,† he says, â€Å"there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration.† The famous activist proposes a situation where a building might accidentally be on fire. A human and a dog would be distressfully caught into the fire in exactly the same manner. They’re both hurt to the same extent and have become immobile. In such a situation, the author emphasizes that, both the human being and the animal have equal rights of being picked up as the first option of rescue. He shuns the thought that since a man has his whole planned life to live he should be the first choice of being picked up by rescue personnel. Singer emphasizes that there potentially is no difference in the suffering of the distressing animal and the human being. ‘The Human Pain’ he says has the same intensity as the animal’s pain. He strictly shuns that merely th e thought that human suffering is more than animal suffering should not make the picking up of the human being as the first choice. On the contrary, if the person suffering may be your loved one then you may ask the rescue team to pick him up first, but not otherwise. Singer states that of all the things that may exist, human beings have only and only a single edge over other species and that is the fact that they belong to the â€Å"Human Species† or â€Å"Homo Sapiens†. Singer emphasizes by saying, â€Å"Like it or not, we must face the fact that humans come in different shapes and sizes; they