Rationale Statement

This 2 hour online workshop Is an Indication of this standard because of the freeloading and research that went Into Its creation. I Incorporated what I knew of the learners into the initial design phases of the module. Taking multiple learning styles and multiple intelligences into consideration helped me to create targeted activities, assignments, and resources to reach a broader pool of participants. After all, â€Å"to teach effectively, you've got to know how people learn and in particular you've got to know how they think. † (Ramrod, 2010) Interestingly enough, the topic of the workshop Is differentiation.As result, the module Itself models the topic by providing lessons and assessments that incorporate differentiation in its design. Images, videos, text, links, and interactive activities make up the bulk of the content, and each tab brings in different strategies to reach different learners. Standard. The Instructional materials for this website Indicate a wide variety of modalities. I have shot and embedded videos of subject matter experts, Included Interactive multiple choice quizzes, as well as developed discussion threads to allow participants o work together.Using what I know of the skills highlighted by the Partnership for 21st Century Literates, I incorporated assessments that ask learners to collaborate, to analyze readings and photos, and to synthesize their findings into writing. These skills are ones teachers need to use, sure. However, since the focus of the workshop Is to help teachers teach students, I believe It is vital for any professional development to model these skills as well and ask teachers to interact with the skills they will also expect their own students to utilize. Standard.I believe It Is very important to allow learners flexibility in this workshop's Implementation. Knowing the schedule of the target audience, the secondary teacher, I decided that the workshop should be self-paced and accomplished over a short window of time. Over a two-week period, learners have the chance to log in and work to chip away at the tabs at their convenience. Each tab focuses on different topics centered on differentiation and can be explored in any order. However, as self-paced as it is, there are still patterns and rhythms worked into the workshop. Resources, visuals, informal assessment. Resources, visuals, Informal assessment.The predictable pattern Is meant to help the comfort level of learners. â€Å"Students find that a†¦ Rhythm for an online course provides similar benefits in keeping learners on track†¦ † (Botcher & Conrad, 2010. ) By making this decision of flexible learning right off the bat, I was able to then back plan what support I needed to develop and provide in order to ensure a smooth experience for the learners each time they log in. Throughout my program, I became a greater fan of Haiku as a Learning Management System. Haiku is amazingly user-friendly, and still provides the le arners and the signers access to a wide variety of tools.They don't water down the possibilities. The resources are housed easily using this virtual classroom. The discussions are easily encouraged. Submission methods are obvious and clear. Haiku permits an easy pathway to communicate with learners. Nevertheless, the pool of learners that piloted the workshop varied in levels of tech users. To address this, I developed a series of scaffolds to help participants regardless of their tech level. For instance, despite the ease of Haiku, I still also provided a Screenplay that allowed me to introduce both savvy and tentative learners to the ALMS.It was my first time using this kind of technology, and having gone through the process, I have discovered how invaluable it is. I plan to include a Screenplay for any future project as an instructional designer as well as a classroom teacher. Standard 5: EVALUATIONS]O Regarding learner assessment and evaluation, the workshop clearly meets this s tandard because of the elements included in its virtual walls. It includes formative, informal assessments in the form of short writings based on photograph analysis ND asking learners to synthesize concepts into discussion threads.It also incorporates more formal summarize assessments in the form of an online multiple- choice survey. Regarding my own evaluative process, I ensured that the assessments aligned to the initial objectives. â€Å"The test [measures] what it's supposed to measure† (Laureate, 2012. ) A simple concept, but one that is critical in the success of creating a training module. In addition, the course evaluation survey incorporates both quantitative data and subjective opinion, the results of which I could reflect on to aid in my evasions as well as my own growth as an instructional designer.

Diwali Experience

â€Å"Diwali Delight† The best feeling is to have all your long-time unseen relatives and friends gather around together and have a blast. Recently on my dad’s birthday, the day of October 26th, the start of Diwali, can be as delightful as any of your cultural holidays. Diwali is the festival of lights. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. My dad was the first one to come to the United States in my whole, family, which makes me second generation Indian. He came from India for his masters in Alabama by the usual way of transportation: By flight.My family celebrates Diwali in three main ways: By lighting firecrackers, having a big family feast where only the men cook, and also by dancing to traditional Indian music. Diwali doesn’t just bring me boats load of fun, but also helps me recognize how light helps us in our everyday lives. As most people know, the lighting of firecrackers on Diwali Is we ll-known as the main event. Usually by 7 or 8’oclock, the neighborhood starts erupting. In our family it is traditional to go to our cousin’s house for this part of the event.All of the guests get one whole bag full of a different variety of firecrackers. The types include sparklers, rockets(which you blast), And also chain crackers, which are a hundreds of normal firecrackers put together. As the final crackers explode and the pictures are taken, we all head to our house, where we start the dinner feast. It is a custom in our family to let all the men cook a feast. As all the cars enter our driveway, all the men put on their baking gloves, and get ready to make a mess in the kitchen, while the women get very cautious about them and the children are playing in the backyard.As we hear a big scream from the parents for dinner, all the children quickly evacuate into the house. As we enter, our nose gets filled with the delightful aroma of the food. The food items prepared vary every year, which keeps us in anxiety. Recently, we had a type of Indian bread with different curries. Last but not least, we dance to traditional Bollywood music, which includes classical, vocational, and some of R&B music. After our food digests, we play music from an ipod and everybody dances in joy.In conclusion, Diwali is always a great experience with your family members. I am proud that I am second generation Indian, and that we have a chance to celebrate Diwali. In my opinion, I believe our family celebrates this holiday the best by lighting up firecrackers, having a big family feast, and by dancing to traditional music. As said before, Diwali doesn’t just bring fun, but helps me recognize the importance of light in our everyday lives, which is believed to be the motive in our culture to celebrate this holiday.

An Investigation Into the Factors Influencing the Implementation

Chapter One Introduction 1. Introduction This chapter will cover the background of the research problem, purpose of study, hypotheses, importance of the study, and the scope of the study. The chapter introduces the major concepts of the study of strategic alliances and agent banking models. 1. 1. Background 1. 1. 1 Strategic Management Process Although most can agree that a firm’s ability to survive and prosper depends on choosing and implementing a good strategy, there is less agreement about what constitutes a good strategy (Barney, 2008).However, there seems to be an agreement as to what a strategy really means: a firm’s theory about how to gain competitive advantage. The strategic management process is a sequential set of analyses and choices that can increase the likelihood that a firm will choose a strategy that generates competitive advantage (Hesterly, 2008). The first step is mission (long term purpose) definition, followed by setting of objectives, that is, sp ecific measurable targets that a firm uses to evaluate the extent to which it is realizing its mission.The next phase are the internal and external analyses, where a critical evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is done in regard to both the internal and external environments. Once a firm establishes a sound balance between internal capabilities and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats, the management is in an informed position to select strategies that presents the best way possible to achieve the firm’s objectives. Barney (2008) categorizes strategy choices into business level strategies and corporate level strategies.Business-level strategies are actions a firm takes to gain competitive advantage in a single market and includes cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Corporate level strategies are actions a firm takes to gain competitive advantage in multiple markets and includes vertical integration strategies, strategic all iances, mergers and acquisitions. This study draws its subject on strategic alliances as a corporate-level strategy a firm may choose to achieve its broad objectives. 1. 1. 2 Strategic AlliancesA strategic alliance exists whenever two or more independent organizations cooperate in the development, manufacture, or sale of products or services. These alliances can be groped into three broad categories: nonequity alliances, equity alliances, and joint ventures (Barney, 2008). In a nonequity alliance, the cooperative relations are managed through the use of various contracts: licensing agreements, supply agreements, and distribution agreements. For instance, in the banking industry, agent banking falls under distribution agreements since agents are contracted by banks to offer banking services on behalf of the banks (C.G. A. P, 2009). 1. 1. 3 Agent Banking In a growing number of countries, banks and other commercial financial service providers are finding new ways to make money and deli ver financial services to unbanked people (Lyman, 2009). Rather than using bank branches and their own field officers, they offer banking and payment services through third parties. For poor people, â€Å"branchless banking† through retail agents may be far more convenient and efficient than going to a bank branch (C. G. A. P, 2009).For many poor customers, it will be the first time they have access to any formal financial services—and formal services are usually significantly safer and cheaper than informal alternatives. Two models of branchless banking through retail agents are emerging: one led by banks, the other by non-bank commercial actors (Lyman, 2009). Both use information and communication technologies, such as cell phones, debit and prepaid cards, and card readers to transmit transaction details from the retail agent or customer to the bank (C. G. A. P, 2009).Branchless banking through retail agents appeals to policymakers and regulators because it has the p otential to extend financial services to unbanked and marginalized communities. But it also challenges them to ask: What are the risks of these new approaches, and are they different from those of conventional branch-based banking? How should banks respond to these risks, so as to permit branchless banking with retail agents to operate safely and expand access to finance (C. G. A. P, 2009). Agency banking can be understood by examining the experience of five ioneering countries— Brazil, India, South Africa, the Philippines, and Kenya—where agent-assisted branchless banking that targets poor customers is already a reality (Kumar, 2009). Some models of branchless banking—for example, Internet banking and automatic teller machines (ATMs)—can be seen as modest extensions of conventional branch-based banking. Other models offer a distinct alternative to conventional branch-based banking in that customers conduct financial transactions at a whole range of retai l agents instead of at bank branches or through bank employees (Staschen, 2009).Agent-assisted branchless banking is relatively new. Among the countries studied, the phenomenon ranges in age from only a few months (in the case of Kenya), to a few years (in the case of Brazil and some services in India). Outside of Brazil and the Philippines, branchless banking through retail agents reaches relatively few customers with a limited range of financial services (C. G. A. P, 2009). As compared with conventional branch-based banking, both models of agent-assisted branchless banking touch on issues that lie at the heart of traditional bank regulation and supervision.One set of issues, common to both models, arises from the outsourcing of substantially all direct customer contact to a potentially infinite array of different types of retail agents (Lyman, 2009). According to F. S. D/Kenya, key issues to be considered are: authorization of agent network managers, establishment of a register of agents, review of agent licensing requirements, competition & agent exclusivity, and need for consumer protection arrangements covering agents.Coupled with the risks associated with new operational platforms, these issues are likely to be of major concern to commercial banks and may indeed hamper the implementation of agent banking. 1. 2 Problem Statement In the year 2009, C. B. K became one of the founding members of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (A. F. I) in September 2009. Through A. F. I, C. B. K conducted a study tour of Brazil and Colombia to gain an understanding of Agent Banking. This model introduced through the Finance Act, 2009 entail the use of third parties by banks to extend their outreach cost effectively.The National Financial Access Survey released in 2009 indicates that 32% of Kenya’s bankable population remains totally excluded from any form of financial services. The Central Bank has therefore continued to promote policy solutions geared towards en hancing financial inclusion, with the introduction of agent banking being one of the initiatives. In a growing number of countries, banks are finding new ways of delivering financial services to unbanked people. The introduction of agent banking is intended to enable institutions to provide banking services in a more cost effective way which is equally cheaper to the customers (C.G. A. P, 2009). It is further intended to enhance financial access especially for those people who are currently unbanked, while giving banks an opportunity to increase their market shares (F. S. D/Kenya, 2009). Despite the strong presence of retail outlets showing interest to work with banks as agents, the adoption of this model is rather slow. Since the coming into operations of the Guidelines on Agent Banking, only six banks have applied to the C. B. K for Agent Network approval (C. B. K, 2010).Of these, only two applications had been granted approval by end of September 2010, while the other four were s till in the early stages of review. As at 30th September 2010, CBK had approved 5,892 agents of which 4,392 of these agents are telecom related with 1,500 comprising other types of enterprises. In addition, 66% of the approved agents are in the rural areas while the rest are in urban areas. (C. B. K, 2010). This study therefore seeks to find out the factors influencing the implementation of agent-banking by commercial banks in Kenya. 1. 3 PurposeThis study aims at discovering the factors behind the sluggish pace of agent banking implementation in Kenya, with emphasis on the position taken by commercial banks in Kenya towards agent-assisted banking models. The results of the study will include comprehensive recommendations to both commercial banks and the industry regulator on possible strategies of making agent banking, as an alternative service delivery channel, a success in bringing financial services closer to the poor and currently unbanked population. 1. 4 Objectives of the stu dy 1. 4. 1 General objectiveThe general objective of the study is to determine factors influencing the implementation of agent banking in the Kenyan Financial Services Sector. 1. 4. 2 Specific objectives The study aims to achieve the following specific objectives; i. To determine how consumer protection influences the implementation of agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya ii. To determine how laws and regulations influences the implementation of agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya iii. To determine how risk appetite affects the implementation of agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya iv.To find out the effect of overall business strategy on the implementation of agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya. 1. 5 Hypotheses Table 1. 1 Hypotheses sets |Set |H0 |HA | |1 |Consumer protection requirements influence the |Consumer protection requirements have no influence on the | | |implementation of agent banking by commercial banks in |implementation of agent banking by c ommercial banks in | | |Kenya. Kenya. | |2 |Unfavorable legal and regulatory guidelines on agent |Legal and regulatory guidelines on agent networks have no | | |networks affect the implementation of agent banking by |effect on the implementation of agent banking by commercial | | |commercial banks in Kenya. |banks in Kenya. | |3 |Low risk appetite influences the operationalization of |Low risk appetite has no effect on the operationalization of| | |agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya. |agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya. |4 |Lack of an elaborate business strategy on agent banking|Business strategies have no effect on the adoption of agent | | |affects the adoption of agent banking models among |banking models among commercial banks in Kenya | | |commercial banks in Kenya | | 1. 6 Scope The study will cover duly registered commercial banks in Kenya, with information being gathered preferably from the headquarters of the institutions.Respondents will be individuals hold ing managerial position related to retail banking, channels management, risk management and marketing or strategy functions. All aspects of service delivery by third party agents will form the main subject of the study. 1. 7 Significance of the study 1. 7. 1 To regulatory authorities The study will be of major use to the CBK, Central government and other oversight bodies as it will give insights on the unique attributes of the Kenyan banking sector and identification of potential problem areas in the quest of increasing financial inclusion through alternative channels.This will go along pay in guiding policy decisions that can be exploited to make banking services conveniently available all segments of the population. 1. 7. 2 To commercial Banks The study is important to Commercial bank managers since it will help them appreciate the magnitude of potential loss of business opportunities to their competitors due to lack of flexible strategic planning. The report will also produce val uable industry data that can be used by commercial banks to develop comprehensive business strategies on agent banking as key potential problem areas in the banking model will be identified and quantified. . 7. 3 To academicians and researchers The study will be a source of reference material for future researchers on related topics; it will also help other academicians who undertake the same topic in their studies. The study will highlight important relationships that require further research; this may be in the areas of relationships between firm’s performance and delivery channels’ dynamics. 1. 8 Limitations of the study This study will be confined to the headquarters of 12 Commercial Banks in Kenya.The responses given might be inadequate to make generalizations for the whole banking sector. This problem will however be averted by stratifying the population into three categories based on asset book size and market reach, and in line with the classification provided by the industry regulator, followed by random sampling. This will ensure that the sample will indeed be a true representative of the population. 1. 9 Assumptions The study assumes that consumer protection requirements, low risk appetite, cumbersome regulations and restrictive business strategies have a negative influence on the adoption of agent banking models in Kenya.The study further assumes that middle and top level bank managers in the areas of retail banking, marketing, strategy and risk management are conversant with the subject of service delivery through third party agents. 1. 10 Definitions Strategy- a firm’s theory about how to gain competitive advantage Strategic management process – sequential set of analyses and choices that can increase the likelihood that a firm will choose a strategy that generates competitive advantage Strategic alliances – arrangements where two or more independent organizations cooperate in the development, manufacture, or sa le of products or servicesAgent banking – a banking model where commercial banks offer their core services through third party intermediaries Consumer protection – set of guidelines a firm/industry employs to cover its customers from any form of exploitation due to their vulnerable position in a business transaction Risk appetite – the amount of loss a firm is ready to absorb due to risk events Risk – uncertainty in the occurrence of loss or gain Reputation risk – risk of loss resulting from compromised external opinion towards a firm Operational risk – risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external eventsLiquidity risk – risk that an imbalance between cash inflows and outflows will result in insufficient cash reserves to meet all demands of the depositors. Chapter Two Literature Review 2. 0 Introduction This chapter presents the literature review and theories, and conceptual framework adopted in the study of strategic alliances and more specifically, the evolution of agent banking. In addition, an empirical work has been reviewed with the final presentation of conceptual and operational frameworks of the study. 2. 1 Theoretical Literature ReviewThe sections analyses current theories related to strategic management process, strategic choice, strategic alliance threats and opportunities, and their relevance in the agent banking models. Research gaps and theoretical weaknesses have also been identified. 2. 1. 1 Strategic Management Process Although most can agree that a firm’s ability to survive and prosper depends on choosing and implementing a good strategy, there is less agreement about what constitutes a good strategy (Barney, 2008). However, there seems to be an agreement as to what a strategy really means: a firm’s theory about how to gain competitive advantage.The strategic management process is a sequential set of analyses and choices that can increase the likelihood that a firm will choose a strategy that generates competitive advantage (Hesterly, 2008). The first step is mission (long term purpose) definition, followed by setting of objectives, that is, specific measurable targets that a firm uses to evaluate the extent to which it is realizing its mission. The next phase are the internal and external analyses, where a critical evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is done in regard to both the internal and external environments.Once a firm establishes a sound balance between internal capabilities and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats, the management is in an informed position to select strategies that presents the best way possible to achieve the firm’s objectives. Barney (2008) categorizes strategy choices into business level strategies and corporate level strategies. Business-level strategies are actions a firm takes to gain competitive advantage in a sin gle market and includes cost leadership, differentiation and focus.Corporate level strategies are actions a firm takes to gain competitive advantage in multiple markets and includes vertical integration strategies, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions. This study draws its subject on strategic alliances as a corporate-level strategy a firm may choose to achieve its broad objectives. One major weakness of this framework is that it presents strategic management in a form of series while in real sense, management decisions are made within a network of closely interwoven and interrelated activities. For instance, S. W. O.T analysis is done at every stage in the strategic management process 2. 1. 2 Strategic Alliances A strategic alliance exists whenever two or more independent organizations cooperate in the development, manufacture, or sale of products or services. These alliances can be groped into three broad categories: nonequity alliances, equity alliances, and joint ventur es (Barney, 2008). In a nonequity alliance, cooperating firms agree to work together to develop, manufacture, or sell products or services, but they do not take equity positions in each other or form an independent organizational unit to manage their cooperative efforts.Rather, these cooperative relations are managed through the use of various contracts: licensing agreements, supply agreements, and distribution agreements. For instance, in the banking industry, agent banking falls under distribution agreements as agents are contracted by banks to offer banking services on behalf of the banks (C. G. A. P, 2008). The classification according to Barney (2008) is in agreement with that given by Day (1990) and gives a clear distinction between strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions.However, other writers have questioned this classification as merger could be indeed be a form of strategic alliances involving capital. 2. 1. 3 Strategic Alliance Opportunities Strategic alliances c reate value by exploiting opportunities and neutralizing threats facing a firm. Opportunities associated with strategic alliances fall into three large categories. First, these alliances can be used to improve performance of a firm’s current operations. Second, alliances can be used to create a competitive environment favorable to superior firm performance.Finally, they can be used to facilitate a firm’s entry into or exit from new markets or industries (Hesterly, 2008). Indeed, the major reason why most firms cooperate is to increase efficiencies and open more avenues of improving firms’ performance. However, Hesterly (2008) has not clearly whether opportunities of strategic alliances attract firms or it is the business needs that compel firms to initiate alliances in the market. 2. 1. 4 Strategic Alliance Threats Just as there are incentives to cooperate in strategic alliances, there are also incentives to cheat on these cooperative agreements.Indeed, research shows that as many as one-third of all strategic alliances do not meet the expectations of at least one alliance partner (Barney, 2008). In the case of distributor agreements (nonequity alliance), the producers often evaluate the threats of the alliance using a framework of risk. The risk based approach has particularly been adopted in the financial services contracting in countries like Brazil and Mexico. (C. G. A. P, 2006) Hesterly (2008) has highlighted four issues of concern to forming strategic alliances: consumer protection, legal / regulatory implications, competitive networks, Reputational and operational risks.In addition, an organization needs to have an overall business strategy that is open to strategic linkages with other entities. Lyman (2009) has brought these threats into perspective while studying the branchless banking model in Brazil, Kenya and the Philippines. 2. 1. 4. 1 Consumer Protection And Resolution Of Grievances According to Lyman (2009), any of the foreg oing categories of risk triggers consumer protection concerns if the resulting loss falls on customers. Use of retail agents may also increase the risk that customers will be unable to understand their rights and press claims when aggrieved.Customers are protected against fraud by laws and regulations in the countries studied. But it is not always clear to customers how they will be protected against fraud when they use retail agents to conduct financial transactions. 2. 1. 4. 2 Legal / Regulatory Risks Since industry regulators have had little experience with agent banking models and are still adjusting existing rules to address them (or had yet to begin this process), some level of legal and regulatory uncertainty and ambiguity for both the banks and nonbanks (and to a lesser extent also for retail agents) has remained.Once a model becomes widely used in a country, these uncertainties and ambiguities could take on a systemic dimension if, for example, several banks with significan t operations conducted through retail agents suddenly face an unfavorable interpretation that challenges their authority to transact business through retail agents or the enforceability of related legal agreements (Lyman, 2009) 2. 1. 4. 3 Operational Risk Operational risk refers to potential losses resulting from â€Å"inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events. For banks and nonbanks that use retail agents and rely on electronic communications to settle transactions, a variety of potential operational risks arise. For example, customers or retail agents could commit fraud, or a bank’s equipment or other property could be stolen from a retail agent’s premises. Financial loss for banks or nonbanks (and also potentially for customers) can also occur from data leaks or data loss from hacker attacks, inadequate physical or electronic security, or poor backup systems (Lyman, 2009). 2. 1. 4. 4 Reputation Risk When retail agents under perform or are robbed, banks’ public image may suffer.Many operational risks mentioned (such as the loss of customer records or the leakage of confidential customer data) also can cause reputational risk, as can liquidity shortfalls in the retail agent’s cash drawer. Moreover, reputation risk can spread from one bank or nonbank to another and take on systemic dimensions (Lyman, 2009) 2. 1. 4. 5 Liquidity Risk Retail agents, especially those that are relatively small, unsophisticated, and remote, may not have enough cash to meet customers’ requests for withdrawals and may lack experience in the more complex liquidity management required for offering financial services.To manage liquidity effectively, retail agents must balance several variables, including turnover of cash, ease of access to the retail agent’s bank account, and processing time of transactions, among others (C. G. A. P, 2008). 2. 1. 4. 6 Business Strategy Although most can agree that a firm ’s ability to survive and prosper depends on choosing and implementing a good strategy, there is less agreement about what constitutes a good strategy (Barney, 2008). According to Aaker (1998), t is usually very difficult to predict how competition in an industry will evolve, and so it is rarely possible to know for sure that a firm is choosing the right strategy and this is why a firm’s strategy is almost always a theory. However, this theory sets the tone at which competition evolution is handled in the future. For a firm to make the choice of making strategic alliances, the overall business strategy must be open to the formation of strategic linkages with other entities.This fact has been acknowledged by the Central Bank of Kenya which has directed that for any commercial bank to be allowed to offer services through third party agents, it must have an elaborate business strategy on agent banking (CBK guidelines on Agent Banking, 2010). In summary, the classification of threats in agent banking models as given by Lyman (2009) appears to be widely accepted by industry players as the framework was drawn from case studies done in the banking industry in the pioneering countries.However, the framework fails to suggest possible avenues of avoiding or at least neutralizing these threats to be used as a guideline by financial institutions which are interested in agent banking models. More research is indeed required to meet this gap if agency banking is to be the new frontier of increasing financial inclusion. 2. 2 Empirical Review The concept of agent banking has only taken momentum in the twenty first century, with Brazil being a success story of branch-less banking. Other countries where the banking approach has been implemented are South Africa, India, Mexico, Kenya and the Philippines.In Kenya, the idea of agent banking evolved from the innovations of the mobile telecommunications company, Safaricom Ltd, with its innovative and transformative mon ey transfer service, ‘M-PESA’. In 2009, the Banking Act was amended to allow commercial banks use agents in their outreach to extend the formal financial services access frontier. Three organizations have been instrumental in studying agent banking models and their contribution to the universal goal of raising financial inclusion among the poor. These organizations are F. S.D/K (Financial Sector Deepening, Kenya), C. B. K (Central Bank of Kenya) and C. G. A. P (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor). In an effort to promote financial access by the majority of Kenyans, the Central Bank and the banking sector continued with initiatives to put in place a credit information sharing mechanism which would enable individuals to use their information capital as â€Å"collateral† to access bank services. Further, the amendment of the Banking Act to permit banks to use agents in their outreach would also extend the formal financial services access frontier.In 2009, banks p ursued revenue growth strategies based on their ability to acquire new customers and cross-selling more products and services to existing customers by leveraging on technology (C. B. K, 2010). In a growing number of countries, banks and other financial service providers are finding new ways to make money and deliver financial services to unbanked people (C. G. A. P, 2009). Rather than using bank branches and their own field officers, they offer banking and payment services through third parties.For many poor customers, it would be the first time they have access to any formal financial services—and formal services were usually significantly safer and cheaper than informal alternatives. Two models of branchless banking through retail agents have emerged: one led by banks, the other by non-bank commercial actors (Lyman, 2009). Both use information and communication technologies, such as cell phones, debit and prepaid cards, and card readers to transmit transaction details from the retail agent or customer to the bank (C. G. A. P, 2009).For example, customers of Caixa Economica Federal, a Brazilian state-owned bank, could open and deposit money in a current account, make person-to-person transfers, and get loans—all using simple bankcards and card readers at over 12,000 lottery outlets, supermarkets, and even butcher shops (Lyman, 2009). In Kenya Customers could use their phone to send and receive â€Å"M-PESA,† make payments to other people and shops, and store money for future use (F. S. D/K, 2010). Branchless banking through retail agents appeals to policymakers and regulators because it has the potential to extend financial services to unbanked and marginalized communities.But it also challenges them to ask: What are the risks of these new approaches, and are they different from those of conventional branch-based banking? How should banks respond to these risks (C. G. A. P, 2009) F. S. D/Kenya and C. G. A. P have done immense research and advocacy on agent banking. Agency banking can be understood by examining the experience of five pioneering countries— Brazil, India, South Africa, the Philippines, and Kenya—where agent-assisted branchless banking that targets poor customers is already a reality (Kumar, 2009).Branchless banking represents a new distribution channel that allows financial institutions and other commercial actors to offer financial services outside traditional bank premises. Lyman (2009) has outlined two models of agent banking. One model of branchless banking—for example, Internet banking and automatic teller machines (ATMs)—can be seen as modest extensions of conventional branch-based banking. Other models offer a distinct alternative to conventional branch-based banking in that customers conduct financial transactions at a whole range of retail agents instead of at bank branches or through bank employees (C. G. A.P, 2009). This concept has introduced new risks and other regulatory issues in the industry. For regulators, the task is not to try to eliminate these risks, but to balance them appropriately with the benefits of branchless banking—including expanded outreach of financial services. Of the countries so far studied, Kenya may best reflect the situation of most developing and transition countries (F. S. D Kenya, 2010). Policymakers and regulators have greeted branchless banking with a mixture of great enthusiasm for its potential to expand access and real concern about new risks for vulnerable customers and the financial system.The case for accepting bank agents in Kenya has already been accepted by policy makers and regulators in Kenya; the question is how to regulate and supervise this (FSD Kenya. 2010). In addition, it is left to the individual banks to decide whether they will use the model to meet their strategic objectives. The Central Bank of Kenya has indeed placed a requirement for an elaborate business strategy on agent banki ng before any approval is given for agent networks. Section 2. 3. 2. f CBK guidelines on agent banking approval requires the applying institution to have a delivery channel strategy and how agents fit in the strategy, feasibility study of the global view of future operations and development of the agent business for a minimum period of three years and a business strategy for agent banking (C. B. K, 2010). According to FSD-Kenya, key issues to be considered are: review of agent licensing requirements, risk management, and need for consumer protection arrangements covering agents.These issues are likely to be of major concern to commercial banks and may indeed hamper the implementation of agent banking. The threats associated with agent banking have not gone unnoticed. Indeed most commercial banks are taking a rather conservative position regarding the implementation of agent banking model. Like F. S. D/K, C. G. A. P (2009), has identified three issues that agent banking, as a strateg ic alliance orientation, poses to both the regulator and the market players: reputational and operational risks, consumer protection, regulatory framework and business strategies at the institutional level. On its part, C. B.K has alluded that any bank wishing to operate through agents must have an elaborate business strategy on agent banking before any approval is given. 2. 3. 1 Conceptual Framework [pic] Independent Variables Dependent Variable Figure 2. 1: Conceptual framework Source: (Author, 2010) 2. 3. 2. Operational Framework: [pic] Dependent variable Independent variables Parameters Figure 2. 2: Operational framework Source: (Author, 2010) Chapter Three Research Methodology 3. 0 Introduction This chapter presents the methodology that will be used to carry out this study.Research methodology is defined as an operational framework within which the facts are placed so that their meaning may be seen more clearly. The task that follows the definition of the research problem is th e preparation of the design. The methodology of this research includes the research design, population to be studied and sampling strategy, the data collection process, the instruments to be used for gathering data, and how data will be analyzed and presented. 3. 1 Research Design In this study a survey design will be used. This research problem can best be studied through the use of a survey.This method portrays an accurate profile of persons, events, or situations. Surveys allow the collection of large amount of data from a sizable population in a highly economical way. It allows one to collect quantitative data, which can be analyzed quantitatively using descriptive and/or inferential statistics. 3. 2 Population The population of study will consist of 46 commercial banks in Kenya. Target population in statistics is the specific population about which information is desired. A population is a well defined set of people, services, elements, and events, group of things or households that are being investigated.This definition ensures that population of interest is homogeneous. Population studies, also called census are more representative because everyone has equal chance to be included in the final sample that is drawn. The target population of this study will be all the 46 commercial banks in Kenya registered under the banking act. The study will focus on the headquarters of the banks, especially risk, marketing, strategy and retail divisions since they are the most conversant with the strategic directions of the banks in regard to the subject of the study. Table 3. 1 Target Population Class |Net Assets |Population |Percentage % | | |(‘000,000’ KES) |(Frequency) | | |Large Banks |> 15,000 |19 |42 | |Medium Banks |5,000 – 14,999 |14 |32 | |Small Banks |< 5,000 |12 |26 | |Total | |45 |100 | Source: (C. B. K, 2010) 3. 3 Sample size The sample size in this study will consist of 12 commercial banks in Kenya. The researcher will involve the mar keting managers, retail banking managers, and risk/compliance managers (preferably two managers from each of the mentioned functional areas) from each bank.This means that the total respondents in this study will be 72 in number. 3. 4 Sampling technique The researcher will use stratified random sampling to select 12 commercial banks out of 46 banks. The researcher will in this case consider all the commercial banks and choose 12 of them in a manner that will make the sample a true representative of the population. The population will be stratified into three categories according to the market shares and in line with the CBK classification of financial institutions. In each class, the researcher will select a random sample so that each item in the population has the same probability of being selected as part of the sample as any other item. Table 3. 2: Sample size Classes |Respondents |Target Population (2/Bank)|Sample size (2 |percentage | | | | |respondents * 4 | | | | | |banks per class) | | |Large |Marketing/strategy Managers |38 |8 |21% | | |Retail-Banking Managers |38 |8 |21% | | |Risk/Compliance managers |38 |8 |21% | |Medium |Marketing/strategy Managers |28 |8 |28% | | |Retail-Banking Managers |28 |8 |28% | | |Risk/Compliance managers |28 |8 |28% | |Small |Marketing/strategy Managers |24 |8 |33% | | |Retail-Banking Managers |24 |8 |33% | | |Risk/Compliance managers |24 |8 |33% | Source:(Author, 2010. ) 3. 5Instruments. The researcher will use primary data (questionnaires) to carry out the study. The questionnaires will include structured (close-ended) and unstructured (open-ended) questions. The structured questions will be used in an effort to conserve time and money as well as to facilitate in easier analysis as they are in immediate usable form; while the unstructured questions will be used so as to encourage the respondent to give an in-depth and felt response without feeling held back in revealing any information.With unstructured questions, a resp ondent’s response may give an insight to his feelings, background, hidden motivation, interests and decisions and give as much information as possible without holding back. 3. 6 Validity and Reliability The questionnaires to be used are estimated to be reliable as sets of questions measuring a single concept have been groped together, resulting in a high degree of internal consistency. In addition, the instruments will be subjected to a test-retest procedure before being distributed to the main respondents. The variables have been operationalized into parameters that represent issues which are handled on a day to day basis under normal business activities in the industry being studied.Besides, the selected respondents have been drawn from personalities with knowledge, experience and influence on matters forming the subject. This will ensure that the instrument actually measures the true situation, opinions and predictions on agent banking in Kenya. A survey designed will be u sed in this study because of its strength associated with collecting data in a real life situation. In addition, the sampling technique (random stratified) and the proposition of drawing respondents from relevant divisions in the head offices of commercial banks will increase the external validity as the results could be generalized to the entire banking sector in Kenya. 3. Data Collection Data will be collected using the drop and pick method. The method is deemed appropriate as all respondents are expected to be found within a small geographical area, that is, the city of Nairobi. This is coupled by the possibility of face to face interaction with the respondents which is likely to increase the response rate. 3. 8 Data Processing and Analysis Once the completed questionnaires have been received, the raw data will be edited to ensure accuracy, completeness and consistency as well as identifying cases where a respondent may give more than one response in a question that would otherwi se generate a single answer.A codebook of questionnaire items will then be developed and used to enter responses into a computer spreadsheet which would then be imported by S. P. S. S. Data will be analyzed using a multiple regression model. This will enable the researcher to make possible predictions about the study. A multivariate regression model will be applied to determine the relative importance of each of the three variables with respect to the implementation of agent banking by commercial banks in Kenya. The regression model will be as follows: y = ? 0+ ? 1X1 + ? 2X2 + ? 3X3 + ? 4X4 + ? Where: Y = Implementation of agent banking ?0 = Constant Term ?1, ? 2, ? 3, ? 4 = Regression coefficients associated with consumer protection, risk appetite, laws & regulations and restrictive business strategy respectivelyX1= consumer protection X2= risk appetite X3= laws and regulations X4= Restrictive Business strategy. 3. 9 Presentation of Findings The findings will be presented using tab les and charts. Tables will be used to summarize responses for further analysis and facilitate comparison. This will generate quantitative reports through tabulations, percentages, and measures of central tendency. Cooper and Schindler (2003) notes that the use of percentages is important for two reasons; first they simplify data by reducing all the numbers to range between 0 and 100. Second, they translate the data into standard form with a base of 100 for relative comparisons.References Aaker, D. (1998), Strategic Market Management, Chichester, Wiley. Voll 13 pp 14 – 26 Achrol, R. S. and Kotler, P. (1999), â€Å"Marketing in a networked economy†, Journal of Marketing, (special issue). Aliouat, Boualem. (2006). â€Å"Effects of change paradigms on strategic Alliance† Montreal: pp, 26 – 84. Barney, J. B. and Hesterly, W. S. (2008), â€Å"Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage†. New Jersy, Prentice-Hall. Banking in Brazil. † World Bank Working Paper No. 85. Washington, D. C. : World Bank. http://siteresources. worldbank. org/inttopconf3/resources/363980retail0p101official0use0only1. pdf. Bengtsson, Maria & Kock, Soren. (2000). Competition in Business Networks- to cooperate and compete simultaneously†. Industrial Marketing Management Vol. 29 No. 5 pp. 411-426. Elsevier Science. Calori, R. et al. (1989). Strategic Action. Paris: Organisation Editions. Cravens, D. W. (1998), â€Å"Examining the impact of market-based strategy paradigms on marketing strategy†, Journal of Strategic Marketing. Vol. 45 No. 11 pp. 312-367. Central Bank of Kenya. (2009). Banking Supervision Annual Report, 2009: http://www. centralbank. go. ke/downloads/acts_publications/banking supervisionannualreport_2009. pdf Central Bank of Kenya. (2010). Banking Supervision Quarterly Repor, third quartert, 2010http://www. centralbank. go. e/downloads/acts_publications/banking supervisionthirdquarterreport_2010. pdf Central Bank of Kenya. (2010). Guidelines on Agent Banking, 2010 : http://www. centralbank. go. ke/downloads/acts_publications/banking agentbankingguidelines_2010. pdf Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). (2009). Financial Access: Measuring Access to Financial Services around the World. http://www. cgap. org/financialindicators. Davis, S. M. (1984), Managing Corporate Culture, Cambridge, MA Ballinger Publishing Company. Vol. 15 No. 11. Day, G. S. (1990), Market Driven Strategy: Processes for Creating Value, The Free Press, New York, NY. The Free Press. Voll 9 No 2 Doyle, P. 1998), Marketing Management and Strategy, London Prentice-Hall Europe, Hemel Hempstead. Voll. 13 pp 42 – 48 Drew, S. A. W. (2001), â€Å"What really drives a fast company? †, Journal of Management. Vol. 65 No. 79 pp. 651-926. Elsevier Science. Financial Sector Deepening, Kenya. (2010). Regulation and Supervision of Bank Channels: Policy Options for Kenya : http://www. fsdk. com/downloads/acts_publications/ Regula tion and Supervision of Bank Channels,2010. pdf Hax, A. C. and Wilde, D. L. (2001), The Delta Project: Discovering New Sources of Profitability in a Networked Economy, Palgrave, Basingstoke. Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 4-14. Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (1997), Exploring Corporate Strategy,Prentice-Hall Europe, Hemel Hempstead. Vol. 7 No. 6, pp. 343-56. Lyman, Staschen, Kumar, Anjali, Ajai Nair, Adam Parsons, and Eduardo Urdapilleta. 2008. â€Å"Expanding Bank Outreach through Retail Partnerships: Correspondent Mas, Ignacio & Hannah Siedek. (2009). .Banking through networks of agents CGAP Focus Note 47. Ndungu, N. (2010). Banking Supervision Annual Report, CBK Focus Note 2009. Porter, M. (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, The Free Press, New York, NY. Pp 26 – 31 Porter, M. (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, The Free Press, New York, NY. Pp 46 – 53 Slater, S. F. nd Narver, J. C. (1998), â⠂¬Å"Customer-led and market-oriented: let’s not confuse the two†, Strategic Management Journal. Vol. 59, July, pp. 63-74 ———————– Consumer protection Regulatory issues Risk appetite Business strategy Agent Banking Implementation Grievance Handling Information Confidentiality Fraud & employee theft Reputational risk Operational risk Liquidity Risk Agent Registration Agent control & monitoring Conflict resolution Channel strategy Feasibility studies Technical Expertise Consumer Protection Risk Appetite Laws & Regulations Restrictive &'e†#(2CUVCO > business strategy Agent Banking Implementation (Number of banks)

Accident victim interview report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Accident victim interview report - Essay Example Rubinow (1969) states that, â€Å"One has only to think of the peculiar dangers which a structural iron-worker must face daily in the construction of modern skyscrapers† (p.71). The victim clarified that steel bars must be handled by skilled ironworkers. Usually, most of the construction companies make use of safety measures while handling steel bars. For instance, structural ironworkers make use of cranes to lift steel bars. To be specific, co-ordination and mutual understanding among the ironworkers reduce the scope of accidents. The victim’s co-worker pointed out that the victim was in a hurry because he was asked to complete the work within deadline. So, the victim was forced to ignore safety measures and it resulted in the accident. While hoisting a steel bar, one of the cables happened to get loose and the victim’s hand was trapped under the steel bar. The safety officers started rescue work and the victim was transported to the hospital in no time. The doc tor’s diagnosis proved that the victim’s left hand was fractured. The timely rescue measures adopted by the safety officers saved the victim from further injury. The victim was forced to discontinue his work for more than 2 months to deal with the fracture. But the injury was not so severe to keep the victim away from his job for a long time. The company authorities and the doctors provided ample importance to the victim’s treatment because the accident and related issues may weaken the company’s reputation. The doctors pointed out that the fracture is not that much severe and can be cured within 2 months. The victim further added that he feels much better and is expecting an early recovery. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) authorities visited the site, investigated the case, and the company was forced to pay reasonable fine. Besides, the company authorities agreed to provide

Negotiation Skills for Managers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Negotiation Skills for Managers - Research Paper Example 2006, p.3). For example, a sales manager and his clients may have contrasting interests. Clients always like to get the job done as cheaply as possible whereas the manager would like to get that job for a price as higher as possible. A compromise is necessary between the manager and his client in order to protect mutual interests as much as possible and for that purpose negotiation is a must. Since sales is a profession in which negotiation takes place quiet frequently, I decided to interview a car salesman of a Toyota dealership in order to get more awareness about various aspects of business negotiations. This paper is written based on the interview I conducted with that Toyota car salesman. My own perspectives of negotiation In my opinion, various types of negotiations occur every day in our life. However, in business world, negotiation occurs between an organization and its clients, organization and its employees, organization and its suppliers, organization and communities in wh ich it operates. However, negotiations between the sellers and buyers are more common in the business world. The seller wants to sell his product for maximum prices whereas the buyer would like to purchase things for minimum prices. Since these two motives are traveling in opposite directions, negotiation is the only way to settle the issues between the sellers and buyers. In short, better deal is the major motive behind every business negotiation. It is not necessary that all negotiation process may end up in victories or failures. In certain cases, both the parties may sacrifice many of their interests to get the work done. Characteristics of business negotiations As per the opinions of the car salesman I interviewed, negotiations can be classified into two different groups; 1) Negotiations that end up in the victory of one party and the failure of the other party 2) Negotiations that end up in victory to both the parties. He has labeled these negotiations as distributive (win-los e) and integrative (win-win). He has pointed out that a win-win or integrative negotiation is always desirable as both the parties may get some benefits out of the negotiation process. Distributive or win-lose negotiations may end up in the victory of only one party at the expense of the other. I asked him about the type of negotiation usually he undertakes and the reasons for that. He has told me that majority of the times he will go for integrative negotiations and only at the unavoidable circumstances; he will go for the distributive type of bargaining. In his opinion, business concepts are changing rapidly. Business management principles in the past and at present are entirely different. Earlier, sales people concentrated more on selling the goods at any cost. They used all positive and negative tactics to sell the product in the past. In other words, the intentions of a salesman in the past were to conduct only distributive negotiations in which the ultimate winner would be the salesman. As a result of such distributive negotiations, many companies lost their customer base as cheated customers or the losing customers started to look for other options. He has mentioned that as per the modern business principles, retaining of the customers is as important as attracting a new customer and therefore

Hitler Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hitler - Essay Example Hitler at sixteen years old dropped out of school and went to Vienna with the intention of pursuing his dream. However, things did not out on his favour and the school where he was to attend refused to enroll him. He had to fend for himself doing all manner of undesirable jobs so as to survive. During this stay, he developed an interest in politics. His anti-Semitism and discernment of Jews started here (The Jewish Library, 2014). After five, years, Hitler decided to relocate to Munich where he joined the Germany army. His potential of a brave and skillful soldier were quite evident and was promoted through the ranks. He participated in World War I which Germany actually lost the war. There was much causality including him which led him to be admitted in hospital for several months. Devastated by the aftermath of the war he believed to be the person who was going to liberate German from its enemies. After healing, he was sent to spy on groups which seemed to be a threat to the German rule at the time. However, he deserted his mission and imposed himself as the leader of the group he was to spy on. Hitler is one of the best orators of all time; this talent helped him gain popularity among the people. With time, he increased the membership of the group tremendously. His dictatorship began to be visible as he never tolerated any opponents. He had a special force that could teach a lesson those who opposed him an d those that disrupted his meetings (The Jewish Library, 2014). His growing popularity made him attempt to overthrow the government but failed terribly and was sentenced to serve a 5yr jail term. However, the nine months spent in jail taught him important lessons in life about politics. After being released he decided in order to be the leader of Germany he had to gunner enough popularity and influence. His great speeches helped him receive support from the people that felt oppressed by the then regime.

John Stuart Mill and Aristotle's Viewpoints in Their Epistemological Essay - 6

John Stuart Mill and Aristotle's Viewpoints in Their Epistemological and Metaphysical Attitudes - Essay Example The researcher states that Mill and Aristotle have different viewpoints over what constitutes satisfaction in life. In his writings on Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill upholds utility as the ultimate happiness principle. In this sense, an individual should strive towards maximizing one’s pleasure and works towards minimizing pain. Mill, therefore, holds that pleasure and the absence of pain are the ultimate ends in a person’s life. On the other hand, in Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes the ultimate end of life as leaving in virtue and reason. Aristotle argues that happiness is a subjective concept that differs in every person. He refutes honor as concerned with seeking legitimacy among other people. In this sense, honor is not necessarily the legitimacy that it represents. Aristotle argues that a satisfied person must master the intellectual virtue and the moral virtue. Besides, satisfaction demands that a person possesses the ability to use one’s facultie s of reasoning in the appropriate sense. John Stuart Mill and Aristotle disagree over what makes up correct knowledge. Aristotle, in the Organon, developed a method of logic that comprised a system of principles for establishing syllogisms. In this sense, individuals could utilize their intuition to develop logic. Such forms of arguments start with a core premise that precedes a conclusion. On the other hand, Mill, an empiricist, believed that knowledge could only form out of senses. Forming logic depends on observing a system of related instances that bear a premise true. In his System of Logic, Mill created hegemony between deductive thinking and inductive thinking. In deductive thinking, a conclusion leads towards the development of principles that support it. On the other hand, inductive thinking involves drawing a conclusion from clearly stated premises.

Reflection paper of the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape Essay

Reflection paper of the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape - Essay Example Arnie is not your average boy; he is mentally challenged and was not expected to live to see his tenth birthday, let alone his eighteenth, which he surpasses in the film. Arnie is associated with many heights in the film as he is regularly seen dangling from the roof, climbing trees, and of course, his ritual of scaling the water tower. Although Arnie loves the heights, he can not seem to conquer the depths, as he will simply not venture to the basement of the house. â€Å"I don’t want to go down there, Gilbert; Dad’s down there,† thus voicing the repressed fear that no one in the family will, or can put into words. Arnie’s water tower escapades are a source of great aggravation to the police, yet are greeted by the locals with an understanding of occasion and courteous applause when his feet are firmly planted back on the ground. Arnie obtains a fear of water when Gilbert abandons him in the bathtub for the night, and does not over come his apprehension until he flees to Becky after a fight he had with Gilbert. The portrayal of Arnie and his disability in the film is somewhat placid. Although to the viewer he may seem somewhat comically over acted with his gestures, the town’s people appear to accept him into their town as one of them – thus incorporating a sense of understanding of the concept of disability in the film. Due to the environment of Arnie’s residence with his family, this can be seen to affect him in many ways. Firstly, he does in fact appear to have strong underlying relationships with each of the characters in the film.

An Evaluation of Sun Microsystems Consolidated Balance Sheet Essay

An Evaluation of Sun Microsystems Consolidated Balance Sheet - Essay Example On one hand this shows a healthy sign. However the lower profitability has offset the advantage resulting from the reduced debts. This trend indicates that the company will face liquidity problem in the near future if necessary steps are not taken to improve the profitability. The current ratio for the year 2001 is showing an increasing trend. This is due to the increased inventory level the company is holding. When the quick ratios is compared between the years 2000 and 2001 it can be observed that there is a sharp decline in this ratio implying that the short term liquidity position of the company has deteriorated over the year as most of the funds are locked up in inventory. This can also be seen from the reduction in the inventory turnover ratio which has decline from 28.22 in the year 2000 to 17.40 in the year 2001. This means that the company has locked up more liquid funds in inventory which is affecting the liquidity of the company. It is observed that there is a sharp decline in all the profitability ratios. The operating income of the company has declined from 15.22% in the year2000 to 7.18% in the year 2001. This is due to the increase in the cost of sales which is at 55% for the year 2001 (48% for 2000). Further the increase in the expenses like amortization of goodwill and research and development expenses have also contributed to the lower operating and net income. Since the profitability of the company is less during the year 2001 it has resulted in a lower ROA and ROE. The company has issued additional common stock in the year 2001 which has increased the equity and when the lower profitability applied on higher shareholder equity the ROE has shown a sharp decline from 25.37% in the year 2000 to 8.76% in the year 2001. There is no decrease in the long term liabilities of the company in the year 2001. This implies the company has

History of Architecture Editing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of Architecture Editing - Essay Example According to David young and & Young Michiko in their book â€Å"Introduction to Japanese Architecture†, Unlike some Chinese and Western architecture, the Japanese architecture tries to avoid the use of stone unless deemed necessary for specific purposes as noted in the temple of the pagoda and podia foundations. The structural layout includes lintels and posts. The style of building the shrines also contributed to the construction style for domestic and urban architecture characterized by the nature of the building materials and the design of the tower. Buddhism, therefore, cited as a major contributor in the enhancement of Japanese architecture as noted by the building of temples (Young & Young, 2004). Japanese history of architecture went through numerous periods of innovation. The beginning of the 7th century became mostly dominated by wooden structures noted by temples and shrines built by the noblemen. This period in history referred to Nara and Asuka periods of architecture. They were also periods that marked the heightened growth of Japanese art and culture. In the 9th century, referred to as the Heian period was essentially a continuation of the architectural developments in the previous periods. It also marked a period of the beginning of the Chinese influence as one of the formidable architectural forces as Japanese architects of the time traveled and studied Chinese design. Thereafter, wood temples started to spring up in large numbers, together with other styles that were totally new, and yet a reminder of the old order. According to Charles Jencks in his book â€Å"Modern Movements in Architecture†, this era got closely followed by the Muromachi and Kamakura eras that got characterized by simplicity in design. The basic designs were a perfect reflection of the fact that the Japanese had graduated to the leadership of Samurai, the warrior class.

State's Rights v. Federal Supremacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

State's Rights v. Federal Supremacy - Essay Example Thus, the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification was written and passed by the legislature of South Carolina in November 24, 1832. The South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification was enacted in response to the Tariff of 1828 passed by Congress with force and effect in all states. The Southern states felt that the law has favored the northern states which are basically into manufacturing industries over the southern states which are based on agriculture. The State of South Carolina led by Calhoun took the stand and actually passed the nullification ordinance which described the tariff laws as â€Å"acts, purporting to be acts laying duties and imposts on foreign imports, but in reality intended for the protection of domestic manufactures and the giving of bounties to classes and individuals engaged in particular employments, at the expense and to the injury and oppression of other classes and individuals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The South Carolina ordinance thus declared the tariffs laws as un constitutional. It argued that the federal government has â€Å"exceeded its just powers under the constitution†¦ and hath violated the true meaning and intent of the constitution, which provides for equality in imposing the burdens of taxation upon the several States and portions of the confederacy.† Calhoun justified his theory of nullification using the arguments made by Jefferson when he wrote the Kentucky Resolution in 1798 which declared that, â€Å"the several states who formed that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under color of that instrument, is the rightful remedy.† In addition to the power of nullification, Calhoun also added that the state of South Carolina, or every other state for that matter, has the right to secede from the union if the federal government denies its power of nullification and uses m ilitary power to force its federal laws upon the dissenting state. In clear and very specific terms, Calhoun declared that the state of South Carolina and its people â€Å"will not submit to the application of force on the part of the federal government, to reduce this State to obedience.† He declared further that any attempt to coerce the state through military or economic means is â€Å"inconsistent with the longer continuance of South Carolina in the Union.† The South Carolina Ordinance may have borrowed some ideas from the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions. All three documents reminded the federal government as to where its powers come from and that these power-givers will never just sit in the sideline when these powers are abused and misused. Likewise, all three legislations strongly promote the individual state’s power to nullify an act of the federal government that are not in accord with the spirit and purpose of the constitution. However, Calhounâ€⠄¢s ordinance differs from Madison and Jefferson’s resolutions because the former did not just stop at declaring an act of Congress as null and void. It went on to declare that if the federal government does not recognize its nullification ordinance and uses force to coerce them into obedience, then the state has the concomitant power to secede from the Union â€Å"and will forthwith proceed to organize a separate government, and do

Public transport Essay Example for Free

Public transport Essay Public transport can be described as a shared service of passenger transportation readily available for public use. Modes of public transport in many modern cities include trains and trams, buses, trolley buses, ferries and rapid transit. Public transport is necessary to economic and social development, with easy movement of people, goods and services. Increased number of motor vehicles in the modern cities carries both economic and social costs evidenced by increased air pollution. Air of poor quality can serious affect the health of the public and can result to premature deaths. Public transport is said to be the key of reducing air pollution in the urban cities in the following ways: reduced emission of carbon monoxide, reduced emission of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emission, reduced emission of the volatile organic compounds and minimized fossil fuel consumption. Studies have shown that private vehicles, which are mainly petrol-powered, emit carbon monoxide, lead, benzene and lead which are detrimental to the air in our cities (European Environment Agency 2010). Still, due to the large number of this private vehicles, they are bound to emit this pollutants in high amounts compared to public transport. It is clear that, in order to reduce the air pollution and especially the concentration of carbon monoxide in our cities, there is need for people to rely much on public transport rather than the private vehicles. Nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emitted on the environment. Study conducted by the American enterprise institute and Brookings institution in 2002 showed out that the quantity of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emitted by the private vehicles was about double the amount emitted by the public transport for every mile traveled by a passenger (European Environment Agency 2010). Use of public transport can reduce carbon footprint of an individual. Another study in the year 2005 showed that the use of public means rather than the private means could have reduced the carbon dioxide emission in the United States by 3. 9 million of metric tones. So it is much possible that, reducing air pollution in our cities can be achieved by depending more on the public transport. On other organic volatile compounds, the same study showed that the private vehicles could emit 92 percent more organic volatile compounds than the public vehicles as compared to mile traveled by each passenger. Efforts of reducing air pollution in our cities should focus on how to minimize usage of private vehicles in transport and also encourage use of the public means in transport. The same studies by the same two institutes showed out that in United States, public transport only used half of the fuel which was required to fuel the private vehicles. The more fossil fuel is used, the more emission of pollutant air is likely to emit in the environment, so in order to reduce the air pollution in our cities, there is need to encourage use of public transport. Public transport is very vital in our cities especially in achieving the global war on reducing air pollution which can result to global warming. Efforts need to be put in place to ensure that people use much the public means in most of their traveling because it will reduce air pollution in our cities as well as reducing the urban congestion of vehicles and also reduce the overdependence of energy imports. Bibliography European Environment Agency, 2010, Sources of Air pollution, Viewed July 27, 2010 http://www. eea. europa. eu/publications/2599XXX/page010. html

The Kill Of Stephen Lawrence Sociology Essay

The Kill Of Stephen Lawrence Sociology Essay Although the killing of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was one of the few racist murders in British history to result in extensive media coverage, a public investigation and a change in the law, the reporting of black crime in the United Kingdom has remained subject to distortion and moral panic, especially in the conservative tabloid press. Since Lawrence and his family were portrayed as aspiring members of the middle class, the media in general did not really regard him as part of black culture at all, at least as the media has defined it over the last thirty years: guns, drugs, gangs, street crime, poverty and school drop outs (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 263). Therefore, despite much sound and fury, there is no evidence that Lawrences murder and its aftermath led to fundamental change in the systematic racism of the British media, and other institutions such as the police and education system. Nor is there evidence that the racist ideology that is used towards blacks, immigrants, Mus lims and asylum-seekers has disappeared as a resultfar from it. This dissertation will consider the definition of racism as socially and historically constructed, and part of the institutions and ideology of society, and then examine how it has applied to the treatment blacks and other ethnic minorities in the UK since the 1940s, focusing on the Lawrence case and its aftermath. Finally, it will consider whether racism in the media has gradually been transferred to other targets in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and July 2005, with less emphasis on street crime, gangs, drugs and the crack wars of the 1970s-90s. This does not mean that young black males are no longer the target of racist stereotyping in the media, since as late as 2007 even a committee of the House of Commons agreed that they still were, only that racist impulses and ideologies seem to go through phases in which certain targets receive more attention than others (House of Commons, 2007) CHAPTER 1.1: WHY THIS TOPIC IS INTERESTING TO ME This topic first came to my attention several months ago during the summer, when it seemed that everyday young people were being killed by young males carrying knives. At the time the newspapers that covered these stories made it seem that it was only young black males that carried knives and the problem that the police had to deal with was not that of a few individuals who were carrying and using knives but that of a wider more prevalent issue with black culture. At the time of reading these stories I found it quite strange that over time the underlying story seemed to be the same but the details had changed. For example, I remember not too long ago, it was young black males that were most likely to mug you, it was young black males dealing drugs on estates and young black males being involved in gang shooting (McLaughlin and Murji,2001, p 265). These acts seemed to, in my opinion come in waves. Due to reports like these, the general public is of the assumption that young black males are very dangerous individuals and should be feared (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 265). I wanted to find out whether the newspapers and the media in general were justified in their approach on reporting black crime or whether they are scare-mongering for the sake of sales. CHAPTER 1.2: AIMS As stated above, the main aim of this dissertation would be to see if in fact the general media are in fact correct in the way in which they report crime or do they fuel public panic, and in turn fuel racism. I would like to find out whether the media is helping or hindering the general publics understanding of black people. Also, I hope that my research will enable me to answer questions on the way media is used and misused. In addition to that, I would like to find out whether the events that took place that lend to Stephen Lawrences murder was a turning point in the way that journalist conduct their articles and if after the Macpherson report has anything changed. Lastly I would like to find out if I am right in my assumption that the way in which the media (especially the tabloid press) have place black people on the back burner for the time being, and are concentrating on other ethnic minorities, such as Asian etc. CHAPTER1.3: POSTMODERNIST THEORY ON RACISM The term postmodernism is generally over used, as just about everything has a postmodern twist to it. For example the term postmodern can be used to describe music, art, architecture, film etc, but as well as all these, it is a sociological school of thought. According to Giddens postmodernism is the belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no grand narrative guiding its development (Giddens, 2006, p1029). According to the postmodernist Ramon Flecha, racism is described as describes a condition wherein racial and ethnic differences become incommensurable and subjects fail to address the important issue of inequality in the face of difference (Gillborn and Ladson-Billings, 2004, p123). When one takes a closer look at history, one will realize that there is a major paradox in European imperialism. As colonisers, one of their goals was to disseminate their culture in their colonies. However, Singh believes that European cultural imperialism was dedicated to denying the colonised subject any identity other than one which that renders him/her a non-person (Singh, 2006, p 7). This cultural invasion happens when the invaders impose their own beliefs and views on another group and make them inferior by suppressing their creativity and expression (Freire, 1970, p 151). Colonisers have propagated their culture among their colonies but many of them still emphasized the importance of drawing a lin e between them and their colony. They regard their culture as superior to that of their colonies. It is this difference where postmodernist beliefs of racism are founded upon. In Murphy and Choi, it is defined as a myriad of practices that are designed to subjugate a large segment of the population (Murphy and Choi, 1997, p3). In postmodernist belief, differences are recognized just as long as each racial group acts according to their race. Postmodernism racism puts more emphasis on the segregation rather than the hierarchy. With respect to the racism that existed fifty or a hundred years ago, postmodern racism recognizes multiculturalism and diversity. Old theories on racism were centred more on hierarchy and which race was more superior to the other. But times of crisis and uncertainty over the course of social and economic change have often proved to be the periods in which new racist ideas and movements have emerged and provided basis for social mobilisation and exclusion (Solomos and Back, 1996, p 211). So therefore over the past 50 years it is clear to see that anytime the re was an incident of economic, social or health related down turns, ethnic minorities have been have been thrust into the limelight, in a way that could be described as negative. In the 70s and 80s it was black men who were a social menace, then in the 90s refugees from the former Yugoslavia were blamed for the lack of public housing and any subsequent rises in welfare benefits. Now in the 00s, with the west waging a war against terror people of Asian descent are now referred to as terrorist. However, postmodern racism is not any different from the old racist beliefs. According to Leonardo, postmodern racism simply assumes the guise of tolerance only to be usurped by relativism, a proliferation of differences rather than a levelling of power relations (Leonardo, 2009, p216). It was stated earlier that times of crisis have prompted racist ideas to change but they have only changed in theory. Reality states that they have essentially remained the same, crimes motivated by racist beliefs have proven that up to the present, racial supremacy still lingers in peoples minds. Lawrences murder is one of the few racially-motivated crimes that have been publicized. But it required a careful effort from the media to publicize his death. His economic background, for instance, was taken into consideration. Other black victims of racially-motivated crimes, for instance, do not receive sufficient publicity because the journalists thought that their image as a vagrant would not illicit a sympathetic response from the public (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 276). Stephen Lawrence was the opposite because he came from a middle class family and his family was not, as stereotypes would say, the typical black family everyone feared. The discrepancy between the medias treatment of Stephen Lawrence and Duwayne Brooks respective murders will easily reveal how media still holds racist beliefs. Moreover, it goes to show that media is sensitive to the fact that the general populace is still governed by old racist beliefs that there are certain races that are superior to the other. Postmodern racism, then, does not completely hold true and it may only be a sugar-coated version of the old-fashioned 19th century racism. CHAPTER 1.4: STRUCTURE Firstly I will be looking in to the methodology that is to be used in this dissertation as well as any ethically issues that may arise from doing research and writing up my dissertation. In chapter 3, I will be looking at the background history of black people in the United Kingdom and the media. In chapter 4, I will be looking in depth at the Stephen Lawrence case and asking whether Lawrence was a turning point in media reporting and the publics perception of young black males in general. I will then be covering in chapter 4.1, when the media circus surrounding Lawrence died down whether the media returned to their old ways of racially biased reporting or did the Macpherson report make a difference in the institution that in the media world. Finally in chapter 5, I will conclude and make any recommendations that are fitting. After this the references will follow. CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY This dissertation is a library based dissertation so therefore it uses secondary research as I feel primary research would not be suitable for this dissertation. I will be concentrating on collecting all my information from books, journals and publications that focusing on media reporting of the Stephen Lawrence case, history of black people in the UK and post Stephen Lawrence. CHAPTER 2.1: ETHICAL ISSUES Racism is a delicate issue and if the research is not conducted properly, the outcome could possibly be dangerous to all parties involved in the research, whether they are a minority ethnic group or not. It is therefore important that I must be sensitive towards the needs and safety of those who would likely to be involve in the study (Babbie, 2008, p 440). As this essay will be library based researched I must make sure that whilst conducting the research and evaluating my findings, I am as transparent as possible. I must also make sure that throughout the research and evaluation process I am aware of the studys objectivities and other significant details, therefore reducing any clear bias, which in turn would allow my work to be clear and objective. Also, I must make sure that whenever I quote anything it must be written in context and that I dont plagiarise. To make sure this doesnt happen I will make sure that all my references are correctly stated. And finally I will make sure t hat if during my research I find articles that disagree with any statements I have made are noted not ignored. CHAPTER 3: RACISM IN GREAT BRITAIN: THE MEDIA AND BLACK BRITISH HISTORY For the British media, especially the conservative, mass market tabloids, blacks have been defined by images of black crime for decades, especially as the economy began to decline in the 1970s as unemployment, poverty and social pathology increased in the declining industrial cities. If black crime has always been defined as a social problem in the media, racist attacks by whites against minorities almost never was before the Stephen Lawrence Family Campaign (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 263). From a purely capitalist view as well, crime reports are among the most headline-catching of news commodities and media everywhere in the world follow the somewhat cynical principle of if it bleeds, it leads. Crime journalists almost invariably take their cue from the police as experts on the subject and also depend of police contacts for their very livelihoods, providing them a routine and predictable source of newsworthy stories. Naturally, crime journalists never want to alienate that sourc e and end up left out in the cold, for the economics of the news business is a particularly raw, competitive form of capitalism (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 264). Van Dijk studied 2,755 headlines in the British press in 1985-86 from The Times, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Mail and Sun, and found that except for The Guardian, almost all the reporting about blacks and other minorities was seldom positive, occasionally neutral, and often negative (Van Dijk, 1991, p52). After the major shift in both fictional and news coverage of crime in the 1960s and 1970s, there were increasing complaints from the elderly, minorities and young people in general about how they were depicted. Elderly citizens were shown as muggable and disempowered, while the young and minorities felt like they were continually portrayed as dangerous youth, potential perpetrators of crime, and thus welcomed films and news stories with a civil rights focus and the questioning of police authority. On the other hand, young women were more aware of their possible victim status, particularly their vulnerability to male violence, and so welcomed coverage of such crimes, which had been mostly ignored before the 1960s (Reiner et al, 2000, p 120). In general, the cultural shift of the 1960s and 1970s has not been reversed in films and news accounts in the more conservative era of the 1980s and 1990s: there is still far more depiction of sex, drugs, violence, corrupt and tarnished authority figures than before 1965, and also an increasing tendency toward more anarchic and nihilistic violence or a Hobbesian war of all against all, mixed occasionally with more reactionary and nostalgic themes. Overall, the post-1960s media and film culture has remained less deferential and more de-subordinate and demystified than it was before 1965 (Reiner et al:, 2000, p121-22). For decades the British media portrayed Britain as a white society with a minority and immigration problem. Accordingly, the coloured population is seen as some kind of aberration, a problem, or just an oddity. One of the most popular BBC television programmes in 1958-78 was The Black and White Minstrel Show, supposedly set in the Deep South of the U.S., featuring actors blacked up. As late as 1998, only 2% of journalists in England and Wales were Arab, Asian or black even though these minorities made up 5.26% of the population, and the media often remained blind to ethnic minorities (Wilson et al, 2003, p 21). According to the British Social Attitudes Survey of 2003, 31% of white admitted to being racist, about the same percentage as 1987, and many people also practised aversion racism in which they believed intellectually in equality but at the same time felt aversion toward minorities with negative stereotypes, and thus avoided interaction with them if possible (Crisp and Turner, 2007, p 162-65). In the media, blacks became synonymous with drugs, gangs and street crime, and misleading police statistics asserted that young black males were the majority of street criminals, generally unemployed and on welfare. Equally untrue in the standard media portrayal, their victims were often white, female and elderly (McLaughlin and Murji:, 2001, p265). Abercrombie and Warde agree that a conception of the black community as particularly crime-prone took hold in the 1970s in press treatments of attacks on and thefts from, innocent people in the streets. In 1983 The Sun actually ran a headline Black Crime Shock and stated falsely that blacks carried twice as many muggings as white sin London last year (Webster, 2006, p 32). In general, the media conveyed the image that the attackers were predominantly black and the victims predominantly white, no matter that there was no evidence for this. Just the opposite, the British Crime Survey of 1988 and 1992 showed conclusively that ethnic minoriti es are much more likely, in fact, to be the victims of crime than white people, and these crimes are under-reported because it is believed the police will not be interested and will not follow up a complaint. According to a 1981 Home Office report, victimization rates for Asians were 50 times, and for blacks 36 times, higher than for white people, but the media treated this information like it did not exist and almost never reported the extent and seriousness of racially motivated attacks on black communities (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 268-69). Nevertheless, into the 1990s, young black males continued to be profiled and targeted for stop and search policing, especially in high crime areas. Studies of police attitudes found that they generally regarded blacks as trouble-makers, drug dealers, robbers and nothing else (Abercrombie and Warde, 2000, p258-59). This moral panic against crime in the streets was also fuelled by Conservative politicians, particularly in the Winter of Discontent against the Labour government in 1979. In the Thatcher years, the Tories presided over an era of high unemployment and increasing poverty at the bottom end of the social scale, and knew that they could divert attention by promoting a law and order discourse that put the blame on the most socially and economically depressed sections of the community (Holohan, 2005, p 104). In Britain, as in the U.S. and many other countries from the 1970s to the 1990s, conservative and right-wing populist ideologies reflected a broadly right-wing consensus which, in many news channels (especially the tabloid press)justified as encapsulating the British way of life. This law and order consensus supported more police, more prisons and a tougher criminal justice system, particularly in response to the youth and minority rebellions of the 1960s and 1970sand indeed, as part o f a white backlash against these (Jewkes 2004, p58). For over twenty years, conservative populist punitiveness represented the main attitude of the British government to crime, poverty and the social problems associated with them, and there was no major opposition to imprisoning larger numbers of youth and younger ages, to prosecuting them as adults, more curfews, prohibition of unauthorized gatherings of young people, as well as harsher measures against immigrants, protesters, demonstrators, the homeless and young unemployed, particularly if any of the above were from minority groups. Newspapers like The Sun and Daily Mail have always had a vigorous intolerance towards anyone of anything that transgresses an essentially conservative agenda (Jewkes, 2004, p 59). Socially, economically and culturally, this era was a throwback to the late-Victorian period at the end of the 19th Century. A 1992 book Beneath the Surface: Racial Harassment described a detailed study of racism in the London borough of Waltham Forest in 1981-89. It found that racial harassment was a fact of life there, including verbal and physical abuse, graffiti and fire bombings of houses of ethnic minorities. In July 1981 a Pakistani woman and her three children died in one of these attacks when petrol was sprayed into their house and set alight. The police did not seem interested in any of these crimes, and were even suspicious of the minorities who reported them. In 1998, The Observer reported that little has changed in the years since and described how one Muslim man was regularly threatened with stones, guns, knives, fire-bombs and death threats over a seven-year period. In 1992-94 alone, there were at least 45 deaths in Britain from what are believed to be racially motivated attacks, but none of them received nearly the same publicity as the Lawrence case (Abercrombie and Warde, 2000, p 260-62) . After the riots of 1980-81, Lord Scarmans report emphasized the role of racial discrimination and acknowledged that there was a problem of racially discriminatory policing, as was still the case twelve years later in the Lawrence case. After the report came out, the police gave off-the-record interviews to the effect that London was experiencing a dramatic increase in muggings (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p266). Jamaican immigrants had begun to arrive in the UK in 1948, although even the Labour government of that era preferred white European immigrants if it could find them, even if they could not speak English and understood little about Britain. Indeed, government officials went out of their way to discourage immigration from Africa, Asia and the West Indies, which was not unusual at the time, given the whites-only immigration policies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States that had been in place for decadesand did not change in the U.S. until 1965. The British government even tried to divert a ship carrying 492 Jamaicans to East Africa in 1948. Given the shortage of white immigrants, Britain had no alternative except to obtain most of its cheap labour supply from its colonies, semi-colonies and former colonies in Asia, Africa and the West Indies, although with much bad will on both the governmental level and in (white) public opinion (Skelton, 1999). Blacks had been in Britain long before this wave of immigration, of course, but it seems to have made little impact on historical memory or popular consciousness. Britain had slavery during the 17th and 18th Centuries at least until Lord Mansfield abolished it in 1772. To be sure, only 10-20,000 slaves had lived in the country during any given year compared to millions in Brazil, the United States and West Indies and the number of free blacks was never large (Segal, 1996). Prior to the post-1945 immigration, few whites in Britain would have ever encountered many blacks at home, except of course for American soldiers in World War II. At that time, however, many white Americans were actually surprised to find that the British press was generally sympathetic to blacks whenever racial conflicts, brawls and other incidents took place on British soil (Katznelson, 2001). Jamaicans were the largest group to arrive in Britain from the West Indies during this unwelcome ingathering from the colonies. While the majority of White British were antagonistic to all those from the Caribbean, it can be said that the deepest resentment was toward the Jamaicans (Skelton, 1999, p 232). Initially, they settled in Lambeth, Brixton, Clapham and Camberwell in South London, which was considered ideal for blacks and other minorities since it had suffered extensive bomb damage and was full of vacant, old and dilapidated Victorian houses. In other worlds, it was an instant, ready-made ghetto. Black immigrants were crowded into these run-down houses, charged unreasonably high rents, and/or faced housing discrimination. They only got the jobs that British workers would not take and called slave labour or shit work, and often could not even get that. Like many such ghettos in the past, theft, fencing of stolen merchandise, prostitution and drug dealing were commonwith many s hops offering illegal goods and services under the counter to supplement their incomes and others acting as fronts for gangs and organized crime. In short, like similar ghettos in the U.S. and many other countries, it had a large informal or underground economy which existed in tandem with the mainstream economy and societyalthough minority young people were mostly cut off and alienated from this (Sanders, 2000, p 33). Mainstream media reported the crime but not the historical, social and economic context of this ghetto society. From the start, the police and media associated young Jamaican males with street crime, which became an idea so pervasive and powerful that soon everyone who saw a young Black man on the street was convinced they were about to be robbed (Skelton, 1999, p 232). In the 1970s, it was not uncommon to see young Black men being taken to the side of public pavements and being forced to empty their pockets by two of three police officers at a time (Skelton, 1999, p 233). Parliament passed sus laws that allowed the police to stop and frisk anyone acting in a suspicious manneran early example of racial profiling, and arresting and harassing suspects from crimes like shopping, walking or driving while Black. In the media, there were virtually no counter-representations of young, black men, while in the civil disturbances of the 1980s and 1990s it ran the most sensationalistic stories claiming that Britain was becoming a riot-torn society (Skelton, 1999, p 234) caused by an alien disease and ang ry young blacks who did not share the values of law-abiding society (Skelton, 1999, p 234). Certain geographical areas like Brixton in London, Toxteth in Liverpool and Handsworth in Birmingham were racialised in the media and always associated with danger, destruction and lawlessness (Skelton, 1999, p 234). CHAPTER 4: THE STEPHEN LAWRENCE CASE: A TURNING POINT? Identifying a sympathetic victim is a well-known strategy of civil rights movements, and one of the best known was Rosa Parks, whose arrest on December 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama was the spark that lit the modern civil rights movement in the United Sates. E.D. Nixon, the head of the Alabama National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and chief organizer of the Montgomery Voters League had been looking for a test case against the segregation laws for quite some time. He knew that it would have to survive legal challenges all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, and for this purpose the right type of victim was essential (Hare, 2005). It was no accident when Rosa Parks, the secretary of the local NAACP and member of Martin Luther Kings church, was arrested as part of the long-planned test case. Jonnie Carr, head of the Montgomery Improvement Association for thirty years, had invited Parks t o join the NAACP and the two women started a friendship that would last a lifetime (Hare, 2005, p 25). Carr, who would later challenge Montgomerys segregated school system I the courts and win the case in the Supreme Court, said that Parks was so quiet that you would never have believed she would get to the point of being arrested (hare,2005, p26), but she did. Once she was committed to this course, she did not look back, and was famous for her quiet courage and determination. She continually received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan during the bus boycott and the legal case, and had to move to Detroit, Michigan in 1957. Even so, she continued to work with Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, helping to organize the March on Washington in 1963 and the election of John Conyers to Congressone of the first blacks elected in the 20th Century (Hare, 2005). Other blacks had been arrested before Parks for refusing to give up their seats, but Nixon, Carr and the other organizers did not regard them as the right kind of victims to generate exactly the right kind of publicity they required, or to stand up to the ordeal that was certain to follow, including the very real possibility of death. On March 2 1955, fifteen-year old Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person, and when she was convicted of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the young straight-A student burst into tears (Hare, 2005, p4). Eighteen-year old Mary Louise Smith was arrested on October 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat as well, but Nixon and his fellow organizers did not believe she was quite right for the campaign, either, because of her age and some issues in her background (Hare: 2005). In Rosa Parks, they found their ideal candidate: a mother, gainfully employed, regular churchgoer, mature and respectable, someone Mart in Luther King could proclaim as one of the finest citizens: of Montgomery (Hare,2005,p 30). She could play the role of innocent victim of injustice very well, and be the wife and mother that a white audience could identify with, even though as a civil rights movement activist and organizer, she knew from the start that she was part of a legal test case and media campaign. To be sure, Stephen Lawrence had never planned to become a victim in this way, but civil rights and anti-racism organizers in Britain knew that they could portray him and his family as respectable, middle class people who were really not so different from the white readership of the Daily Mail, and thus generate the type of media interest and political pressure that racist attacks and murders had almost never received in Britain beforeor since, for that matter. Prior to 1997, the Mail had shown little interest in the Lawrence case and only the announcement of a public inquiry seemed to get its attention. On February 14, 1997, however, it ignored legal and ethical guidelines and controversially printed the names and photographs of the five white suspects, and pronounced them guilty of murder under the blazing headline If We Are Wrong Let Them Sue Us. From 1997-99 it published at least 530 stories on the murder and Macpherson investigation, which some cynics always regarded as a ploy to boost circulation or the result of Stephen Lawrences father Neville once having worked as a plasterer for Paul Dacre, the Mails editor. In an editorial on February 15, 1999, the paper explained that it had thought long and hard before publicly naming the five white men, but this was an extraordinary situation and demanded an extraordinary response (McLaughlin and Murji,2001,p 272-73). Many newspapers covered the Lawrence murder, but the Daily Mails high-profil e campaignset the agenda for the terms of the public debate about whom and what was responsible for the murder. This was unusual and unexpected because never before had a racist murder been so graphically and repeatedly described and condemned by a right-wing newspaper in the United Kingdom (McLaughlin,2005,p 163). In the Stephen Lawrence case, the standard media portrayal of blacks as lazy, criminal and violent was inverted in order to present the victim and his family as clean, drug-free hard-working, educated and middle class, while his five white killers were shown as members of the unemployed underclass, living on welfare in public housing. In this way, the media could uphold the standard narrative of race and class while making Lawrence an exception to the general rule: a good black and an innocent victim. This was not the case for the other young black man attacked with him at the same time, Duwayne Brooks, described as a sort of marginal character perhaps involved with gangs and drugs, unlike Stephen Lawrence, who aspired to become an architect and join the middle class. As for Brooks, journalists