Organization Knowledge Essay

Managing information in today’s growing world is a tedious task. With excessive amount of data coming into systems daily, it has become imperative for knowledge organizers to follow certain guidelines if they are to ensure quick and easy retrievals later on. The purpose of this paper is to explore the different techniques using which knowledge in a public library can be organized. For this purpose, I m assuming that I have been employed by a public library and have been designated the task of organizing their knowledge. Organization of knowledge in a public library is a more delicate task than organization of knowledge at any other school or college library. Fact is that there are a greater number of users in a public library with all sorts of personalities. (ALA/PLA) Students, teachers, retirees, civilians, knowledge-seekers, tourists, etc are some of the different categories of users of a public library. Since all of these categories hold different perceptions as to the organization of knowledge and would expect a different kind of classification, it is important to use standardized organization techniques to address a maximum number of users in an appealing way. Classification of knowledge is a very ambiguous job. There are no pre-defined rules or any set criteria that govern the classification of knowledge. It is to the discretion of the librarian or the manager operating in the situation to decide by them the way of organizing their knowledge. Given the task of organizing knowledge at the public library I would begin by classifying and sorting out the different books according to the subject material they deal with. For example, books on art, literature, politics, religion, music and science can all be identified into separate groups and thus can easily be sorted. This would be the preliminary and perhaps one of the most critical steps in the entire process. Having effectively carried out a thorough classification during the first process would mean simplification and reduced errors in the oncoming steps. Organization of Knowledge) The next step is to assign labels or bar tags to these bags in an intelligent manner. Books in a library need a unique identification number that comes in hand at the time of borrowing and return. These identification numbers would be distributed on the basis of their category with no discretion within each category. Since new books would be coming into the library every now and then, the identification numbers cannot follow a rule. This is because every time new book comes in, it would require other books’ labels to be re-assigned. This would not only be an impossible task, it would also negate the integrity of the data contained in the library. Therefore, it is far more important to ensure that these books are given intelligent tags identifying their category and a corresponding number so that the identification number is a composite field made up of characters and numbers. After successful grouping or rather preliminary classification of the books in the library, I would no focus on ordering the books within each subset using the alphabetical order. Alphabetical order is a very tricky pattern to follow. There is no way a strict alphabetical order can be followed. Instead the name of the book and the author’s name are both used for alphabetical ordering. For example, a book written by P. Gerrard titled â€Å"On the Economics of War† can be classified under the â€Å"P† category or the â€Å"O† category. However, it depends on the librarian as to what is considered more important for him. I, being employed in a public library, would list this book under the â€Å"P† section due to the fact that the title of the book starts with an insignificant word, in terms of a title. The word â€Å"on† has no significant literary value when expressing a book title. Thus, listing this book under the â€Å"P† category would make life easier when it comes for searching. Similarly, placing the book titled â€Å"In the Eye of the Mist† by Pete K. Moss under the â€Å"I† category would have no intelligence associated with it. Intelligent categorization calls upon this book to be placed under the â€Å"P† category owing to the first name of the author starting with this alphabet making it easier to trace this book around the library. The discretion with which similar groupings will be done depends to a great extent upon the title of the book. Unless the title of the book opens with a relatively rare word or with a noun, the categorization will be done using the name of the author. Although, this may look to b a relatively easy task to perform, it should be noted that often there are several authors of a book or either their name does not start with a single initial. Such cases are often perplexing and it creates the problem of a uniformed strategy to follow. Ensuring uniformity in the organization of knowledge means that there would be fewer chances of not finding a book in the place it was thought to be in. (Organization of Knowledge)It also makes life easy for regular users of a library. Since public libraries serve the general public, there re several reads bound to be using the library on a routine basis. Such users get accustomed to the organization technique used within a library and after a considerable amount of time spent using the library, they themselves become equipped with the knowledge of finding a book easily. Often it has been seen that such people are there helping other naive users around the library when the librarian is not around or perhaps busy with another user. Moving on, since all of the books would by now be organized in their respective categories, it would be no longer confusing as to where a particular book should be placed. (What is Knowledge Organization? ) The next step would be to ensure that these books are all fed into a centralized system along with their shelf numbers. Inputting the identification numbers would be a time-consuming task. Normally libraries have added information about books contained in a database. Inputting such information along with the identification number would mean several days’ hard work. Thus, the general recommendation is to scan the identification numbers on the book along with their location tag. The location tag is like the identification number. It informs the reader as to which shelf this book will probably be placed on. Logically numbering the shelves and then placing the correct shelf tag on the book according to its position would eliminate a great deal of manual input. Scanned data will contain the label of the book and the location. Librarians in their free time can then update their database with additional information about these books. Thus, the final step would be to correctly place these books in the shelves that have been labeled onto them. Incorrect placement of these books will result in wasted activity during the organization of knowledge steps. Thus, it is imperative to ensure that these books are placed back in their respective shelves even after they are returned by an issuer. In conclusion, I would like to assert the fact that knowledge organization is a hefty, yet significant task when it comes to using a library. The books in a library are pretty much arranged in a very logical and orderly manner. It is this fact which makes a library usable and books accessible. Online entries of the locations of books into computers also assist librarians only because they know that the proper place of that book is the one pointed out by the computer. Librarians face a tough task ahead of them when they join public libraries and attempt to organize the knowledge there.

The History Of The Life Cycle Costing Accounting Essay

Capital goods are machines or merchandises that are used by makers to bring forth their end-products or by service organisations to present their services. E.g. power generators, medical equipment used by infirmaries to name and handle patients, trains used by a service organisation such as Virgin Trains to transport clients to their finishs. Capital goods are one of the most of import parts of a company or organisation ‘s assets. They can be used for their useable life to bring forth the merchandises or services for the clients and increase the value. It is the involvement of both the manufacturer/supplier and customer/user to hold a full apprehension of the capital good life rhythm and its associated costs. It is widely believed that there are several life rhythm theoretical accounts in industry to see and most of them are instead similar. Fig. 2.1 shows one general life rhythm theoretical account: Fig. 2.1 A General Life Cycle Model ( Source: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ugs.com/ ) Phase 1 Conceive: The life rhythm starts with the definition of the capital good based on clients ‘ demands. Phase 2 Design: This stage consists of elaborate design and development of the capital good, prototype testing, pilot release and full merchandise launch. It can besides affect redesign and betterment to bing capital good. Phase 3 Realize: Once the design of the capital good is complete the method of fabrication is defined. Phase 4 Service: The concluding stage of the life rhythm involves pull offing of in service information, supplying clients and service applied scientists with support information for fix and care. Finally, there is an end-of-life to the capital good. It needs to be considered whether it is disposal or devastation of stuff. One of the most singular things about life rhythm is that life rhythm procedure is iterative ( Fig. 2.2 ) . It is ever possible that something does n't work good in any stage sufficiency to endorse up into a anterior stage. Fig. 2.2 The loop feature of life rhythm procedure ( Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ugs.com/ ) Another life rhythm theoretical account is developed by Kumar, et Al. ( 2000 ) , which consists of 5 stages ( Fig. 2.3 ) . In the first stage, demands and demands are defined based on feedback from the clients and cognition of proficient possibilities. From the specifications of the capital good major proficient parametric quantities can be defined. Following, the system is wholly designed. After that, multiple units of the system are produced. Then, in the development stage, the capital good/system is used, by and large for extended periods ( 10-40 old ages ) . Finally, the capital good/system is disposed of. Fig. 2.3 Life rhythm of a capital good ( Kumar, et al. , 2000 ) To find the costs associated with the different stages, Life Cycle Costing ( LCC ) analysis can be a really utile tool. 2.2 Life Cycle Costing LCC analysis was foremost introduced and developed by the U.S. Department of Defense in order to minimise the disbursals of their purchased equipment. Nowadays the construct is widely used in both private and public sectors every bit good as in different capital goods industries. In Fig. 2.4 a typical illustration is given on the costs distribution associated with the different stages of the capital good life rhythm. Fig. 2.4 Costs distribution of the capital good life rhythm To be brief, Life Cycle Costing ( LCC ) is a methodological analysis for measuring assets that takes into consideration all costs originating from having, runing, keeping, and disposing of the plus ( Fuller and Peterson, 1996 ) . It is the entire discounted cost of acquisition, operation, care and disposal of an plus or system over a fixed period of clip. The elements of cost will be added together to give the entire cost for each point and a expansive sum for the plus through its life clip on a common footing for the period of involvement. LCC analysis enables determinations on acquisition, care, renovation or disposal of the plus to be made in the visible radiation of full cost deductions. Following are two decompositions of costs from different positions. From the position of clients, they are most interested in the Entire Cost of Ownership ( TCO ) . The Entire Cost of Ownership ( TCO ) is the summing up of the cost of geting and having or change overing an point of stuff, piece of equipment, or service and post-ownership cost, including the disposal of risky and other fabrication waste. It besides includes the cost of lost gross as a consequence of downtime or break of service or stop merchandise. Therefore, under the traditional contract ( without the performance-based logistics or power by the hr contract ) : TCO = C acquisition + C care + C downtime + C disposal ( 2.1 ) Acquisition costs: It is the costs during the first three stages of the capital good life rhythm ( Fig. 2.3 ) , viz. , the initial cost incurred prior to seting the system into service which in many instances is high. It reflected in the gross revenues monetary value for new systems. The remainder of the TCO occurs after the purchase stage. Multiple types of costs arise during the development stage, with care and downtime accounting for the largest proportion. Care costs consist of all the resources needed for care, which may be executed by the client or by the maker or a 3rd party. In any instance, the points that have to be paid for include trim parts, service/maintenance applied scientists, substructure and direction. Downtime costs may dwell of direct costs, such as those caused by a decrease in the end product of a mill, and indirect costs, such as those caused by loss of repute and resulting loss of future grosss. Finally, in the disposal stage, there will be disposal costs. Disposal cost is the cost or addition of acquiring rid of assets after usage. These may be important if systems contain environmentally unfriendly stuffs. In many instances, the disposal costs are low. While in some instances, systems or parts of systems may be refurbished and can be reused, so that disposal may even take to gross alternatively of cost. To give an feeling of how high the costs of a capital good may be after purchase, Fig. 2.5 shows how the TCO of an engineer-to-order system is divided over the acquisition, care and downtime costs ( A-ner et al. , 2007 ) . Fig. 2.5 the TCO of an engineer-to-order system The consequences showed that the sum of down clip costs can account up to 48 % of entire LCC while care cost history for 27 % . For other systems, we may acquire different Numberss, but by and large the tendency is the same: the acquisition costs history for merely a fraction of the TCO. The care and downtime costs accounted for a important proportion. When the clients buy a new system, they are implicitly doing farther investings that are 2-4 times every bit great as the acquisition costs. Therefore, it is of involvement of both original equipment makers ( OEM ) and their clients to minimise the TCO. Another decomposition of costs is given by El-Haram and Horner ( 2003 ) . Harmonizing to their survey, Life rhythm costing is composed of entire acquisition cost, entire installation direction ( operation and support ) costs, and entire disposal cost: CT = C acquisition + C installation direction + C disposal ( 2.2 ) Facility Management Costs: Under LCC analysis, installation direction ( operation and care ) costs are future disbursals which are similar to the care and downtime costs. Facility direction costs may be two to three times higher than acquisition costs. Therefore, there is a demand to plan undertakings that minimizes installation direction costs. 2.3 The Life Cycle Costing Process Life Cycle Costing is a six-staged procedure as show in Fig. 2.6: Fig. 2.6 Life Cycle Costing procedure ( Life Cycle Costing guideline, 2004 )Phase 1 Plan LCC analysisThe Life Cycle Costing procedure begins with the development of a program, which addresses the intent and range of the analysis. The program should: Specify the analysis aims in footings of public presentation required to help direction determinations. Describe the range of the analysis sing the life-time of the capital goods/assets, the operating environment and the care support resources to be employed etc. Identify any implicit in conditions, premises, restrictions and restraints ( such as minimal plus public presentation, handiness demands or maximal capital cost restrictions ) that might curtail the scope of acceptable options to be evaluated. Supply an estimation of resources required and a coverage agenda for the analysis to guarantee that the LCC consequences will be available to back up the decision-making procedure. The program should be documented at the beginning of the Life Cycle Costing procedure to supply a focal point for the remainder of the work. Thus the customers/users can reexamine the program to guarantee their demands have been right interpreted and clearly addressed.Phase 2 Select/develop LCC theoretical accountPhase 2 is the choice or development of a LCC theoretical account that satisfies the aims of the analysis. LCC theoretical account contains footings and factors which enable appraisal of all relevant constituent costs. Before choosing a theoretical account, the intent of the analysis and the information it requires should be identified. The theoretical account should besides be reviewed with regard to the pertinence of all cost elements, empirical relationships, invariables and variables. A figure of available theoretical accounts can be used for LCC analysis. And in some instances it is appropriate to develop a specific theoretical account. In either instance, the LCC theoretical account should: Construct a cost dislocation construction ( CBS ) that identifies all relevant cost classs in all appropriate life rhythm stages. Cost classs should go on to be broken down until a cost can be readily estimated for each person cost component. Identify the cost elements that wo n't hold important impacts on the overall LCC of the capital goods/assets. These elements may be eliminated from farther consideration. Make appropriate premises which should be documented to steer and back up the subsequent stages of the analysis procedure. Choose a method for gauging the cost associated with each cost component to be included in the theoretical account. iˆ Determine the information required to develop the estimations and place beginnings for the informations. Identify uncertainnesss that are likely to be associated with the appraisal of the cost elements. Integrate the single cost elements into a incorporate LCC theoretical account, which provides the LCC consequences required to run into the analysis aims.Phase 3 Apply LCC theoretical accountApplication of the LCC Model involves the undermentioned stairss: Obtain informations and develop cost estimations and their timing for all the basic cost elements in the LCC theoretical account. Identify cost drivers by analyzing LCC theoretical account inputs and end products to find the cost elements that have the most important impact on the LCC of the capital goods/assets. Validate the LCC theoretical account with available historical informations if possible. Summarize and categorise the LCC theoretical account outputs harmonizing to the logical groupings ( e.g. fixed or variable costs, acquisition or ownership costs, direct or indirect costs ) . Conduct sensitiveness analyses to analyze the impact of fluctuations to premises and cost component uncertainnesss on LCC theoretical account consequences. Particular attending should be focused on cost drivers, premises related to plus use and different price reduction rates. Review LCC outputs against the aims defined in the analysis program phase to guarantee that all ends have been fulfilled and that sufficient information has been provided to back up the determination. If the aims are non met, extra ratings and alterations to the LCC theoretical account may be required.Phase 4 Document and reexamine LCC consequencesThe consequences of the LCC analysis ( including all premises ) should be documented to guarantee that the consequences can be verified and readily replicated by another analyst if necessary and let the customers/users to clearly understand both the end products and the deductions of the analysis along with the restrictions and uncertainnesss associated with the consequences. Besides, a formal reappraisal of the analysis procedure may be required to corroborate the unity and truth of the consequences, decisions and recommendations. The study should incorporate the undermentioned basic contents: Executive Summary: a brief outline of the aims, consequences, decisions and recommendations of the analysis. Purpose and Scope: a statement of the analysis aim, plus description including a definition of intended plus usage environment, operating and support scenarios, premises, restraints. LCC Model Description: a sum-up of the LCC theoretical account, including relevant premises, the LCC cost elements and breakdown construction along with the methods of appraisal and integrating. LCC Model Application: a presentation of the LCC theoretical account consequences including the designation of cost drivers, the consequences of sensitiveness analyses and the end product from any other related analyses. Discussion: treatment and reading of the consequences including designation of uncertainnesss or other issues which will steer determination shapers and users in understanding and utilizing the consequences. Decisions and Recommendations: a presentation of decisions related to the aims of the analysis and a list of recommendations along with designation of any demand for farther work or alteration of the analysis.Phase 5 Prepare Life Cycle Costing AnalysisThe Life Cycle Costing Analysis is basically a tool, which can be used to command and pull off the on-going costs of the capital goods/assets. It is based on the LCC Model which was developed and applied during the old phases with one of import difference: it uses informations on nominal costs. The readying of the Life Cycle Costing Analysis involves reappraisal and development of the LCC Model as a â€Å" real-time † cost control mechanism. This requires altering the bing footing from discounted to nominal costs. Estimates of capital costs will be replaced by the existent monetary values paid. Changes may besides be required to the cost dislocation construction and cost elements to reflect the plus constituents to be monitored and the degree of item required. Targets are set for the operating costs and their frequence of happening based ab initio on the estimations used in the old phases. These marks may alter with clip as more accurate information is available, either from the existent plus operating costs or from benchmarking with other similar assets.Phase 6 Implement and monitor Life Cycle Costing analysisExecution of the LCC analysis involves the uninterrupted monitoring of the existent public presentation of the capital good/asset during its operation and care stages to place countries in which cost nest eggs may be made and to supply feedback for future life rhythm bing planning activities. 2.4 Life Cycle Costing Model An appropriate LCC theoretical account is provided in Fig. 2.7 by Woodward ( 1997 ) . The theoretical account shows in the first measure the cost elements of involvement are defined from the position of manufacturer/supplier and of the customer/user. The 2nd measure defines the cost construction to be used, which will ensue in the possible trade-off relationships. The following measure is to find the mathematical relationship between the costs. The 4th measure is to set up a methodological analysis to measure the trade-off points of LCC sing all the relationships and uncertainness. Finally we get the LCC analysis consequences. Fig. 2.7 the LCC analysis theoretical account ( Woodward, 1997 ) 2.4.1 Cost elements Estimating the entire LCC requires breakdown of the capital good/asset into its component cost elements over clip. The degree to which it is broken down will depend on the intent and range of the LCC survey and requires designation of: important cost generating activity constituents the clip in the life rhythm when the work/activity is to be performed Relevant resource cost classs ( e.g. labor, stuffs, fuel/energy ) Woodward ( 1997 ) identified the undermentioned of import cost elements when carry oning the LCC analysis: Acquisition costs Life of the merchandise or system Discount rate and rising prices Operating and Care costs Disposal cost Information and feedback Uncertainty and sensitiveness analysis For the last two points: Information and feedback is required to prove whether the LCC computations are accurate ; the uncertainness takes different rising prices and discounting scenarios into history ; the sensitiveness analysis measures the public presentation fluctuations and design options. For case, if a little alteration in a parametric quantity consequences in a big alteration in result, the result is sensitive to that parametric quantity. Costss associated with LCC elements may be farther allocated between repeating and non-recurring costs. LCC elements may besides be estimated in footings of fixed and variable costs. To ease control and decision-making and to back up the Life Cycle Costing procedure, the cost information should be collected and reported in a mode consistent with the defined LCC dislocation construction. 2.4.2 Cost dislocation construction In order to carry on a LCC analysis it is necessary to make a construction that facilitates the designation of undertaking costs in each of the life rhythm stages. The British Standard 5760, portion 23, has a cost dislocation construction ( CBS ) that identifies all relevant costs classs in all appropriate life rhythm stages. The life rhythm cost dislocation construction has five degrees ( Fig.2.8 ) : Fig. 2.8 LCC break-down constructions Flat 1: The undertaking degree has four stages: design, production, installation direction and disposal. Flat 2: The stage degree break down the four stages into their several cost classs, viz. the design and development costs ; the production and assembly costs ; the operation, service, support and care costs ; and the remotion and disposal costs. Flat 3: The class degree takes each class and subdivides it into its cost elements. The design and development costs include the costs related to research and development, technology design, development and trials, and design certification. The production and assembly costs comprise fabrication and assembly, installation building, and initial logistic support costs. The operation, service, support and care costs contain operations of the system in the field, maintaining the system up to an acceptable criterion through service and care, and prolonging care and logistic support throughout the system life rhythm. Finally, the remotion and disposal costs of the system are the estimated value of a system at the terminal of its expected life, including pulverizing cost, recycling or recycling cost and redemption value ( Blanchard et al. , 1995 ; Kumar et al. , 2000 ) . Flat 4: The element degree takes the classs from degree 3 and interrupt them down into their bomber cost elements. For case, the costs related to research and development can be disaggregated into the costs of forces, informations aggregation, historical information analysis and other elements. The cost of operation in the field costs can be broke down into the cost of electric, natural gas, H2O etc. Flat 5: The undertaking degree is the entire cost of all the resources required to finish a undertaking. Fig. 2.9 shows a LCC dislocation construction based on Blanchard et Al. ( 1995 ) . Life Cycle Costing ( LCC ) Design Production Facility direction Disposal Design and development Production and assembly Operations service and care Removal and disposal Research & A ; development Fabrication and assembly Operationss Engineering design Manufacturing technology Tools and trial equipment Fabrication Inspection and trial Quality control stuff Packing and transporting Service and care System technology Electrical design Mechanical design Dependability Maintainability Human factors Logistic support analysis Maintenance/support forces Spare/repair parts Trial and support equipment Transportation system and handling Maintenance/support preparation Maintenance/support installations Maintenance direction Technical informations Computer resources System downtime Construction Fabrication installations Trial installations Operational installations Care installations Development and trial Engineering theoretical accounts Trial and rating Design certification Initial logistic support System alterations Program direction Provisioning Initial stock list direction Technical informations readying Initial preparation Training equipment Trial and support equipment Fig. 2.9 LCC dislocation construction ( based on Blanchard et al. , 1995 ) Estimating cost elements The method used to gauge the cost elements in LCC computations will depend on the sum of information available. By definition, elaborate cost informations will be limited in the early phases, peculiarly during the design/acquisition stage. Cost informations during these early phases will necessitate to be based on the cost public presentation of similar plus constituents presently in operation. Where new engineering is being employed, informations can merely be based on estimated unit cost parametric quantities specified or suggested by the technician. More information on the plus constituent costs will go available during the usage of the capital good/asset, enabling more complete and descriptive costs to be defined. 2.4.4 The estimating cost relationships The bulk of the cost drivers are determined and locked up in the design stage. This stage determines the dependability, maintainability and the effectivity of the system and its constituents. It is of import to hold a good apprehension of how specified assets or systems will execute in the hereafter. Dependability is the chance that a merchandise manufactured to a given design will run throughout a specified period without sing a indictable failure, when maintained in conformity with maker ‘s instructions and non capable to the environmental or operational emphasiss beyond bounds stipulated by the maker or put Forth in the purchase understanding ( Moss and Dekker, 1985 ) . Maintainability is that component of merchandise design concerned with guaranting that ability of the merchandise to execute satisfactorily can be sustained throughout its intended utile life span with minimal outgo of money and attempt understanding ( Moss and Dekker, 1985 ) . A system is technically available when it can run into the throughput where its client agreed on. Availability of a system is typically measured as a factor of itsA dependability. The System Availability is the chance that a system will be in a status to execute its intended map when. As widely recognized, the expression for system handiness is: System availability= ( 2.3 ) In general it can be stated that LCC are mostly determined by the system handiness ( A ) demands set by the client: LCC = C ( A ) acquisition + C ( A ) maintenance+ C ( A ) downtime+ Cdisposal ( 2.4 ) A ( 2.5 ) Where MTBF: Mean-Time-Between-Failures and MTBF measures the system uptime MDT: Mean-Down-Time and MDT measures the system downtime The most of import facet of LCC in the design stage is the average clip between failures ( MTBF ) of the system. MTBF is defined as the mean clip before the first failure of a repairable system occurs ( Kumar et al. , 2000 ) . On one manus MTBF plays an of import function in the costs of the design stage, increasing the MTBF of the system will increase the system ‘s acquisition cost ( A-ner et al. , 2008 ) . On the other manus it besides plays an indispensable function in the care costs of the life rhythm, viz. , increasing the MTBF of the system will cut down the care costs. The other of import facet is the clip the system is expected to be out of operation when a failure occurs. Although system ‘s MTBF are rather long, the mean down clip ( MDT ) determines the costs of non runing for each system failure. Therefore OEMs should do certain these down times are every bit low as possible. The relationship between LCC and system handiness is complex because alterations in system handiness can increase certain LCC constituents and lower others. Thus it means that there will be a trade-off point between the MTBF, MDT and the LCC. Elaborate treatments will be made in the undermentioned chapters. 2.5 Discounting and Inflation Discounting and rising prices are two of import constituents which should be treated carefully when ciphering the LCC. Discounting is a method where the investing for a future period is adjusted to the clip value of money by a price reduction rate. A price reduction rate is the per centum of difference between the value of an investing paid in the present and the value of an investing paid in the hereafter. Besides, in LCC analysis it is common to take into history rising prices rates for the future period. In order to take some uncertainness into history different rates can be chosen. The associated price reduction rate should be used with attention, since there are differences between existent and nominal price reduction rates. The former excludes rising prices and the latter includes rising prices. In concern activities, price reduction rates are normally based on market involvement rates, that is, nominal involvement rates which include the investor ‘s outlook or general rising prices. Market involvement rates by and large serve as the footing for the choice of a nominal price reduction rate, which is used to dismiss future costs expressed in current dollars. In contrast, the existent price reduction rate needed to dismiss changeless dollar sums to show value reflects merely the existent gaining power of money, non the rate of general rising prices ( Fuller and Petersen, 1996 ) . The existent price reduction rate, vitamin D, can be derived from the nominal price reduction rate, D, if the rate of rising prices, I, is known. The relationship is as follows: ( 2.6 ) Then the general expression for the LCC present-value theoretical account is: ( 2.7 ) Where LCC= entire LCC in present-value Ct= amount of all relevant costs, including initial and future costs N= figure of old ages in the survey period, and d= existent price reduction rate used to set hard currency flows to show value Furthermore, the price reduction rate is likely to alter from period to period and there are many price reduction rates. When utilizing the existent price reduction rate in present value computations, cost should be expressed in changeless dollars. Taxs and depreciation allowances should be accounted for in LCC computations, every bit good as any local value consequence. By and large, the straight-line method of depreciation is used. It is simple to utilize and it is based on the rule that each period of the plus life should deprecate every bit ( Ellis, 2007 ) . 2.6 Decision LCC analysis is used as the footing for monitoring and direction of costs over the capital good or plus ‘s life clip. It is basically a fiscal direction tool. In pattern, costs are by and large non expressed as existent or discounted costs but as nominal costs to enable a comparing of the predicted cost and the existent cost. This enables better anticipation and accommodation of the Life Cycle Costing theoretical account. In the article wrote by Ellis ( 2007 ) , he stated that harmonizing to old surveies, old LCC computations did non bring forth dependable prognosiss. The estimated values might be rather different from existent values and that trying to gauge far in the hereafter could take to forecasting mistakes ( Ashworth, 1996 ) . And LCC is non an exact scientific discipline, end products are merely estimations and estimations are non accurate. Even so, given robust and realistic premises, LCC analysis is a utile assistance for the customers/users to compare life rhythm cost of reciprocally sole assets and find which plus provides the best value per unit money spent ( Barringer and Weber, 1996 ) . For the application of LCC analysis, realistic premises can be obtained from measuring the public presentation of similar assets, carry oning literature reappraisals, obtaining information from makers, sellers, contractors, and utilizing mean support and care costs ( Robinson, 1996 ) and it should be pe rformed early in the design stage. The finding of costs is an built-in portion of the plus direction procedure. LCC analysis can be applied to any capital investing determination in which higher initial costs are traded for decreased hereafter disbursals.

Employing People with Mental Illness/ Psychiatric Disabilities Essay

Employment of people who are homeless and with serious mental challenges is a pertinent issue in the society. This is because many employees view homeless people with serious mental challenges as a great limitation to optimization of their business endeavors. In reality, this may not be true especially because disability whether in financial or physical means is not necessarily inability to work productively. This paper will look at the aspect of employing people with mental illness/ psychiatric disabilities. Homeless people can be defined as people who are displaced and living in the streets because of limitations for instance financial implications (Anthony& Blanch, 1987). The fact that such people are homeless and living in abject poverty, it does not mean that they cannot work productively. With this in mind, it is unfair for employers to generalize homeless people as unable to be successfully integrated in the current work force. Consequently, people with serious mental challenges can be productive with medication and supervision if given the chance. When homeless mentally challenged people are excluded from the work force, stereotypes against such people increases. This makes it hard for the society to accept and integrate them in the workforce as part of the society. In this manner, employing mentally challenged people will come a long way in preventing their alienation from the society and also making them contribute to their own social economic development. Literature review of people who are homeless and who have serious mental Illness Overview Homelessness and mental disabilities can be argued to have a significant effect in the modern society. This is because of the high numbers of people who present poverty and mental disability problems. However, their existence in the society is not easy because of the various cultural stereotypes which present them as of less value in the current work force. Currently over 16% of inmates in jail suffer from mental disabilities (BJSSR, 1997). This means that when the 16% is finally released majority of them will be homeless and this may result to many negative implications. For instance, such homeless due to poverty may be forced to get into crime posing a threat to security. The society has to realize that the problem of homelessness is a social evil cultivated by poverty. With this in mind, the society has to work together to ensure a viable solution of offering employment to the disabled and homeless people. What we know so far On the other hand, it is morally wrong to alienate homeless and mentally disabled people from the current workforce. This is because homeless people are the way they are because they lack the social economic capacity to make them look like the other ‘normal elite’. On the other hand, poverty does not mean that someone is incompetent. Subsequently, severely disabled people also have the capacity to work successfully and earn a living from their work (Bond, 1987). This can be done through giving such individuals supervision, training and patience in order to be able to work. Currently, there are lobby groups and organizations which are creating awareness against alienation of homeless and mentally disabled people. However, more needs to be done in order to help reduce dependency and poverty among homeless and mentally challenged people. Employment outcomes and Rural vs. Urban Employment Program Considerations  Employment is a core ingredient to the social economic development of an individual. For instance, a homeless person can be able to raise his living standards as a result. The employment rate of homeless people in America accounts for about 26% (Cocozza & Skowyra, 2000). On the other hand, mentally challenged people can also be able to get well as a result of raised self esteem and acceptance by the society. In the United States the employment of people with severe mental disabilities account for about 15% (BJSSR, 1997). The government of US spends a lot of money in reach out programs for homeless and mentally disabled people. In this manner, there is need to rehabilitate homeless and mentally disabled people to be able to enter into the workforce and earn a living. However, the employment rates in the urban places are much developed compared to the rural areas. This calls for more employment organizations to be based in the rural areas. For instance vocational rehabilitation agencies should be enhanced in rural areas. Discussion A Recovery-based foundation for Employment Services A recovery based foundation for employment services plays and integral role in the rehabilitation of homeless and severe cases of mentally challenged people. A recovery based foundation for employment services acts as a link between homeless and mentally challenged people and their employees (Mullins, 1997). On the other hand, a recovery foundation for employment also offers necessary advice to their clients. Consecutively, recovery based foundation has strategies which enhance employment for homeless and mentally challenged people. Hence, the government needs to employ more recovery based foundations for employment services for homeless and mentally challenged people. Worker Role Recovery When homeless and mentally challenged people are integrated in the workforce, the rate of recovery is increased and so is their social economic status. In other words, integrating these vulnerable groups in the workforce helps in making them to become objective and enhances their personality (Mullins, 1997). Worker role recovery is employed to enhance the process of integrating mentally challenged people in the workforce. There are supervisors who are set to analyze the progress of the mentally challenged individuals. In this manner, such individuals are helped in the process of integration in the workforce. Framework for providing employment services A laid out strategy is needed to provide employment for mentally challenged individuals. The first step is for an employment foundation to get in touch with the necessary social worker and integrate the homeless and mentally disabled people in the programs (Mullins, 1997). Hence, the employment service should have relevant information for the person who is mentally challenged. Supervisors are needed to ensure that the recruits follow the laid out program. In this manner, recruits are sensitized on what is supposed to be done so that they can follow the instructions of their employees. Hence, the staff at the employment center should be diverse in nature to deal with all people. On the other hand, the framework also ensures that people are not misused by employees because of their disabilities. For example some employees may accord much work to homeless and mentally challenged people. Others may offer fewer incentives or use words to intimidate such people. Cultural and Environmental Considerations Consecutively, the employment framework is set in such a way that it is able to reach out the needs of diversity (Virginia, 1997). This is because teaching a severely mentally challenged person a new language could be a bigger challenge. In this manner, it is important for the employment agencies to use the advantage of diversity to get to reach out to their clients. Approaches to Employment for people with Serious Mental Illness There are various approaches to the employment of people with serious mental illnesses. These approaches have been tailored to meet the needs of mentally challenged people and at the same time act as a lasting solution to unemployment problems. Transitional Employment  Transitional employment is popularly known as TE and it encompasses the model of teaching mentally challenged people about the work they are supposed to do (David & John, 2004). In this manner mentally challenged people are able to do their work effectively. Consequently, TE helps mentally challenged people get the needed experience to venture into the competitive jobs. TE is time bound and by the end of the program those who persevere get acknowledged for their efforts (David & John, 2004). In other words, TE programs are like achievements for the mentally challenged people. Supported Employment Supported employment refers to employment of mentally challenged people with zero tolerance to discrimination (David & John, 2004). The process of supported employment starts with onsite support. In this stage people with disabilities are supported as healthy and not dysfunctional. This makes them feel like the rest of the people and integrating in the normal workforce is very easy. On the other hand, rejection policy is not supported at all. The alienation of mentally challenged people is highly discouraged in supported employment. Supported employment is a core ingredient in successful integration of individuals to the work force. The PACT Vocational Model Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) is support provided in the community level (David & John, 2004). This kind of support is about eliminating support not because the mentally challenged people need it. Hence mentally challenged people under this arrangement are given the chance to work and carter for their needs. PACT vocational model is a successful means of facilitating successful employment of mentally challenged individuals. Individual Placement and Support Individual placement support requires that a mentally challenged person gets integrated in a vocation directly (David & John, 2004). In the kind of vocation or employment placed in, the person is under supervision just like other people. Social enterprises and Affirmative Businesses Mentally challenged people have the ability to venture in any businesses and become successful. This is because mentally challenged people are also able to learn and this means that they can work just as other people do. Hence, social enterprises and affirmative businesses can be used as major targets for employment. Self-Employment Disability cannot be termed as inability. In this manner it should be noted that mentally challenged people also have the ability to get integrated in self employment. A mentally challenged person has the ability to maintain his/ her business with the necessary help. A Note about Supported Education Supported education on the other hand plays an integral role in the lives of mentally challenged people (Phyllis, 1997). This is because mentally challenged people need to be taught just as other normal people to be able to be integrated in the community. Supported education is not done in seclusion but is done in a normal institution where other normal individuals are educated. The impact of homelessness on people with serious mental illnesses seeking employment. Homelessness on people with serious mental illness who are seeking employment can be termed to be a challenging situation. Homelessness makes mentally challenged people seem vulnerable and not able to complete the tasks accorded to them. in this regard many employees may dismiss them without even giving them a chance. The following are some of the challenges faced by mentally challenged people in employment. Personal-Level Challenges Personal level challenges for mentally challenged people present themselves in many ways. For instance, mentally challenged people may have a hard time trying to get integrated in the workforce (Phyllis, 1997). This is because their operational speed may be less compared to their normal functioning individuals. Program and Services Provider-Level Challenges Program and service provider level challenges come when the staffs are not patient and polite enough. This makes it hard for the mentally challenged people to keep pace with the employment training (Phyllis, 1997). On the other hand, the programs being taught may not be easily assimilated by the mentally challenged individuals. Addressing Challenges in Service Systems The challenges faced in service systems are many and also there are several ways which can be used to deal with these challenges. One way to deal with these challenges can be through the government offering more financial support for such institutions. The enhancement of these institutions will come a long way in empowering mentally challenged people in the society. Helping People who are Homeless and Have Serious Mental Illnesses Obtain Work  There are many ways people who are homeless and with serious mental illnesses can be helped to integrate in the society and workforce. The following are some of the ways. Underlying Principles In helping homeless people with serious mental problems obtain work, it is important to first of all learn to appreciate them as part of the society. In this manner, any form of rejection is eliminated to ensure that mentally challenged people are treated with respect. On the other hand, training should be done in normal bases so that homeless mentally challenged people don’t feel discriminated. Rejection or prejudice of any form should be avoided completely to enhance trust and self esteem of the mentally disabled people. Consequently, it is also important to ascertain their level of mental challenge (Phyllis, 1997). Key Services and Supports To make sure that programs for mentally challenged people work out successfully, there is need for provision of key services and supports. For instance, mentally challenged people are in dire need of services like housing to help the homeless ones get shelter (Phyllis, 1997). Hence, the government needs to invest in cheap housing to help homeless people to get shelter for themselves. Consequently, lobby groups need to sensitize the community against rejection of mentally challenged individuals in the society. This way, business people will not discriminate against mentally challenged individuals. On the other hand stereotypes created in the society because of disabilities would also be reduced significantly. Working with the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency One way the challenge of mental disability is dealt with in the American society is through working with the state vocational rehabilitation agency. VR agency ensures that mentally challenged persons enjoy various benefits just like their normal counterparts. Purpose and Scope of VR Services VR agency has various services to mentally challenged people. For instance, this group offers mentally disabled people with social security disability funds which help to raise their living standards (State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, 2007). On the other hand, mentally disabled people have to work and gain benefits termed as gainful benefits.

How to Establish an Ethical Culture Research Paper

How to Establish an Ethical Culture - Research Paper Example Every small or large-scale organization operating in any type of industry possesses its own culture. It has its own set standards and ethics which are managed by the leadership within the organization’s environment. This paper will discuss the ethical leadership and the culture managed in the organization’s environment. Ethical Culture A culture, in simpler words, can be defined as a set of permanent norms, beliefs and values shared by the members of any society or community. In the management context, every organization, company or firm in the industry possesses its own culture suited to the employees working within it. The concept of organizational cultures pertains to the overall behavior of people which make up the organization. It usually emerges from the vision, values, systems, norms, symbols, working languages, beliefs and habits bore by the workforce. It can also be considered as a pattern of doing things, possessing certain beliefs and standards which are taug ht to the people by the organization. The ethical culture in an organization refers to the people’s beliefs regarding the ethics which are mutually shared by the people in the organization and can be easily conceptualized on the continuum which is bordered by the highly ethical companies at one end and unethical companies at the other end. Establishing an Ethical Culture There are various steps to creating an ethical culture in a social structure. ... Ongoing and Initial training The employees should be offered online courses, live workshops and the printed material regarding the creating and sustaining of an ethical culture at the workplace. Moreover, specific trainings should be provided referring to the personal integrity, proper usage of company assets, harassment, discrimination and other related factors. Regular communications In context to the management of the ethical culture in the organization, the line of communication must be established by the senior level management which can take the shape of corporate newsletters, and departmental and individual discussions. Set up an unknown reporting hotline The anonymous tool of reporting requires the end user to respond to the background questions, and also possess managerial abilities to enable the talent manager chase the incidents. The unidentified phone based and web-reporting tools should be allowed to the employees for the reason that the employees often consider that the re is least security in the internal avenues. Action enforcement The proper enforcement of the code of conduct will require the employees to take it in a serious manner. It will help building up strong ethical cultures in the organizations. Employee rewards for demonstrating the culture The employees who have successfully showed the ethical culture in the organization should be rewarded. Usually, the employees prefer to be more dedicated to the organization which depicts a strong moral and ethical culture. They generally stay happier and satisfied with their jobs and are better engaged with the organization. Personal Integrity and Ethical Leadership The success of any organization depends upon the efficiency

Literature Review Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Literature Review Bachelor - Essay Example The extent to which the employees feel motivated to put the best foot forward depends upon the policies adopted by the company in towards motivation. Theory Y assumes that all employees have key roles to play in running the organization and management's role is to develop the potential in employees and help them to release that potential towards common goals. The biggest drawback of McGregor's theory is that it sort of draws a dividing line. But in practice there's no such fine dividing line between type X and type Y. An organization cannot have all the people having similar capability and attitude towards work. Similarly all the students in a classroom cannot have similar calibre and IQ. Moreover a person who behaves in a particular manner today may come around and start taking things in different perspective once the manager takes him in confidence and makes him understand couple of things. Sometimes circumstances prevail upon the person and he starts behaving in a different way. Motivation may be defined as the state of an individual's perspective which represents the strength of his/ her natural inclination to exert efforts towards some particular behaviour. How somebody makes use of his/ her efforts towards a goal is determined by the motivating/ de-motivating factors. It is through their behaviour that employees give expression to their commitment to work, level of motivation and their attitudes. Behaviour includes all actions overt or covert, and verbal or non-verbal. This affects the overall efficiency of the person and the performance of the organization. For Primark, the main target segment includes the youth segment. This under 35 segment prefers to go for the trendy fashion, requires quality at reasonable prices. To serve this segment is challenging but interesting as well, because today the spending power of youth segment has comparatively gone up. Moreover the young workforce at Primark will surely enjoy dealing with their age group customers, as it might require them lesser efforts to sell the idea to youth as compared to senior age group persons. The 'look good, pay less' proposition from Primark fits perfectly well with the youth segment. The brand identity being created by Primark amongst the youth helps in offering a valued

Mechanical testing of metals and polymers Assignment

Mechanical testing of metals and polymers - Assignment Example 2. Experimental Procedure: Test Equipment Material Tested Test Speed mm/min Secant Tensile Strength-Metal Universal Tensile Testing machine 0.1% C Steel 0.4%C Steel 0.8%C Steel 1.15%C Steel Tensile Strength-Plastics Universal Tensile Testing machine HDPE, PP-PE, PVC, PC, Acetal (POM), Nylon (PA66), GRN (PA66+glass fibres) 10, 50 & 500 Pendulum Impact Tests Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester Polypropylene, PVC Vickers hardness Test Vickers Testing Machine 0.1% C Steel 0.2%C Steel 0.4%C Steel 0.85%C Steel 20 Kg load for () minutes 3. Results Figure 1 Stress-Strain Curve of steel Red 0.1% C Steel Green 0.4%C Steel Blue 0.8%C Steel Orange 1.15%C Steel Fmax Fmax dL at Fmax FBreak dL at break Nr N/mm? N mm N mm 1 414.53 8302.90 6.4 2020 10.7 2 691.64 13853.22 4.9 3930 8.1 3 896.10 17948.63 4.3 6720 5.6 4 1108.75 11098.39 2.7 4030 3.4 dL = Strain Group A and B Hardness of carbon steels (load 20Kg) 1st measurement 2nd measurement 3rd measurement 0.1% Carbon 146 148 153 0.2% Carbon 166 162 17 0 0.4% Carbon 209 213 217 0.85% Carbon 255 259 251 Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester. 1-Jun-15 M/c Model No 5113. Ref No A466690. ... 2 Pendulum Impact Test of Polypropylene Series Specimen width b0 Specimen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Work contents n = 5 mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J x 14.53 3.092 44.87 1.50 19.99 33.49 7.50 s 1.015 0.1564 2.759 0.12 1.65 3.07 0.00 ? 6.98 5.06 6.15 8.28 8.28 9.17 0.00 Zwick/Roell Pendulum Impact Tester. 1-Jun-15 M/c Model No 5113. Ref No A466690. Force 7.5J Material: PVC 2nd Specimen width b0 Specimen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Type of test, PIT Work contents Legends Nr mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J â€Å" 1 15.63 2.98 46.58 0.18 2.41 3.88 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 2 15.98 2.98 47.62 0.57 7.65 12.05 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 3 15.87 3.01 47.77 0.23 3.09 4.85 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 4 15.96 2.95 47.08 0.44 5.91 9.41 Charpy 7.50 â€Å" 5 15.53 2.99 46.43 0.17 2.21 3.57 Charpy 7.50 Fig. 3 Pendulum Impact Test of PVC Series Specimen width b0 Specimen thickness a0 Cross-section Impact energy Impact energy Impact resistance Wo rk contents n = 5 mm mm mm? J % kJ/m? J x 15.79 2.982 47.1 0.32 4.25 6.75 7.50 s 0.2028 0.02168 0.5987 0.18 2.41 3.78 0.00 ? 1.28 0.73 1.27 56.62 56.62 55.96 0.00 4ET002 Thermoplastics 22-10-12 1-2 HDPE; 3-4 PP-PE; 5-7 PVC; 8-10 PC; 11-13Acetal (POM); 14-16 Nylon (PA66); 18-19 GRN (PA66+glass fibres) Nr Specimen width b0 mm Specimen thickness a0 mm S0 mm? Rp 0.2 MPa E-Modulus MPa RB MPa W up to Fmax. J W up to break J Rm MPa ? Fmax. % ? Break % Speed mm/min 1 9.96 3 30.5 16.05 1173.54 - 3.32 - 29.52 9.10 - 50 2 12.73 3.24 31 18.38 1109.57 14.54 3.14 5.04 30.76 8.42 12.11 500 3 9.86 2.98 29.88 17.66 1534.63 20.64 1.16 130.56 24.90 4.13 395.15 50 4 10.05 3.01 30.25 17.66 1425.01 19.50 1.83 52.05 25.46 5.77

Ethics in medical research case studies Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethics in medical case studies - Research Paper Example Believing that the procedure would succeed, the researchers strongly stand on their ground that no consent from patients was necessary (Johnmueller.org, 2010). Three years after the incident and after a year of probation of the researchers involved in the incident, one of them was elected president of the American Association for Cancer Research (Johnmueller.org, 2010). The proponent of this paper tries to assess the issues involved in the above case, how they were handled and might have been handled differently. Below are some of the ethical issues involved in the above case. Oral consent but no documentation The researchers were able to point out that oral consents were made but there was no documentation involved due to some certain reasons. This made it clear that the entire research was a one-sided approach which strongly emphasized only the main objectives of the researchers, without taking into account the rights of the respondents. Rules or guidelines on what is right and app ropriate conduct are all incorporated in ethics (Rumrill, Cook, & Wiley, 2011). Thus, there should be appropriate way to conduct research among the chosen respondents especially in medical research. Research involving human subjects includes legal and ethical considerations which primarily include human subjects’ protection, protection of privacy and the disclosure of risks involved (Kulynych, 2002). Furthermore, since 1980s epidemiologists and physicians adhered to the importance of informed consent in certain investigations (Regidor, 2004). In the case of Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital, researchers strongly argued that they were able to inform the respondents through oral consent due to certain reasons. One reason is that the respondents were indigent, which means it would be appropriate to explain everything to them in an oral approach. However, the case of Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital did not only include ethical considerations, but tied in it was legal accountability of the researchers. These two seemed to be integrated in the case of Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital and the researchers involved. Citing the significance of informed consent, the researchers were able to do at least somewhere in the right thing, but the problem in this approach is the lack of showing some documents to prove that indeed there were oral consents made on the part between the respondents and the researchers. Oral consent was appropriate at some point knowing that it still belongs to the category of informed consent. However, there still something lacking in it in the case of therapeutic research where there seems to some remarkable risks involved. Consent should be highly documented in this case so whatever may happen, there would be some legal basis that will point out to adherence to the ethical standards. Custom to perform dangerous medical procedures without consent As stated earlier, in medical research, the respondents have the right to express their consent in certain research investigations. This is considered to be sound and ethical especially if it has to be applied in the case of Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital. However, the said hospital had certain customary procedure that in the event of performing dangerous medical procedures, consent from patients or respondents will not be necessary because it can be waved. In fact, this is supported by some legal and ethical standard that at some point, the

IPhone Product Sales Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

IPhone Product Sales Plan - Research Paper Example With the said concept as the main weapon, optimization of the features of the product can be considered as the fundamental perspective. Prior to the development of the iPhone, the mobile industry had a rough journey in terms of sales. There is a clear dependence on the network providers. Mobile phones were even viewed then as a tool to achieve services from the said mobile network. In the said view, mobile phones were cheap and features were limited (Vogelstein, 1998). In 2006, there had been a rapid increase in the number of mobile users and subscribers estimated at 2 billion all over the world. Another trend that started in the same period is the sales of mobile phones based on the technology or the features which became the onset for the development of technologies related to mobile cameras, wireless capabilities, memory capacities and other concepts that became weapons of competitive advantage (Reed Electronics Research, 2002). Basically, the development of the iPhone took advantage of the said trends and developments in the mobile industry. The technology presented by the iPhone also considered by authorities as a wave that enabled the mobile phone companies to dictate sales on the basis of the product capabilities rather than the services that the mobile networks are offering (Vogelstein, 1998). B.Flagship products The product iPhone is from the Apple Inc., a company known for product innovation and product exclusiveness which enable the company to set a price different from competitors. Apple Inc. is recognized for products such as the Mac computer, iPod, iTunes and the latest innovation iPad (Apple Inc. Website, 2010).

Evaluating the Case of The Early Retirement Essay

Evaluating the Case of The Early Retirement - Essay Example †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦12 Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..13 Abstract This paper seeks to delve deeper into the trend in the modern economy of high employee early retirement. While it may be very alluring for many to opt for this option, it may not necessarily be the best move for employees to consider. There are many factors that might prove to be very problematic for the early retirees. This paper also explains why majority of companies are offering early retirement op tions, but not for the well and benefit of their employees. Companies are forced to offer this option because of the ever fast changing technological advancements and they constantly need to train individuals, most preferably the younger ones, to take over these aspects. This matter then becomes something like teaching an old dog new tricks. Companies tend to decide to offer termination for their older employees rather than to sustain them and incur higher salary expenses. Technical advancements also tend to make jobs obsolete. Financial stability as well as the emotional and mental consequences must be considered before opting for early retirement. For one cannot enjoy the vast time that is availed by early retirement if one does not have the resources to make it worthwhile. Evaluating the Case of Early Retirement Introduction In the ever tolling rat race of the industrial world, with all the heavy and laborious challenges that man is faced just to earn a living, every man is looki ng forward to their retirement. Who would not want to just lay back, enjoy life, and do the things which were rendered impossible by the busy lives of working and toiling day after day for decades and decades. Sure, everyone wants the easy life, who doesn’t? After all, every man who has sweat blood and broke his back would ultimately need to reward himself and reap the benefits of his labor. Early retirement sounds so ideal, so surreal, and so gratifying. It means that you have achieved and managed to build your keep and have you living well-off for the rest of your life; the ultimate achievement for a good and fruitful career. But early retirement is not like as how fairy tales go. It is not as simple as living happily ever after. Financial stability does not necessary follow with early retirement. Sure, there will be that severance pay and/or whatever the companies will package and offer you as â€Å"gratitude† to your services to them, but once those are depleted co mes the real problem. Pension is a viable option to compensate for the monthly salary which you will not be receiving anymore, but there are also other benefits which cannot be availed for early retirees. In this paper, not only will the advantages and the good life of early retirement will be tackled but also this paper will seek to delve into the cons and the

Life Is a Dream Essay Example for Free

Life Is a Dream Essay Historical background: Spain was united after the Moorish occupation (711-1400s). However, it also left Spain as a cultural powerhouse in Europe which was still largely medieval in 15th century. Spanish philosophers and scholars exerted strong influence and their craftsmen were well known across Europe. Ferdinand and Isabella united Spain and by 1492 expelled the Moors entirely form the country. They were determined to Christianize Spain and instituted the Inquisition to hunt down and punish heretics/in addition to the Moors tey expelled all the Jews from the country. Influences from both the Moors and Catholics are evident in the Spanish drama: Moorish heritage in the attitude towards women and honor; Catholic influence-religious faith and doctrine-God and church. Spain was the dominant world power for almost two centuries-1492 expansion and occupation of many lands in America, Africa parts of Europe-Portugal, Sicily, Netherlands. This gave the nation a sense of stability, confidence, energy-also evident in the theater. Religious drama-auto sacramentale- were extremely popular and performed regularly even after they had become obsolete in the rest of Europe. Professional troupes were organized for this purpose-best writers were hired to write them. They were produced on carts (carros) roughly 16 feet long and 36 feet tall-thus having two levels. Eventually they used 4 carros as a permanent stage-actors were reharsing for a long time and were presenting for the city council before the performance could get approved for the public. Autos were performed for 200 years until the decline in mid 1700s By the end of the 16th century-several dramatic geners appeared Comedia-3 act dramas or comedies. Cape and Sword-about lowly gentlemen and Cuerpo (Noise) about kings and mythological characters, saints-actions in remote places. Lope de Vega 1562-1635- One of the most famous and prolific playwrights-a nobleman, soldier, businessman, lover and finally a priest. He wrote over 1600 plays some-450 have survived. Often compared to Shakespeare, he did not have the depth and insight into human nature-he preferred to end plays with happy endings-looking at the positive side. Pedro Calderon de La Barca 1600-1681 Wrote about 200 plays of which a 100 survived. He wrote â€Å"Cape and Sword† comedies-love triangles that are happily resolved. He also wrote serious plays about jealousy and honor. Most famously he wrote a number of autos-his were the most popular and the form declined after his death. LIFE IS A DREAM 1636 A philosophical allegory about the human situation and the mystery of life. It is a tragi-comedy-has elements of both. All major characters suspended between different duties-promises and expectations of what is to be done. Clotaldo has a duty to kill anyone who sees Segismundo but also can not kill his own daughter—as his duty is to protect her. Sgismundo kills his helpers the rebels as he has a duty to the kingdom. As in a classical comedy everyone gets married at the end but the couples are strange or unexpected-Segismundo marries Estrella instead of Rosaura-she marries Astolfo as he has ruined her honor. Analogies Dreams to theater as theater to life Dreams to life as life to afterlife Basilio is rebuked in the play as he wants to find out his fate-only God knows your fate. Women were allowed on stage from the end of the 16th century. Cross-dressing was forbidden so Rosaura appears as a half-monster-half-male, half female clothing.

The role of the European Parliament

The role of the European Parliament INTRODUCTION The division of powers among an executive, a legislature and a judiciary (Montesquieus tripartite system, The Spirit of Laws, 1748) is the common feature of the national democratic systems. The Parliament/National Assembly as a voice of the people can be considered as the institution that legitimizes system as a whole. Every country has its own parliamentary system, recognized and identified by the citizens. The European Parliament as the EU level legislature was created on the model of its counterparts. However its perception is significantly different. One can compare the internal organization of both, national and European Parliament, status of their members or party system but what undermines all the comparisons is the context in which these bodies are placed. The role of the European Parliament is determined by the nature of the EU and its sui generis character ‘a political system on its own right. It decides on the role of the institutions, division of competences and in ter-institutional relations that differ from those at the national level. Lack of traditional government has a significant impact on the position of the European political parties within the system. There is no executive to identify with nor to oppose to. The European party system is based on two competing principals that posses different resources to shape behavior of ‘their MEPs [agents]- national parties and the European political parties. EU is very often contested because of the lack of the legitimacy. The importance of the European elections is diminished because of the lack of electoral connection with the public and dominance of the national issues (second order elections). The internal procedures as well as decision making process are too complex to be entirely understood by an average citizen. As a consequence there is a different environment for the parties to operate in at the national and the EU level. It generates diverse level of cohesiveness, abilities to control, sanctions and rewards. All these factors decide on the way political parties organize at each level collectively or individually and what are the incentives that determine their choice. Are they in fact weaker in the European Parliament if compares to those in the domestic parliaments in Europe? If it is the case what are the main reasons that make them weaker? Which of the lsquo;principals has more influence? I will argue that due to the different constitutional structure of the EU lack of government performance of the European parties is less apparent than those at the national level. As a consequence the incentives for collective party organization can be indeed considered weaker than it is a case for the domestic parliaments. However evaluation of these incentives cannot be oversimplified. These two levels are interlinked and mutually dependent. Growing cohesiveness within the political groups can be a merit of both: national and European party levels. Importance of the EP (especially after the Lisbon Treaty) draws more and more attention to what does happen in the EP. Its growing power provides national parties with additional incentives to organize collectively at the supra-domestic level in order to maximize effectiveness of their actions. Firstly I will emphasize the main features of the European party system, its structure, mechanisms and levels of collective organization. The first part will be divided in two sections: brief presentation of the nomenclature used in the context of the European parliamentary system and theory of two principals the system is based on. Secondly I will present common incentives for collective party organization, that can be found at both levels. In the third part, I will focus on European dimension of these incentives. Forth part will contain a comparative analysis of two levels: national and European presenting the main differences. Given to the information, presented in the prior chapters, in the fifth one, I will answer what determines voting behavior of the MEPs and internal-party cohesiveness. In the last, sixth part, I will come to concluding statements. I. EUROPEAN PARTY SYSTEM STRUCTURE AND MECHANISMS Structure of the party system in the European Parliament is characterized by its multiplicity of organization levels and actors involved. First of all there are national party delegations which join the European political parties (transnational parties or Europarties) which then create European political groups. These two first levels may result in third although less official one at which political groups cooperate together in order to minimize the influence of other political groups or to build a common front against the other EU institutions such as the Council or the European Commission. Thus one could describe internal organization of the European Parliament as two and a half or three level transnational party system (see Figure 1.1). I.1. DEFINITIONS The European party system is characterized by the complexity of nomenclature which needs to be clarified in order to understand the party organization. Starting from the first component of the structure. National party delegations can be defined as entities within the transnational parties in the EP consisting of MEPs from the same national party. Transnational parties are the group [s] of representatives within a given institution that typically come from the same party family. According to Lindberg et al., in the EP, these transnational parties are also commonly referred to as (transnational) party groups. However, it has to be mentioned that these transnational parties, albeit they create transnational political groups, they are not the equivalent of the latter. In most cases political groups are composed of more than one political party. Not every MEPs belongs to the party that creates the group unaffiliated members. Political groups are not allowed to take part in the campaign for the European elections and cannot be established if the proposed membership consists of MEPs from only one member state. Functioning and organization of the European parties has its legal basis in the Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. I.2. TWO PRINCIPALS THEORY The principal-agent theory is frequently used by the scholars to describe the relations among the actors involved in the EU policy-making process, namely: institutions and members states. The central problem analyzed [in this theory] is that one actor (the principal) needs to delegate tasks and resources to another actor (the agent) who will take action on behalf of the principal but who has interests and objectives of his or her own. Agent cannot observe the actions of its principal, thus its control abilities are very limited. It creates a serious incentive problem and a necessity of the sanction mechanism to ensure expected outcomes. Principal-agent interaction applies also to the European Parliament. There are two party principals that possess specific resources to shape the behavior of their MEPs. Quality of these resources determines the influence and efficiency of the principals. National parties (principal 1) can use their control of candidate reselection and their control of the process of European elections to influence whether an MEP is elected to the parliament in the first place. European parties (principal 2), in turn, can use their control of resources and power inside the parliament to influence whether an MEP is able to secure his or her policy and career goals once elected. What does the two-principal theory mean for the effectiveness of the European party system? What does it say about the interactions within the system? According to David Marquand, European party system, in order to be fully democratic and effective has to be based on Europe des partis where politics is structured through a party system, and not on Europe des patries where politics is structured around national identities and governments. It would guarantee a higher level of internal cohesiveness and secure the policy objectives. In the European Parliament, there is however a significant pressure from the national parties which may have a strong impact on the final decisions of one MEP or another. When the power of the EP is at stake, MEPs have strong incentive to vote together to acquire more power relative to other EU institutions , to ensure a counterbalance. However, the national parties may be encouraged to exert more influence over their MEPs because of the growing legislative power of the EP. Hence, it can be argued that there will be an increased intervention by national parties to control the activities of their European re presentatives. The functioning of the EP depends to a great extent on the interactions between two principals and the influence of one or/and the other. These interactions are, in turn, determined by a lot of factors. Among the others one can mention: issue covered, circumstances, institutional context and strategies applied by the particular groups. Different incentives offered by them evoke different behavior. Incentives for collective party organization can be common for both levels: national and European, separate or may create a sort of   toolbox of the incentives that are taken out of the box, when there is such a need. II. COMMON INCENTIVES FOR COLLECTIVE ORGANIZATION Collective organization is one of the concept which can be applied to a lot of spheres of political and social science. It refers to the logic of collective action of Mancur Olson and its theory of groups. The main purpose of the collective organization is to reduce transaction costs of what can be achieved by joining the group whose members share the same interests. The most evident form of collective organization in political parties context is the coalition-building. According to John H. Aldrich, political parties are institutional solutions created by rational utility-maximizing legislators to reduce the transaction costs of collective decision-making and solve the internal collective action problems they face in the legislature. There are two main common incentives for collective organization: reduction of transaction costs and solution for collective action problem. Building a coalition is a very time-consuming and demanding process that includes the costs of putting together a proposal, identifying coalition partners and forging a compromise acceptable to a sufficient majority. Going through all these stages every time a party looks for an ally is too risky and does not guarantee sufficient level of influence after all. The existence of political parties reduces these costs by allowing the actors concerned to ‘pre-pack like-minded legislators and form more stable coalition patterns. Coalition-building solves also the problem of collective action in decision making process. Through organizing themselves into a majority party, legislators can receive a higher pay-off in terms of policy then they could achieve as individual legislators. Being a part of a majoritarian coalition is the only way to have enough influence in order to pass a legislation that would secure the policy objectives. Every coalition, once built, has to be cohesive, otherwise it will not play its expected role. Voting behavior of the coalition members determines its power and effectiveness. Transnational character of the political groups, however, can easily impede the internal cohesiveness. There two groups of the reasons that can be mentioned. First one, having its sources in systemic differences as to the political culture, traditions, habits, mentalities, political scene stability (bi- or multipolar), level of dependence on national authorities, attachment to domestic parties, importance of national issues etc. Second one concerning individual features such as personality, knowledge about the issues concerned, language barrier which can hinder the access to informal source of information as well as the informal inter-MEPs relations. The list of the reasons is not exhaustive one. It shows, however, the importance and influence of the national system on the behavior of the MEPs who have been brought up by each particular system. The question arises what can be done in order to ensure a satisfactory level of cohesiveness? What are the instruments that can be used to control voting behavior? The EU party system does not have such an advanced sanction mechanism as it is the case in the domestic parliaments in Europe. Therefore, establishing party leadership seems to be the most effective, if not the only one, solution to compensate this deficiency. There are two possible scenarios that can be applied by the parties. According to the first one, parties can establish a transnational party together with like-minded legislators in order to reduce transaction costs of legislative decision-making. There is no centralized party group leadership and collective action problem of maintaining party unity can be solved through repeated actions. Alternative option assumes the establishment of party group leadership with monitoring capabilities and disciplinary power. These two scenarios give the legislators incentives to fo rm transnational parties at the European level in order to increase their influence over policy outcomes. Apart from having influence on policy-making ‘policy seeking incentive, scholars distinguish two others: ‘re-election and ‘office-seeking. Together, they form a sort of the incentives triangle which defines the collective party organization (see Figure 2.1). It depends on the particular system which incentive is more likely to be used. In the domestic parliamentary system ‘re-election is particularly important one due to a great impact of national parties on future career of their MEPs. It has to be born in mind, that this incentives triangle is characterized by mutual dependence on the one hand and inequality on the other. According Thorsten Faas, their relations can be described ‘clear lexicographic order. He underlines importance of re-election goal as the one that decide on the existence of the two others. ‘Without re-election, there is neither office, nor policy. It confirms the importance of the domestic parliamentary system and preliminary incentive it offers. Once, however, re-election is achieved, it creates further incentives that can be applied at the EU level. III. INCENTIVES FOR COLLECTIVE PARTY ORGANIZATION AT THE EU LEVEL ‘Transnational parties are (†¦) a product of national parties, who created and sustain the transnational parties to serve their own policy goals in the European Parliament. Thus, it is in the national parties interest to ensure the cohesiveness in once created supranational platform. ‘Each national party is unlikely to obtain its policy objectives by acting alone. They need an access to transnational level which would open a ‘window of opportunity through which they could pass their goals. Transnational parties ‘help national parties and MEPs, structure their behavior. These two levels of party organization are characterized by interdependence based on mutuality of interests and benefits. National party as an essential subcomponent of transnational party on the one hand. Transnational party as a useful platform and a source of behavior structure on the other. Apart from these inter-related incentives, falling partially in Principal 1 and Principal 2 resources, one can mention other, reserved only for MEPs once they have been elected (See: II.2. Two principal theory; Principal 2). The most important one is allocation of leadership position within the EP. Party groups ‘control important assets within the EP such as committee positions, rapporteurships for writing legislative reports, and plenary speaking time. ‘The most salient reports are allocated to the most loyal MEPs. Another incentive, however less important, is the control of the parliamentary agenda by the MEPs. They do have an influence on what can be included in the agenda, but they cannot decide on whether one issue or another can be kept of the agenda. The larger party group is, the greater influence on allocation of leadership position and agenda control it has. Using the allocation position power as well as (limited) agenda control one can argue that European poli tical groups are able to ‘enforce party line and mobilize its members to unified voting. While analyzing incentives for collective party organization at the EU level, institutional context has to be mentioned. Behavior of the institutions and their members is to a great extent determined by inter-institutional competition. Each of them seeks to preserve its position on the institutional arena and ensure its influence on the issues concerned. In other words, the inter-institutional competition system is based on counterbalance mechanisms that help the institutions prevent the dominant position of one of them. This is the case also for the European Parliament, whose power has been systematically enforcing by the treaties, moving the EP form its position of purely consultative body (Treaty of Rome) and to the one of an active player the decision-making process (veto power). The ordinary legislative procedure introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, entered into a force in 2009, makes the role of the EP even more significant. Collective organization within the EP as well as voting c ohesiveness help the EP to reduce the importance of two other institutions, namely the Council and the Commission. Another level of the competition which is very present in the EP concern party groups. Inter-party group competition determines voting behavior within the groups increasing cohesiveness. It is in the interest of the political groups to ensure a strong position vis à   vis other groups. Following the general rule bigger can more, creating bigger and more influential platform enables the groups to be more competitive and to constitute a counterbalance to the others. As S. Hix et al. argue, ‘the incentive to form and maintain powerful transnational party organization is fundamentally related to political competition inside the European Parliament (†¦) It pays to be cohesive because this increases a partys chance of being on the winning side of a vote and thus to influence its final outcome. IV. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INCENTIVES IN DOMESTIC PARLIAMENTS IN EUROPE AND IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Among the consequences of the distinct nature of the nation state on the one hand and the European Union on the other (see: Introduction, pp. 1-2) one can find differences between incentives for collective party organization accessible at both levels. The reasons maybe divided into groups which touch upon different aspects: nature of the European election, re-election capabilities, sanction instruments, constitutional structure and general perception of political parties performance at both levels. Domestic parliaments are perceived as the ones that offer their deputies more incentives than it is the case of the European Parliament, where ‘the role of the political parties is much less apparent.Reif and Schmitt coined the term of ‘second-order national elections to underline the importance of the national issues in the election campaigns in Europe. One can also mention very low turnout, ‘weak electoral connection between citizens and European legislators, no ‘brand name at the EU level ‘since candidates do not use a common European label, but the label of their national party. Taking into account these factors, ‘the nature of elections does not [seem to] provide an incentive to act within a cohesive party group that is as strong as in genuine national election. Internal functioning of the EP shows an important role played by the national electoral systems as well as strong a ‘connection between the MEPs and their national parties. The national parties constitute ‘the main aggregate actors in the European Parliament. There are lots of aspects justifying this statement. These are the national parties that nominate the candidates to the European elections. They decide also ‘which of their MEPs will be returned to the European Parliament. ‘National party leaderships have a dominant influence on the future career prospects of the MEPs, both within and beyond the EP. National parties decide which of their MEPs they will support for key committee position and offices inside the parliament and also whether MEPs will be chosen as candidates for national legislative and executive office. There is a clear list of incentives and goal that may be achieved. The most important one is ‘re-election. The lack of this particular incentive to offer at the EU level weakens significantly the position of transnational parties in comparison to their national counterparts. Level of the voting cohesiveness determines the effectiveness of the transnational groups once they are established. It decides if they are able or not to ‘ensure political accountability and consistent decision-making.Domestic parliamentary systems have at their disposal greater sanctions for the behavior contradictory to the party lines. Taking into account what national parties can offer, there is too much to lose if one decide not follow their instructions (cost and benefits analysis). One of the relevant instruments available at the domestic level is the confidence vote attached to a legislative proposal. It can be used by the governmental party or coalition in order to ensure (party) voting cohesion.On top of that, ‘the cabinet, with its prerogatives in the legislative process, is formed along partisan lines and the portfolios are distributed by party leaders. It shows that political parties ‘are crucial at all stages of the making of public policy. The sanctions mechanism within the European Parliament is developed enough to exert an effective influence on voting behavior of the MEPs. There are two instruments which has to be mentioned. Political groups can control their members through ‘whips or by ‘group coordinators in case of the committees. The second one at the disposal of the political groups is ‘the ultimate sanction of expelling an individual MEP or national party delegation from the group. However, political groups make use of this possibility only in extreme cases.Decision of the expulsion ‘has to be supported by a majority of all MEPs in the group and is only credible if expelling the party would not weaken the political group compared with its opponents in the parliament.Importance of the available instruments is limited by their rather theoretical dimension. If we assume that the transnational parties are responsible for the growing cohesiveness within the political groups, the threat of us e of the sanction itself should be sufficient in order to ensure an obedience of the MEPs. However, if these are the national parties which determine the voting behavior, these sanction instruments lose their raison dà ªtre and should be regarded as rather simple provision. Differences between two levels concern to a large extent the constitutional structure. The one of the EU ‘does not (†¦) resemble the structure of a parliamentary system.First of all, there is no traditional government to support, discredit, refer to: identify with or oppose to. No executive ‘which can enforce party unity via a vote of confidence.Only possibility at the EPs disposal is ‘the power to vote the European executive (the Commission) through vote of no confidence. However, the necessary majority (two-thirds majority of the votes cast, representing a majority of the component MEPs, art. 234 TFEU) is very difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the Commission ‘[is not] recruited from a majority coalition within the EP.It has no power to dissolve the Parliament, even for the budgets rejection which would normally have happened in the national systems. One can say that both positive and negative incentives from the part of the ‘executive are very li mited. Nothing to be afraid of and nothing to strive for. Performance of European political groups is weakened by limited abilities of agenda control (in comparison to the domestic parliaments). ‘No transnational party can use agenda control powers in order to keep policy issues which divide the party from arising in the legislative decision-making process (†¦) even if [this particular party holds] a sufficient majority of votes'(see Section III, p. 7). It is the European Commission that has an exclusive right to initiative. The European Parliament can only submit the proposal for legislative act, which then is considered by the Commission. The same applies to the transnational parties in the Council. Thus, Lindberg et al., argue that ‘partisan control of the legislative agenda is only possible if a political camp dominates all three legislative bodies in the EU, namely: the Commission, the Council and the Parliament. Table 1 Party effects on legislative decision-making National parties Transnational parties Electoral arena Selection of representatives European Parliament Yes No Council Yes No Commission Yes No Legislative arena Legislative organization European Parliament Mixed Mixed Council No No Commission No No Intra-institutional decision-making European Parliament Yes Yes Council Mixed Mixed Commission No No Intra-institutional decision-making Mixed Yes (preliminary evidence) Source: B. Lindberg, A. Rasmussen, A. Warntjen, ‘Party politics as usual? The role of political parties in EU legislative decision-making, Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 15, Issue 8, 2008, p. 1114. V. DETERMINANTS OF THE VOTING COHESIVENESS INSIDE THE EP Different factors that determine the voting behavior inside the EP refer us to the theory of two principals mentioned in the second part (see pages 3-4). Which of them has a greater impact on how the MEPs vote: national parties of transnational groups? What does prevail: national loyalty or partisan alignments? Do they necessarily oppose to each other? One can assume that MEPs take their decision being well informed and fully aware of the context of the decisions, their content as well as their consequences. However, a significant part of them are being taken without this knowledge and rationally based analysis. Instead of it, other factors influence the MEPs and their final decision. Three of them seem to be the most important. First, personal relations among the MEPs established as a result of socialization. It concerns especially those first-time elected deputies who are not very familiar with organizational structure of the EP. They are often forced to rely on somebody else while taking the decision. Somebody who, for different reasons, they decide to trust while taking decision. Second, content of the issue discussed and its impact on a vote. If the outcome of the decision is particularly important from a countrys perspective, one could expect that MEP to be well informed about the issue. Then probability that he or she will vote in accordance to the national party line is higher, either. Third, time the decision is taken. One can argue that MEPs are more likely to vote in line with their European party/political group when the leadership positions have not been allocated yet. In other words, it is difficult to apply the well know rule of ‘stick and carrot if the carrot does no longer exist. ‘Despite frequent criticism of the lack of strength of the EP party groups, it is shown that they achieve relatively high and rising levels of cohesion.However, there is no clear answer on ‘whether it is mainly the transnational or the national parties that act as the principals of the MEPs.At least three observations can be made to show the relations between them. First, ‘national political parties make up the European parties strategically choose to vote together and impose discipline on their MEPs even when their preferences diverge. Doing so, they want to secure their ‘long term collective policy goaland not necessarily ‘the immediate outcome of particular vote.Second, MEPs rarely vote against the European party line. Mostly because a ‘high level of consensus between European political groups and national parties rarely forces them to make that choice. Third however, if the conflict between two principals appears they will chose the national on e. One can say that ‘MEPs are ultimately controlled by their national parties rather than European political groups. Importance of the national actors in determining the cohesion of the European parties depends on ‘how closely [nation parties] follow Parliamentary debates and how often the offer guidance to their own members. The national parties are more likely to be directly involved ‘when they are opposed to the group vote or when the issue is of particular national concern.Voting against the majority within the political group does not simply pay if the rate is not high enough. The same applies for the roll-call voting where votes (Yes, No, Abstain) are published in the parliaments official minutes.Votes that are usually taken by roll call concerns decision of rather political nature (not technical one). It gives an extra incentive to ‘show loyalty to the European political groups. Existing studies of roll-call voting confirm this statement showing that ‘MEPs are likely to vote along transnational party lines than national lineswhen such a method is applied. ‘Though the Parliament is organized