Category: Uncategorized

1. (a) Identify four (4) specific policies that should be included in the Manual and outline three (3) key points or reasons for choosing EACH policy.

Each organization needs to have specific policies that aide in execution of its duties. These policies should be legally binding to both the staff and the clients. There are several administrative policies involved in law practice. The four specific policies that should be included in the manual to guide the assistant include employment policies, employment benefits policies, employee conduct policies and workplace guideline policies (Canon, 2008). The choice of the most suitable policies to employ depends on the nature of the work that someone is going to do as well as the kind of organizational structure (National Association of Legal Assistants, 2010). However, employment policies are universal and must feature in any office manual. Employment policies are of critical importance in this case for three main reasons. First, these policies guide hiring practices (Canon, 2008). Therefore, any person hiring or being hired must become acquainted with these policies.

Employment policies also serve to orient the new employees. In this regard, the new employees get familiar with the organization in which their services are required. Employment policies also act to maintain confidentiality within the organization, thus is critical for inclusion in any office manual. Employment benefits policies are critical because they familiarize employees with the benefits like insurance. In addition, they make the employee become familiar with important dates for vacations and holidays. Moreover, they help employees understand the terms of employee reimbursements. Employment conduct policies are crucial in controlling employee’s and employer behaviors in the work place (Canon, 2008). As such, they cannot easily exploit their employees who are also expected to observe certain codes of conduct. These policies set the codes of conduct to all the staff in the workplace. These policies also act to guide drug abuse and harassment in the workplace.

b) Outline three (3) procedures that your assistant must follow after a new client comes in. For each procedure, provide two (2) reasons as to why the procedure must be followed, with reference to applicable authority for your answer.

Whenever a new client enters, the assistant will be expected to follow certain procedures in handling the client. There are three basic procedures that can be followed. The assistant will first identify who the client is. Secondly, the assistant will be expected to establish what the mater of the client is (Canon, 2008). Lastly, the assistant will be expected to determine the most appropriate person to provide instructions with regards to the client’s identity and matter at hand. This is important for two main reasons. First, it helps in avoiding problems that may arise due to encounter with phantom clients (National Association of Legal Assistants, 2010). Some of the phantom clients are so problematic. The second reason for following the procedures is that it helps dispel the possibilities of misrepresentation.

2. (a)What steps must you take in order to ensure compliance with client identification and client verification requirements?

Several steps can guide a person to ensure compliance with the client identification as well as verification requirements. First, when someone is engaged in provision of legal services, he is bound to identify the client and any third party represented by the client (National Association of Legal Assistants, 2010). This may include individual employer or an organization. However, in this scenario, it is critical to keep certain information regarding the client. The information should detail the name of the client, business contacts including address and phone numbers as well as home address (Canon, 2008). In addition, the occupation of the client should also be captured. In case the client is an organization, there is need to record the type of business and the government body in which the business operates. The contacts as well as names of the personnel responsible for feeding the client with information in that organization should also be recorded (National Association of Legal Assistants, 2010).

2.(b) Provide examples of documentation which would meet the verification requirements in this matter.

The identification of clients, whether employed by individuals of organizations is important in several perspectives. However, verification of such identity is of critical significance. The following are the key examples of documentations which would meet the verification of the client’s identity. Government issued identification documents like birth certificate, driver’s license and passports can help in case of clients employed by individuals in their firms (Canon, 2008). However, in case of clients within organizations, documents such as government issued copy of certificate of corporate status can be used (National Association of Legal Assistants, 2010). Other documents include reviewed trust and partnership agreements of the organization.

3. (a) Identify which Rules and Guidelines of the Paralegal Rules of Conduct and the Paralegal Professional Conduct Guidelines would apply in this situation and why.

There are several rules that may apply to the scenario of Pearl and Catnip. The rule of professionalism must greatly be applied in this case. This is going to be applied regardless of whether Pearl knows Catnip or not. It is important to apply this rule to foster integrity and duty to the clients. The paralegals are supposed to depict high degree of commitment to their work and profession (Canon, 2008). As such it s on order that the interests of clients are taken care of appropriately. Secondly, the rule on duty to clients also applies o this scenario. This is because Pearl is expected to represent the interest s of the clients in the case without discrimination. As such, it is quite essential since it will espouse a sense of integrity and competence to both the company and the paralegal himself.

3. (b)Describe what actions (if any) should be taken by Catnip Everard AND Parryl Eagle.

Concerning this case, Parry Eagle, being the paralegal, should clearly discuss the matter with Catnip. He should agree with Catnip not to be part of the case even though she is linked with the clients. catnip needs not represent FETA when the case is being discussed. Both Parryl and Catnip should reach such an agreement.

4. (a)Which specific Rules and Guidelines apply here?

There are several rules and guidelines that may apply in this scenario of Walden and Mr. Allan’s. The first is the rule of professionalism. This entails issues touching on the integrity and undertakings. This rule also touches on discrimination of clients. The second rule entails duty to the clients (Canon, 2008). The paralegals are supposed to depict high degree of competence to their clients. Advocacy is the third rule applying to this scenario. This concerns tribunals and duty to clients as is evidenced in the scenario. The last rule here is the Responsibility to the Law Society.

4. (b) What steps should Walden have taken to avoid this situation?

Walden should have communicated early enough with Mr. Allan, stating his position on the take on Landlord and Tenant law. He should have stated his disinterest in representing Mr. Allan on the case. This could have helped Mr. Allan make an informed choice in choosing someone else to represent him on the case. In addition, he should have invited Mr. Allan to his office and discuss with him there. Holding a discussion in a party under the influence of alcohol is quite unprofessional. When Mr. Allan paid him a visit, he should have been clear to Mr Allan on the matter, but not bank his hopes in uncertainty. Banking hopes in uncertainty sends bad messages regarding he professional credentials of someone.

4. (c) What must he tell the tribunal?

In concern to the scenario, Walden should be clear on his stand on the matter before the tribunal. He should request a withdrawal from representation on this case following the fact that he never planned for it. If consent is not permitted, he should request the tribunal to extend the time for listening to give him ample time to prepare for the case. He should be clear on the fact that he has not yet fully prepared.

5. With reference to specific sections of By-law 7.1, the Rules and the Guidelines, clearly identify five delegation errors in this scenario.

The scenario of Bella and Edward is having several delegation errors. Both Bella and Edward have committed the errors. It is prudent enough to highlight that there are several delegation errors. However, only five are highlighted. First, the error of misrepresentation is evident in the scenario (Canon, 2008). Although Bella is cognizant of the case of misrepresentation by Edward, he is just comfortable and sees no offence in it. He only acts to encourage it. The second delegation error committed by Edward agrees to represent a client who has been charged with an assault yet that is not supposed to be his duty. There is also the virtue of dishonesty in representation as an error in delegation. This follows that Edward demands for unnecessary payments from the client to justify illegal representation of that client. The fourth delegation error is failure to advice the client regarding the law and the likely outcomes, risks and repercussions of his matter. This is too bad since it lacks an act of professionalism as an acting paralegal. The fifth error in delegation is that Edward was not wary of the policies guiding his tenure. He fails to explain to the client the conditions under which his services may be limited. As such, he ends up misrepresenting Bella, and never discloses it to Bella.

References

Cannon, T. A. (2008). Ethics and professional responsibility for paralegals. New York: Aspen Publishers.

National Association of Legal Assistants, (2010). NALA manual for paralegals and legal assistants: A general skills & litigation guide for today’s professionals. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.

Formation of a Contract: Capacity to Contract and Legality of Object 

Generally under the law, any person is capable and competent enough to bind themselves to a contract they choose to enter into as long as it is not illegal or void because of public policy. However, common law provides several exceptions to this and a major one is contracts involving minors, who before were designated as minors.

In law, a minor is a person who has not yet reached his 18th birthday. Ideally, the law governing minors’ contract show how the law must compromise between two major principles. First of all, the minor must be protected against his own inexperience and therefore his incapacity to understand. Secondly, the pursuance of the object of law should not cause unnecessary hardship to those who deal with them.

In this regard, there are certain contracts which when minors enter into will be considered valid for example those of necessaries where under the Sale of Goods Act, minors have to pay a reasonable price for necessaries sold and delivered. Necessaries are said to be “goods suitable to the condition in life of such minor and to his actual requirements at the time of sale or delivery.” The proof of which is usually upon the seller.

Certain contracts of service or apprenticeship are binding to a minor too, and he may be bound even where some of the clauses of the contract do not turn to be to his advantage. However, he would not be bound to a contract that on the whole is harsh or oppressive.

This therefore by extension means that a minor cannot be bound on a trading contract or on a contract for the purchase of non-necessary goods, that is unless he ratifies it when he reaches the age of 18.

In this particular case, there are certain unique characteristics. It is more of liability in tort. Generally, a minor cannot be made liable on a void contract through being sued in tort. That notwithstanding, he can be sued if the act that leads to the offence was not contemplated by the contract even when the contract is voidable. This is because by doing so, he takes himself out of the scope of the law of contract and the protection it thus affords to the minors.

Therefore, even though Drive Yourself Ltd. had entered into an otherwise illegal contract, West is still responsible for the damage he caused to the car as a result of over speeding because this lifts his protection under the law of contract and since it was contemplated that he would use the car for the purpose it was intended and within the confines of the law.

Mistake in Contract

Generally, and in the interest of business, apparent contracts should be enforced. So normally, mistakes as to the quality of product normally does not affect the validity of the contract involved unless the contract was signed by mistake or it is so fundamental as to amount to the quality by which it is identified.

The law developed the defence of mistake in the law of contract because ideally, there must be a meeting of the minds between the people contracting as pertaining every aspect of the contract that they are getting into. If this was not upheld in law, there would be a lot of abuse and especially in commerce.

The mistake may only be unilateral, where only one of the parties is aware of it or it could be in common where both parties are mistaken as to a certain element of the contract

It is also essential to draw a distinction between a contract that is void for mistake from one which is voidable for misrepresentation. Under common law, there are certain types of mistakes that may render a contract void provided that it is the mistake that brought about or was fundamental to the contract itself. These would be: mistake as to the existence of the subject matter, mistake as to the possibility of performing the contract, mistake as to the identity of the subject matter or mistake as to the identity to the other party.

Evidently, the case in point does not fall in any of these categories. It does however fall under the category of mistake as to the terms of the contract of which the other party is aware. This does not hold where it can be proven that the plaintiff was aware or could have been aware of that mistake.

Here, Golightly claims not to have been aware that the number of league games had been increased from 14 to 16. Given that the number of games in a league are fundamental to any contract of employment to a footballer, his argument is legitimate.

Where he does prove his case, he could be allowed to rescind the contract provided he is not at fault and justice can be done to the other party too. They could also renegotiate and in essence rectify the contract.

Misrepresentation

This is an untrue statement of fact, basis for which one is induced or caused to enter into a contract that she would otherwise not have entered. It however must not be a statement of opinion. That notwithstanding, if the opinion proceeds from an expert, it could amount to misrepresentation where a statement of opinion by implication involves a statement of fact.

Secondly, a statement of intention cannot be said to amount to misrepresentation unless it can be proved that the intention which is alleged never did exist. Where the law is involved, a person cannot claim misrepresentation because there is presumption that everybody knows the law.

Another main factor as to misrepresentation is that it must be the reason for which the party claiming to have been induced into the contract got into the contract in the first place. One therefore cannot claim or purport to avoid a contract when: she knew that the statement was false, or if she would have entered into the contract anyway despite the misrepresentation or was not aware that the misrepresentation had occurred.

Whenever a statement is made while the person making it knows it to be false, or without belief in its truth or recklessly while not caring whether it is true or not it amounts to fraudulent misrepresentation and if the innocent party has suffered loss he may claim damages, based on the tort of deceit, and may also refuse to perform the contract and as in this case claim rescission of the contract.

If Galt can effectively prove that it is the statements that Valentino made that induced her to extend her dance classes, and he did so fraudulently she could find grounds to rescind the contract. Where the statement was made honestly and reasonably and if Valentino believed the statement to be true she may not be awarded damages but she can still claim rescission as this amounts to innocent misrepresentation.

In instances where the statement is made with no reasonable grounds as to the belief in its truth, the aspect of negligent misrepresentation arises and Galt may have a right to damages for the misrepresentation if she proves that she has suffered loss. However, if it can be proved that there were reasonable grounds for such a statement, and in fact did believe in up to the time the contract was entered into that the statement was true he could have a defence.

It however must be understood that where the innocent party, with knowledge of her rights affirmed the contract the rescission is barred. This is also the case where time has lapsed but only after it is evident that the truth is now out and where it was innocently misrepresented, time lapse affirms the contract. Therefore, if the reason that Galt now wants to rescind the contract is because of the new and tough instructor, she may not succeed.

The Interpretation of Contracts

Plain meaning Approach vs. Liberal meaning Approach

Figuring out what the wording in a contract is usually very important when determining hat the parties in the contract intended. Normally, a person is expected to know and understand the meaning of the words on their prima facie value. So if a person signs a contract that is relatively clear as to the meaning or intention she ought to be held to it. That is to say that the standard dictionary meaning is the most reasonable interpretation of the words of a contract. This in law is referred to as the “plain meaning” approach of interpreting a contract. In this case, there is normally no need to admit other evidence when a conflict arises from such a contract. 

On the other hand there is the “liberal” approach of interpreting the contract. Liberal approach. Under this approach, it is stated that words do not just have one meaning but may have to be interpreted in the context within which they are used. Normally under such circumstances, other evidence is usually admitted. That is to say that word are said to be interpreted in the context of commerce and not merely under the rules provided in law. This therefore means that even when words on their face value seem clear, they must be analyzed.

For example, in the plain meaning approach, the word dozen would normally mean that a person is referring to a set of 12 things. However, consider in the liberal approach where it may be referring to a bakers dozen, which in essence refers to a set of 13.

Express Term vs. Implied Term

The terms of a contract state what the parties thereto are agreeing to be bound to. Generally, there is never an implied term as to the quality or the fitness of the products if it is a contract for sale which is of course the basic principle of caveat emptor. Terms that form the basic foundation of a contract are referred to as conditions and form the main purpose for which the contract is formed while the rest are normally classified as warranties.

Express terms of a contract are those that the parties have agreed to, and can normally be interpreted from the agreement itself depending on the wording of the contract. Where there is a dispute therefore, the court usually determines what terms. They may either be oral or in writing.

Implied terms on the other hand may not be provided for in the written agreement and would normally relate to an event that is otherwise known to both parties and it is sometimes left to the court to determine what they are. Normally they are “included” in the contract because otherwise the contract would not make sense.

For example if a person were to pay Canadian $100, it would be important to expressly distinguish it from US $100, similarly if it were so obvious to both the parties that they were negotiating based on Canadian dollars, then the $ 100 would suffice.

It is important to distinguish between the two because the rule of “strict compliance” is limited only to the express terms.

Condition Precedent

In the law of contract, an event that which must happen before any party to the contract must do or perform. For example where a daughter has to marry before she acquires the property, in conveyance of real property where the deed is involved, before either the right or the title to the property vests on her or where a buyer promises to buy when the ship carrying the goods docks at the harbor.

Assignment of Contractual Rights  

Under a contract, assignment is the complete transfer of the rights to receive the benefits that accrue out of the contract to one of the parties privy to it. Under provisions of common law, there is usually the freedom of assignment unless the contract itself expressly prohibits or prevents such an assignment especially where it concerns the assignment of contractual obligations.

Where it is permitted, the person assigning is not under any obligation to get the permission of the other party. This is normally for contracts where the assignment cannot affect the duties and/or obligations of the other party or where it cannot reduce the possibility of that person getting complete performance and of a similar or same quality.

This in essence means that there are some kinds of performances that are impossible to assign as a result of their unique character and because of the unique relationship that they create as a result therefore.

It is normal practice that for an effective assignment, it must take place in the present and the words that are used must be express and very clear. Even when the contract expressly prohibits it, such a clause merely gives the party that may be aggrieved by such an act to sue.

However, rights that are highly personal to the original parties, for example those that involve giving a concert cannot be assigned without the consent of the other party in the contract. The sponsors of Rigolleto can therefore sue him successfully for the breach of contract if and when he fails to perform in the concert even if the contract does not specifically prohibit assignment of such obligations.

References

Smyth, J. E., Soberman, A. J. and McGill, S. A. “The Law and Business Administration in Canada”. 12th Ed. Pearson Education Canada. 2009.

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Four Building Blocks to Business Strategy

Business Strategy analyses the available ways of improving the company on behalf of its owners by the top management. The process requires use of resources and better understanding of both internal and external environment of a company. Before any strategic plans can be made, the company needs to develop clear organizational mission, vision and objectives that are in line with the development policies. It is through these goals that the company a program or projects that are aimed at achieving them. To evaluate an organizations program or projects a balanced scorecard should be used, thus ensuring all the projects are in line with the expectations of all stakeholders. The stakeholders in a company begin with the company owners, company employees and customers or target market. In ensuring that a business strategy satisfy all these people it is wise to incorporate the four business strategy building blocks; efficiency, quality, innovation and responsiveness (Drucker 149).

Business efficiency requires monitoring company actual production or performance and relating to resources utilized such as time, labor and money. The main idea of an effective business strategy is one that assists in reducing resources utilized will at the same time increasing production. An effective strategy will ensure a company maintains an accelerating pace of competition with the larger firms in the same industry, while at the same time ensuring stability of the existing market. Efficiency will also require proper network in the company so that real time data is available from customers, employees and suppliers, thus making it easier for the company to monitor any negative or positive change from an early stage. To achieve business efficiency there are several measures that a company can take while developing new strategies.

Easy access to information is one of the easy channels that an organization can undertake to enhance efficiency in its strategic plans. Access to information will ensure all employees are able to respond faster to customer needs and customers too are made aware of the available products and services of the organization. Good communication network minimizes loss of opportunities and yields satisfied staff and customers. Creating efficient business process will further benefit the company by ensuring easy partnerships. Some companies such as Ventura are great companies that may benefit a firm that partners with them, however these companies require certain efficiency procedures in some areas such as supplies, marketing and quality assurance for them to partner. In that light, maintaining business efficiency in all strategic plans by constant comparison of production and resources utilized can benefit a company in multiple ways.

Quality is another major building block in strategic planning; it refers to fitness for purpose. Company strategies will be evaluated on quality by different persons; customers, competitors, producers and support personnel. Customers will tend to be more attention on determining how accurate the product or service of the company is in relation to specified quality. Before a customer purchases a product he or she already has an expectation and if it is not met then the customer concludes the product to be of low quality. Company products are generally evaluated on quality by monitoring how reliable and maintainable they are. In any company success of its plans and achievement of desired goals depends on several aspects beginning from customer satisfaction, competitive advantage and stability of support personnel. All these groups pay attention on quality and that tends to dictate their attitudes towards the company and its products. To achieve good business quality image from all stakeholders the company should implement the five aspects of quality; producing, checking, quality control, quality management and quality assurance. These aspects of quality ensure that the company strategic goals include maintaining, high production standards, continuous evaluation, analysis and improvement of products. According to Chowdhury, top management can guarantee total quality by encouraging dependability on quality support, encouraging quality speeds in production and service delivery, embracing flexibility in operations and flexible costing system to cater for unexpected challenges. In addition to maintaining efficient standards that are of high quality, it is also essential to maintain continuous innovation to ensure constant growth and stability (Chowdhury, 34).

Innovation is another important building block in business strategic development. Innovation refers to adding value to the existing strategies. Value can be added to even good procedures to make them better and to incorporate new changes in the market, in technology and in the economy in general. Most companies can make innovations in products, processes, technologies and services. Innovation is different from invention since it simply calls for a change of the strictly stated procedures while invention requires a totally new idea. Companies benefit from innovation in different ways. It becomes possible to maintain target market or existing clients who in most cases may be lost to new companies for the sole reason of wanting some change. It also assists in expanding current market; an improved product will look as good as new it will therefore attract new clients who would like to calm their curiosity. Innovation may be focused embraced in different ways in a company; some companies prefer to change the packaging or brand, improve quality through production or change distribution channels. Whichever method a company chooses in innovation, thorough analyses are essential to ensure the move is responsive to meeting organizational goals such as cost reduction, market expansion and gaining competitive advantage.

Responsive strategies require selected business strategies to be able to quickly respond to changes in the industry, customer interactions and in technology. Business strategies involve a wide range of sectors which are bound to change within short periods, these strategies should therefore be designed to best adapt and embrace these changes to continuously yield positive result in an organization. A good business strategy should quickly and effectively adapt to business opportunities as they arise. McDonalds Corporation Inc is one of the companies well known for embracing this strategic aspect. The company ensures that its production, marketing and distribution channels comfortably accommodate market changes in terms of preference and size in its multiple branches. Responsive business strategies assist in cost reductions, maximizing sales revenue and achieving customer satisfaction, which are essential stepping stones to attaining desired company goals (Hamel, 198).

Business strategies provide good opportunity for the management to set organizational goals and tactics. The strategies should incorporate the four key building blocks for them to be effective in achieving the set goals. The four building blocks: efficiency, quality, innovation and responsiveness need to be linked or related for them to be effective. Strategies developed should be effective meaning that there should be reasonable relation between production and cost. In reducing cost, the company should ensure quality of products and services is not compromised. Even with stable products continuous growth should be maintained through innovation, which refers to continuous improvements and embracing changes. Finally the strategies should be evaluated to ensure they can comfortably respond to internal and external environmental changes.

Works Cited

Drucker, Peter The Practice of Management, Harper and Row, New York, 1954

Chowdhury, Subir . The Ice Cream Maker: An Inspiring Tale About Making Quality The KeyIngredient in Everything You Do. New York: Doubleday, Random House.2005

Christensen, Clayton The Innovator’s Dilemma, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1997.

Hamel, Gary Leading the Revolution, Plume (Penguin Books), New York, 2002

Johnson, G, Scholes, K, Whittington, R Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th Edition, FT PrenticeHall, Essex, 2008

FORMATION OF THE CONTRACT

Article 14

According to the article, a contract summarizing a given contract addressed to one or many people entails an offer suppose fully illustrate and show the purpose of the person offering the contract. The article further emphasize that a proposal is satisfactory if it shows the products and fully indicate the quantity and product prices. Additionally, suppose a proposal does not adds specific people or group of people, then it is considered an offer unless the contract indicates the person offering.

Article 16

Suppose the contract is not concluded, an offence may arise is the revocation reaches the person accepting the contract and suppose the goods or services have not been accepted. Otherwise, an offer cannot be refused.

Article 18

Acceptance is a statement made by the person whom the contract is being offered indicting his or her acceptance of the contract. This statement or the letter starts functioning at the point when offeree accepts the offer. The statement does not however become operational when the consent does not reach the person offering the contract in good time.

Suppose the virtue of the offer or as an outcome of the practices which the offeree and the offeror initiate, the person being offered the contract can show his or her acceptance through an act for instance one relating to the dispatch of the goods or payments of the cost, without necessarily notifying the person offering the contract. This is suppose said instrument is executed during the stipulated time.

Article 19

Suppose the offeree makes adjustments to the contract in its acceptance then it means it’s another offer. However, suppose the offeree does not interfere with the terms, unless the offeror, without notifying him or her, objects orally to the discrepancy to that effect. Extra terms in the contract in its price, payment, quantity or quality are regarded an change in the contract terms.

Article 20

Acceptance period commences from the time a telegram is made, or the day letter is sent and begins on the date discussed on telephone or indicated on the dispatched file. A date or time an offer is regarded accepted starts from the day letter reaches the offeree. Suppose it happens to be in a weekend or holiday, then these days are calculated. However, suppose holiday is unavoidable then the contract is pushed to the next working day.

Article 21

A later acceptance is effective only if the offeror accepts it and it is communicated back to the offeror. Is the acceptance letter was sent and the transmission method delayed it and this is properly communicated to the offeror, then such a contract is acceptable unless the offeror communicates otherwise.

Article 22

An offeree might decide to with his or her application suppose the acceptance letter has not reached the offeror.

Article 23

A contract is concluded at the moment when an acceptance of an offer becomes effective in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

Article 24

For this section of convention, a contract or offer, declaring the acceptance or any other thing indicating the intention of the letter is required to the reach the recipient’s place of work or home within the stipulated time.

Article 25

A person is considered to have breached the contract suppose he o he detriments the other party for instance depriving him or her what is lawfully his or hers unless the person n did not see foresee such a circumstance.

Four Essays: Nuclear Power, Remembering an Event, Personal Narrative, Guns on Campus

Nuclear Power

Should the U.S. Build More Nuclear Power Plants for an Energy Source?

In this century, almost everyone is familiar with Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two cities suffered bomb attacks from the Americans. These nuclear bombs demonstrated the power of atoms. Nevertheless, technology involving nuclear has no limitations to wars but also as a major source of energy. Atomic power is what harnesses the production of nuclear energy. Reactions that are a result of nuclear reactions sustain sun and all other stars. Nuclear reactors also produce manmade nuclear power. Currently, the scientists are on a very heavy mission of getting ways of generating nuclear power with the use of nuclear fusion, the main reason as to why the topic is relevant (Benjamin, 2011).

There are three major characteristics of the audience one of them being that they believe a single reactor of nuclear can produce a substantial amount of power. Unlike conservative sources of energy like coal and oil, a nuclear reactor can produce much more power per every unit weight of nuclear fuel. Others believe that production of nuclear power does not contribute to global warming since it does not spoil the atmosphere by releasing carbon dioxide. Talking of operational costs, costs of nuclear reactors operations are relatively low. The third characteristic is that they think nuclear power lowers the dependence of toxic waste resulting to remnant fuels. Nuclear power also reduces the nation’s dependence on foreign costly fuels.

The main question to be answered with regard to this research is should the U.S. Build More Nuclear Power Plants for an Energy Source? and why many people refer to domestic policy as public policy meaning it is the same thing when it comes to nuclear power. It plays the role of presenting decisions, programs and laws that the government makes. All these relate directly to issues and activities that are within the country. Therefore, domestic policy has the definition of set laws and regulations established by the government within the nation’s borders. Domestic policy is different from foreign policy where by foreign policy talks of how the government advances in politics of the world. Domestic policy wraps many areas including energy, business, energy law enforcement, and natural resources. Decisions from domestic policy reflect a nation’s experience and history, economic and social conditions, priorities and needs of its people as well as the government’s nature. It is a frequent disagreement’s source among people from different philosophies and backgrounds (Clark, 2003).

President Barack Obama committed himself to making significant changes in the United States of America’s policy of environment and energy during the campaign and the first year in office. In January 2009, there was an introduction of the energy bill in congress and it did not only involve a range of policies like control of stricter emissions and alternative sources of energy subsidies but also a carbon pricing regime that was ambitious for carbon emissions. The pricing regime is none other than the cap and trade (Benjamin, 2011).

When the house did the passing of the cap and trade bill, the senate opposed stiffly from the very beginning. This did not discourage the congress and president Obama and in the early months of 2010, the senate made it clear that it could not accept specific emissions targets under the policy of cap and trade system. It is from there that Barack Obama the president of the United States of America conceded and acknowledged that there could be passing of a major energy bill separate from the cap and trade (Benjamin, 2011).

The new passed bill would provide subsidies for other alternative energy sources including nuclear and stricter controls on emission of carbon. The 2010 oil spill brought into light some contradictions in the United States of America policy, blaming it all in the administration for lifting the ban on new offshore drilling. In the mid-2010, the senate had not yet passed the energy bill including the one involving cap and trade.

There are various research methods or methodologies used in this research project. They include; interviews, conversations, focus groups, observations and questionnaires. These are the main methodologies used in the United States of America to determine if the U.S. Should Build More Nuclear Power Plants for an Energy Source.

Interviews

Several people responded well to the interviews and no barriers encountered. However, many people wanted to know the reason it had to be them simply that they did not know the selection of the interviewees was random. The ratio of male to female was 50:50. Three males and three females responded well. This was regardless of whether they were determine if the U.S. Should Build More Nuclear Power Plants for an Energy Source or not.

Conversations

Many conversations with friends from U.S. took place discussing if the U.S. Should Build More Nuclear Power Plants for an Energy Source. It was tremendously encouraging to see how the community members participated and cooperated well without any miss conduct. However, some communication barriers got underway but later resolved. The main conversations included the issue nuclear power. The people talked more about the disadvantages and talked less on the advantages. The debate seemed to favor many, as they wanted their children and themselves to learn more.

Questionnaire

The same group that took the U.S. communities received and filled the questionnaires willingly. Both groups commented and added some comments saying if the whole world adopted More Nuclear Power Plants for an Energy Source, the whole world could continue to get better. The questionnaire addressed the problems that the institutions encountered regarding the issue of nuclear power. The questionnaire that contained fifteen questions formed the baseline of the research. The questions indirectly addressed the effects of nuclear power. Some of the questions included in the questionnaire were like; how did one find the nuclear power application, what are the difficulties that the plant system got at the beginning while incorporating, what are the expectations of the energy source, and what actions would improve the current power sources (Benjamin, 2011).

One of the greatest limitations of nuclear power is that the technology used on its production produce nuclear weapons, which later cause nations move up against nations. The waste products that are a result of nuclear power production can last for thousands of years and may cause more harm to the society. On to my own opinion, I hope nuclear power becomes useful and safe energy in the future. This can only happen if many countries spent more money and time wisely to improve upon this technology.

Remembering an Event

I was 15 years old and I was in freshman year in high school. It was during the weekend and it was a beautiful day when that happened and I did not have a plan in that day. First of all, in the morning my father woke me up and he said if you would like to go with me to get some groceries for home and I told him of course but give me thirty minutes to take a shower and eat something if you are not busy. Then he said I’m busy I can not wait for you because I have more work to do, then he went without me. After that, he came and I helped him carrying the groceries inside the house and then he gave me his car key to lock it, but I did not return the car key to him because if forgot and he did not remind me too.

Next, at midnight my friend called me and he told me that he wanted to hang out but he could not because he lives far away. Then, I told him that I have my father’s key and he is sleeping right now so I will take my father’s car and come pick you up. He agreed and mentioned that it is nice out. That was the first time I stole my father’s car and I was scared a little from my father finding out about it. I took the car and when I was driving on the highway I did not know exactly which exit to take to drop my friend at his place so, I took one of the exits and I thought that was the correct one but, it was not. I stopped the car to call my friend because I wanted to know where was his home at but the first problem I forgot my phone at home and I did not know how I could return to my house.

So I was very scared from my father to find out about that and I did not know what to do but I tried to find my neighborhood and I asked someone walking on the sidewalk and he helped me get to where I live. While driving back home I was reckless driving and one of the police officer saw me violating traffic rules then he pulled me over. Here was the big problem because the police officer asked me about the driver license and my ID and I actually did not have both of them. Then, he told me you have to call your father or I will take you to jail but I told him I could not call my father because my phone is not with me. Then, the police officer gave me his phone and I called my father and explained to him everything happened from the beginning and he was very angry because I did not return his key back to him.

In conclusion, my father showed up at where I was stopped by the police then fixed everything. I was grounded for a month and did not go anywhere but school, I was also financially punished but, my mom helped me through it. That is one of the best stories that ever happened to me when I was a child.

Personal Narrative

Ever since I can remember, baking has been my favorite past-time activity since during the holidays; my aunt would visit and prepare cupcakes for my brothers and me for breakfast and four o’clock tea. The way she did it, so skillfully and at the same time effortlessly, inspired me to want to learn the art. Furthermore, I relish the sweet essence from baked delicacies in the house. Therefore, we began shadowing her as she prepared the cupcakes and over time, she let us in on her secret ingredients. This brought us closer together as a family as we all got to sit down and bond as we enjoyed the delicious treats. My brother became particularly interested in baking and, thus, he went on to join a culinary institute. I realized I am better with accounting and finances, therefore, I sought to gain the knowledge in business management and marketing as I horn my other skills from dedicated lecturers at a renowned culinary institution.

Moreover, while in high school, my brother and I decided to have a bake sale to raise funds for a classmate that had lost his father to cancer and needed money to settle the medical bills and pay for funeral arrangements. To my surprise, the bake sale became such a huge success and people kept telling us how much they enjoyed them. This sparked my desire to own a bakery and my brother to come up with new innovative recipes. However, currently, I believe my raw skills and limited knowledge in business management skills are the only challenge to running this business. This is why I am fervent about joining an institution which is well known to ensure that my skills are better developed to ensure success in my chosen trade. I strongly feel that it would equip me with the necessary business management skills to set up a bakery with my brother and run it efficiently. In addition, I would like to interact with the different academicians at such an institution and seek their mentorship and guidance as I set out on my endeavor.

Last year, my aunt was diagnosed with diabetes that made her less active and cheerful especially since she is well-advanced in age. This has further ignited my ambition as now my brother and I endeavor to create healthy recipes that would be enjoyed by all. This, coupled with the fact that we would like to use social media and new technologies to boost our business, has also contributed to my desire to join a university which will help us develop the necessary skills. This is because many universities, to my knowledge, always continuously aim to remain up to date in equipping their students with recent technologies and business trends that have helped to provide them with relevant skills while making them versatile. I look forward to participating in the extra-curricular activities offered at the university that I join, as I know they will enable me to further build my confidence and overall character. Therefore, I hope that at least one of the applications that I have made to various universities will come through as I am certain the learning environment will provide the ideal foundation as I set out to actualize my business idea.

One of the greatest benefits that I have personally come to reap from being able to help the my aunt in baking is the confidence in my ability to do all the tasks that are assigned to me, most especially those concerned with the principles behind this practice. This new confidence in myself has enabled me to think of a greater role for myself in future than I had previously considered when I was still a child. Moreover, through the teamwork that developed between my brother and I, I have managed to see first hand how the skills displayed by bakers are necessary for dealing with prospective issues concerning health promotion. It has, indeed, been a privilege to work and share activities and experience with my aunt and brother, because they are individuals who were not only friendly, but have also supported me whenever I have experienced any problems. Moreover, all members of my family have been willing and able to help my brother and I out to finish all the work that we have chosen to undertake in order to develop our skills. All the members of our family that have been involved in our baking projects put in as much effort as they can to accomplish it and this has been a great motivation for us. I am, therefore, thankful for all the support that my family has provided us in ensuring that we realise our dreams no matter what.

Guns on Campus

Crimes on campus have been occurring lately in the U.S. which can lead to serious damage to a person’s life. Admittedly, people whom are not trustworthy, carrying guns on campus, can become a harmful and dangerous situation for other students. Campus police worries about parking and speeding tickets more than caring about students carrying weapons around. Guns on campus is causing threats to our professors and students safety because it is easily accessible, lack of security and unstable people having no control over their anger.

In the article “Guns on campus? Expect tragedy” (Amitai Etzioni ,2011) the author reports about the increasing crimes that have been happening recently by professors and students at the university campuses. On average “more than 700 Americans died each year from gun accidents between 1999 and 2007” (Amitai Etzioni, 2011). Some of those who favor guns say, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people” (Amitai Etzioni, 2011) But those nations which have more control over accessing guns have much lower levels of killing than those countries in which guns are freely available. “Among the 23 countries, 80% of all firearm deaths happened in the U.S. Some say even if we took away all guns, people would still kill each other” (Amitai Etzioni, 2011); however; no one can go to a random campus and kill dozen of people by using knife. “Guns should be less accessible, not more” (Amitai Etzioni, 2011). The author uses excellent supporting details to convince people not to carry guns on campuses; however; Stable trusted students and professors should carry guns around campus with license and they would be more of undercover security to save university properties.

The author uses logic in the fifth paragraph based on true stories when he says “ it was a student at Virginia Tech in 2007 who shot and killed 32 people, and in 2008, a former student killed five people and wounded 17 when he opened fire in a crowded lecture hall at Northern Illinois University” (Amitai Etzioni, 2011) I think it is clear that it is reasoning because he gave us logical examples based on true stories that have happened recently on university campuses. Again, he uses logic by giving statistics in the twelfth paragraph when he says “one study examined violence in 23 high-income countries and found that firearm homicide rate was nearly 20 times higher in the U.S than in the other countries” (Amitai Etzioni, 2011) and he also mentioned that among the 23 countries, 80% of all firearm deaths happened in the U.S, which means both of the statistics are considered logical. In addition, the author’s angle of vision is that he wants us to see how strongly he’s against guns on university campuses. On the other hand, he shows the negative aspect about guns on campuses by mentioning the tragic stories that caused killing and wounding innocent students. The author does not want us to have guns and shows us that they should be prohibited on university campuses. Most of the article is logical based on true stories and statistics that show the serious consequences of having firearms on campuses. However, the author wants the article to be easily understood. Going through the article it is obvious to notice how simple and more formal it is, which different levels and ages of people would get the main point of the article on the first time they read it.

Although one might agree that stable people whom can be trusted could carry guns with them on university campuses, others might disagree with unstable people being allowed to be armed on campuses. Once unstable people experience something that causes anger, they may lose their self-control and start shooting people. If there were trusted people with guns, they could be protecting innocent people from others who favor to vent their anger in the form of shooting people. The article mentioned the unexpected story of Seung –Hui Cho who has killed 32 people on Monday on the campus of Virginia Tech. “The killings occurred in two separate attacks on the campus in Blacksburg, Va. The first took place around 7:15 a.m., when two people were shot and killed at a dormitory. More than two and a half hours later, 31 others, including the gunman, were shot and killed across campus in a classroom building, where some of the doors had been chained. Victims were found in different locations around the building, if there were stable people with guns, Seung-Hui Cho might not have killed 32 victims and injured others, he could’ve been taken-down when he started shooting people” (Crowley, 2007). Finally, stable people could carry guns on the university campuses to defend themselves. Many people might believe that since guns are freely available in the US, and every citizen can easily reach them as long as they are a certain age, there will be no way that crime can be deterred unless guns are controlled. Consequently, giving firearms to only trusted people and making them less accessible for those who are incapable to have them would definitely deter crimes in the U.S where gun violence is increasing day after day of its weak federal gun laws. However, crimes will not be deterred unless guns are controlled in the U.S.

Despite the increase in crimes that happen often on university campuses, one might agree that stable students and professors should carry guns on campuses to possibly prevent a tragedy like others that have occurred in the past from happening again.. Others might disagree that licensed stable people should be allowed to have guns on college campuses to protect others and themselves from People with mental disorders that might threaten students and professors. It is necessarily to have an eye on women on campuses because they are often the easy targets for those who vent their anger by shooting. Many criminal incidents occur against women; In the article “The Reality of Crime On Campus” (Todd S. Purdum, 1988) the author reports “a man on a university campus walks up to a woman he has never met and bites her breast in a collegiate fad known as sharking. Four university football players in California Gang-raped a woman. A student rapes and strangles a 19-year-old college freshman in her Pennsylvania dormitory room. Another student murders two others in a Michigan dormitory with a sawed-off shotgun” (Todd S. Purdum, 1988). That is the reason why I think stable students and professors should be allowed to carry guns on university campuses.

In the article “Why state should allow guns on campus” (Michele Fiore, 2013) she reports a tragic incident of “Amanda, a 22-year-old, law-abiding adult, had a concealed weapon permit, but per state law, she did not have her gun on campus that night. Amanda did everything she could to be safe. She walked with friends to the parking garage, checked around her car and knew her surroundings, but her assailant attacked her from behind. She was held at gunpoint, forced to the ground and violently raped between two cars. In those few minutes that must have felt like hours, Amanda feared for her life, and even being in such close proximity to the police, an officer never came past” (Michele Fiore, 2013)

More importantly, Stable people carrying guns on campuses may mean the difference between life and death. The campus police are not fully aware of the danger that is surrounding students and professors on campus; therefore, they should have the right to take responsibility for their own safety and defend themselves when they have to.

To sum up, stable people should carry guns on university campuses so they can protect themselves and others from those who express their anger by harming innocent people. We should keep an eye on easy targets such as women and work as a team to protect our campuses. We could be more alert for suspicious people walking around campus and Communicate more with the police to keep our campuses a safe environment that allows us to get an excellent education instead of getting shot. One of the preferences that criminals like is an unarmed victim, being armed might not help all the time but being armless will never help. If we can train some trusted people on how to use guns and carry them legally, then they can have the opportunity to protect others from getting wounded by people with mental illnesses that might shoot someone. Finally, giving firearms to trusted people and making them less accessible for those whom are incapable to have them would definitely deter crimes in the U.S.

Works cited

Amitai. “Guns on Campus? Expect Tragedy.” CNN. 08 Mar. 2011. Web. <http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-08/opinion/etzioni.guns.in.school_1_guns-people-professors/2?_s=PM:OPINION>.

Crowley, Stephen. “Virginia Tech Shooting Leaves 33 Dead.” The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

“Why State Should Allow Guns On campus.” LasVegasSun.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/feb/24/why-state-should-allow-guns-campus/>.

N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/10/education/the-reality-of-crime-on-campus.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm>.

Benjamin Daniel. (2011). Contesting the Future of Nuclear Power. New york: A Critical Global Assessment of Atomic Energy.

Clark, Laura. (2003). Energy. New York: Macmillan publishers.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is a process that is used by students and teachers during instruction. It provides feed back that help in adjusting to the ongoing learning and teaching for improvement of students’ achievement of the intended outcome from the instructions. The main purpose of formative assessment is providing feedback to students and teachers during the learning process about the gap between the desired and the current performance of the students in order to formulate an effective action of closing the gap. In order to do this effectively, the teachers need to consider a continuum of the development of learning in any specific learning domain to enable them to properly allocate students’ present learning status and make a decision on the pedagogical action that should be taken to move the learning process of the students forward. In this paper, we shall discuss in depth the five elements of formative assessment which includes; learning progression, Learning Goals and Criteria for Success, descriptive feed back, self and peer assessment and finally collaboration.

Formative Assessment Tool Kit

Name: _________________________ Cohort Location: Bellevue – Tacoma Date: _______________________

Formative Assessment GLE (s) Description of Assessment Directions for Use Age, Reading Level, Grade Level Why assessment is useful

learning progression Grade 6 The descriptions of the process of students gaining more expertise within a specific discipline over a given period of time. Described below Standard 4-6 To improve the expertise of students.

descriptive feed back Grade 5 Information that is linked to success criteria teachers and students share during the learning process to enable the students to close the gap the current levels of their performance and the goals of learning. “ Standard 3-8 Linking the gap between the current elells of performance through linking information from the teachers to the students.

self and peer assessment Grade 7 Involves a process of learning where students improve their learning process through the feedback they give to their peers. “ Standard 5-8 To enhance the relation between one student to the other as well as allowing the students the chance of learning from each other.

Learning Goals and Criteria for Success Grade 6 critical pieces of information that is needed by students to be successful learners “ Standard 3-8 The information helps to increase efficiency by avoiding dealing with irrelevant information as well as having .

Collaboration.

Grade 5 Students and their teachers being involved in the process of deciding the most effective learning process. “ Standard 4-8 It strengthens the relationship between the teachers and the students and enhance mutual respect among them which facilitate a conducive learning environment.

1. Learning progressions:

Learning progressions help in clearly articulating the sub goals of the ultimate learning goal. Stevens et al (2007) describes learning progression as the descriptions of the process of students gaining more expertise within a specific discipline over a given period of time. “Learning progressions represent how both understanding and knowledge develops as well as predicting how knowledge develops or builds over time.

Learning progressions which clearly articulates a learning progression in a particular domain can be used for providing a larger picture of what is to learned, supporting instructional planning as well as acting as a touchstone for formative assessment (Bell & Cowie, 2001).

Usage of learning progression

A well designed learning progression offers various opportunities for teachers’ instruction planning. To assists the teachers in focusing on the learning goals that are important in the domain, focusing their attention on what the student should learn instead of what the students should do. In planning instructions, identification of the learning goal is done first then the sequence of experiences or activities that are to be used by the teacher for enabling the students in meeting their goals is connected to the goal.

A learning progression also helps the teacher to see the connections between what comes after and before learning, in both the long and the short term. A recent study by Harlen, (1999) has described the importance of teacher’s clarity regarding what comes after or before a particular learning goal.

In a study to determine the mathematical knowledge of a teacher, 130 sixth grade mathematics teachers were reviewing the student’s responses to the assessment of their core principals underlying the mysteries in algebra one understanding. The teachers could more often identify the main principal that was addressed by the assessment and in a large part they could appropriate inferences on what the students understand and what they did not about the principal. Nevertheless, they had noticeable difficulty in the determination of what they would do next according to the instructions, as well as the feed back they would issue to the students for moving their learning forward.

A learning progression through the provision of of a learning sequence that undergirds instructions could help in this situation. E.g. the NCTM 2007 focal points. Theses are core mathematical ideas descriptions that need to be learned by students at each grade level. Development of a learning progression for these ideas is possible. For example In the algebra case, among the grade 6 core ideas includes;

Solving simple one step equations by use of properties of operations, number sense and the ideas of quality mainatainace on both sides of the equations.

This idea can be extended into grade 7 as:

Understanding that through the use of properties of equality for expressing an equation in a new way, the solution that are obtained for the newer equation can be used for solving the original equation.

This idea has also qualifications in the previous grades, E.g.

Use relations, models and patterns as contexts for solving and writing simple inequalities as equations (Grade 5).

Identification, description and extension of numeric patterns that involve all operations and non numeric repeating or growing patterns (Grade 4)

Using the properties of multiplication and addition for multiplying the whole numbers then apply strategies which are increasingly sophisticated based on these properties for solving multiplication and division problems that involve the basic facts (Grade 3).

Through putting this ideas into use, a teacher of the sixth grade who had students having problems in solving simple one step inequalities by using operation properties can decide to focus on development of a better understanding of the properties, for example that, that subtraction undoes addition and multiplication is undone by division.

All the same, for maximum use of formative and instruction assessment, these ideas have to be fleshed out. Using them in their current form provides the teacher in the mathematical knowledge study that is described earlier with a clear point of view of the constituents in one algebraic aspect. But to be able to determine on what feedback he should give the students, more connection and detail among the ideas is very necessary. NCTM gives specifications that the focal point must be use as a planning framework. With ideas being the backbone of for a progression that is more detailed, school teachers should be able to poll expertise for figuring out the parts that interlock between core ideas and to describe what is involved in understanding and usage of the properties of solving of equations the students need to learn. This process can facilitate improvements of teachers’ knowledge to formative assessment and instruction. It can help the teachers in acquiring sufficient knowledge of pulling the short term goals for formative assessment chunks of instruction that are manageable, while at the same time ability of locating the purpose of any lesson in a flight of instructions that wires learning of students overtime (Leakey, 2001).

2. Learning Goals and Criteria for Success

These are critical pieces of information needed by students to make them successful learners. Teachers and students must have a common understanding of the things to be learned and create an idea of how a successful achievement looks. With explicit criteria and goals, the students have a beginning of what they require in order to become self monitoring independent learners.

Due to the fact that formative assessment is the process of helping students to achieve the intended learning outcome on the basis of explicit learning progression, the teachers should identify first and then communicate to the students the instructional goal. Teachers should provide the criteria of assessing learning to enable the students to determine whether or not they are progressing successfully towards the goal. Communication of this information should be through use of a language that the students can easily understand.

There are several ways that teachers can use in the process of clarification and sharing the learning goals and criteria for success to the students. Many teachers prefer specifying the learning goals of each lesson at the begging of the lesson. In doing so, many of them are unable to have a distinction between the learning goals and the required activities necessary to learning. When teachers starts with what they intend to teach the students and then design their instructions from that goal backwards, effectiveness of the instructions becomes unlikely (McNair, 2004). McNair advocates a two stage process of clarifying the learning the learning goals first, followed by establishment of success criteria. Later, the students should also be able to know.

The necessary improvement conditions are that the students comes to acquire a concept of quality that is similar to that of the teacher, is constantly able to screen the quality of what is being produced during the production art and has a collection of alternative strategies from which he can at any specific point.

To illustrate this in an example, when writing 6 ½ , the mathematical operation which is between 6 and ½ is in the actual sense additional, but in writing 6x, the operation that is implied between 6 and x is multiplication, hence the relation between 6 and 1 in 61 is again different. Yet, very few people who are qualified mathematicians are aware with the mathematical notation differences. In reality, being successful in maths requires the knowledge of what to consider and what not to. The students who don’t understand what is important and what is not are usually in big disadvantage.

In a study in a eleventh grade classroom, Black & Wiliam, (1998) found that by giving the students some time to discuss about what would be considered as quality work, as well as how evaluation of their work would be done, it reduced the gap of achievement between the lowest and the highest achieving student and at the same time increased the class average performance to an extent that the weaker students in the group were doing better than the stronger students of the experimental group.

This proves that using various examples of the work of the students from different classes can be effective in helping students to understand what count as quality work. A significant number of teachers have discovered that students are better at spotting the mistakes in the work of others than in their own. By providing students with examples of work at different levels, the students can gradually begging to explore the difference between inferior and superior work, and the whole class can discuss this emerging understanding. This process will result to students developing a urge of quality which they can apply in monitoring quality of individual work. Black, (1998). .

Learning Goals and Criteria for Success can be applied at all grades of students learning.

3. Descriptive Feedback

This is information that is linked to success criteria teachers and students share during the learning process to enable the students to close the gap the current levels of their performance and the goals of learning.

In a classroom, the students should be provided feed back that is based on evidence linked to the instructional outcome that is intended and success criteria. Descriptive feedback should involve specific qualities of students learning together with suggestions and discussions about what can be done by the student to make an improvement. It should not involve pupil’s comparison. Specific feed back should base upon the criteria for success and the learning goal. It should assist the student in answering the basic questions: (1) where am I going, (2) where am I now and (3) how can I close this gap.

To site an example, an 8th grade writing class, students are learning about argument construction. Specifically they focus of speech writing and have already examined various speeches that are effective, from prominent history speech makers from the previous year’s 8th grade students. In this lesson the students were asked to write an opening statement of their speech based on the success criteria of topic introduction that will engage the audience. The teacher gives one student a feed back, “the audience attention was not captured by your opening paragraph due to the fact that it does not state what the speech regard to. Al the same, the 2nd sentence’ opening paragraph states your position effectively. What can you do to strengthen and improve your opening statement?” through using this type of collaboration and descriptive feedback, the teacher is able to clarify the goal, give specific info on where the student is almost meeting the criteria and finally gives enough substantive purpose for allowing the student an opportunity for identifying the ways to continue moving the learning.

In a similar case, 6th grade students in a math class and working in groups were asked to review the steps taken to solve a problem by a student from the earlier class. They have to decide if the work is incorrect or correct as well as give an explanation for their views. The teacher gives them this criterion of success, “include any rules or properties that could apply in your explanations”. When the team went back from the discussions, the teacher listened for the properties or rules in the given explanations which became the feedback focus. She said to one group, “your explanations show me that you have a clear understanding that the method that was used by that student for solving the problem was not correct. You should remember the success criteria and also must relate your explanations to one property among those that ewe have already discussed in class in order for indication of the reason why the steps which were followed were incorrect”. In this example again the students are able to know the goal, whereby their response was different from the criteria, as well as how be able to improve their explanation (Leakey, 2001).

Descriptive feedback can be applied in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

4. Self- and Peer-Assessment:

Self and peer assessment can carried out by use of summative and formative techniques. Activities of summative assessment are used to sum up or judge achievement. These activities can be used for improving the practices and performance of the students. They encompass all the activities that are undertaken by students or teachers for providing feedback that that is used for modification of learning and teaching practices. The reflection of such feed back in necessary because it enables students and teachers to identify their weaknesses and strengths necessary for considering whether changes are needed, Deville, et al., (2002).

For better illustration of this type of formative assessment, it is important to consider and remember that both self and peer assessment enables the students to learn while judging the work of other and their own work as well. It is based on the NCTM standards and principals and at the same time requires the students to think individually about mathematics as well as in groups.

As individuals, the students are asked to read articles from content based journals as well as other writings about math. Based on some specific parts of mathematics that they had covered in their reading, they were able to make oral presentations. The students are then paired into groups of two and instructed to critique the presentation of their partners

Although the paired students are mostly focused on the preparation of individual preparations and believe that they are evaluating the presentation of the other students, the main objective is to assess whether or not they have initialized the most essential message that is intended for them to draw from this course which is that thorough mathematical content understanding is the back bone of good pedagogy.

In self assessment, the student monitors and reflects their learning by use of clearly explicated criteria for success. In peer assessment, the students analyses the work of each other by use of rubrics or guidelines as well as provides a descriptive feed back that facilitate continued improvement. E.g. students can work in pairs in order to review the work of each other and give a comprehensive feedback. What a teacher needs is to model a good feedback with the students and discussed with them about the unacceptable and acceptable comments and how they look like for creation of a safe environment for learning.

A rubric can be used by students for providing feedback to the peer by articulating the reason as to why a particular work is at a certain level as well as discussing the methods of improving it to the next higher level. An alternative method of giving feed back is by using a format like “two stars a wish” which provides the students with a structure for identification of two particularly strong aspects of work (star) as well as one aspect the peer might wish to improve (a wish). After this, the students require time to mirror on the feed back that they have received in order to make the relevant improvements or changes. In addition to this, the students can as well be encouraged to become self reflective by paying more attention to their own work on the basis of what they have leant from giving others a feed back. Another advantage of providing a peer with feedback is that it deepens individual, learning of the student. All the same, in a formal grading process, the student and peer assessment should not be applied (Deville, & Bouter, et al., (2002).

5. Collaboration

This is a culture that should be established in a classroom where the students and the teachers are learning partners. It involves sharing of criteria for success and learning goals with students, giving support to students as they take responsibility and monitor their own learning, assisting the students to provide beneficial feedback to one another as well as involving the students in making of decisions on how to move the learning process forward are descriptions of teachers and students working together in the learning and teaching process.

All the same, for students to be successfully and actively involved in their own process of learning, they have to feel that they are legitimate partners in the process. This feeling depends upon the classroom culture that is characterized by trust among and between teachers and their students. By norms of transparency, respect and appreciation of each others differences and an environment that is none threatening. Creation of this kind of a culture requires the teachers to be actively involved in modeling these behaviors during their interactions with the students, to facilitate active teaching of the classroom norms and for building the skills of the students in collaborators with peers and teachers in the process of learning.

This type of formative assessment is effective applicable at all the levels of learning.

While there is evidence that exists in an anecdotal degree for supporting the five attributes that have been presented, there is no best and clear way of carrying out formative assessment. The methods of implementing these attributes depend upon the individual teacher, a particular instruction context and most importantly, the individual student (McNair, 2004).

References

Gillet, J., & Temple. C., (2011). Understanding Reading Problems: Assessment and Instruction. 8th ed. Pearson, Education, Inc.: Boston, MA.

Shea, M., (2006). Where’s the Glitch: How to Use Running Records with Older Readers, Grades 5-8. Heinemman.

Bell, B. & Cowie, B., (2001). “The characteristics of formative assessment in science

Education”, Science Education, 85, 536–553.

Black, P., (1998). ‘Formative assessment: raising standards inside the classroom’,

School Science Review, 80, 291, 39–46.

Black, P. & Wiliam, D., (1998). “Assessment & classroom learning”, Assessment in

Education, 5, 1, 7–73.

Cowie, B. & Bell, B. (1999). “A model of formative assessment in science

Education”, Assessment in Education, 6, 1, 101–116.

Deville, L, Buntinx, F, & Bouter LM, et al., (2002). “Conducting systematic reviews of diagnostic studies: didactic guidelines”. BMC Med Res Methodol; 2: 9.

Harlen, W., (1999). “Purposes & procedures for assessing science process skills”’,

Assessment in Education, 6, 1, 129–144.

Harlen, W., (2007). ‘Holding up a mirror to classroom practice’, Primary Science

Review, 100, 29–31.

Keogh, B. & Naylor, S., (2004). “Children’s ideas children’s feelings”, Primary

Science Review, 82, 18–20.

Leakey, A. (2001). “Fantastic feedback”, Primary Science Review, 68, 22–23.

McNair, S. (2004). ‘”A” is for assessment’, Science and Children, 42, 1, 18–21.

Naylor, S. & Keogh, B., (2007). “Active assessment: thinking, learning & assessment in science’, School Science Review, 88, 325, 73–79.

Spavold, Z., (2005). “Using formative assessment to raise pupil motivation: a small

classroom–based study”, School Science Review, 86, 317, 119–123.

Name:

Instructor:

Course:

Date:

Four Forces of Evolution

Evolution is a change that affects the inheritable characteristics. Such changes affect only the biological populations and occur in successive generations.it is through evolution process that the modern living organisms have resulted. Four forces of evolution are dwelt on in this discussion. The evolution forces mentioned here refers to the factors that collectively contribute to the overall evolutionary process. Evolution is a generational process that occurs over time. The forces discussed here include mutation, genetic drift, natural selection and gene flow.

Mutation as a force of evolution results to gross alteration of genes and geneexpression; they are inheritable changes and occur randomly. Some forms of mutations are beneficial while others are harmful to organisms. Beneficial changes enable organisms to improve life sustaining adaptive skills like those involving reproduction and feeding abilities. Gene mutation is significantly responsible for the emergence of population variation, the variations in population could be within or between populations and are as a result of either environmental or gene influence.

The forces of evolution may lead to two types of evolution namely micro and macro evolution. Varying processes lead to either of the two types. Microevolution refers to the changes that arise within a pool of genes from one given generation to another. It is greatly influenced by all the four forces of evolution. Macroevolution on the other hand studies changes that go beyond species level; it describes the abrupt occurrences that lead to transformation of one biologic system into another; for examplea change of life from water to land. This led to speciation; different species then came into existence. A species refers to the lowest taxonomic grouping or ranking of organisms that can freely interbreed and give rise to new viable offspring

Natural selection is yet another force of evolution. In this case, the individual members of population continue to exist depending on their ability to reproduce and survive in the existing environmental conditions. It is notable that more organisms are produced by the progeny than can live or survive.Here, organisms with traits that offer advantage over the competitors are passed to the new generation. Those that are disadvantageous are rarely or minimally passed.

A third force of evolution in this discussion is the genetic drift. It is a change in the type of genes found in a population. These changes do occur in successive generations. Allele frequency is more prone to sampling error in a smaller population; a larger population is not affected much by genetic drift as the sampling errors finally cancel off. The drift alone is adequate to alter two separate populations that begun with same genetic material into two divergent populations.

The last evolutionary force is gene flow. It involves the mixing of genetic material among populations and or species. If two populations are completely isolated over time and no exchange of genes occur between them, they develop gene incompatibility. It therefore serves to minimize the genetic difference between populations. Organisms entering a population from another one come with a new set of gene pool. When they mate with the population that they join then they form hybrids that carry these genes from species to species.

Isolation mechanism largely takes part in evolution. In this mechanism, there are reproductive characteristics that prevent the given species from fusing. The mechanisms include physiological processes and behaviors related to reproduction. In this case, the species belonging to two different species are prevented from mating and if they mate, no viable offspring results

In conclusion, all the four forces of evolution discussed above work together additively to foster evolution process. It is these forces that have over the years led to development of the various forms of life that exist in the present time. These processes are gradual but constant and give rise to the variations observed between different species. Evolutionary forces mainly occur in ways that enhance species survival but may occasionally be deleterious.

Forms of Business, Sole Proprietorship

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Sole Proprietorship

Sole proprietorship is the most simple and common form of business that is unincorporated but owned and run by one person and with no distinction between the business and the owner. According to Pride, Hughes & Kapoor (2012), formation of a sole proprietorship does not need any formal action and is very easy and an inexpensive form. Since the business and the owner are regarded as one, the business income is the owner’s income and the owner shares the losses. It is also apparent that the business income is not taxed separately like other forms of business such as corporation.

Sole proprietors enjoy complete control of their businesses and are entitled to make any decision concerning their businesses. There are no consultations involved in the decision making process. Moreover, tax preparation process is very easy since the business is not taxed separately and the tax rates are lowest of the business structures. According to Pride, Hughes & Kapoor (2012), owners of the business are always free to mix business or personal assets. Unfortunately, sole proprietorship involves unlimited personal liability since there is no legal separation between the owner and the business. The owner of a business can be held responsible for the debts and obligations of the business and the risk extends to any liability incurred by employee actions. Raising capital for sole proprietor is always not easy because stock in the business cannot be sold and the investors cannot invest in them. Additionally, sole proprietorship seldom survive the death or disability of the owners

Partnership

Partnership involves relationship between two or more people coming together on a trade and every person contributes money, property, labor, or skills. It is also worth noting that every partner shares in the profits and losses and as much as it is strongly recommended, it is regarded very risky to operate without.

There are three types of partnership arrangements including general partnerships, limited partnerships, and joint ventures. General partnership requires that profits, liability and management issues are equally divided amongst the partners and incase of unequal distribution, the proportion set is documented in the partnership agreement (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2012). On the other hand the limited partnership enables partners to have limited liability d input as far as management decisions are concerned and the limits are based on each partner’s investment portion. Finally, the joint venture work almost like the general partnership but is always active for a short period or may be for a single project.

Partners include their individual share of income or loss on their personal tax returns and their taxes generally are annual return of income, employment tax, and estimated tax. Partnership involves shared financial commitment due to the advantage of pooling resources to obtain capital and this may help in securing credit. Furthermore, partnership involves complementary skills derived from the partners’ strengths, resources, and expertise. Partnership may also attract highly motivated and qualified employees due to incentives such as offering opportunity to employees to become members. However, joint and individual liability acts as a disadvantage where partners are liable for their own actions and for business, debts, and decisions made by other partners and the personal assets for partners may be used to satisfy the partnership debts. Decision making process may also not be easy exposing partners to disagreements amongst partners.

Corporation

Corporation is a complex form of business and is an independent legal entity that is owned by shareholders and is held legally liable for the actions and debts of the business. Incorporating corporations is very costly due to the administration fees, complex tax and the legal requirements making it suitable for established and large companies.

According to Pride, Hughes & Kapoor (2012), corporation is a separate tax paying entity and is required to pay federal, state or may be local tax and most businesses must register with the IRS as well as state and local revenue agencies. Corporation has several advantages including limited liability where business debts and actions of the entity do not affect shareholders personal assets and the business has the ability to generate capital such as through the sale of assets. Moreover, corporations are normally attractive to potential employees due to the competitive benefits and the potential for partial ownership via stock options associated with them. Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages linked with corporation such as the fact that they are costly and time-consuming forms of business to venture and start (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2012). In addition, corporations may involve double taxing particularly when the company’s profit is taxed and the shareholders’ dividends are taxed.

Due to the ease of start, sole proprietorship is the most common form of business in America. There are no formal documents as long as the business is conducted under the owner’s legal name and the sole proprietor can maintain complete control over all aspects of the business. Not much capital is required in starting the business.

Reference

Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J., & Kapoor, J. R. (2012). Business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

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  Four Seasons Hotels In Europe

Introduction

A marketing plan shows the marketing efforts of an organization. It represents the company’s marketing strategy for a certain period. It should be made including the employees so that they can feel confident about attaining the company’s objectives (Cooper 24). The marketing plan mostly includes a well-defined description of the company’s competitors, the demand for the services and products of the organization and also the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

A marketing plan’s purpose is to show the management of a business the business current market position. The marketing plans made have a life of one to five years. This is because there are changes that are expected within the years, with the way technology is advancing markets are expected to evolve. The employees may leave and customers may be lost while others are gained. It shows what will be done so that the organization can attain its objectives. The business plan is more confused as a marketing plan but it is not the same thing because the business plan represents what the organization is about and its goals (Doole 34). The location of the company, staff, financing strategies and also the vision are included in the business plan. This means that the business plan is the constitution of the business, it then leads to the development of a marketing plan.

The Four Seasons Hotels in Europe has adapted the marketing strategy of using social media. The social media is where almost everyone resides, everybody is exposed to the social media and hence information is well spread. The company uses the social media to engage in conversations with their customers, tell them about new products, thank them for using their services and also advertise their current services (Groucutt 45). The company has ensured that all their consumers get their brand online, they have websites about them where customers can read their magazines and they have a manager who works on the website.

The Four Seasons Hotels since 1998 it has been named as one of the best top 100 company to work for. In the year 2012 the company’s revenue was 5.6 billion Euros and its operating income was 526 million Euros and by the end of the financial year its profit was 80million Euros. The company properties include 3,500 hotels which are in five continents. It also runs properties for real estate owners which earn them three per cent of the gross income and also 5 per cent of the profits from running the properties (Doole 86). The Four Seasons Hotels has sophisticated venues whereby people meet for business meetings; there are also luxurious receptions that are intended for parties holding a capacity of about 600 people. There are also gardens that are attractive especially because they can be viewed from the rooms.

Global trends shape the world and help to focus on the challenges that may be experienced in the future. Global economies are interconnected and hence leading to companies working with the government. There are six long term developments when it comes to global trends that can be used to shape the world. These are demographic shifts; this is the increase in population of the youth, urbanization and also the growing middle class. This leads to reshaping both the world and the society (Groucutt 66). The other long term development is the increase in technology innovation which leads to a smart mobile world. There is also the government which leads to enhancing the ties with the private sectors. There are also the emerging markets that lead to increased global power. There is also the global banking and lastly cleantech which is a competitive advantage. These trends are the same in the world.

The Four Seasons Hotels plans to continue adding to its portfolio more hotels and resorts. Its plan in the next five years is to expand in other countries where they are doing well and also where they have not established themselves. It plans to invest in countries like China and India and Moscow. The company also intends to go out and get more experienced and well known staff especially the chefs so as to increase their number of customers (Cooper 75). The company also hopes with the growth in technology innovation their advertising using the internet will continue to bear fruits. The company plans to continue communicating with their customers using the social media.

The company has faced competition since its inception and when starting in London its main competitors were Claridge and The Connaught but Four Seasons Hotel discovered that the two hotels were treating their customers according to their social class. The Mandarin hotel which after the Four Seasons Hotel was opened decided to use $ 110 on a new project. The hotel has 115 rooms which are near the landmark shopping centre; the two companies compete in their fabrics and furniture too. The Mandarin with its developments of having spas and Chinese art aims at attracting the tourists with disposable income ((Doole 72). The company gets its customers for the fine food and the good services they offer their customers which include picking them with Rolls-Royce limousines at the airport. The Four Seasons Hotel also has tried to gain the higher market share and has gone to extent of hiring designers so as to match with the culture of their customers and has worked on having the best modern spa and also providing the best services.

The competitors Mandarin boasts of its heritage and this is what it has over the Four Seasons Hotels. The sales manager is quoted saying that the hotel like to have chocolate sauce on their vanilla. The changes in the market however will lead to the hotel having more modern facilities other than the historic ones (Muhlbacher 65). The Four Seasons Hotels does not plan to emphasis on the historic features like its competitors. The hotel strengths is its modern facilities where they include ballrooms

The Four Seasons Hotels strengths are that they access certain things before they invest. The first thing is what is the strength of the market and second is the quality of the site that is proposed. The third one is the investor with whom to work with (Doole 83). They ensure they are committed and have the same objectives just as them. The Four Seasons hotels base its business model on four pillars which are service, quality, and culture and also brand. The company is dedicated to making sure they commit business in a way that they will comply with the law.

The Four Seasons Hotels at its fifth decade continues to grow in size and also in recognition all over the word. They are developing a global luxury brand. They have grown in all continents except one that is Antarctica. They offer exceptional luxury services to their customers worldwide hence building an international brand. The Four Seasons Hotels has made it their goal to involve all their employees and customers in achieving their goal of preserving the environment when providing their services (Muhlbacher 96). Market segmentation is a marketing term that refers to the company dividing consumers according to their needs. This is the reason why the Four Seasons Hotels has different services which are stated in their brochures, the spas mostly attract women and hence made to suit their needs.

Researching on the needs of most consumers which can be categorized on age and sex is a competitive advantage that will enable a company to defeat their competitors once they implement them. The company has been able to have a strong management team and has also applied technology in providing their services (Groucutt 85). Their financial position is quite strong. The company has been able to continue growing and they owe that to their strong brand name which has attracted investors and customers all over the world.

Ten million dollars budget of Four Season Hotels in Europe will be utilized and invested in the Centre of performing Arts, costs to construct and furnish thus making it the most luxurious theatre within Europe. Europe also possesses over fifteen thousand extravagance hotel items that will value $10 million from the mythological Four Seasons hotel at the underlying Avenue Road coupled with Yorkville. The budget for the item will entail the signature old world iron gates from the corresponding restaurant Truffles and the prevailing regency ballroom’s twofold height doors, overelaborate mirrors, wood paneling and century ancient chandeliers. Moreover, the tapestry that is situated thirty second floor, which is backdrop for numerous landmark photographs thus auction. The iconic Four Seasons Hotel is situated within the city’s fashionable Yorkville district is permanently closed down while the 55-storey tower is under construction near the alley. Numerous Europeans utilized the International Film Festival to watch movie. It is also popular destination. Europe is the biggest opera company and presently the home of its peculiar. The budget will increase the prevailing number of the rooms under administration thereby increasing the hotel management by approximately 20.7% within the third quarter. Moreover, RevPAR of the Four Seasons will advanced with at the corresponding Core Hotel. The budget will entail building of the five star hotels at underlying rate of fifteen percent per annum coupled with enhancement of the projects planned for the city of London and New York. Four Seasons possess ninety one luxury properties within numerous countries thus Toronto based company will hire manager to aid in expanding of the hotel and the hotelier. They offer exceptional luxury services to their customers worldwide hence building an international brand. The European Four Seasons Hotels has made it their goal to involve all their employees and customers in achieving their goal of preserving the environment when providing their services.

Activity Amount($)

Advertising $1,500,000

Marketing $500,000

Construction $3,800,000

Maintenance $300,000

Transportation $200,000

Furniture, raw materials and furnishes $2,500,000

Branding $650,000

Licensing/Legal Fees $100,000

Rental/Housing Fees $100,000

Direct Cost $250,000

Indirect Cost $100,000

Total $10,000,000

Customer satisfaction of the European Four Season Hotels is mainly measured in regard to the industry’s measure of the corresponding day to day room rates coupled by the massive occupancies expansion, which have increased by 6.8 percent. The customer normally have extremely good period in the hotels because of its hospitality industry.

Works Cited

Cooper, R. G. Winning at new products: Accelerating the process from idea to launch. Reading, Mass: Perseus, 2011.

Doole, I., & Lowe, R. Strategic marketing: Decisions in global markets. London: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2005.

Doole, I., & Lowe, R. International marketing strategy: Analysis, development and implementation. London: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2008.

Groucutt, J., Forsyth, P., & Leadley, P. Marketing: Essential principles, new realities. London: Kogan Page, 2006.

Mühlbacher, H., Dahringer, L., & Leihs, H. International marketing: A global perspective. London: Thomson Learning, 2006.

Appendix

Sample client satisfaction questions

The guide for the survey for customer that concern Four Seasons Hotel services and the corresponding satisfaction survey of the entire organization will take the subsequent format.

Satisfaction with services accessed or received

In the past 12 months, how frequently have you accessed or received services from Four Season Hotels?

o Weekly

o Monthly

o Every 2-3 months

o Every 4 months or less

Which of the following services have you received or accessed?

o [Insert a list of the services/programs you offer for respondents to select from]

o

o

How would you rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of the services you have received or accessed?

Very satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Very unsatisfied Not sure

Quality of services delivered Professionalism and gallantry of staff Timeliness of services delivered Your consciousness of this service How satisfied are you overall with the services you received or accessed in the 12 previous months?

o Very satisfied

o Satisfied

o Unsatisfied

o Very unsatisfied

o Not sure

What did you like most about the services you received or accessed?

What do you think we could do to improve our services?

Satisfaction with information resources and communications

How frequently do you entree our information resources as listed below?

Weekly Monthly Every 2-3months Every 6 months or less Never

Website Facebook Twitter E-newsletter How beneficial are our information resources to you?

Very useful Useful Rarely useful Not at all useful Not sure

Website Facebook Twitter E-newsletter How easy is it to find the information you are looking for about our services of the hotel?

o Extremely easy

o Moderately easy

o Quite problematic

o Very problematic

o Not sure

Do you have any comments about our information resources and communications?

Forms of European Legalisation and Impact of EU Membership on English Legal System

Introduction

National pride is protected by certain legal stipulations enshrined in the constitution of nearly all countries, particularly emphasised in a clear sovereignty section of the constitution. Under no circumstances will bending rules on this topic be welcome without comprehensive consensus. Europe has participated in such debates regarding the national and regional legal frameworks and the application of the provisions of each set of laws, which attracts all the supremacy controversies as could be imagined. This is particularly the case since Europe is largely founded on democratic format of governance which is keen on the sovereignty of the people under a particular determination. Incorporation of the European Union legal framework into the main legal structure embraced by European states is a delicate issue that touches on the sovereignty dogma held by nationalists.

Perhaps the most challenging question that unionism minded activists have had to deal with at the state level before embracing the EU membership has principally been issues of the process and impact of legalisation and delegalisation of the coinciding laws (Armstrong, 2011, p3). The process of legalisation and interpretations at the helm of national legal structures must pass through the satisfactory scrutiny that such debate attracts. Legalisation of EU legal framework takes certain defined procedures which can be adopted by member states as illustrated in the following segment of this discourse. Besides the legalisation procedures, there are impacts that can be identified with certain conditions of legal processes on the English legal system as contained on the final section of the article.

Forms of European Legalisation

In international law, legalisation represents a sensitive topic that crosses lines with the sovereignty of a people with defined self determination. Ratification of cross-boarder legal frameworks such as the EU legal regime to recognise and be in consistency with the national laws must be conducted under the watch of certain provisions to avoid clashing provisions and inconsistencies. The structure of the EU legal framework cannot adequately handle the numerous member states’ legal systems bearing in mind the diversity that the number occasions to the process of harmonisation of the laws across the board. It follows that there is a chance of congruence in some legal regimes while yet others have capacity to be incongruent with the standardised EU legal provision.

To eliminate grave intrusion of international or regional law on the internal integrity of legal framework, soft and hard laws must be incorporated into the internal legal system (Armstrong 2011, p5). In terms of application, international law could face incongruence from internal systems to such an extent that serious compromise needs to be made on the internal law to accommodate the incongruence. In other levels of congruence measure, legal structures may necessitate slight modifications or additions to allow a reflection of the introduced international legal agreements.

One of the conditions that are considered in the determination of the priorities in making the EU or internal laws superiority aspect come into effect is handled by the EU Treaty (lawteacher.com, 2011, p1). The question of the more superior law in the interpretation process particularly when there is a clashing opinion between the laws is tackled by the member state. Generally, the court systems in the state being under which the consideration is made usually decides the priority of the two legal systems. The guiding principle in the determination is the interpretation must therefore answer the fundamental question of incorporation. The judiciary therefore plays an integral role in the interpretation an implementation of the international legal regime. However, the role of the legislature is equally important since the missing detail in the elaboration of the law after determination is facilitated through legislative procedures.

In case the member state under consideration is monist in terms of embracing the EU legal framework, little resistance is met in the implementation of the EU legal structure. In such an arrangement, the formal approval of the EU membership quashes all contradictory legal positions and automatically places all supremacy in the EU regime. Characteristically, there is no need to modify the internal legal system in order to accommodate the new incorporation since the monist arrangement allows the priority of implementation of the EU legal framework at the expense of the internal legal system up to the extent of its inconsistency (Aziz, 2004, p16). This arrangement is one of the easiest membership procedures that the member states undergo in order to become fully compliant in terms of the legal requirements of the regional union. An example of countries with such an implementation system is France whose EU membership approval and ratification presented a phase of EU constitution implementation supremacy over the internal legal preference with little modification requirements.

Alternatively, there is a different approach in the case of a dualist state regarding the incorporation of international legal regimes into the mainstream legal systems. Under the arrangement followed by such systems, approval of the membership into EU block does not present automatic legal incorporation (Richardson, 1996, p177). This implies that some aspects of the EU legal system need extra modification in order to capture internal legal intricacies. Interpretation of the domestic law is an integral process in the incorporation procedure which is done cautiously in order to avoid inconsistency. Generally, incorporation into the EU legal system is a lengthy procedure that identifies the inconsistencies and controversial areas and sets out the implementation agenda from the inconsistencies. Initially, the identification of the inconsistencies is carried out to assist in the formulation of legal procedure. This identification is performed by the judiciary and passed on to parliament to ensure that the incorporation is finalised in form of converting the EU legal provisions into the domestic legal system. Due to the stringency attached to such processes, the legislature must therefore turn the EU provisions into the main legal regime through specific statutes. Legislation procedures are generally lengthy and make this cluster of member states indirectly involved in the domestication of the European framework. Examples of countries under this implementation system include the UK, Belgium, Germany and Italy (lawteacher.com, 2011, p1).

For more specific implementation of the European legal system into the mainstream legal regimes, there are two legal procedures that are involved, depending on the internal legal frameworks. After approval of membership into the EU, further legal procedures that lie on the way of implementation of new EU laws are determined by the nature of the states’ acceptance of regulations and directives. Under regulations, countries have easy acceptance of EU legislations coming into force in their jurisdiction. The British form of legal system does not allow such a direct incorporation of legislation from the EU into its internal legal system. Alternatively, new legal provisions emanating from the EU are subjected to conditional approval into the domestic legal system through statutory procedures. In such an arrangement, the supremacy of the legislature in determination of the incorporation process is exercised on a high level of stringency checks.

On the other hand, the EU may deliver laws in form of directives which apply in a more flexible measure across the member states. Directives form of laws allows the EU member states to deliberate on the means of implementation but sets out the standard target across the EU. One of the stipulated standards outlined in such an arrangement is in the form of clearly set out timelines that bind the states to act within the set limits. In terms of implementation, directives favour member states such as Britain which would subject any other arrangement to a rigorous procedure anyway (Kelly and Slapper, 2011, p83). Failure to abide with the requirements of directives due to their open ended approach usually attracts certain enforcement forces such as fines. In certain cases, the directives could be turned into binding laws for non-compliant member states if it happens within the stipulated timeline.

Impact of EU Membership on the English Legal System

The general status of the English legal status has not gravely been compromised by the EU membership. According to Burridge, (n.d, p1) the English legal system has a rich representation of the international law fabric in several respects. According to the author, the origin of common law which forms a deep foundation of the English legal system can be traced from Western Europe cultural practices. It follows that the legacy of European culture is passed on as an integral heritage for Europe and indeed the entire world through law, with English legal system being richly founded on the same heritage. It therefore implies that one of the oldest European practices are manifested in the English legal system that is second to none in terms of this perspective of richness. It can therefore be said that English legal system is among the custodians of not only the European cultural heritage but to a greater extent the entire world (Aziz, 2004, p16). In light of the responsibility that Europe has in protecting its heritage, huge borrowing from the English legal system has been relied on by the EU legal system. This creates few incongruence issues between the two forms of legal regimes since a nearly perfect match exists. Due to the magnitude of the English legal system as the custodian of this cultural heritage, it is admissible for the conservative approach with which the British states embrace the EU legal regime. Burridge, (n.d, p4) reckons that the flexibility with which the English legal system has is manifested on its origin that can also be traced from an international dependency. In that respect, it can be said that the European context is well taken care of in the English legal regime.

The institution of parliament in the UK is perhaps a very strong factor that determines the course of developments in English legal processes. The fact that the English legislation strictly follows the procedures that any forces of modification subject to its cultural heritage makes the institution a very instrumental role player in context. It is clear that the incorporation into the EU is a lengthy procedure in England and other British states which makes it a unique case of implementation of the EU legal regime. Despite this strong position of the English legal system amid the EU force that has swept the entire European continent, there have been changes that the legal regime in England has had to put up with. As observed earlier, the EU laws are given in form of regulations or directives depending on the nature of implementation procedure. In the long run, the adoption of the European system takes effect across Europe however at different rates as occasioned by political processes taking place (Kelly and Slapper, 2009, p600). With time, the English legal system may find massive changes taking place due to the potent changes advocated by the political and economic forces that propel the European dream.

References

“The Problem of Priorities,” n.d. [online] Available from <http://www.lawteacher.net/english-legal-system/resources/european-law-2.php> [accessed 19 July 2011]

Armstrong, K. A. (2011) Law after Lisbon: Legalisation and Delegalisation of European Governance. [online] Available from <euce.org/eusa/2011/papers/2b_armstrong.pdf> [accessed 19 July 2011]

Aziz, M. (2004) The impact of European rights on national legal cultures. Portland, OR: Hart Publishing

Burridge, R. (n.d) The Three Most Important Characteristics of the UK Legal System. [online] Available from <www.ialsnet.org/meetings/enriching/BurridgeRoger.pdf> [accessed 19 July 2011]

Kelly, D. & Slapper, G. (2009) The English legal system: 2009-2010 (10th edn) New York, NY: Taylor and Francis

Kelly, D. & Slapper, G. (2011) The English legal system: 2011-2012 (12th edn). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis

Richardson, J. (1996) European Union: power and policy-making. London, UK: Routledge Publishers