To what extent do political parties promote democracy free essay sample

Political parties have many functions, one of which is to uphold the principles of a democratic political system. A democratic political system is one which involves various features, such as a peaceful transition of power from one government to another, free and fair regular elections, people having open access to independent information, government accountability to the people and representative institutions and that the government operates in the broad interests of the people. Democracy can take a number of forms, the main two being representative and direct democracy. In the UK a representative democracy is in place. Arguably, the mere existence of political parties enhances democracy as they allow the public to decide who should be in charge of their country, however at times, the promotion of democracy by political parties could be questioned for example party corruption and undemocratic actions for example the unfair use of hereditary peers to pass a Bill. We will write a custom essay sample on To what extent do political parties promote democracy? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The most important way that political parties enhance democracy is through representation. The idea of a representative democracy is that the elected representatives express the will of the people and sections of society. Political parties claim to have a representative function, however parties have their origins in the representation of social classes. In contemporary politics this is a weaker party because all of the main parties argue that they represent the national interest, and not just the interests of specific classes or groups. Therefore it is essential that they seek to ensure that all groups in society have their interests and demands at the very least, considered by the government. The use of referendums also increases public participation and enhances the idea of democracy. Public participation is a key element of democracy therefore an increase in the use of referendums will result in a higher level of democracy. A referendum is an occasion when citizens (either all of them or only those in a certain region) are asked to determine a question of public importance. In the UK, a referendum result is not binding on Parliament because Parliament remains sovereign. However it is virtually unthinkable that the UK Parliament would defy the expressed result of a referendum. It is Parliament and government that determine whether a referendum is to be held and what the question may be. Although the public cannot directly influence the government through a referendum, their opinions on the matter proposed will have a significant effect on the final decision made, which gives the public a higher sense of authority. There was a 1998 vote to approve of an elected London mayor, which was necessary as it was going to change the governance of the capital city, so the consent of Londoners was vital. It also implied some increase in taxation, again making consent essential. Referendums increase the publics influence in the political sphere, therefore by using them, political parties are promoting democracy. However referendums are rarely held, and politicians/political parties as a whole usually make important decisions, and don’t often require the assistance of the public. Many issues that could be used in a referendum are argued to be ‘too complex’ for the majority of the people to understand, let alone make a judgement on. For example issues arising from proposed European Union treaties may well be too complex for popular consideration. Many would argue that such matters should be left to our elected representatives under the guidance of experts rather than to the general public, and the influence of the media. Also, politicians may go against the wishes of the people, for example with the bedroom tax. There was a great deal of controversy associated with it, however the government still pursued it. If a referendum had been held, the opinions of the public on the matter may have been expressed, however one wasn’t held therefore this political action could be deemed as being undemocratic. The fact that, in the United Kingdom, we have multiple political parties, with a variety of view points and policies, is exemplary of the fact that political parties enhance democracy. The existence of various political parties gives the public voting options, and provides them with a choice of who governs their country, which is arguably a democratic approach, and encourages public participation. The idea that the public are not only voting for the party and its leaders, but also its policies show that they have an influence in how the country is run. For example the Conservative party (under David Cameron) believes in traditional institutions and values, protecting the rights and interests of property owners, and support the idea that the wealthy do have a responsibility to improve the conditions of the disadvantaged. However modern Labour (under Ed Miliband), emphasises that education is the main driver of social justice and social mobility, agrees that there should generally greater stress on environmental protection, and the party now favors more active state intervention to promote economic growth. The differing ideas of these two large parties, show that the public are given a variety of options on each different potential governing body, which gives them adequate knowledge to make a decision on who to vote for. The existence of multiple political parties enhances democracy as it increases public participation and influence. In conclusion, although there are a variety of political parties, both major and minor, existing in the United Kingdom, which arguably enhances democracy, they are all moving closer to the center, and becoming very similar in the modern day, which reduces the idea that political parties enhances democracy. For example the Conservative party and the Labour party currently agree on matters that in the past, they didn’t. For example on the matter of education, Cameron abandoned the traditional support for selective secondary education (grammar schools) and instead supported Labour’s policies to create a wide range of different types of secondary schools and colleges. The increasing similarities between political parties reduces the concept of public participation, therefore is reducing the enhancement of democracy. Referendums are an excellent way of reducing the barrier between the public and the government, and increasing the publics influence on government decisions and policy making. And although they are becoming increasingly used, they are not frequently held therefore this would further support the idea that political parties do not enhance democracy.

E-commerce site development re essays

E-commerce site development re essays The purpose of this report is to document and showcase the need to develop an E-Commerce presence for a University Bookshop that will cater for the university students of Brisbane. Brisbane is a dynamic, modern day city with an ever-increasing population of university students, and with that being said, there is a need for students these days to require an online facility to easily purchase their University books. This report will consist of the following sections: SWOT Analysis; a Business Plan consisting of the elements of a market and industry summary, financial plan, supply and acquisition, demographics, geographic coverage, timeline for completion of the project and a section on the issues to be explored whilst the project is conducted and completed. The next section of the report focuses on a competitor comparisons where the report focuses on finding out the standards of our competitor websites. The report also consists of a number of important documentation sections that are provided in the appendix which all provide insightful information on how the project will be conducted and completed. These Appendixes include the following: Gantt Chart for timeline of completion for the project; project plan documentation, database design documentation and website design documentation. These documentation will form the basis of the website feasibility proposal and determining the requirements of the project. The project that is proposed to be undertaken is to design and create a website for an online book store. The website will advertise the various books and allow registered members to buy books online. The site will provide information on the various books and authors and even contain reviews. The website will offer a fully functional online business presence for university students to acquire the books they need to study at university. The online bookshop will allow students to purchase these books via online p...

Effect of Television on Delivery of News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effect of Television on Delivery of News - Essay Example This information needs to be fair, precise, and just. The public relies on this information to know what exactly is going on around them, and the world at large. Media is what enables the passage or storage of information. Without it, the world and freedom would be something that people could only whisper about with fear of consequences and/or repercussions. Over the years, the media has been responsible for highlighting all the things that happen truthfully. They spearhead the campaigns against injustices and crimes. This provides them with the correct channels to use in order to find the proper manner in which this information is transferred from one medium to another. The media’s credibility depends on how accurate their information is, and how it may affect the public. It is a cause for worry if the information is biased, lacks neutrality, or is wrong. This may lead to wrong perceptions about the media and all it stands for in today’s world. This paper will examine the effects that television and other media have had on the delivery of news. Neil Postman’s: Amusing Ourselves to Death According to Postman, the rise of electronic media has led to the change in reality. Many people cannot put reality into context because the media is shaping the world into something that was not there. He goes on to insinuate that the media has changed the way in which people view politics, their immediate social setting, the economic standing, among other things. He believes that the media manipulates information for people to have some way of relating to it, even though they did not want to in the first place. In his book, Postman claims that the public’s priorities are altered with uncomplicated forms of entertainment rather than the use of violence, cruelty, and brutality when they want to fight against totalitarian authority. Postman also shows of how the media is responsible for manipulating the public’s social, economic, and political standing by presentation of fictitious information, and facts. All these are methods devised by television and other electronic media to divert the public’s attention away from matters that affect them. The public’s money and energy is directed toward such manipulation, and eventual subjugation through the media without them realising what is happening. This book and all its findings have created the state in which many continents are in today. It is, therefore, only right to say that communication brought through television and other media is biased and provides information which is destructive to the rational minds of individuals. After long periods of television watching, one gets to question and be suspicious of discussions, and arguments. These effects are growing and will continue to mature provided the media is involved in contextualising the lives of people. Matt Quayle’s article; ‘The Method of the Medium is in the Motion.’ In this article, Quayle argues that Postman’s conclusions, though somewhat true, were a little premature. He did not take the time to correctly evaluate all the factors that came into play when writing his book. Today, according to Quayle, many factors contribute to the growth of the medium used to communicate to the public. This is unlike how they did twenty-five years ago. He reiterates the fact that Postman did an exceptional job in finding out what affected the media during that time, but a lot of things have changed. Quayle insists there is a possibility of increasing the public discourse in this modern age of technology. A lot has changed since the last time Postman wrote the book on the media. Quayle asserts that the television news space has fully-grown, and there is more to look for in the

Dominant Points Of The Eliminative Materialism Essay

Dominant Points Of The Eliminative Materialism - Essay Example One of the most imperative claims made by eliminative materialism is this that the humans are unable to comprehend with the realities existing all around them just by depending upon common sense humans have universally been gifted with. In simple terms, the existence of the objects could not be viewed as they appear before the eyes (Ramsey, 2013). Consequently, what humans perceive and subsequently conclude on the foundation of their apparent observation and visualizing could be contrary to the real characteristics attributed to the same thing, object or phenomenon in general. Hence, developing an idea, and reaching out the conclusion on the basis of the visible image(s) of the objects could not be supported by the eliminative materialism to be the true picture of divergent scenarios altogether. On the contrary, reductive materialism submits to state that the psychological states of affairs associated with the mind could be estimated by deducing the same from mental to physical (Murr affa, 2011). Theory of mind, as per elucidated in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), also supports the states of mind, indirectly ratifying the validity of reductive materialism (Apperly et al., 2006). Somehow, it's being the product of the cognitive development theory, eliminative perspective declares it to be a bad theory, which actually serves as the reflection of the desires one contains on the one side, and the influence of the prevailing norms, values, and traditions regulated by the folklore on the other (Theory of Mind, 150). In addition to this, eliminative materialism criticizes and refutes the claim made by reductive materialism that the situation of mind could be explained in the same lines as it is conducted while assessing and evaluating the material things. Rather, there only exist, according to eliminative perspective, the physical states, which reflect their existence in one way or the other in various objects.

Commercialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Commercialization - Essay Example The accomplishment of various objectives and goals of the organization will be done through excellent commercialization techniques (Environment.fi, 2012). Commercialization includes technological services like linking of technological delivery and endorsements (Harzing & Noorderhaven, 2000; Cai, 2000). In order to commercialize new product development the technology used must match with the specifications and requirements (Santamaria & Ni, 2008). Commercialization of a new product allows the company to create differentiated products with and against the customer’s choices along with various values dimensions (Narotama, n.d.). To gain maximum value from the products and product developments services commercialization helps in gaining high return on investment from product development and also attain a market position relative to its competitors (Shirani, 2009). External Factors Responsible for Commercialization in the International Markets Cost: The cost of the raw materials an d labor is required for the manufacturing of a new product and whether these factors would turn out to be costly or cheap or huge determinants for the success of the new product development. Materials and technology: The availability of the raw materials and technology influence the product design. Customer Requirements: The customer tastes, preferences and requirements influence the product design. The changes in the product design are done accordingly to the customer wants and requirements. Culture: Culture plays an important role in the determination of the new product launch. The culture of a particular country plays an important role in determining the success of new product launch. Environment factors: While designing a new product, factors like whether the materials (Edgell, Ruf & Agarwal, n.d.) can be recycled or they are environment friendly or not are important determinants for new product development. Company Image and Identity: Perception of the brand image among the cus tomers plays an important role in the new product development process and the product design. Competitors: The impact of the brand image of the competitors needs to be considered while executing a new product development process. Government rules and regulations: The government rules and regulations play an important role in the development and commercialization of new product. Internal Factors Responsible for Commercialization Changing Market Dynamics: The standardization of the product design would be affected by changing market dynamics and would be established which would lead to an increase in the organizational outcome. Dominant Product Design: Dominant design would be defined as establishing a standard which would be inherent to the overall industry standards. Network Externalities: Network externalities would be existent only in those products where the perceived customer utility is available and the success of the product depends upon the taste of the existing customers and the easy availability of the complementary products (Morrello, 2013). Commercialization Models: A commercialization model is prerequisite for the companies

The Public Transport In London Sociology Essay

The Public Transport In London Sociology Essay London is the capital of England and is one of the largest cities of the world as well of the United Kingdom. The city has a huge population of 8,174,100, making it the  most populous municipality in the European Union. All these people have to move in order to lead their life and a huge number of the population take the private transport for travelling. Although there are many people who travel on their private vehicles, an appreciable number of people take the public transport. London being one of the most modern cities of the world also offers many options to its citizens for travelling. There are  underground train services,  London Buses,  Tram link, the  Docklands Light Railway,  over ground, air transports and other options. A report suggests that annually in London, there are a staggering 2 billion of bus journeys, 1 billion of underground journeys and 800 million journeys on National Rail networks. Body All the people of London travel in the public transports throughout the day. People travel, go to their work, students go to schools by these public transports. A survey was made on the public transport in London by taking opinions from the people of London. The survey was done with people of different ages. The people were asked different questions and their answers were studied. The question asked comprised of two types. One category had one word answers and the other had elaborate options. However, all the questions were multiple choice questions. We gathered a clear idea about the public transport in London from the survey. The first ten questions were one word answers. The survey takers just ticked on any one of the option between yes and no. We found different opinions from different people. Peoples responses also differed with their ages and economic capacities. The first ten questions are given in the table below, along with their answers. The answers are given in percentage after making a calculation from the responses and opinions of the people. Serial Question Answer in Percentage 01 Do you travel in Public transport? 60% 02 Do you have a private transport? 50% 03 Are you a regular traveller? 50% 04 Do you have any income? 70% 05 Do you go to work by public transport? 90% 06 Is Public Transports of London comfortable? 60% 07 Is it cheaper than private transports? 100% 08 Do you find the Public Transports crowd? 80% 09 Do other members of your family travel in public transports? 60% 10 Are you happy with the Public Transports of London? 70% Table No. 01 The outcome of the survey helps to draw a picture of the Public transport of London. The study shows that more than half of the people of London avail public transport. Here we see the figure stands 60%. In addition to that it is seen that a good number of people do not have a private vehicle. Now, the next question asked to the survey takers was if they were regular travellers. 50% of them agreed that they were regular passengers. It meant that they were regular customers and that they depended of public transport. People travel and make journeys for various purposes. The study shows that most of the people went to work in public transport. So, public transport is a very essential medium for going to the work place. It is at the same time a very prominent option for the employees. However, one thing cannot be denied at all. During rush hours and even at some other time of the day, there are huge crowd in these transports. This problem does not happen at all time but mostly during rush hours. The problem is not because there is less number of vehicles but that there are more people at the same time. The scenery is common while people start for office and then again when they return. For this reason 80% of the people said that public transports were filled with crowd. The survey went to details about the topic and about the feeling of the people. The questions were done for the other family members of the people. The individuals were asked if other members of their families used public transports as a mean of travelling. A good number of 60% of the people informed that other members of their family also travelled on these transports. This means that the families that use public transport use the maximum use of it. The last question that was asked to the survey takers was their feeling about the transport systems. It was asked if they were happy with the public transport of London. A total of 70 percent of the people said they were happy with the situation. This conveys a very positive feeling about the Public Transport of London. It also depicts that the communication system of the city is very good, developed and advanced. At the same time it is also very public friendly. The second phase of the survey was the open questions. After getting a picture of the public transport of London the purpose was to go deeper. A total of 5 open questions were asked to get a more elaborate picture. The questions were asked to know about the different types of public transports that the people used. The first of the open question was about the age of the people. The people were asked to disclose their age so that it could be calculated that which age of people took he public transport more. The chart below shows the age wise transporters. Chart No. 01 The chart clearly shows that the most of the people taking public transports are from the age of 15-30. The next group of people who take this transport are the people of aging between 30 and 45 years. Almost no people aging below 15 take the public transport and there are a few people aging 45 to 60 years old take the transports. People aging above 60 do use public transport but they are very few. It means the children are not independent, they depend on their parents. So, they normally do not travel on public transports. The do not usually travel much. If they even do, they are accompanied by their parents. The old people do less travelling, so their percent is also low. The people, who are young aging between 15 to 45 years, are the ones who take the public transport most. It is because they go to work, attain classes, and do all other travelling by the public transports. The next question that was asked to the people was their occupation. It was really needed to know which class or group of people used the public transport most. The chart below reflects the travelling of different people. Chart No. 02 The chart clearly shows which category of the people takes the public transport most. It shows that the working people use the maximum utilization. Next are the students and then are the people looking for work. People go to their work places with the public transports. The students also take this for going to their educational institutions. People who are looking for work are also taking the help of the public transport. The later questions elaborate why these people use this means. The third question that was asked to the people was that which public transports they found more comfortable. London is a city of many dwellers and there are also many options of public transports. The city firstly like all others have public buses. The city has a long and connected underground rail line. It is one of the oldest in the world but much advanced. The railway changed and advanced to the highest extends with the introduction of all the modern technologies. Normal trains are also available added with trumps. The chart below shows the percentage of the different public transports taken by the people. Chart No. 03 The chart clearly shows that most of the people of London take the underground. That means the underground rail transport holds the maximum passengers. It alone carries about 50 percent of the public. The next are the buses and then the trump. The airways is least taken by the people. Air is not so popular because it is expensive. The next question was asked which public transport was lower in cost. The options were the same. The chart below shows the result. Chart No. 04 The data shows that the underground train is the cheapest. That is one of the reasons why people take this transport. The percentage is 70 percent. The figure next to it is the bus which is about 25 percent. The last question that was asked to the people was that which transport saved more time. The chart shows the situation below. Chart No. 05 The answer to the question that which transport saves time is different from all the others. Although very few of the people took the air lines, most of them agreed that airn transport saved the time most. The percent was 70%. The reason again why it was not 100% is because of the distance. Shorter distance could easily be travelled by train and then by buses. Conclusion All the data and the discussions above show a clear picture of the transport system of London. It shows that most of the people of London do take the Public Transport. The study finds that the underground railway dominates among the public transports. London has a very well organized public transport and it is also very advanced in technology. The people living in London are also comfortable with their Public Transport.

We Need Affirmative Action Essay -- essays research papers

PRO-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is it? Well affirmative action is, in plain text, the consideration of your class, race, gender, color, ethnicity, national origin, and disability when deciding who gets a certain job or admission into a school. If you are amenity applying for a job and there are other people that are applying as well then you will be considered for the job over one of the other people, even if they have more experience. It is not only for jobs, it is also used in any situation that there is a minority or different person, racially or ethnicity, because the particular business or corporation needs to have some minorities working in that business or in that school. They do this because of a government law or because they wish to add some diversity into their corporation or school in order to give some balance to have a more diverse setting. This strategy does not just work for minorities but also for women who apply to jobs where there are none or where the majority of the emp loyees are white male. Since the US has won the war of discrimination against woman, now more and more places want women to work there in order to do a few things. To add women to the workforce, or to hire women, is to not give a business an image of discriminating against woman for not having any female employees (no author, see work cited #1). Affirmative action was created to fight the war on discrimination. There are many examples where people of all different color, race, cultural background, ethnicity, or religion have been hired or offered an education where they were previously declined. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimination illegal and established equal employment opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, cultural background, color or religion. Subsequent executive orders, in particular Executive Order 11246 issued by President Johnson in September 1965, mandated affirmative action goals for all federally funded programs and moved monitoring and enforcement of affirmative action programs out of the White House and into the Labor Department (Kivel, 2). The California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) asked the question: Why should the people of California constitutionally prohibit themselves from ever again taking gender, race, national origin, ethnicity, or color into account in the operation of public employment, educa... ...niversity grew nervous as it watched trends in other states, such as Texas and California, so it sought a way to merge the applicant pools in a way that maintained representation from underrepresented racial groups-African Americans, American Indians, Filipinos, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders. The university’s solution was to admit the top two-thirds of the freshman class solely on the basis of academic numbers. In evaluating the bottom third, the university used a more-extensive review process that combined academic and nonacademic ratings but gave less-explicit emphasis to race (Gorman, 1121). WORK CITED PAGE ________________ 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Affirmative Action, UCLA School of Law Affirmative Action Outreach, Education and Organizing Project. UCLA: 1999. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kivel, Paul. Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. Philadelphia, New Society Publishers: 1996 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Affirmative Action, UCLA School of Law Affirmative Action Outreach, Education and Organizing Project. UCLA: 1999. Gorman, Siobhan. After Affirmative Action, Washington, National Journal Group, Inc., 2000