Dream Research Project Essay

What is a dream? Dreams are a symbol and link to the inner core of the human subconscious. Dreams as scientist say are stories our brains create while we are sleeping at night. Every dream is not the same, and their qualities depend, at least in part, on the stage of sleep in which they occur. There are different stages of sleep, REM sleep is the one dreams most appear in. REM stands for rapid eye movement in which brain activity is high and signaled by rapid horizontal movements of the eyes. Like all movies, dreams have story lines. Dreams in light sleep, stages 1 and 2, are like children’s movies short and simple. Dreams can be for as long as 20 minutes, to a few seconds. They can vary from normal and mundane, to surreal and bizarre. Dreams can often times drive creative thought, or provoke a sense of inspiration. Scientists believe everybody dreams, but sometimes we forget. We tend to forget when we naturally pass out of sleep through the traditional cycle. If a person is awoken directly from REM sleep (by an alarm clock), they are much more likely remember the dream from that REM cycle. Psychologists have also concluded that our daily activities while we are awake can have an affect on our dreams. However, scientists are unsure of what degree of an impact this makes on us. In one study a group of people wore red-tinted goggles before they went to sleep and there was another group that did not wear the goggles before they went to sleep. Even though anyone did not know the purpose of the study, when group that wore the goggles before they slept had woken the next morning, they had reported seeing more red images in their dreams than the people without goggles. According to First magazine, the average person has about 1. 460 dreams a year. That is 4 dreams every single day. In average you spend 10 to 30 percent of your sleeping time dreaming. You may think that vision is the only â€Å"dream sense† but it is not the only one. Vision is the prominent one, at least for sighted people. About half of all dreams an average person has have sound in them, but only 1 percent has taste, touch, or smell. However, a third of men and 40 percent of women have experienced smell or taste in a dream at least once in there life. Why do dreams occur? There is no shortage of theories as to why we dream. Some see dreaming as an important process through which all species with complex brains analyze and consolidate information. This is supported by the fact that most mammals dream. Other theories conclude that dreaming is nothing more than random brain activity that has little to no logical relevance. Another theory is that dreams reveal wishes or desires we are not aware of during waking hours. Unrelated to that completely another theory is that the human brain contains an ample overload store of information, memories, and emotions. During sleep, nerve cells fire at random, throwing bits of all of them together in random, wild ways. One of the first theories regarding dreams and dreaming was that Sigmund Freud. According to Sigmund Freud, dreams were heavy in symbolism and often showed the true intent and emotions of a human being. Freud saw dreams as wish fulfillment: disguised ways to satisfy unconscious desires that are too upsetting to face consciously. Dreams might therefore offer clues to unconscious conflicts. Freud For instance, sexual desires might appear in a dream as the rhythmic motions of a horseback ride, or conflicting feelings about a parent might appear as a dream about a fight. Freud called dreams the â€Å"royal road† to the knowledge of the unconscious mind. Freud’s analysis of dreams brought about much controversy, especially amongst contemporary psychologists. Psychologists of today believe that dreams do have meaning; however, meaning is based upon the individual, not a set logic or theory as proposed by Freud. A very popular theory today is that dreaming specifically through REM sleep is essential for making memories. Several observations support hypothesis. For one when learning a new skill, REM sleep episodes are more frequent and last longer. When the new skill is mastered, those measures drop back to the normal average. Also during REM sleep, areas in the brain’s memory forming regions appear to â€Å"replay† patterns of nerve firing associated with the new learning.

Global History †Famines in India and China Essay

The 1876-1879 and 1896-1902 famines in India and China were some of the worst famines the world had ever seen up until that point in time (Rouse Lecture). In China and India from 1876-1882, the estimated mortality was between 31 and 61 million (Davis 2001: 7). If the British and the Chinese governments had made simple changes in their policies regarding India and China, the results of the famine would not have been so catastrophic. In this paper I will analyze, Davis’ argument that â€Å"Millions died, not outside the ‘modern world system,’ but in the very process of being forcibly incorporated into its economic and political structures. They died in the golden age of Liberal Capitalism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Davis 2001: 9). Almost contrary to that he argues that â€Å"many were murdered†, emphasizing that â€Å"‘millions die’ was ultimately a political choice† and that â€Å"imperial policies towards starving ‘subjects’ were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet. † (Davis 2001: 22). I will aim to analyze these relating to British dealings with India, Western dealings with China, the broader development of imperialism and industrial capitalism from the late eighteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century, and also Marks’ claim that there is never such a thing as a purely â€Å"natural† disaster? In 1876, a disastrous famine hit India, starting with an El Nino-induced drought that halted crop production. However, the situation rapidly got worse: due to the inadequacy, there was a major surge in food prices. The vast amounts of Indian grain exports to Great Britain prompted grain speculation, which further raised the price of grain. As prices crept up, the poor could not afford to buy grain, a dietary staple. Furthermore, in 1865, wheat exports to Britain numbered 308,000 quarters. Climate also played an important role in the 1876 famine: El Nino pacific currents brought heavy rains and flooding to some parts of India, but severe drought to others (Rouse Lecture). In fall 1877, the arrival of heavy rains, instead of alleviating the drought, brought malaria-carrying mosquitoes that killed thousands (Davis 2001: 49). There were many responses to the growing famine. The British followed Malthusianism: land does not have a natural carrying capacity. Furthermore, in the few instances when the British distributed aid, they refused it to those unable to work (Davis 2001: 36). In 1896, another famine began due to a failed monsoon and the lack of a substantial 1896 crop (Davis 2001: 142). Grain prices rose again; there was no stored grain to rely on: the excess shipped to England to make up for shipping deficits. People hated the poorhouses: the food they provided was dry flour, salt, and dirt; moreover, as soon as rains fell, the British pushed the poor out of the relief camps (Davis 2001: 147, 158). The British downplayed the famine; overseas, they created stories and paintings that depicted the British as saviors (Davis 2001: 155-56). Finally, by the late 1890s, the British focused their attention on South Africa and India was left to deal with her own problems (Davis 2001: 165). While the famine was happening there were certain British policies that intensified famine in India. The newly constructed railroads, portrayed as agents that could bring relief to the famine were used by the British to build up the inventories for export goods. (Davis 2001: 26). In legislation methods, by the Vernacular press Act, there was see a denial and hiding of deaths saying they’re other diseases, than the famine and also the approval of Anti Charitable Contributions Act of 1877 prevented the upper class Indians from helping. (Davis 2001: 34 & 39). Also relief efforts turned away people who could not perform hard labor(Davis 2001: 25 – 36). Seeing that millions had died the British did try to â€Å"prevent† famine again by setting up famine relief and insurance fund had been established in 1878 (Davis 2001: 141). They integrated Burma’s rice surpluses into imperial system. Laid more railroad (financed by Famine Relief Fund) (Davis 2001: 142). But there were many things they chose to overlook, particularly that they didn’t do anything about poor relief or the inflation in the prices of standard goods. They also didn’t spend any money on slum sanitation, which resulted in the Bubonic Plague (Davis 2001: 148). The 1876 famine in China was preceded by the worst Chinese drought in 200 years (Rouse Lecture). In previous famines, the Chinese state would provide generous aid; however, civil war threatened the Qing dynasty. As a result, they put all extra money into the military, as opposed to social welfare. Moreover, the First Opium War severally disabled the power of the Chinese state (Rouse Lecture). The British were known to grow opium in India and then shipping it to China in exchange for other goods the English were in need of. The Chinese administration had been trying to end this now flourishing trade for decades but were unsuccessful I their attempts. This system of trade caused considerable economic damage by the drainage of cash silver from the country to pay for the illegal imports apart from increasing corruption and voluntary unemployment. (Davis 2001: 12) Finally fed up and frustrated with the way the economy was plunging, the emperor too some drastic measures leading to the execution of important individuals involved in the trade (Rouse Lecture). Also the attacking the evil foreign ships in the harbor by the new Commissioner in the area sparked off a bitter battle between the two which ended in the defeat of the Chinese. The 1842 Treaty of Nanjing forced China to pay indemnities to Great Britain and to open up ports for British use: consequently, the Chinese could not give money to relief. (Davis 2001: 12) Furthermore, the Chinese moral economy had turned into a more capitalistic one by the time of the famine. The British, through the illegal trade of opium, instilled an individualistic profit-maximizing outlook on the economy. As a result, the poor received very little aid. Additionally, landowners began to use land to produce commercially crops, leaving even less land for peasants to work on: (empire financially and left bitterness over the relationship between the government and Rouse Lecture). Then came the Second Opium War in the years 1856-1860. This had nothing to do with opium but rather the fundamental problem of imperialism, competition. Other countries are starting to make trade-treaties with China (in other words, Britain isn’t the only imperial power), which leads to Britain wanting to renegotiate Treaty of Nanking and again making it more favorable to them. (Davis 2001: 12) They want to ensure their most favored nation status. They demand to open all Chinese ports, legalize opium trade, exempt imports from duties and again war breaks out and results in Treaty of Tientsin (1858) which again leads to the loss of China and meeting the demands of the British. The Taiping Rebellion, in which millions died, was a massive revolt against the monarchy of the reigning Qing Empire in China. Basically people are devastated and frustrated about China’s defeat in First Opium War and the reaction of the Qing leaders as ineffective and corrupt. Also the1850s flooding causes peasants to lose homes, and they join rebels. The movement was headed by Hong Xiuquan, an unorthodox Christian convert who declared himself the new Messiah (Davis 2001: 12 – 13). The government starts to take note and tries to stop them but Hong and their followers established the Kingdom of Taiping – â€Å"Kingdom of Heavenly Peace† on the basis of a classless society with wealth distribution. But holding their territory against imperial and foreign forces had become virtually impossible which led to their downfall. Almost inspired by this came the Boxer Uprising where a few radicals gathered around Beijing and tried to besiege the embassies of imperialists, as they were tired of the foreign dominance (Davis 2001: 13). The Chinese empire was extremely successful at preventing famine causalities in the past. Landowners and merchants refused aid from missionaries, convinced they would convert the Chinese in payment (Rouse Lecture). The Chinese government should also have cut the taxes: by attempting to gain money, the government stopped the poor from buying food. Finally, if China had limited their military budget they would have been able to keep up famine prevention measures. Both famines in India could have been easily averted by the British had they made certain changes. Lytton did not allow local governments to stockpile grain (Davis 2001: 29). Furthermore, the northwest provinces, historically a subsistence-based system, turned into a commercial system under the British: in order to restore British grain prices, grain was exported to Britain (Davis 2001: 51). If more grain had remained within the country, prices would not have risen so high in the first place. Yet at the same time, many of India’s maharajas gathered grain to sell at high prices, just like the British (Davis 2001: 50-51). Furthermore, the British insisted on collecting taxes from the impoverished rural farmers, who could barely make ends meet (Davis 2001: 50). There were certain social ideas, models and dilemmas that the British were the forerunners for. One of them was the idea of Liberal capitalism; which basically means that the society is based on the principles of capital in its various forms and that almost everything in the society had a price and could be obtained through capital. This idea of gaining capital led to the idea of obtaining it quickly, which came to the idea of imperialism, which was to use up the natural resources of foreigners towards ones own needs. Apart from that great thinkers like Adam Smith said, â€Å"famine has never arisen from any other cause but the violence of government attempting, by improper means, to remedy the inconvenience of dearth. † (Davis 2001: 31) which gave base to the idealistic imperialist plans, which were never really implemented. Around the time the idea of Social Darwinism came about which gave imperialists reasons to conquer new territories without worrying about the ethical issues as now they thought that it was just meant to be, as described in Rudyard Kipling’s â€Å"White Man’s Burden† (1899); which came up again at the time. If the British and Chinese governments had implemented these slightly different changes in India and China, the famines’ effects would not have been nearly as catastrophic. China’s numerous rebellions such as the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions wouldn’t have happened: there would be an extremely limited foreign presence in China and its people would not have been unable to provide for themselves. Without foreign influence, famine prevention measures would have been greater than those of the West would have been.

Artificial Heart Research: an Historical Perspective

Artificial Heart Research: An Historical Perspective (Rayan R. Joshi Third-year paper Food and Drug Law Advisor: Peter Barton Hutt) Good reasons for artificial hearts: * There are not enough heart donors (â€Å"Each year, about 30,000patients are deemed eligible candidates for heart transplantation. However, only a small fraction of this group, numbering about 2000, actually winds up receiving donor hearts. Given the current figures, it is unlikely that the supply of donor hearts will increase enough to render all transplantation a viable means of combating end-stage heart disease on a macro level. ) Public opinions * Dr. Cooley believed that focusing the public's attention on the technology's future potential would have a positive effect on the field of research as a whole.* However, Cooley had grossly miscalculated in the realm of public opinion * Confronted with the gruesome images of a suffering human patient, society at large began to regard the entire held of artificial heart technology as â€Å"more monstrous than miraculous,† and research efforts in this area were quelled to a substantial degree. Nevertheless, given the state of the economy in the 80’s, and the aversion towards this area of research held by many members of society, the Jarvik team ( a team working on designing a artificial heart) was strapped for much needed funding. * The extremely large amount of media coverage provided to the Clark operation proved to be a double-edged sword for researchers in this area.While the press' love affair with Clark's story initially focused public attention on the amazing potential benefits of heart research, the vivid and disturbing images of Clark's suffering after his operation shifted public opinion squarely in the opposite direction. Commentators who had once championed the efforts of ambitious heart surgeons now openly questioned whether it was appropriate for human physicians to be â€Å"playing God† in this area. If society we re to somehow lose interest in the potential benefits of MCSS technology, then researchers in this area would lose access to the public and private funding that they desperately need in order to ensure continued advancement. * The scientific import of the heart, combined with its cultural significance, renders heart research a particularly sensitive area in which to pursue the betterment of society. Nevertheless, pioneers with the courage to plow forward in this field over the last half century have saved countless lives as a result of their unwavering efforts.One thing, however, remains clear. If society is ever to reap the full rewards offered by MCSS technology, it will have to recalibrate its attitudes regarding the field in a more open-minded direction, one that hinges less on short term success, and more on long-term progress. Heroic patients like Barney Clark have accepted this challenge. Time will tell if society at large is capable of doing the same. There are two main bran ches of heart technology. Partial Artificial hearts: Partial devices supplement patients' natural heart function, assisting those patients whose organs, while somewhat viable, are incapable of functioning adequately on their own Total artificial hearts: ( we should focus on this !! ) * Total artificial hearts (TAH), on the other hand, are devices that actually replace patients' natural hearts. Such devices are designed for situations in which natural organs are so damaged that even supplementation via a partial device isn't enough to produce sufficient circulatory function.Collectively, partial and total artificial heart devices are classified as mechanical circulatory support systems (MCSS). 3 ways these technologies help 1 First, devices can serve asâ€Å"bridges† to transplant, allowing patients' conditions to stabilize while they await the delivery of donorhearts. 2 Second, partial devices can be used, either temporarily or permanently, to allow a patient's natural heart to rest and recover following periods of distress. 3 Finally, TAH devices can potentially serve as permanent replacements for those patients whose natural hearts are too damaged to permit recovery through alternative means.Replacement TAH devices represent the cutting edge of technology in this field. Rules and regulations * Artificial heart technology is subject to FDA regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 (Act†). * The Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (Amendments†) to the Act establish three regula- * tory classes for medical devices, ased on the degree of control necessary to assure that the various types of * devices are safe and e ective. † * Artificial heart devices are considered part of Class III, and are thus subject to the heaviest possible regulation. A Class III device is defied in the Amendments as one that supports or sustains human life or is of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health or presents a potential, unreasonable risk of illness or injury. * Class III medical devices may not be marketed by firms until the FDA has approved a pre-market approval (PMA) application under Section 515 of the Act. Dr. Michael E. DeBakey- a prominent surgeon at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston * His research interests led him to form a team whose purpose was to explore the feasibility of building an artificial device that could replace the natural human heart.The history of total artificial hearts 60’s * The development of total artificial heart technology can be traced to the early 1960's. * Indeed, by 1965, * a federal artificial heart program had been created, and its enabling legislation asserted that the program's * The visions of Cooley and Liotta came to fruition on April 4, 1969. That day, Cooley implanted an artificial heart into the chest cavity of 47 year old Haskell Karp of Skokie, Illinois, a printing estimator with a long history of heart related problems. Karp died from an infection and related complications shortly after having the operation* In response to the relative failure of the Karp experiment, stunted for more than a decade. 70’s * by 1971, Dr. DeBakey himself became convinced that existing total artificial heart technology could not overcome the hurdles intrinsic within the human body. DeBakey was primarily concerned with two major problems. * First, scientists had to develop a power source that could be totally implantable, in order to reduce the risk of infection that was created by tethering artificial devices to external sources through skin penetrating pumps. Second, researchers had to discover and refine a non-clotting surface for the parts of the pump that actually came into contact with blood. Otherwise, the associated risk of stroke in patients would remain too high to warrant use of the technology. DeBakey ultimately determined that his time was better spent pursuing alternative avenues of heart research, asser ting â€Å"I decided to stop putting my energies and efforts into a total artificial heart. † 80’s *In the early 1980's a new figure named Dr. Robert Jarvik embarked on the quest for a well-functioning total artificial heart. The Jarvik-7 ( his design of a artificial heart) was a total heart that completely replaced the natural organ within the body's chest cavity * On December 2, 1982, a patient, Barney Clark received a Jarvik-7 implant in Salt Lake City. * Barney Clark was able to survive 112 days with the device however it came with a lot of complications. His blood kept clotting as it went through the heart which caused several strokes. * The artificial heart also had technological malfunctioning * The Jarvik-7 was implanted in a second patient, 53 year-old William Schroeder, at the Humana Heart Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. Schroeder actually survived on the device for 18 months.* Like Clark, however, Schroeder was plagued by multiple strokes, infections, and hemorrhages throughout the course of his treatment. * When asked directly for his opinion about the Jarvik-7, Schroeder made a horrible gesture, like he'd like to kill it or strangle it. * After Schroeder's death, public sentiment against artificial heart research reached alarming levels. * In response, FDA effectively revoked the IDE granted to the Jarvik-7 program. * Most researchers now became convinced, as DeBakey had a decade earlier, that the quest for an effective total rtificial heart was simply a fruitless endeavor. * . As a result of these forces, researchers and surgeons now began to bolster their efforts at finding alternative ways to combat heart disease 90’s * As doctors becamemore adept at using anticoagulant drugs to reduce the risk of stroke associated with these transplants, the success rate of the device continued to improve. * Indeed, since 1993, 147 patients have been supported by Jarvik's original artificial heart, and 88 of these patients ultimately su rvived till their scheduled organ transplantsThe non-pulsatile LVAD * Dr. Richard Wampler, began to develop a non-pulsatile LVAD. Wampler was convinced that the body might not necessarily need a pulse to function effectively. This belief in â€Å"continuous flow† pumps was rooted in his observations of how blood actually functions within the human body. * After 1988. Indeed, over 100 patients who could not utilize standard LVAD systems were saved by this technology. Notes mechanical circulatory support systems (MCSS) Total artificial hearts (TAH) the American Heart AssociationLVAD = left ventricular assist device â€Å"bridge to recovery. â€Å"= using partial artificial hearts you can help the patient stay alive while waiting for a donor. And in some cases an LVAD device can even â€Å"cure† the heart so that it can beat on its own, and does not need a donor. AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart: This device is a fully implantable prosthetic system, intended as a d estination therapy for patients whose natural hearts are severely damaged due to conditions involving coronary heart disease or some form of congestive end-stage heart failure

Interest rates and exchange rates (the details will be shown in Assignment

Interest rates and exchange rates (the details will be shown in instruction) - Assignment Example This is mainly because of the indifference of the investors. When the interest rate parity is covered, the interest rates and the forward exchange rate between two countries will be in equilibrium. This means that in such equilibrium, each unit return of home currency will be equal to the foreign currency. Thus, the covered interest rate parity states that the forward premium and the interest rate between two countries are equal and there will be no opportunity for arbitrage (Wang, 2009, pp.49-56). (Source: Dollery, University of Hull) The application of covered interest parity is that when it holds true, an investor will be indifferent of investment choice between two countries. For instance, if a French investor has the choice of either to invest or deposit in â‚ ¬ or $ then under CIRP, the investor will get same return irrespective of choice of currency. This is because in equilibrium the future value of investment or deposit will be same for both the currencies (Johann, 2008, p.10). Additionally, there will not be any scope for making profit due to the condition of no-arbitrage in CIRP (Gandolfo, 2002, pp.43-45). The covered interest rate parity is represented by the following equation: (1 + r$) = Ft/St x (1 + râ‚ ¬) Where, Ft = forward exchange rate during time‘t’; & the left hand side of the equation shows that dollar deposits return is equal to euro deposits the returns (Ullrich, 2009, pp.19-22). 2. Uncovered Interest Rate Parity (UIRP) – Investment in First Country The interest rate parity assumes that investors are willing to exchange foreign assets with domestic assets and vice-versa when there is opportunity of making profit from transactions. The theory also assumes that the assets are identical and hence perfect substitutes (Clark, 2002, pp.72-75). On the basis of this assumption it can be said that the investors will be willing to hold assets that yields superior returns irrespective of the origin country. This means that any random investor’s choice of investment decision will not be influenced by forward rates since the investor will earn equal returns on either option. This is because of the interest rate parity theory discussed earlier which assumes that there is no opportunity for arbitrage and the returns of domestic assets will be equal to that of foreign asset (Baillie and McMahon, 1990, pp.150-159). When the investor do not use the forward contract to hedge exchange rate fluctuations and the interest rate parity holds true (no opportunity for arbitrage), then the IRP is said to be uncovered (Harvey, 2008, p.90). The significance of uncovered interest rate parity is that it helps to determine the spot exchange rate by using the concept that expected changes in spot rate of two countries is equal to their interest rate differential (Melvin and Norrbin, 2012, p.115-119). a) Expected Exchange Rate Three Months from Birthday For the purpose of the study, the interest rates based on three month treasury bonds and changes in the interest rates were collected on daily basis. The exchange rates were extracted are the daily close price of exchange rates taken on the

Employer & Employee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employer & Employee - Essay Example What we need to do, It can be proposes, is to understand the "communicative process" involved with the use of the Internet. If "communicative process" suggests the functions undertaken by both senders and receivers of information, as well as the information, itself, then understanding a Web site, that is, a component of the Internet, would require an examination of its creators and their environments, in addition to its users and content. Interpreted in this way, Jones' idea suggests a need to study Website of Employer-Employee.com from the perspective of the organizational conditions within which they function. These conditions would have effects upon the Website of Employer-Employee.com' structure, elements, appearance and functionality. The interface recommends examining the Web from the broad perspective by characterizing the functions of Website of Employer-Employee.com as being for entertainment, browsing, education, work, and academic use. Understanding this informs design choices, It can be argues, as does recognizing that a Web site is simultaneously a mass medium and a means of interpersonal co mmunication. The Webpage for August Tips also suggests that studying communication as a "practice" would be to look at the cultural processes that

EMPLOYEE RESOURCING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

EMPLOYEE RESOURCING - Essay Example rt will finally attempt to provide necessary recommendations which may affect employee resourcing issues that may help ADT Ltd establish a policy to satisfy all members of staff. The recommendations would be drawn from case studies in UK from a legal stand point with the aim of showing the effectiveness of work-life balance and flexible working for APT Ltd as a measure of motivating the employees as well as motivating them. Employees are the backbone of every organisation hence effective recruitment, improving their performance as well as putting measures that reduce staff turnover are major factors that determine success of business during the contemporary period. More often than not, employ resourcing mainly depends on the available human resources tools and their ability to cope with the environment they will be operating in. Before attempting to give a critical analysis of how ADT Ltd can establish a policy to satisfy all members of staff through striking a fine balance between flexible working and work-life balance, it is imperative to give a definition of employee resourcing for easier understanding of the issues raised in the case study. Recruitment involves searching for and obtaining qualified job candidates and it gives the organisation the opportunity to select the most appropriate persons to fill its job needs (Carrell, R. et al 1995). Effective recruitment often attracts individuals to the organisation and also increases the chances of retaining the individuals once they have been hired. Thus, recruitment efforts seek to satisfy the needs of job applicants as well as the needs of managers hence the need for careful consideration by the HRM. ER in itself is more concerned with people management of how work is done and who would do it. In some cases unemployment rates may be high for instance in UK but still there would be shortages of people with particular skills that are in demand and often the few with those skills often find themselves working

Business law case study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business law case study - Coursework Example The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) was passed on May, 2005, and had to be executed by member countries into national law by June 12, 2007 and it was applicable by December 12, 2007. Nevertheless, some member countries – for example, the UK, Spain and Germany – were late in adapting this law. It is said that there are various forms of misleading information about advertising on the internet, but the main form is still associated with misleading pricing information. Clients have complained that some of the prices that firms put on their websites are not the actual prices they pay when they buy the product. Such a case was witnessed in Hillingdon Electricals Ltd (HEL) when they stated on their website that the price of iPads and Tablets were ?29 and ?19, respectively while the actual prices were ?290 and ?190 respectively. This matter brought up a lot of controversy to the organisation, where they ended up stating that it was due to human error. Some clients how visited the store demanded to be sold the gadgets on the prices advertised while others, who had bought the gadgets online went to the store to demand for refunds. This paper will discuss these issues and advice specific clients who were caught in this tussle on their next move. Scenario A – Tony and Ursula Under the Sale of Goods Act of 1979, there are a harsh set of regulations, which sellers and retailers are expected to abide by (Wallington, 2010). When someone purchases a good, it signifies that they have entered into an agreement or contract with the vendor of the good. Under the Sale of Goods Act also, goods should be described, fit the purpose and of satisfactory quality. Fitting the purposes signifies both their day to day use, as well as also any particular purpose, which the buyer agreed with the vendor (Kidner, 2012). For instance, a buyer might specifically request for a printer, which would be compatible with his/her computer. Products sold are also expected to fit nay sample they were show in-store or any explanation in the brochure. Also, the issue of pricing comes into play because there are cases where a client can buy a product online thinking that they paid the price stated on the website and that is not true (McCarthy, 2010). If you wish to claim for a refund under the Sale of Goods Act, then you have a couple possible ways of settling your issue, relying on the situation and what you wish to be done. The claimant’s rights are against the vendor – the organisation, which sold them the product – not the producer, and so they should make any claim not towards the manufacture, but against the retailer. Nevertheless, this act does not apply to products that a client has bought on hire purchase (HP). If someone buys a product, which turns out to be flawed, then they can opt to reject it. This means they can return it and get a full refund of their money (Slocombe, 2012). The word flawed was explained at the begin ning of this section, which also included pricing errors (Wallington, 2010). However, the law only grants you a logical period to do this – what is logical lays on the good and how clear the error is. But, even with complex items or considerable purchases, it is much safer to work with the basis that you normally have less than three to four weeks from the day you received the product to reject it (Kidner,