The Political System of the United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

The Political System of the United Kingdom Essay The United Kingdom has enjoyed a relatively strong government in the entire course of its history. A major part of this could be attributed to its unique but very effective political system. There are at least five aspects that had been major contributory factors in its political stability, namely: Transparency and Accountability of Government, Consensus building on major issues, Reforms on a gradual and necessary basis, Absence of threat from coups and armed overthrow of government, and the Check and Balance of powers in its three branches. England is the land of Kings and Queens. Down the years the monarchy had played a crucial role in the political system of the nation. The reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II remains the constitutional and Ceremonial Head of State. She continues to exercise discretionary powers like the Royal Assent for Bills from Parliament and Royal Prerogatives like appointments of Ministers, formal consent to the declaration of war by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, and the suggestion for the dissolution of the Parliament. The last discretionary power has never been resorted to anytime in the history of the United Kingdom. The Armed Forces swear allegiance to the Queen and that makes her their Commander-in-Chief. This is also the reason why a military-backed revolt to overthrow the government would be extremely difficult in England. In both instances, dissolution of the Parliament and unconstitutional change of government, the Crown had always been very circumspect in averting constitutional crisis. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government in the United Kingdom. He is appointed by the Monarch from the Members of Parliament of the largest majority party in the House of Commons. The current Prime Minister is Gordon Brown from the Labour Party. Coming from the largest majority of Parliament, the Prime Minister possesses the ability to form a government and push for important legislation. The Prime Minister and other senior ministers, each in charge of a government department, make up the Cabinet and together they function as the Executive Branch or Government. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are all from Parliament but they are accountable to it. There are three Ministers in each department. They are the Head or Secretary of State, the second in rank is the Minister of State and the third in rank is the Undersecretary of State. They report to Parliament regarding their work and a committee in the House of Commons oversees their work. The Prime Minister reports to the Parliament every Wednesday for the Prime Minister’s Question Time broadcasted live in radio and television and covered by the broadsheet press. This is a democratic process of Government Transparency and Accountability. Since the Bill of Rights of 1689, sovereignty resides in the Parliament or the legislature. Like most of the world’s democracies, the United Kingdom has a bicameral legislative body. The Parliament is composed of two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The population is proportionally divided into constituencies who elect their Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. The largest majority in the House of Commons is commissioned by the Queen to form a government. This means that a government is not voted upon by the House of Commons but it does get to exercise its vote of confidence when the legislative agenda is laid out on the Speech from the Throne. The House of Lords, on the other hand is not an elected body. It used to be hereditary among aristocratic families. Presently, the House of Lords is composed of hereditary/aristocratic members, bishops or Lords Spirituals of the Church of England, and those who have made valuable contributions to England and whose memberships were approved by the Queen but are limited to their lifetime and can not be inherited by kin down the line. Both Houses do legislative work while the House of Lords are limited in powers such as in the reviews of, proposing amendments to, or veto of Bills, except of those bills related to Monetary and Finances. The Members of Parliament have no fixed term of office. There will be a General Election when the Prime Minister calls for it, but which should not be more than five years since the last one was held. There are three major parties such as the Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrat, each with dramatically opposing political stand on issues. In the British Parliament, however, they build on consensus with regards to issues on national order and security, economy, health and foreign policies. Interestingly, the House of Lords acts as a Court of Appeals that decides on cases with finality. The Law Lords, which is a part of the House of Lords, is the one which hears and tries cases for judgment. A review is being made to study the possibility of replacing it with a Supreme Court, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005. The Lord Chancellor is the Head of the Judiciary in England and Wales for 1,400 years. Today it has been replaced by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. This is a case when changes in the system is initiated whenever Parliament sees a need for it. Such ensures that the change is necessary and called for, instead of a measure that is in place but without substantial value and significance at all. The United Kingdom has a political system with features that are common with some of the world’s leading democracies, and yet, it is for the large part distinctly different. Where in some countries there is a separation of powers among their branches of government in the United Kingdom it is not the case. Government Ministers are Members of Parliament. The Law Lords are members of the House of Lords. The Prime Minister is from the Parliament’s largest majority party. Despite the overlapping functions, the checks and balance of powers are in place. The Monarch commissions the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister consults with the Monarch, the Prime Minister calls a General Election for Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister and his Cabinet report to Parliament regularly. The best thing about the political system of the United Kingdom is that it had stood the test of time. It had worked for more than a thousand years, it could work for another thousand. But like an evolving parliamentary democracy, it is still a work in progress. References Darlington, R. (2007). A Short Guide to the British Political System. Retrieved October 1, 2008 from http://www. rogerdarlington. co. uk/Britishpoliticalsystem. html. NRI Online Pty. Ltd. (2008, October 1). Political System in the UK. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from http://www. nriol. com/welcome2uk/politics-in-uk. asp.

Stress Among College Students Essays -- College Students Education Str

Stress Among College Students Leaving home for the first time and going away for school can be very difficult for some people. In many cases for college freshmen this is their first time being away from their home and parents. Many times they get home sick and want to isolate themselves. They have to get into a new routine of going to school, and change can be very difficult. It is definitely hard to get into the swing of college. They have to navigate through classes in a new format while living away from all the comforts of parents. A college student’s life usually consists of attending classes, long hours of studying, working at a job (sometimes), and having a social life. Some students work at a job or study harder than others, but they are all trying to get degrees so maybe one day they will have meaningful and significant lives. It is a constant struggle for everyone who is trying desperately to make him or herself into a success. And every college student wants to be involved with something in order to further their education, or just have fun. There are lots of new opportunities out there. The struggle consists of demands on time, financial pressures, parental pressure and conflicts, interpersonal conflicts, managing freedom, peer and academic pressure and the transitional period to a new academic environment (Stanford University 4). All of these factors combined can cause emotional disturbances and one of the most common is stress. Stress is what you feel when you are worried or uncomfortable about something. This worry in your mind can make your body feel bad. You may feel angry, frustrated, scared, or afraid. These feeling can also lead to you having a stomachache or a headache. When you're stressed you may not feel like sleeping or eating. You also may feel cranky or have trouble paying attention at school and remembering things. Having a little stress can be good sometimes, but when you’re in college that is defiantly something you want to keep under control. Another reason for stress is the financial strain a person can experience when trying to progress in school. Learning to budget money is one of the most realistic lessons of attending college. This is one more way a student may feel vulnerable. Financial pressure is the number one reason why students drop out. A college student may become distracted with work in order to live comfo... ... distress is providing students with a feeling of control over their education, information about what to expect, and feedback regarding what can be done to improve their performance. Students who do not feel helpless will adopt their own coping strategies. Students shouldn’t let their college years distress you. Recognize situations that may cause stress, develop effective ways to manage stress and seek help if you need it. Works Citied Alcohol and other drug abuse. 30 Nov. 2004. American Medical Association. 6 Dec. 2004 . Hudd, Suzanne S. â€Å"Stress at College Effects on Health Habits, Health Status and Self-Esteem.† College Student Journal. June (2000). Vol. 34, Issue 2 Ross, Shannon E. â€Å"Sources of Stress Among College Students.† College Student Journal June (1999). Vol. 33, Issue 2 Stanford University. â€Å"Coping With Stress.† http://www.Ieland.Standford.edu/group/cawell/srticles/stressarticle.html Struthers, C. Ward. â€Å"An Examination of the Relationship Among Academic Stress, Coping, Motivation, and Performance in College.† Research in Higher Education. Oct (2000). Vol. 41 Issue 5, p581.

Bystander Behavior and Concepts Essay

Research reveals that the feeling of guilt can spur on the behaviour of helping. For instance, a survivor of a terrorist attack may be guilty of going to assist others. Lack of Personal Relationship Ideally, bystanders are more likely to assist when the know the person. In the case of emergency, people in the problem people may make personalized response even if strangers are keeping a distance. The bystanders’ presence in the scene of emergency limits the likelihood of any person will display any response to assist in violence. Schöllnberger, Mitchel, Redpath, Crawford-Brown & Hofmann, (2007) notes that contrary to common sense, there is no safety in bystander in the presence of the bystander because they see and assume someone else will take responsibility. Both social norm and diffusion explanations predict a reduction in helping behaviour when a bystander is present. Pro-Social BehaviourThe psychological foundations of the pro-social behaviour are beneficial for doing my further research in my field of study. Besides, it can also assist me achieve my educational, criminal justice and social work in line of profession. More importantly, the theoretical understanding with practical implications can assist me in improving my health and philanthropy. The concept teaches the principles of help, sharing and giving that are all important for social relationships and assisting and being of benefit for one another in the society and finally feel good. Social Norms The principle of the social norm argues that people use other people’s actions to decide on when to help. Learning and understanding the social norms in the society will help me develop moral behaviour and learn how to make curate decisions. Making wiser choices is important for life developments and benefits of decisions. Humanism Humanistic psychology refers to a psychological perspective that major on the study of a person referred to as holism. The approach argues that the behavior of an individual is connected to his inner self-image and feelings. According to the humanistic perspective, every individual is unique and individual and is at liberty to change his or her lives at any moment. Because of the center view of the person or her or his personal, subjective perception and experiences of the world, the humanists argue that the scientific methods are inappropriate to study the behaviour. The most influential theory of holism is the cognitive theory (Schöllnberger, Mitchel, Redpath, Crawford-Brown & Hofmann, 2007). The theory is relevant to my current and future life. Besides, the theory revolves around the studying of the mental process of acquiring knowledge. Since it deals with the perception attention and memory, it will help me achieve and maintain general healthy lifestyle. The theory can be u sed to analyze mental illness hence providing healthy lifestyle. Behaviorist Perspective Behaviorists view people as controlled by the environment. Besides, it mentions that we are the result of what we have learnt in our environment. The perspective is important for learning how stimuli affect observable behaviour. The perspective highlights operant conditioning in which people learn from consequences and classical conditioning in which people learn by association. The perspective is beneficial for getting better academic and life grades. Understanding the concepts of learning will assist me achieve better learning procedures for justifying better grades. Reference Schöllnberger, H., Mitchel, R. E. J., Redpath, J. L., Crawford-Brown, D. J., & Hofmann, W. (November 01, 2007). Detrimental and Protective Bystander Effects: A Model Approach. Radiation Research, 168, 5, 614-626. Source document

The Life Of Constance Gist, A Life Filled With A Lot Of...

Constance Gist, a mother of three has lived a long and interesting life filled with a lot of love and happiness. Born February 18, 1917 in Berlin Wisconsin, she was raised on a 360 acre farm as the third oldest of a total of nine kids. As most would think growing up on a farm would be like, it is, and one would have to work every day planting, growing/maintaining crops, and picking them. Connie along with her brothers, sisters, and cousins, who lived up the street on the next farm over, would have to do all of these jobs learning from their parents. Her cousins who lived up the street were also a group of nine children, so at anyone point when they would all hang out and play, there would be at least eighteen kids playing around the farms and in the street. Unlike here in Southern California, Wisconsin actually experienced beautiful season changes. There would be beautiful summers and cold winters with white Christmases, there would be snow storms giving plenty of snow to tie up a sl eigh to a horse and ride around in the sleigh she said when asked about some of her favorite things about Berlin. Luckily for Connie and her family during the Great Depression they did not feel too much of the Great Depression because they lived on farms and had no need to worry about how they would feed themselves. For example Tom Morain states, â€Å"In some ways farmers were better off than city and town dwellers. Farmers could produce much of their own food while city residents could not.†Show MoreRelatedLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages9. Highland Park Public Library Strategic Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 6.1. Ten Reasons for Marketing Library and Information Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 7.1. The Life Cycle of Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 7.2. Organization Chart Showing Authority Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 7.3. Line and Staff Organizational Units . . . . . . . . . Figure 7.4. Organization