The Theory Of The s Theory - 898 Words

Associationists are believers that a person is born as a tabula rasa or a blank slate where everything that has been learnt has been imprinted upon through connections made in the environment. This is why lemons are associated with being sour or a cloudy day is thought to signify rain. Stemming back centuries, many renown thinkers of their time have contributed to the theory. The ideology can be first traced back to Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who among many other things held a specific interest in memory. His view is thought to be the beginning of what will come to be known as associationism, explained as the formation of memory depended on bridging similar events, sensations or ideas together. By associating them, when one-half of the association is recalled it rouses a memory or causes a person to be apprehensive of the other half. Aristotle believed that there were three main principles when it came to association. First was contiguity where the nearness in space (spatial contiguity) and time (temporal contiguity) causes the events to become associated with each other. Another principle is frequency, the more often the experienced events are contiguous the stronger they are imprinted into the mind as being connected. The final principle is similarity where if two things are similar then one thought or sensation will naturally come to spark the thou ght of the other. John Locke was another philosopher who came to dwell upon Aristotle’s theory of associations. HeShow MoreRelatedVygotsky s Theories Theory Theories994 Words   |  4 PagesPSY112 Assignment #1 Devyn Crocker Vygotsky’s Theories Vygotsky’s theories jumped out at me because I thought that this was an interesting topic of choice.I am very interested in learning how children develop, not only in the classroom, but also outside the classroom. I was curious if a scientist believed that nurture is what helps children to learn and develop instead of just being born that way with nature. In my opinion, the way children are raised is the way they learn and develop their attitudesRead MoreThe Theory Of The s Theory1408 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironment. Kelly disagreed with behaviorists that behavior is shaped solely by the environment, but Kelly also disagreed with the concept of phenomenology, which is that reality is only what people perceive it to be. Kelly argues with Personal Construct Theory that both reality and our interpretation of it are important, and he agreed with Adler that our interpretations are the more important of the two. However, Kelly took it one step further and claimed that time was al so a factor. Essentially, the wayRead MoreThe Theories Of Maslow s Theory2929 Words   |  12 Pages1. Executive Summary Maslow’s motivational theory, as one of the well known motivational theories in human behavior at work, is widely used in employee motivation. For managers, Maslow theory has a number of implications. In this report, we will analyze the practice of Maslow’s motivational theory in business and exam its effectiveness by looking at how entrepreneur apply this theory to different types of managerial levels, which categorized as non-managerial employees, first-line managers, middleRead MoreThe Theories Of Maslow s Theory5216 Words   |  21 Pagesis how is it possible - and why? The ability to imagine, to create, and to innovate is distinctly human. It is deeply rooted in the human psyche to the point that psychologist Abraham Maslow placed it at the top of his hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s theory was first published in a paper written in 1943 and is as often referenced today in higher educational and psychology. Maslow’s pyramid consists of five levels, beginning with the most basic of human needs and then increases in level of desire culminatingRead MoreThe Theory Of Ladenness s Theory Essay1330 Words   |  6 PagesThe theory of ladenness has been debated amongst philosophers for hundreds of years. The theory of ladenness debates whether one’s past experiences affect their perceived inputs or their interpretation of those inputs. Kuhn strongly believes that one’s experiences affect what they perceive, however Hanson provides strong evidence suggesting that what people perceive as their surroundings are indistinguishable, but th eir interpretations differ. While there is evidence to support both theories, I believeRead MoreBowlby s Theory Of Attachment Theory1644 Words   |  7 PagesBowlby s Attachment Theory Findings from animal studies were a powerful influence on Bowlby s thoughts. He suggested too that there was a critical period for the development of attachments between infant and care giver. According to Bowlby, children display an innate tendency to become attached to one particular individual. He called this monotropy. He suggested this trend was qualitatively different from any subsequent attachment a child might form. However, he did not suggest monotropy was absoluteRead MoreThe Psychoanalytic Theories Of Freud s Theory1269 Words   |  6 Pagesexactly the same. In the past many people have tried to understand personality and explain it through theories. This paper, will discuss the differences between the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler. It will then show the characteristics of which I agree with as well as the characteristics that I disagree with. Furthermore, it will describe the stages of Freud’s theory and explain the characte ristics of personality using these components; And finally, I will describeRead MoreErik Erikson s Theory And Theory908 Words   |  4 PagesBoth Erik Erikson’s theory and Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby theory support the idea that early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan. Erikson’s developmental theory discusses the eight stages of life and the forces and values that arise at each stage, which should be developed within this frame. The attachment theory focuses on the interaction an individual has and the impact it may have on their psychological and social development. Both theories believe that personality beginsRead MoreJean Piaget s Theory And Theory1673 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is a theory? A theory is an organized set of ideas that is designed to explain development. These are essential for developing predictions about behaviors and predictions result in research that helps to support or clarify the theory. The theorist I am choosing to talk about is Jean Piaget who discovered the cognitive development theory and who broke it down into different stages. The different stages are the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational thoughtRead MoreKant s Theory Of Moral Theory1466 Words   |  6 PagesEver since Kant s publication of his renowned ethical treatises, deontologists and utilitarians alike have argued over which moral theory is most coherent. Yet, in Mill s critique of Kant, Mill sidesteps this issue, not by directly critiquing Kant s moral theory, but rather by asserting that Kant s moral theory is actually just a form of utilitarianism. Essentially, Kant s universal law test is nothing more than a veiled appeal to consequences, as Mill correctly claims in his critique of Kant

The E Z Guide For Student Loans ( Stafford Loans )

The E-Z Guide To Student Loans (Stafford Loans) By M Tutor | Submitted On April 13, 2011 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Student Loans are a bit overwhelming at first. Especially when you ve just graduated high school and you have so much other stuff on your plate. I remember when I graduated high school, the only thing I wanted to know was What will it take for me to get a college degree. Whatever it was, I was prepared to do it. So I applied for financial assistance using FAFSA (the letters stand for Free Application for Federal Assistance in case you were wondering). Then once I actually got to college, I was ushered into a room and made to sign all this paperwork with the underlining idea being: Unless you re going to pay your tuition cash or through some scholarship fund, you need to sign these student loan documents. I ended up signing and practically forgot about my student loans until I graduated. Then I got the bill.... OH BOY! I believe everyone should know something about student loans before signing your life away... I mean the loan documents. Not to say that student loans are BAD per say, just that an informed person is more prepared to deal with something thanShow MoreRelatedMedicare Policy Analysis447966 Words   |  1792 PagesDSK29S0YB1PROD with BILLS 4 5 AND SUBTITLES. (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 6 ‘‘Affordable Health Care for America Act’’. VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:56 Oct 30, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3962.IH H3962 2 1 2 (b) TABLE TITLES.—This OF DIVISIONS, TITLES, AND SUB- Act is divided into divisions, titles, and 3 subtitles as follows: DIVISION A—AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE CHOICES TITLE I—IMMEDIATE REFORMS Read MoreMerger and Acquisition: Current Issues115629 Words   |  463 Pagestransaction Conclusion 38 40 4 An Essay on the History of a Merger: The Case of the National Bank of Canada Raymond Thà ©oret and Franà §ois-Éric Racicot 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Introduction The structures of the two merged banks The new merged bank A low P/E ratio for the stock of national bank Conclusion 42 42 43 50 53 54 5 Corporate Diversification: The Costs and Benefits of Synergy Felipe Balmaceda 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Introduction Related literature The model The analysis Robustness Conclusion Read MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesPoint/Counterpoint Employer–Employee Loyalty Is an Outdated Concept 87 Questions for Review 88 Experiential Exercise What Factors Are Most Important to Your Job Satisfaction? 89 Ethical Dilemma Bounty Hunters 89 Case Incident 1 Long Hours, Hundreds of E-Mails, and No Sleep: Does This Sound Like a Satisfying Job? 90 Case Incident 2 Crafting a Better Job 91 4 Emotions and Moods 97 What Are Emotions and Moods? 98 The Basic Emotions 100 †¢ The Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect 100 †¢ The

Critical Period for Language Development

Question: 1. Describe what is meant by the term critical period with reference to language development and evaluate the idea that there is critical period for language development. 2. Sam is a Type A, insecurely attached avoidant child. Describe the behaviours you would expect to observe from Sam in the estrange situation task. How would these differ from children showing other attachment styles? What are the effects of being an insecurely attached avoidant child likely to be for Sam? Answer: Language is the main perspective that differentiates human beings from animals. Language is the reason for many civilizations survival. When writing was not invented, oral recitation of prose and poems for 5000 years is the only reason for the survival of many ancient texts and literatures all around the world. Language is what makes man to stand above all living beings; the emotions are expressed through the use of language by man. Theorists though have developed various approaches to understand the developmental phases of language development. A close connection exists between the development of though and the development of language. Social context and social development also plays role in the development of language. In the development of language various theorists attributes importance to various factors. Children are pre-programmed and have an innate ability to acquire language was stressed by the nativist views. The importance of the language environment is focused by the behaviourists. The other theorists view was influenced by both cognitive and social development that stressed that the development of language is a complex interaction between the infants and environment. There are various phases in language development. There are various approaches to understand the language development like Evolutionary, cognitive and social. The critical learning phase starts in early childhood. The initial learning phase of language by man is called critical period of language development. Lennberg (1976) is the first researcher who hypothesized the critical period for language acquisition in his book Biological Foundation of Language. He emphasized that during the critical period it is easy to gain the normal level of acquisition. According to him this period lasts up to puberty. After that it becomes difficult to acquire the appropriate level of language skills. he also claimed that until this critical period lateralization function of brain increases on its peak and after this period it stops growing. CPH is based on two main objectives, which are neural functional growth and behavioural growth. If one talks about changes in brain that lasts up to puberty (during the critical period) neuronal cells in brains increases rapidly that helps to develop the language. Parts of the brain that helps to develop language acquisition are in the left hemisphere of the brain; it reaches its maturation after lateralization. Lenneberg explained that at the time of birth both the hemispheres are equal but gradually the parts to control language development are selected down in the left hemisphere after puberty or till up to critical period. Lateralization is division of functions in the brains hemispheres. After lateralization the brain loses its flexibility. The process of lateralization is completed almost around puberty. Both the hemispheres of the brain have equally distributed functions but a few functions like language development skills are performed by both the hemisphere. The left hemisph ere is the seat for the grammar and vocabulary while the right hemisphere controls the emotions. The idea of CPH is supported by three other cases in the past. The cases are about the children and the adults who spent their life in isolation and had no chance to learn language. The two cases are about Isabelle and Genie. Isabelle was a deaf mute girl and her mother was also deaf. Till the age of six and a half Isabelle led a life of isolation up to the time she was found and rescued. Further with proper care and help she was able to learn language as she was under the critical stage of the language development. Brown stressed Isabelle was able to learn language in two years, that a six year old would learn at her age and at the age of eight she seemed like any other normal child for her age. (Brown, 1958) The other case is of Genie, a teenage girl who was locked for years by her own father, and later sent to a foster care at the age of 13 and half. Experts found out that Genies vocabulary learning capacity was of a five year old way behind for her age group. She had difficulty in learning grammar but was able to use two words like Mummy play and negations like no want milk her vocabulary learning capacity was way better than grammar learning. The experts also asserted that the difficulty in developing language by Genie was because she did not get proper help in her critical period and she reached puberty; making it difficult for her to get a command on language. (Curtiss, 1977) A child goes through various stages of language development, which include: Pre-linguistic stage The Holophrase or One-word sentence- 10-13months The Two-word sentence- 18months Multiple-word sentences- 2-2.5 Complex Grammatical structures- 2.5-3yrs Adult-Like Language structures- 5-6yrs In the above mentioned cases the children never got the chance to achieve these milestones. Passing through the developmental phases is essential for the development of effective and efficient language skills. Another similar case of a lady named Chelsea, she had started t learn her language in her thirties. This case is quite similar to that of Genie because Chelsea could learn to make sentences using syntax only, for example on floor sitting or blue the sky. According to Lanneberg children who suffered brain damage recovered faster than those children who have completed their critical period of lateralization. These hypothesises of Lenneberg were challenged by Krashen (1982) after considerably re-examining the data Krashen revealed that all the cases where the subjects were under the critical period phase where similar to the adults who were above the critical period age. (Lenneberg, 1967) (Krashen, 1982) For the further study and understanding of CPH studying the cases of the Down syndrome is critical. Many theorists claim that the children suffering from the syndrome showed sign of slower development compared to the other children from the similar age group. According to Gleitman, these childrens ability to grow is limited as they have passed the critical period of language learning. As stated by Johnson and Newport there exists a decline in the proficiency of learning with the increase in the age. They also emphasized that though the adults were quick learners in second languages they were not proficient. People who began learning a second language in the childhood achieved higher level of proficiency in accent and grammar. This clearly justifies the idea of the existence of a critical period of learning. Johnson and Newport conducted some research with Chinese and Korean learners, where English was learned as a second language. Most of the adults showed very slow progress. They had difficulty to speak English as they spoke their respective native languages. The ability to pick up the language was quick among these adults but they showed lower level of performance if compared to children. (Johnson Newport, 1989) Similar experiments were conducted by Patricia Kuhl and her colleagues. In their studies, the learning of second language by the subjects highlighted that the sounds are gradually grouped by the brain according to their similarity with the phonemes in the native language. For example: A continuous spectrum of artificial phonemes between /r/ and /l/ when asked to categorize. Not Japanese speakers but native English speakers, tended to perceive sounds as all sounds like either /r/ or /l/. These phenomena Khul has likened to Perceptual magnet. Defined by their audio graphic spectrum, related but varying sounds are evidently grouped together. Further eventually is perceived to represent the same phoneme. The process fails to occur without ongoing experience during the critical period. Interestingly these phonetic distinctions compared to normal speech among adults is emphasized by the parentese and the baby-talk used by parents while speaking to young children actually. (Purves, Augustin e, Fitzpatrick, 2001) Though Lennebergs theory of lateralization and Downss syndrome was proved wrong, CPH has always been a central idea of research in language acquisition. Thus language learning for its development entails amplification and reshaping of innate biases by appropriate postnatal experience during the critical period. 2. A child may be emotionally or socially destroyed if he does not get a close and secure relationship with his mother in early childhood. For the development of a child into a responsible adult it is very crucial that the child is given proper care and affection in is early childhood. A sense of support and trust is very essential for a health development in early childhood for a childs physical as well as mental health. But as it is said that too much of anything is bad; too much of attachment also hampers the growth of a child. Various theories and research have been proposed to study attachment but the theory of attachment for the first time was given by John Bowlby in his book Lasting Psychological Connectedness between Human beings. According to John attachment is the relationship or a bond developed between the mother or a care giver and the child. Bowlby and other theorists like Mary Ainsworth defined that children are born with innate sense of attachment. Children who get complete support and attachment or care they feel comfort and protection, and these are the children who achieve adulthood safely. The main points of Bowlby theory are: 1. Monotropy: A child has a need to attach one main attachment figure; mostly it is the mother. 2. Bowlby believes that from this one important attachment figure the child should receive continuous care for approximately first two years of his/her life. 3. Reduced intelligence, delinquency, depression, increased aggression and affectionless psychopathy might be the long term consequences of maternal deprivation. 4. Short term separation according to Robertson and Bowlby from teh attachment figure leads to distress. The three stages of distress given are: Despair, Protest Detachment The development of an internal working model is lead by the childs attachment relationship with their primary caregiver. The following figure explains the relationship better: Source: (Mcleod, 2007) The relationship between the infant and the mother during the first five years of life is believed by John Bowlby are most crucial to socialization. Higher incidences of juvenile delinquency, antisocial behaviour and emotional difficulties would be resulted if the primary attachment relationship is disrupted. Mary Ainsworth who has elaborated on the works of Bowlby conducted an experiment to better understand the concept by observing the mother child relationship, observing and assessing the behaviour of child; she named her research the Strange Situation. Her experiments which lasted for 20 minutes each she made sequence of events of leaving of mother and entrance of strangers in the experiment room and noted the behaviour and reactions of the child. Mary later categorised her findings into four different outcomes of behaviour. Furthermore her experiments explained three attachment styles- Secure style (B) Insecure avoidant (A) Insecure ambivalent/resistant type (C) (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, 1978) As stressed by Larose and Bernier the insecure avoidant type C child like Sam think of themselves as unworthy and unacceptable, due a rejecting primary caregiver. An insecure child finds it difficult to focus on their emotions according to the environment. The children like Sam are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally. (Larose Bernier, 2001) To develop a better understanding lets take a look at the four types of behaviour classifications. In a normal situation, from their first years the children learn emotions, they express joy, sadness and anxiety when faced with different stimuli. From the 8 month a child starts to show fear for strangers. He seeks security from the mother when approached by a stranger. Between 7 to 12 months the fear of separation from his mother starts and peaks between 15 to 18 months and after these years it starts to decline. Secure attachment: According to Ainsworths study 70% of children showed insecure attachment behaviour. These children got stressed as the mother left; these children avoided and feared the strangers when the mother was not in the experiment room. On the other hand when the mother was in the experiment room and the strangers approached the children these children played with them. The moment the children reunited with their mothers they showed a sense of comfort and happiness. From the experiment it can be concluded that the children experience joy and are carefree in the presence of their mothers. Insecure Ambivalent: The ambivalent attachment styled children comprised of 15% in the experiment. These children were severely disturbed. When the mothers left the room these children protested a lot and when the mother returned the children kicked and pushed her away and cried. The children got aggressive and did not show any attachment for a while. These children explored less when they were with their mothers. These children in any condition did not felt comfortable with the strangers; they seemed upset at all times no matter the situation. Disorganised attachment: These types of children show a lack of clear attachment. The behaviours demonstrated by these children are of avoidance and resistance-mix. They are confused in the presence of the care giver because the care giver acts as the figure of both fear and reassurance. (Main Hesse, 1990) Insecure avoidant: These children are very independent of the care giving figure. They are calm when the mother leaves and showed very little distress with the presence of stranger. When they reunite with the mother they do not show much excitement or happiness. In these experiments the children in this group did not explore much of the surroundings. This is due to the care givers insensitivity and rejection of the children needs. Sam belongs to the Insecure Avoidant type of attachment style. If he were to be in the experiment room he would have show very little reaction to the introduced stimuli. He would have sit calmly with his mother and when the mother leaves and stranger comes in Sam would show no sign of distress. Sam will feel comfort while play with the stranger; he will easily adjust to the presence of stranger in the room and show not much interest when he reunites with his mother. Sam would seem comfortable with both the mother and the stranger. He would interact with the strangers very normally. He will seem to less explore around the room or socialize when with his mother. (Lamb, Gardner, Thompson, Charnov, 1985) The children like Sam often belong to a family where alcoholism and drug addiction have resulted in a dysfunctional family. In European countries these same situations were evident in the orphanage. Infants were left in their cribs for long hours and only fed and cleaned and no emotional attachment was extended to them. Thus making them believe as a burden and the babies started to believe that they had very little or no impact on the world. The world to children like Sam is a cold and scary place. (Main Solomon, Discovery of an insecure-disorganised/disoriented attachment pattern:Procedures, findings, and implications for the classification of behaviour, 1986) If Sam continues to live like this and the same insensitivity and rejection are used to bring him up he will become a dysfunctional and doomed for an isolated life. He will fail to express his emotions to others. Sam might become developmentally delayed. He may develop to be a passive adult; he may develop an attachment disorder for life. He will grow up to show an awkward behaviour in the social life. The child also develops such insensitivity if he has been abused physically, or witnesses a domestic violence or sexual abuse. As it is that he brain is hard wired to love the care givers and fear the ones who hurt us the situation when the care giver hurts the child the childs brain gets dual responses. In the infants brain a dual response is set. A chaos is created in his environment. He would at times ignore people and at times people will ignore him. If this continues for long it will result into anxiety, stress and depression and might make Sam suicidal. Insecure attachment style not only ruins childhood but also adult life. According to Becks cognitive theory of depression it has been evident that the influence of negative cognitions results in the development of depression. The child thus grows into an adult who avoids social life and is isolated life. They show malfunction and maladjustments to the normal social life. A life partners intimacy is also not comfortable to these people and then they avoid any physical or emotional attachment to anyone. These children grow up to avoid relationships and emotions and are very little attached to anyone. If married or in relationship these people show very little distress if the relationship ends. These people avoid intimacy. They give excuses to avoid getting close to their partners. They always fail to support their family or partners when they are needed. People with lack of human contact would eventually die. If a child develops in a secure environment or in any of the avoidant attachment environment it is necessary for them. Though, it is important that children get proper care and understanding from their mothers. Thus children like Sam grow up to become a dysfunctional part of the society contributing very little. It affects the relationship they form with others whether the relationships are functional or dysfunctional all depends on the early childhood care and development. Thus if seen through the above mentioned theories Sam would grow into develop anti social behaviour, will face emotional difficulties, will not be able to develop functional relationships and also show juvenile delinquencies while growing up. References Ainsworth, M. D., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E. (1978). Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Brown, E. R. (1958). Words and Things. The Free Press. Curtiss, S. (1977). A Psychological study of a Modern Day Wild Child. New York: New York: Academic Press. Johnson, J. S., Newport, E. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of the matuational statebon the acqusition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology , 21, 60-99. Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Michigan: Pergamon. Lamb, M. E., Gardner, W., Thompson, R. A., Charnov, E. L. (1985). Infant-Mother attachment: The origins and significance of individual difference in Strange Situation Behaviour. Larose, S., Bernier, A. (2001). Social Support Processes: Mediators of attachmetn state of mind. Determinants of infant Behaviour , 3, 96-120. Lenneberg, E. H. (1967). Biological Foundation of language. New York: NY:John Wiley. Main, M., Hesse, E. (1990). Parents unresolved traumatic experiences are realted to infant disorganised attachmetn status:Is frightened/frightening parental behaiour the linking mechanism? University of the Chicago Press. Main, M., Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of an insecure-disorganised/disoriented attachment pattern:Procedures, findings, and implications for the classification of behaviour. Ablex. Mcleod, S. (2007). Bowlby's Attachment Theory . Retrieved June 3, 2015, from Simple Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html Purves, D., Augustine, G., Fitzpatrick, D. (2001). Neuroscience. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates.

Contribution of the Small Business Sector to the Uk Economy free essay sample

What can be defined as a small business depends on various factors of which two are vital: the industry segment and market in which the business runs. There have been many attempts to define the small business. For example the Bolton Committee (1971) came to conclusion that there should be: †¢statistical definition the size is important factor (number of employees and annual turnover or value of assets), and †¢economic definition qualitative measure of small business. This is explained more in detail in the Table 1 and Table 2 on the next page. Table 1 – Bolton’s statistical definition of small business The Statistical definitions Manufacturing200 employees or less Construction, mining and quarrying25 employees or less Retail and miscellaneous servicesTurnover of ? 50 000 or less Motor tradesTurnover of ? 100 000 or less Wholesale TradesTurnover of ? 200 000 or less Road transport5 vehicles or less CateringAll excluding multiple and brewery managed houses Source: Deakins, D. and Freel, M. (2003) Entrepreneurship and small firms Table 2 – Bolton’s economic definition of small business The Economic definition Small firms are those which: 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Contribution of the Small Business Sector to the Uk Economy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Have a relatively small share of their market place 2. Are managed by owners or part-owners in a personalised way, and not through the medium of formalised management structure 3. Are independent, in the sense of not being part of a large enterprise Source: Deakins, D. and Freel, M. (2003) Entrepreneurship and small firms European Commission (EC) considers any entity regardless of its legal form but engaged in economic activity to be an enterprise, Deakins and Freel (2003). To overcome issues around identifying a definition for small business in particular, EC has decided to use the phrase small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs), and it includes micro enterprise, small enterprise and medium enterprise altogether. To be classed as SME business must have less than 250 employees and must meet one of other two factors: †¢Annual revenue (turnover) must not exceed 50 million euro, or †¢Annual balance sheet total must not exceed 43 million euro. This is to ensure that all SMEs get fair treatment independent on the environment and type of the economy they operate in. More in detail the new definition from 2005 by European Union is explained in Table 3. Table 3 – EU SMEs definition Source: Storey, D. J. and Greene, F. J. (2010) Small Business and Entrepreneurship UK generally accepts the EU definition from 2005 and to be in line with it Euro values are converted to Sterling Pound. The Companies Act 2006 however, for the need of accounting requirements, has its own definition (sections 382 and 465), UCL (2012). According to this a medium size company has 250 employees or less, with turnover of ? 25. 9 million or less and balance sheet total of under ? 12. million, where as a small company has 50 members of staff or less, with annual turnover of ? 6. 5million or less and balance sheet total of no more than ? 3. 26 million. There is no mention of micro size business in this. There is also a definition that divides small and medium businesses relating to Value Added Taxation (VAT) registration, as every company must be registered for VAT if the y meet a threshold. This is a relative measure of business population as it is sensitive to changes of thresholds. For the UK it is currently at ? 77 000, the highest registration threshold in the EU, Seely (2012). Many other definitions of SMEs can be found as many different organisations and bodies in the UK come up with their own definitions to suit their purposes. Different countries also have their own definitions: in USA and Canada small business can have up to 500 employees, in Germany limit is 255 employees, while in Belgium it is 100 employees. Overall, everybody agrees that SMEs are companies whose employee headcount or annual turnover falls below certain threshold, as well as that it must be autonomous. In 1924 Census of Production data started being published periodically and this is considered to be the oldest reliable source of statistical information on SMEs. This data was very much imperfect mainly for the reason that it was referring only to the manufacturing sector, Storey and Green (2010). Earliest records show that 45 per cent of employment within the manufacturing segment was coming from small business establishments. In 1960s and 1970s it decreased to only 30 per cent. Reasons are of political nature. There was an evident dominance by large firms of the economy during the mid and late twentieth century. Large factories were the main suppliers of resources needed during and after World War 1 and World War 2 because of the fact that mass-production carries lower costs. In the 1960s there was a growth of socialism and labour party found it was easier to politically control larger businesses and nationalised industries than small ones, so there wasn’t much room for SMEs to develop in those circumstances, Carter and Jones-Evans (2012). For about two decades 60 per cent of manufacturing was covered by government committees running large business establishments. It was believed that large businesses were the future and that small companies will fade away with time. Things started to change a little bit when United Kingdom joined the European Community in 1973, as Government power was somewhat restricted by European policies. Big changes, however, started to happen with Thatcher’s Government (1979-1991), when previously nationalised industries were privatised again. It was the first Government in the UK to promote self-employment and, consequently, increase in self-employment was noted, Storey and Green (2010). Other reasons, apart from the political support, were big development of new technologies in 1980s, evolution of service sector and increase of competitiveness, which altogether contributed to the restructure in labour market and changes in business practice. The number of small and medium enterprises increased from 2. 3 million in 1979 to 4. 8 million at the beginning of 2012, Carter and Jones-Evans (2012). Although the Government doesn’t develop small businesses, entrepreneurs do, it has got a reflective effect on how they operate and their opportunities to rise and develop further. Carter and Jones-Evans (2012) mention three key magnitudes of government role: †¢Government acts as a regulator (standardizes legal forms, sets rules and limits as well as regulations of customer protection, licensing and environment related issues), †¢Government acts as economic agent (controls taxes, charges, debts and spends), †¢Government acts as strategic planner and promoter (offers grants, loans, support and guidance). USA was first to recognise the extent of the importance of SMEs and it is believed this is the exact reason for the higher development of their economy comparing to other parts of the world. UK and Europe are trying to follow footsteps of the USA and they are making efforts to encourage entrepreneurship. The first EU document that recognised entrepreneurship as the driver of the economy was The Green-Paper in 1984, ec. europa. eu (2012). Ever since there was a growing interest in this subject and it is becoming more of priority to ensure means and support for people willing to get involved as a way for unemployment to be reduced. Different policies are established to promote entrepreneurship. There are many established organisations in the current environment offering their services for this purpose throughout the UK. The major national financial package available to small businesses and offered by Government is the Small Firm Loan Guarantee Scheme (SFLGS), which was started in 1983 but became more significant in late 2000s. Enterprise Allowance Scheme and Business Start-up Scheme were also set up in 1980s, Carter and Jones-Evans (2012). UK Business Angels is another strong association of now days running in the UK that offers funds in early stages of setting-up a business through external third party investments. But obtaining funds isn’t the main concern that people who decide to set-up their own business have, as many surveys on SMEs revealed. They are more worried about the economic stability and this is what they want the Government to ensure, Storey (1994). Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) comes to place here, as their primary purpose is to create the best conditions for the growth of private sector, BIS (2012). General aim of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is to explore on the national level the extents of the connection between the economic growth and entrepreneurship. There are expressions of growing interest by GEM in the importance of women’s enterprise. The data from UK’s Annual Population and Labour Force Surveys is historical evidence that there has always been around half of self-employed women comparing to the number of self-employed man, Storey and Green (2010). Table 4 contains extracted cells from the Annual Population Survey published by Office for National Statistics, NOMISweb (2012), for the purpose of this report, relating to self-employment by gender. Table 4 – Self-employment by the gender, Annual Population Survey 2012, NOMISResource: NOMIS website, (2012) It shows that there is only 5. 6 per cent of self-employed women comparing to 13. per cent of men in 2012, which is even less than in past. This topic has received very little attention until the 1980s. Since then, more and more research is being done to try and understand the circumstances surrounding this matter, with the hope that it would produce results in a higher rate of start-ups by women. Another interesting fact is that even with all the effor ts that the Government is doing to educate and target young people to get involved, the proportion of over 45 year old self-employed people has increased instead, Storey and Green (2010). Table 5 shows that small and medium enterprises accounted for 99. 9 per cent of total 4. 8 million private businesses, while employing 59. 1per cent of people out of 23. 9 million in private sector and generating a turnover of ? 1 500 billion, which is about the half of the total private sector’s revenue (48. 8 per cent precisely). 99. 2 per cent of these businesses had less than 50 employees. It is very important to highlight that 74. 2 per cent of private companies had 0 employees and consisted of owner only (3. 6 million out of 4. 8 million businesses), White (2012). Self-employment is a massive factor and big opportunity for creating new jobs and more attention should be appointed to that direction. The private sector has increased by 38. 6 per cent coming up to its highest level since year 2000 when the comparable data started to be recorded. The number of SMEs in this period has increased by 38. 7 per cent giving them all the recognition for the improvement, while the number of large enterprises decreased by 10. 2 per cent for the same time. These figures prove the great role they have in the economy’s growth as they take most of the credit for the progress of the private sector, White (2012). Only 44. 7 per cent of businesses are registered for VAT, more than half aren’t as their turnover is less than ? 77 000 a year, Seely (2012). Disadvantages for SMEs are, because of their size, they have no influence on the environment and very much depend on it, which is why they are surrounded by a very high element of risk of market failure. On their own they can’t have an impact on the Government policies. They specialise on a high level in certain products or services and have a close connection with their customers, as they rest principally on local loyalty. Most often they are run by their owners who are more focused on a short term endurance and cash, so they must be able to be flexible and respond quickly to changes. Fees for setting-up a business are not little. On rare occasions they are funded by external equity, because of much higher interest rates they are required to pay comparing to large companies, so the most common funds used are owner’s savings and short term loans. Because of it, there is a general concern that their restricted means may slow down their expansion as they might have less contact with new technologies and innovations. Therefore, it becomes more and more Government’s priority to give them guidance and financial support. As mentioned earlier, there are many organisations in the UK offering this kind of service to encourage starting own business and reduce the unemployment to ensure economic, social and political security. SME’S BY THE REGIONS IN THE UK The entrepreneurship policy has got a large domain that incorporates activity at a few elevations of government, from local to national to international level, Huggins and Williams (2009). As a culture is seen to be a central role to development of local entrepreneurship, it isn’t a surprise that there are substantial differences in economic performance across regions within nations. The subnational level is an important dimension for SMEs in particular, because they are very neatly related to the local environment and the community, which they critically depend on. Different regions have different culture, therefore have different needs, as well as different resources, possibilities and opportunities. Space, place and local environment play a big part. This is where difference in regional and local business start-up rates and the rate of success of those businesses comes from. This is considered to be a positive factor as it encourages competition between the regions, and competitiveness is the important element for economy growth. Regions compete by achieving high levels of innovation and upgrading and developing new business ideas. Business population estimates (BPE) for the UK and regions, statistical release by BIS (2012), suggests that out of estimated 4. 8 million private sector businesses in the UK at the beginning of the year 2012, 86. per cent were in England (around 4. 2 million). Table 6 – Number of businesses in the UK private sector, by UK region and country, start of 2012 (figures representing thousands). Source: White, S. (2012) Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2012 The information presented in Table 6 has been extracted out of BPE 2012 and it shows that London alone had 806 000 businesses leading the way with 16. 7 per cent of total number in the UK. South East had the next largest number, accounting for 15. 7 per cent of total, while North East had the lowest share of businesses in England. Northern Ireland with 114 000 was at the bottom of UK’s league. A big variation of entrepreneurship on local levels is detectable. Interesting thing to mention, Storey and Green (2010) collected statistical data which shows that positions of mentioned regions were pretty much static over a 30 year period, with London always being at the top and the North East always at the bottom. One of the reasons for some locations gaining competitive advantage over others and growing at a faster rate is that not all locations manage to change in line with changes in the economy. Also, successful cities are more attractive for innovative people who are seeking for an opportunity, and this helps further growth of already developed region. Competitiveness varies depending on different drivers of growth, but it is seen to be the key for the entrepreneurship, Sautet and Kirzner (2006). SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Although there is no a single definition used to describe them, the Small and Medium Enterprises in the UK are considered to be the ones with less than 250 employees. This report highlighted evident indications of enormous importance of SMEs to the UK’s economy through historical evidence and current facts from statistical data. They present 99. 9 per cent of total number of businesses in private sector, while employing nearly 60 per cent of private sector’s staff and taking nearly a half of its annual revenue at the same time. They can be fragile, as they are in more danger of market failure than large companies and very dependable on immediate environment, but that didn’t prevent their growth with numbers doubling over the past 30 years. They are drivers of the competition, innovation and the economy development and they are seen to be a solution for the growth of the economy and source of new job creation. Many factors were mentioned that affect SMEs in both good and bad ways, but overall the clear message is that they do need a lot of Government’s help. Many organisations and associations now days are available to ensure support and guidance they require, some of them are named earlier in the report. Local differences encourage competition between regions and this contributes to growth of the entrepreneurship. But there is uncertainty that comes from the economic instability day to day and high fees and charges they need to pay. As the way forward the Government should find a way to inspire more women and younger population in general to use their skills in a productive manner and start their own business, because there lays a big opportunity. It should also look in maybe changing some policies to reduce costs of starting-up businesses and find ways to release more resources and grants to make the process easier for people who have potential and want to do it, but simply can’t afford it.