AM Articles - Articles about Managed Hosting, Family Law and much more.

What is the ISA Allowance?

2012-01-27T07:07:00.000-08:00

Investing in an ISA is a way of being able to make tax free investments. People can invest up to the ISA allowance amount each year through cash ISA’s and stocks and shares ISA’s. Up to half the amount can be invested in a cash ISA, but if savers choose they can use 100 per cent of it for a stocks and shares ISA. The advantage of an ISA compared to other investments is that increases in the value of investments are not taxed, with no tax paid on interest or capital gains.

The ISA allowance is an amount set each year as the maximum any individual can invest in ISA’s that year. This limit is set to prevent people from being able to invest an unlimited amount, and therefore receive an unlimited amount of non-taxable income. The ISA allowance is re-evaluated each year, with a limit set for the duration of a tax year (sixth April to fifth April the following year).

In the tax year 2011/2012 the allowance was £10,680, so up to £5,340 can be invested in a cash ISA. This will be increasing by 5.62% to a total of £11,280 in 2012/2013, so up to £5,640 in a cash ISA. To make full use of the allowance, investors must use it within the tax year; it cannot be carried over to the following year. For example, if someone has invested £8,000 in 2011/2012 they do not have an allowance of £13,960 in 2012/2013. The allowance is reset to £11,280. For this reason it is worth using the full allowance prior to the end of the tax year where possible.

The purpose of an ISA is to encourage savings and investment. Anyone can invest and they don’t have to invest the full amount. People are encouraged to invest by the tax advantages. The limit prevents the possibility of some potentially investing very high amounts each year and, therefore, paying less in tax. Were this to be the case it would allow the very wealthy to make large tax savings. The overall objective is to encourage saving and investment without making it too easy for some to avoid tax.

As touched upon above, there are two types of ISA; a cash ISA and a stocks and shares ISA. A cash ISA is the safer bet but, due to this, the potential gains are not so high. A stocks and shares ISA is the opposite; riskier but the gains are likely to be higher with the more successful investments. Having these two options gives people a choice. And, of course, they can mix and match. They cannot, though, put more than a certain limit towards a cash ISA. The cash ISA allowances for both 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 are half of the total, but this has not always been the same. In most cases investments in stocks and shares ISA’s are more beneficial over the long term, but this cannot be guaranteed. It depends on the specific investments, with some performing better than others.

Andrew Marshall ©

Drawbacks of Working from Home

2012-01-27T02:06:00.000-08:00

Many love the idea of working from home. It can be more relaxing, more flexible, and save on travel times and costs. This has led some businesses to allow employees to work from home, either some of the time or permanently. There are potential drawbacks though, both from a business’s point of view and from an employee’s point of view.

FOR A BUSINESS

Harder to Judge Performance

The first potential negative as far as employers are concerned is that working from home can give employees the option of getting lazy. It may be easier to get away without doing as much work when you are out of the office. It can be too easy to get distracted, for example by the television or by children. Being out of the office makes it more difficult for businesses to judge how employees are performing - how much work they are doing and how well they are doing it.

Solution: This depends on the industry, but having employees submit time sheets at the end of each day is a good idea. It is then possible to know what employees have been doing and how long it has taken them.

Security

If people have to use the company computer when out of the office security can be an issue, especially if they are using their personal computers to connect to the company network. Personal computers may not have the required security, for example firewalls and antivirus software. Without the right security it may be possible for data to be interpreted and sensitive information hacked into. If data is transferred over a wireless network security problems are even more likely.

Solution: Having minimum security standard for employees using their personal computers and making sure they stick to it is a good policy. Using a VPN, or virtual private network, is also an option. A VPN encrypts data as it is being transferred and therefore can ensure a business’s computer network remains safe.

FOR EMPLOYEES

Separating Work and Home Life

Some prefer to keep their work and home lives separate, something that is hard to achieve if working from home. When you work elsewhere family time can begin when the working day ends. Working from home can make it feel like you never get away. There is a lack of variety as you are in the same place during the day, in the evening and at the weekends. This can lead to a feeling of boredom.

Solution: It is a good idea to be strict with your time and have set working hours. Although this may have to vary to some extent it gives you a rough structure to your life. Maybe go for a walk at the beginning and end of your working day to put a gap between your work and home life.

A Lack of Company

When working at home you could be on your own all day and this can get lonely. It can also make your job more difficult; there is no-one to bounce ideas off and no-one to ask if you are finding a task problematic.

Solution: There is no obvious solution to this. If you are not happy in this environment then working at home may not be for you.

Constant Interruptions

Being interrupted can be particularly problematic if you have children at home and this can make it difficult to get your work done. This can lead to having to work longer hours just to get the same amount of work done. Whenever someone knocks on the door or rings your phone you have to answer it, leading to more wasted time.

Solution: If possible have a room that is exclusively your office. Make it clear to your family that work time is work time and they shouldn’t distract your unless absolutely necessary.

Andrew Marshall ©

VPN Provider

Is Marriage Better for Children?

2012-01-26T01:45:00.000-08:00

Is it better for children that their parents are married and stay together than if they are bought up in a different family environment, such as by cohabiting parents or a single parent? Much of the evidence suggests that in an ideal world this is the case, but it is not always as simple as that.

Several studies have suggested that parents being married is better for children and they, on average, get better results at school and are less likely to turn to crime. This seems like an unfair generalisation though, and it does not have to be the case that children whose parents are not married, or don’t remain married, have less success.

Married Couples with Children

There is a case for suggesting that a stable family situation is good for children. They have a routine and are comfortable in their everyday lives. In many cases their parents being in a happy marriage is the best example of a stable family environment. However, parents staying together for the sake of the children – in an unhappy marriage – is not necessarily good for children. They can sense when things are not right and an unhappy family makes an unhappy child. So the simple statement that marriage is better for children is not always true.

Married Couples compared with Cohabiting Couples

It is often stated that children whose parents are married “do better” than children whose parents live together but are not married. But does this mean that cohabiting parents is negative as far as children are concerned? Not necessarily.

There can be a situation where the two parents are married to each other in a happy relationship. There can, though, also be a situation where parents are in a happy relationship but cohabiting rather than married, and remain together for the rest of their lives. As far as children are concerned, their upbringing in these two examples would be exactly the same, so surely there is no difference.

The difference may come in that cohabiting couples are more likely to separate, or so we are constantly told. Just because more cohabiting couples separate than married couples does not mean that they are separating because they are cohabiting. It is more likely that they have not got married because they were unsure if they were ready.

Divorce

Many feel that a divorce is bad for children. Some would argue it is best two married parent and their children live together in a happy and stable environment, but that doesn’t mean divorce is always bad for children. As already mentioned, remaining in an unhappy marriage is not a good thing, while a well handled divorce and aftermath doesn’t have to affect children negatively. There are ways of dealing with a divorce that doesn’t have a negative impact. If parents can continue to have an amicable relationship, don’t talk about each other in a negative manner, and both continue to have a close relationship with their children, then their influence can remain positive.

People have many different opinions on this subject, but the point is that family and the upbringing of children is not black and white. There may be statistics that tell us that one form of family or another is better for children but that does not mean other family environments cannot be just as successful.

Andrew Marshall ©

Family Law

Why You Should Recycle?

2012-01-24T07:30:00.001-08:00

There are many good reasons to recycle. The more we recycle the less materials have to be used for the manufacture of new products. Recycling is good for both the economy and the environment.

Recycling has become a major industry, from those employed in the recycling of used materials to those employed in turning recycled materials into new products. The recycling industry employs thousands of people, something that will increase as recycling becomes more common. It can also mean less money is wasted on getting rid of unwanted waste and sourcing raw material.

The most obvious benefit is the impact on the environment. The more materials can be reused the less the impact on the environment; from oil being used to manufacture plastic to trees being chopped down for wood. Not only does using raw materials have a negative impact on the environment but getting rid of waste does too.

Natural resources are needed when brand new products are being made. This involves a long process that can include mining or forestry. Natural resources are used and energy is wasted. It always takes less energy to use recycled materials than to manufacture products from scratch. Energy is used in sourcing materials and extracting materials. Transportation also wastes energy with certain materials having to be transported from one side of the world to another. With recycled materials this is not the case. A good example of this is with aluminium cans. The recycling process for aluminium cans uses just five per cent of the energy of extracting the required materials. Twenty recycled cans can be made with the energy of manufacturing just one from raw materials.

Gases and chemicals do harm to the earth. Mining raw materials produces gasses, and in some cases, chemicals. This is another way in which recycling can benefit the environment. Although there are times when recycling produces gas it is to a lesser degree.

Landfill is a problem. We often get rid of waste by burying it in the ground at so-called landfill sites. Eventually space at a landfill site runs out so more sites have to be created. It is not just space that is a problem though. There is the environmental impact of chemicals leaking into the earth, potentially ending up in streams and rivers. This can make its way into our drinking water and have an impact on wildlife.

There is no real reason not to recycle. It is very simple to do and can have a major positive impact on the world we live in. Most households in Britain have curb side collections for recyclable products. These vary from area to area but can include pickups for plastic, glass, cardboard, paper, food and garden waste. If in doubt about your local collections, contact your local council. Even if certain products are not collected you can take them to your local recycling centre. Although this takes a little effort, is it not worth this effort to benefit the earth, and in particular our children’s and grandchildren’s generations?

At the moment over half of rubbish that is not recycled could be. While this is a lower figure than it once was this could be better. It is possible we could halve the amount of waste we currently produce.

Andrew Marshall ©

Packaging Suppliers are able to use a variety of recycled materials for their packaging.

A Short History of Bournemouth

2012-01-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

Bournemouth’s history goes back just over two hundred years. These days it is a large town of just over 160,000 people.

The first house was built in 1820 by a man named Tregonwell. Tregonwell and his wife visited a beach in the area and his wife was so taken by its beauty that she persuaded him to build a house there. At the time the land was heathland with grazing cattle.

It was another couple of decades before Bournemouth’s growth really began to flourish. Britain’s relatively recent love for the seaside was instrumental in Bournemouth’s beginnings, and much of its success since. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s visiting the seaside became a popular pastime amongst Britons and resorts began to appear throughout the country, including south-coastal resorts such as Brighton and Eastbourne. In 1836 a man named George Tapps-Gervis decided he wanted to turn Bournemouth into a seaside resort. He was in a good position to develop the area as he was the son of a local land owner. Tapps-Gervis built family villas that were hired out for summer holidays. This led to more people buying land and building in the area. The still existent Bath Hotel was amongst the buildings built during this period; it first opened in 1838. By 1840 Bournemouth was officially a village.

Throughout the rest of the nineteenth century Bournemouth grew at a rapid rate. The stagecoach which travelled from Southampton to Weymouth began to call at Bournemouth, which was key in increasing tourism. The railway line to Bournemouth, which was built in 1870, was also important.

Bournemouth pier is still a recognisable part of the town, and the first pier was built in 1861. This was a wooden structure and was replaced by an iron pier in 1880. By this time the population was 16,000, but this more than doubled over the next ten years to 37,000.

It wasn’t just Bournemouth itself that was growing, but villages in close proximity. With the growth of these villages as well as Bournemouth, they soon came together and officially became part of the town. The border of the town continued to grow and the population was almost 60,000 by the turn of the century. Trams were installed in 1901 and were used for the next three decades before being replaced by trolley busses.

Two buildings that are still popular to this day where built in the 1920’s, the Russell Cotes museum, and the Pavilion. These were built in 1922 and 1929 respectively.

Like many towns and cities in Britain, Bournemouth was impacted by the Second World War. It wasn’t expected to be and children were evacuated to Bournemouth from the nearby cities of Southampton and Portsmouth. Unfortunately though, the town was bombed and 219 people were killed.

Initially Bournemouth was part of the county of Hampshire but became part of Dorset in 1972.

Today Bournemouth is a thriving town. Its population is now just over 160,000 and it is particularly popular during the summertime, when thousands of holiday makers make their way to the seaside resort.

Andrew Marshall ©

Solicitors Bournemouth

Luxury Swimwear for Men

My Top Ten London Tourist Attractions

2012-01-20T02:30:00.001-08:00

London is one of the world’s most popular tourist cities. There are hundreds of tourist attractions in the city. Here are my top ten.

London Eye

The London Eye offers great views of this great city. It is a revolving Ferris Wheel that is 135 metres high at its highest, and has views of 25 miles on a clear day. It is constantly moving from 10am until closing time (which varies depending on the time of year) and consists of 32 capsules. The current cost is £18.60 and it takes around 30 minutes to go round. The London Eye is situated on the south bank of the River Thames and has particularly good views of the Houses of Parliament and Canary Wharf.

Tower of London

Officially known as Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress, this historic castle in on the north bank of the River Thames, next to Tower Bridge. It was founded in 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. It has been used for many purposes over the centuries, including as a royal residence and a prison. It has been besieged many times throughout history and historically has been important in controlling the country. The Tower of London was prominently used as a prison in the 1500’s and 1600’s and many were famously executed there. Now it is a museum.

Houses of Parliament

This is one of London’s most famous landmarks. It is where members of parliament meet to discuss and debate political matters. It consists of the House of Lords, the House of Common and the world famous clock tower, Big Ben. Built in the 19th Century, it is on the north bank of the River Thames in the west London area of Westminster.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

This is the most famous cathedral in Britain and the Mother church of the Diocese of London. The visually most striking part of St. Paul’s is the famous dome. Up until 1962 it was the tallest building in London. The architect was Christopher Wren whose remains are in the corner of the crypt.

The Globe Theatre

The original globe was built in 1599 by William Shakespeare’s company. It was reconstructed in 1997 just over 200 metres from the original and is an open-air stage. The building is a ring-like shape around the theatre. Only Shakespeare plays are shown, and it is a real atmospheric location to watch some of the greatest theatre ever produced.

Science Museum

There are a variety of science related pieces in the Science Museum, including many that visitors can experiment with themselves. It is a hands-on science experience and great for children, who can learn about science while playing with some fun exhibits.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum, situated in Kensington in West London, consists of a large number of life and earth specimens. There are five main collections; botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The palaeontology collection includes dinosaur skeletons, which is what the museum is most famous for. The museum is free to enter.

British Museum

You may think the British museum would be primarily about British history, but it consists of artefacts from all parts of the world, including Egypt, ancient Greece, Asia and America, and much more. There are over eight million artefacts in all. The British Museum has been open since 1759. It is visited more than any other museum in Britain, and has the second most visitors in the world, behind the Musee de Louvre in Paris.

National Gallery

Situated on the world famous Trafalgar Square, this art gallery has over 2,000 paintings. There is free entry but they do hold exhibitions which cost extra. Established in 1824, it is the third most visited museum in Britain.

Tate Modern

The Tate Modern is the most visited modern art museum in the world. It is situated in what was previously the Bankside Power Station, with the outer building much as it was then. The Tate Modern contains a large array of modern art pieces and is constantly changing. Entry is free.

Andrew Marshall ©

Solicitors London

Is it Worth Having your Hosting Managed for You?

2012-01-19T01:46:00.000-08:00

Is it worth having your web hosting managed for you and opting for a managed hosting solution? That is a question that many business owners will ask themselves as they search for hosting for their website. Managed hosting is more expensive than some of the options so many are reluctant, but there are many benefits that can make the extra outlay worthwhile.

Peace of Mind

One of the nice things with having your hosting managed is the peace of mind it gives you. You know your hosting is taken care and is in the hands of experts so you can relax. You are, therefore, able to focus on your core business instead of worrying if your website is live or not. This is especially the case if you have a lack of hosting knowledge yourself. If this is true then managing it yourself can be tricky so it makes sense to have it in the hands of technical experts rather than attempting to control it yourself.

Monitoring

A major benefit of managed hosting is the monitoring that is included, usually twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. With your site’s hosting being monitored any problems with the site will be quickly established….. and solved. Issues can often be prevented before they occur, and if something does go wrong that impact the site, it only has a minimal affect. With managed hosting there is very unlikely to be a situation where a website is down for several hours before anything is done about it. All in all, this means fewer problems with the hosting.

If you have Complex Hosting Needs

If you have complex hosting requirements then managed hosting could be a good option. It means having technical expertise managing your hosting so not having to control it yourself. Whereas with a basic hosting package you might be able to manage it yourself, with a complex solution amateurs are less likely to be able to handle it. This means having it managed can be essential and is certainly justifiable from a financial point of view.

You will get a Dedicated Server

With the vast majority of managed hosting solutions you will get a dedicated server for your website. This means not having to share a web server with any other sites. Sharing with other sites has the potential to have a negative impact as problems related to some sites on the server can affect others sharing it. This is not an issue if you have a managed hosting package with your own individual server.

Overall, managed hosting can be very good value for money. Just because it costs more than other solutions does not mean it is any less value for money. If you have the requirements for it then it can be worth every penny. The key thing is that you don’t have to manage it yourself, and your hosting being controlled by expert professionals has many obvious advantages. The quality of the hosting and the overall service is very high.

Andrew Marshall ©

Giving to Charity Trends

2012-01-18T01:54:00.000-08:00

This article looks at some statistics regarding giving to charity in the UK. This includes the numbers giving, average donation amounts, and interesting trends.

Over half of adults in the UK donate financially to charitable causes on a regular basic. This does not include volunteering time. In 2009/2010 people in the United Kingdom were on average giving £12 a month to charity. For most people it is less than this figure but some give significantly more, therefore increasing the average figure. 8% of the total came from donations of more than £100 a month, but this does not include the very wealthy giving very large amounts. 2009/2010 statistics are not available but in 2008/2009 there were 100 donations of more than £1 million.

Impact of the Recession

The recession was expected to have a significant impact on charitable giving but this has not happened to a large extent. In 2007/2008 donations went down a little, but they have increased again since. This is shown in things such as Children in Need, where amounts raised have continued to rise despite fears that the recession would have a negative impact. Since the recession hit, both the number of donations and the average amounts have increased, although the increase could be concentrated amongst those not particular impacted by the recession.

Giving at Home or Abroad

In recent years those giving to overseas causes has increased, with around a quarter of donations having gone outside of the country in the last few years. It is difficult to judge whether this is a general trend or whether there has been more large natural disaster the last few years. These types of events attract a lot of media coverage and tend to therefore lead to large numbers of donations. The earthquake in Haiti and earthquake and tsunami in Japan are good examples of this. These are visually tragic with thousands impacted suddenly. With people emotionally involved they are more likely to donate on instinct. The increases in giving to these types of causes also suggest a higher proportion of charitable giving is through one-off donations or occasionally giving rather than it being regular, for example monthly.

Which Demographics Donate Most?

Perhaps surprisingly, the age range that donates the most to charity amongst women and amongst men are very different. The women who contribute most to good causes are those in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, while men aged between 16 and 24 contribute more than any other age range.

How About Volunteering?

Around 40% of adults in the UK volunteer for a good cause at least once a year, with roughly 25% volunteering on at least a monthly basis. This has increased over the last five years. The recession has actually had a positive influence on this, with some who have been made redundant volunteering until they find suitable employment. Volunteering for a worthy cause is a good way for people to donate to charity who cannot afford to give financially. The general trend is a decrease in the numbers volunteering on a regular basis and an increase in people volunteering occasionally.

Andrew Marshall ©

Charity Law

Gas Prices to Fall

2012-01-16T03:40:00.000-08:00

The first of the UK’s big energy companies has announced that they will be cutting their gas prices. EDF Energy has said their gas customers will be seeing a 5% reduction in bills from February, making up for some of the 15% increases that have come over the last two years due to increased wholesale prices.

After rising over the last couple of years, wholesale gas prices have started to decline. The main two reasons for this has been the impact of the economy is general and a mild winter, meaning extracting gas has been easier and has therefore cost less. Purchasing gas has cost the energy companies less so they are able to pass this onto their customers.

It is almost certain that other gas providers will follow in reducing their prices, otherwise they risk being left behind and losing customers. A couple of small energy companies have reduced their prices, but as of 13th January, none of the other large providers have followed suit. Price reductions are expected to be announced over the next few weeks.

Wholesale gas prices can fluctuate significantly. Many factors across the world can impact this, from economic factors to natural disasters in relevant areas and whether conditions impacting the ease of extracting gas. Therefore, it is not always easy to predict whether prices will go up or down over the long term, or by how much. Consumer prices tend to head in the same direction as consumer prices, although there is usually a bit of a delay. This comes because the gas being sold to consumers at any particular time has been bought in advance by the gas companies.

The EDF Energy reduction in prices has been welcomed by energy consumer groups who have been lobbying for the wholesale prices to be mirrored by consumer prices. This will please many customers who are having a financially difficult time due to the economic problems affecting the country and much of the world. The 5% reduction in prices, and those expected to follow from other providers, will be a relief to many.

From a gas provider’s points of view, there are advantages and disadvantages to being the first to reduce prices. If others do not reduce their prices it obviously puts them in a strong position. In practice it depends on how long it takes others to follow and the size of their decreases. Many customers will stick with their current provider and wait to see the changes they make while others will switch due to the publicity of EDF Energy’s reductions. Reducing prices before the competition can entice customers to switch and it makes it seem as though they are leading the way in price reductions. It does give others an opportunity, though, to decide on their own strategies accordingly and potentially undercut them.

Because consumer prices go up or down as wholesale prices do, it is inevitable that other gas providers will follow EDF Energy’s decrease. Customers will wait with baited breath to see the reductions they get from their provider.

Andrew Marshall ©

Oil and Gas Law

How Shutters came to the United States

2012-01-12T02:05:00.000-08:00

Window Shutters are a popular type of window covering that offer a traditional look and practicality. They are now popular throughout the world, but were originally established in the Mediterranean, before spreading across Europe. Their introduction in the United States came via the plantations in the American south.

Shutters are first thought to have been used in Greece, although there are conflicting opinions as to where exactly in the Mediterranean region they originated from. Wherever there first usage was, it didn’t take long for them to spread across the region. They were first made from stone or marble and were put across the window holes before the introduction of glass windows. Wood later became more prominent.

The introduction of shutters in the United States came in the 1500’s. Spanish explorers were the first to reach what is now the United States, as well as much of South America (where Spanish is still the first language) and the Caribbean. In fact, at one point around 70% of the whole of America below the Canadian border was Spanish. The first Spanish settlers in the United States were in 1565, when settlers made St. Augustine in Florida their home.

The Spanish influx soon spread and Spanish colonies in the south of the country began to appear. They grew their own food, and grew products such as cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco to sell. These became plantations, with the majority of the work being carried out by poorly treated slaves. Each plantation became their own community separated from others. There were two opposing sides to the plantations; the wealthy land owners who made all of the profits and the slaves who did the hard labour. The goods grown were mostly traded with England.

Many of the land owners lived in large wooden houses. Those originally from Spain began to install window shutters on their homes that could protect them from the searing heat and keep insects out. Because of their use on the plantation houses, these shutters became known as plantation shutters. This name has continued to be used as a general term for wooden shutters throughout the English speaking world.

Some believe that louvred shutters were first used in the southern United States. Louvres, or slats as they are also known, can be adjusted to suit the weather conditions, and today louvred shutters are the most popular type of shutters. They can be opened to let in the optimum amount of sunlight and air. This makes them useful at all times of the year.

English and French settlers also bought shutters to parts of the United States, in particularly to the East Coast areas. These included areas such as what are now New York and New England.

Plantation shutters are popular around the world today. They are still most popular in the Mediterranean countries where they originated, such as Greece, Spain and Italy, but their use is much wider. They are generally considered to give a traditional look and are common in colonial style buildings in the United States.

Andrew Marshall ©

What are the Best Investments for your Children?

2012-01-10T05:47:00.001-08:00

What is the best investment you can make on behalf of your children? Much of this depends on how much you have available to invest and the regularity of the payments you can make. This article looks at some of the obvious, and less obvious, options.

Savings Account

The advantage of making payments into a regular savings account, whether regular payments or a larger one-off payment, is that it is safe and won’t disappear as it can with riskier investments. You will then earn interest on this, but the downside is that this interest won’t be particularly high compared with other investment products. With most savings accounts you are going for safety over profit.

Junior ISA

The Junior ISA, or JISA, is the new scheme introduced by the government last year to encourage parents to save on behalf of their children. Like an adult ISA, a child ISA is a way of being able to invest without tax being paid on gains. Parents can invest up to £3,600 a year in the scheme on behalf of each child, the equivalent of £300 a month. It works very much like an adult ISA and there is a choice of putting investments into a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA. Children are automatically given access to the account set up in their name when they turn 18. The money is locked into the account and can only be accessed once a child turns this age. The tax advantages is the main benefit and it is a good scheme if you can put in close to the yearly limit, although it is also beneficial with lower investments. The Junior ISA is a good option for parents who wish to make regularly savings on behalf of their children’s future.

Using an Adult ISA

An alternative to the Junior ISA is saving for your children through an adult ISA. If you are not already using the £10,680 maximum allowance then this is an option you may consider. There are three advantages of this option. Firstly, it has a higher limit than the Junior ISA. Also, if you don’t think your child is responsible enough to be given a large amount of money at 18, you can wait until you feel it is more appropriate. The other benefit is that you can take the money out should you be in a position where you need it, which isn’t the case with a Junior ISA.

Buying a House on your Child’s Behalf

If you have a relatively large amount of money to invest, then buying a house on behalf of your child could be an option. You will need enough up front for a deposit and be able to make monthly payments for a mortgage. Over the course of time the value of a home should go up so it should be a good investment in terms of growth. Once your child reaches an appropriate age you can then pass the home over to them. They can then either live in the home or they can sell it, leaving them with substantial funds. This is especially a good option if you are likely to own it outright by the time you pass it onto your child – there is no better gift to your children than for them to be able to live rent free and mortgage free. The negative of this is that it is expensive, so you need to know you will have the on-going funds necessary to make the mortgage payments every month.

Andrew Marshall ©

Private Healthcare Doesn’t Have to be Expensive

2012-01-06T08:27:00.001-08:00

Private healthcare is expensive. Or is it? Private healthcare is often considered something that is only relevant and affordable to the wealthy, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

There are all sorts of private healthcare options, including insurance plans, private doctors that can be used when patients feel it is necessary, and certain extra services people can opt for. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing – private health or the NHS. You can choose insurance packages that only cover certain medical conditions, for example what is important to you or something you are particularly worried about. You could go the private option for things that are not covered by the NHS or for something you have a chronic problem with, so you have better quality healthcare just for this area without having to pay for everything.

You can, or course, go private on on-off occasions. If you have a medical issue you want fast treatment for or more extensive treatment than what is available on the NHS for this particular issue, then this could be a good option. You can pay for private care for this until the issue is overcome, so you are not paying for expensive healthcare continuously.

You may be happy with NHS care the majority of the time but want to use private healthcare for certain things. One example might be during pregnancy. You may wish to utilise extra services that are not available on the NHS, for example early pregnancy scans or more personal and more thorough pregnancy care.

If going the medical insurance root it is important to get the right insurance for you. Make sure you know what is, and what is not, covered. You don’t want to find out you are not covered when you have a medical condition you thought you were covered for. There are often limitations with medical insurance, but the good thing is that the more limitations there are the lower the cost will be. Medical insurance allows you to tailor you healthcare to your needs, and there are specific plans for people in different circumstances, with varying prices. For example, there are family plans and plans for the elderly. With medical insurance you want to be covered for what is important to you but, at the same time, don’t want to be paying for something you would be just as happy to get on the NHS. You may just want to be covered for certain illnesses or conditions, for example something that you are worried about or have a family history of.

Private healthcare does not have to be as expensive as many believe. There are many different options available. You can opt for medical insurance, either covering you for all eventualities or only certain areas of healthcare, or you can just choose private healthcare when you feel you require it. So, while being covered for everything and exclusively using private healthcare can be expensive, there are many options that make it more affordable.

Andrew Marshall ©

Private Doctor London

Early Pregnancy Scan London

Different Materials used for Shutters

2011-12-22T03:25:00.000-08:00

Window shutters are a great alternative for your window coverings. They are durable and elegant and offer adjustability not found with other types of window coverings. They were traditionally used in the Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, Italy and Spain, but are now used much more widely, especially in Europe and North America.

Wooden shutters are the most common type of shutters but they are made from a variety of different woods as well as other materials. Below are some of the materials used for the manufacture of window shutters.

Hardwood

Hardwood is a solid wood material. It is sturdy and therefore strong and durable. Hardwood is often used in furniture due to its quality. It is a plain material; nothing fancy but it does the job. If you choose hardwood for your shutters you get good value for money.

Premium Hardwood

Premium hardwood has more style than regular hardwood. It is a straight-grained wood and the quality is again top-notch, with it being amongst the most resistant to warping.

Larchwood

Larchwood has a nice, distinctive grain pattern, giving shutters made from it a fresh and modern look. It is a hard wearing wood and therefore very durable.

Cedarwood

Cedarwood is a straight grained wood with a distinctive grain. Its natural colour is a reddish brown. It is perfect for interior shutters in the home as it gives off a warm ambience with an elegant look. It is a good quality of wood and resistant to decay.

Craftwood

This is an MDF wood and therefore a low priced option. It is another durable material suitable for the manufacture of interior shutters. It has a smooth finish but doesn’t have as much character as other woods.

Perma Wood

Perma wood has a timber core with a synthetic outer surface. The strong core ensures build quality with the outer material resulting in durability, while keeping the cost down.

Vinyl

Vinyl shutters are generally the cheapest type of window shutters. They are, though, not of as high quality and damage and warp more easily. They give a traditional look and require little maintenance.

Faux Wood

Faux wood is made with a synthetic material. It is cheaper than genuine wood but is not considered as elegant. It is durable, though.

Aluminium

Generally used for security rather than look, aluminium shutters are sturdy and strong, and cannot be easily broken through. They are often used on doors as well as windows, and utilised by shops and other businesses rather than for homes.

Iron

Iron shutters can also be used for security, but not exclusively. They are not to everyone’s taste, and where used in homes are used on the exterior rather than the interior. They give a certain traditional look.

There are many choices of material for window shutters. Some form of wood is generally used for interior shutters, though there are many woods available. They all have their own distinctive style and suit different types of shutters. Some are stronger and more durable, whereas others are more elegant.

Andrew Marshall ©

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wi-Fi Hotspots

2011-12-21T07:45:00.001-08:00

There has been a large increase is Wi-Fi hotspots over the last few years. These allow people to access the internet using laptops or other devises when they are away from their home or office. There are a number of advantages to being able to connect to the internet via Wi-Fi hotspots but there are also some disadvantages.

The main benefit is that people can access the internet from a variety of different locations. Most of the time they are not that far from somewhere they can obtain internet access, so if they need to catch up with their emails, for example, they can. Café’s, airports and on trains are amongst the places that tend to have Wi-Fi hotspots. This means those who regularly travel during the working day can use the internet for work while on the train, making them more productive and meaning they won’t have to catch up at another time. Wi-Fi means that if you need to do something online and have your laptop with you, you might be able to find a Wi-Fi hotspot and can therefore access the internet.

There has been a growth in ways of accessing the internet. People are using other devices apart from traditional computers and laptops, with mobile phones and smart phones the most common of these. People, these days, want access to their emails and the internet as easily as they can check their voicemail, and Wi-Fi is extensively used for this.

Some businesses have used Wi-Fi as a marketing tool, giving customers free internet access. These include Starbucks and McDonalds. Customers being able to access the internet while drinking their Coffee or having a meal has become one of their selling points.

While many benefit from being able to gain Wi-Fi internet access, especially when it is free, there are also some disadvantages. Access can be limited and coverage intermittent. It is not always as simple and reliable as accessing the internet from home. There are also security issues. Accessing the web from a Wi-Fi hotspot is not always secure, which could be an issue if you are dealing with sensitive information such as bank details and important passwords or working over a business network. Some criminals have seen Wi-Fi as an opportunity to hack into personal information others are dealing with. This is a lot easier when people are using Wi-Fi hotspots and this behaviour is more difficult to track as the guilty party is using the same network as many other users.

While security can be a major issue with Wi-Fi, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk. All business networks should have security measures in place, with a VPN being the best option. A VPN is a virtual private network which uses encryption so data cannot be easily intercepted. For other users, individual devices can have a VPN installed to prevent private information from being hacked into. They can also use WPA/WEP encryption. This will encode data transmitted between your computer and the wireless router. This will mean data travelling between your computer and the internet is encrypted so hackers cannot interpret it.

Andrew Marshall ©

VPN Provider

Interesting Ways of Creating Energy

2011-12-20T08:30:00.001-08:00

Energy is generally generated by creating motion to drive a turbine. This is often done by creating heat which produces stream that drives the turbine, with 80% of the world’S energy created in something approaching this method. Nuclear power is one example of this.

We are constantly trying to come up with new ways of creating energy. The actual production of energy can be done fairly easily; it is just that you need to create enough to drive everything we need. There are some interesting ways of creating energy and below are some of these, some of which have been put into practice and some of which haven’t.

Kite Powered Car

A kit powered car has been produced, although it is more of a light-weight buggy than a car in the conventional sense. It is guided by the kite, rather than its engine being powered by it. This poses the question of whether you can create engine power through a kite-like device. Could the wind blowing through a kite flying above a car create energy that is harnessed into the car’s engine?

Power from Tornados and Hurricanes

Tornados and Hurricanes are obviously very powerful. They could, in theory, create enough energy to power a town, at least for a little while. How exactly this would be done is not clear, and if a tornado or hurricane is sweeping through your town using it as an energy source is the least of your worries.

Waterfalls

Water falling onto a turbine, or something controlling the turbine, can create energy. If you’ve been to the Science Museum in London you may have seen a contraption where visitors can create a small waterfall that powers a television. While this may not produce a massive amount of power, imaging what Niagara Falls could do. It could create a fair bit of energy, possibly enough to power a town, but it isn’t going to solve the world’s problems. Why not, though, use it to power the surrounding area if possible.

Spinach

Spinach is best known for increasing Popeye’s strength, but it has also been used to power a house… kind of. It is actually a house powered by solar energy but the way the system was designed means the house had to be covered in a solid-state photosynthetic solar cell based skin, which is derived from spinach. It is really a matter of spinach assisting with solar power rather than creating the power itself.

Exercise

It is possible to create energy from people exercising if it can be harnessed in the right way. If you watch television while exercising on an exercise bike then the television could, in theory, be powered by the bike. Imagine if you could harness power in this way from the Olympics, could you power the whole of London for a few weeks? Well, maybe not, but it’s a nice idea.

Generating power is actually fairly easy. Generating power for everything we need is not. If power can be harnessed in the right way there is no end to the amount of power that could be created.

Andrew Marshall ©

Energy Law

Is Now a Bad Time to Invest?

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

As most people are aware, the economy is currently not at its strongest. Does that mean it is a bad time to invest in stocks and shares? The stock markets don’t exactly appear to be getting stronger, and some are predicting gloom and doom for some time yet. This prompts the question of whether it is too risky to invest at this time.

There are a lot of ifs and buts as to whether it is worth investing or not. If you are not spending money, then what else are you going to do with it? Are you just going to leave it in a regular bank account? With the current low interest rates it won’t do much in the bank, with inflation rising quicker than your money will. Even once interest rates do rise, you would need a lot in the bank to see any real difference. Therefore, for growth, something needs to be done with it.

If you don’t want to take risks but do want your money to grow, then investing in a cash ISA might be wise. It doesn’t have the potential growth of a stocks and shares ISA, but there are no risks. Some may think of this as a sensible and more secure way of savings right now as you will not be losing anything, and could later switch into a stocks and shares ISA once things look better and significant gains seem more likely.

Some people will already be investing but might be wondering whether or not they should carry on. This is particularly likely if the value of their investments have already fallen. If this is the case with you, you might want to cut your losses but at the same time won’t want to sell any shares at a low point, losing what you put in. This could be a tough decision; losing money is never good but you may not want to risk losing more than you already have.

You might be thinking, is now the perfect time to invest? Some stocks could be at or near their low point and will increase again. And there is nothing better than buying low ahead of a rise in value, and later selling at a much higher price. For some stocks now is likely to be a low point. If you can find the right investments, looking for stocks at their low point could be a good investment strategy. If timed right it could indeed be the perfect time to invest but it is hard to predict when the low point is, and getting it wrong could mean losing all that you put in. At some point the stock markets will improve but getting the timing right is risky.

So overall, is now a bad time to invest? Well, it depends on the investment. It is a time when certain investment will be very poor choices but you could also time things just before they rise again. The sensible thing to do is seek some expert legal advice to help you decide when the right time is to invest in a particular investment product.

Andrew Marshall ©

Benefits of Academy Schools

2011-12-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

Academies were introduced by the Labour government in 2000 in a bid to improve failing schools. The current government has encouraged more schools to apply for academy conversion and they have simplified the process of becoming an academy.

Academies are essentially independent schools that are state funded. Money that would go to local authorities to pay for the running of schools goes directly from central government to the academies themselves and they can spend this as they like.

The real benefit that an academy has is the freedom that they have compared with regular, state controlled schools. There are many areas where they can make their own decisions. Because they are outside the direct control of local authorities they have more say in how they operate.

If an academy wishes it can specialise in a certain area. For example, if an academy wants to specialise in sport, science, technology or IT, then they can. This has prompted many to start religion based academies. Although they can specialise wherever they wish they still have to teach English, Maths and Science. They can, therefore, put more resources towards their specialist subjects, with children spending more time on this.

Academies can choose their own curriculum to a large extent. Apart from having to teach English, Maths and Science they can essentially teach whatever subjects they like. They can teach additional subject that other schools do not and don’t have to teach all subjects that others do. Regular schools have their curriculum dictated to them much more than academies.

Individual academies have a choice of how to spend their money. They have a choice of what to pay teachers; they can put more of their budget towards teachers’ pay in an attempt to attract the best teachers if they wish. If there are certain things they feel are necessary, they can spend money on it. Regular schools do not have the same freedoms in this regard.

Academies can also raise money in other ways on top of the money given by central government. They get the same per child as local authorities get to put towards an individual school, but can raise additional funds if they wish. They can, for example, be sponsored by individuals or businesses. Some think this is a negative as a business’s needs becomes a priority instead of children’s education. However, it can mean children are better prepared for the working world. Businesses working with academies can encourage teaching that will genuinely help students once they get into the workplace, in turn improving children’s career prospects. And the main benefit of being able to raise additional funds is that larger budgets enable them to be more effective.

Another choice academies have is choosing their own term dates. They can alter them compared to the regular school calendar and structure the school day to suit them.

In some ways academies are a little like public schools in the state school sector. They are independent in many ways but cannot charge for entrance. Academies offer more choice for parents. Their children can go to a school they believe fits their needs. And more academies means more differences between schools and therefore more choice.

Andrew Marshall ©

An Introduction to Intellectual Property Law

2011-12-15T08:37:00.001-08:00

What is Intellectual Property Law? Often referred to as IP Law, intellectual property law refers to the ownership of creations, for example ownership of music, artwork, literature, inventions, designs and ideas. These works are the intellectual property of the creator, meaning they own their creation.

Why is this important? It is important because if IP Law didn’t exist they could be used by others, possibly to make money from someone else’s work. It could have financial value so it is only right that the creator is the owner. This means they have to give permission for someone else to use their idea or creation, and are entitled to a percentage of any profit made. Intellectual property law ensures that an idea or creation is protected where necessary.

Businesses and Brands

Amongst the things that come under Intellectual Property Law is a brand or business idea. Simply thinking of an idea means you own that idea, and if someone else steals it they are breaking the law and are likely to have to compensate the creator. That said, it must be proved this has been stolen. The lines can be blurred but, essentially, if you come up with an idea someone else can’t use it without your permission. Company logos and branding is also under the ownership of the creator, much like artwork.

Music

If the lyrics, notes or chords of music are written down or recorded then it is officially the copyright of the creator, so they own the rights to it. It can then only be used by others with their permission. This is true whether someone else records it or it is played on the radio, for example. When it is played on the radio the radio station must pay a fee to the copyright owner. If someone else records it a percentage of the sale must go to the copyright owner. This is even the case if someone performs it live and earns money from this.

Artwork

When someone creates a piece of art, whether it is a drawing, painting, sculpture or photograph, then they are the intellectual property owner. It can therefore not be copied (whether redone or another copy made) without the permission of the creator. Payments must also be made where money is made from this. Museum shops often sell posters or postcards of the artwork on display in their museum. Some of the money made from this, though, must go to the copyright owners.

Literature

When someone writes a novel or a poem it is their intellectual property. Again, there must be permission and payment where someone publishes this. Usually publishing rights are sold to one publisher. They will then be able to sell it, whereas other cannot. Copyright does run out seventy years after the creator’s death though. Charles Dickens novels, for example, can now be published by anyone and sold without permission or payments given to his estate.

Intellectual property law covers many areas. The above are just some of the most obvious examples. Essentially, any ideas or creations are the intellectual property of the creator and they own the copyright to their work.

Andrew Marshall ©

Brief Summary of Hampshire’s Biggest Towns and Cities

2011-12-14T05:24:00.001-08:00

Hampshire is a county in the South of England that covers approximately 1,400 square miles. The county town is the historic cathedral city of Winchester. Hampshire contains the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth as well as the New Forest National Park. Famous people have included Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This is a brief look at the five largest towns and cities in Hampshire; Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke, Gosport and Waterlooville, as well as Winchester.

Southampton

Southampton is Hampshire’s largest city. Much of its character comes from the city walls which were built to protect it after an attack by France in 1338. Around half of these walls still exist to this day. Southampton Port has played an important part in its history and industries, and was key in both world wars. In 1912 the Titanic sailed from Southampton to begin its fateful maiden voyage. Regular ferries still depart from Southampton to the Isle of Wight. Cross channel ferries no longer leave from Southampton but many Cruise ships do, in particular those going to the Mediterranean. It is also the largest freight port on the south coast of England. Southampton has good transport links that includes an airport with domestic and European flights.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth has a population of a little over 200,000, and settlements began before Roman Times. Like Southampton, the port has played an important role in its history. It is the world’s oldest dry dock and a major naval base with it having the headquarters of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marine Commandos. It is also a commercial port. A modern addition to Portsmouth is the Spinnaker Tower which was finally completed in 2005 after many years of delays. It is a 170 metre high tower that dominates the skyline and also goes by the name of the Millennium Tower. Designed to look like a sail to reflect the city’s marine connections it includes an observation deck with 360 degree views and a glass floor.

Basingstoke

Basingstoke is a market town that was greatly expanded in the 1960’s when it became a London overspill town. It has good transport links to London with a fast train service and the M3 motorway, with Basingstoke’s junction 50 miles from the capital. Settlements go back to the Iron Age. The town was targeted in world war two, with bomb damage that included St Michael’s Church in the town centre. These days Basingstoke is home to the headquarters of several large businesses. The town centre has recently been largely rebuilt, with the Festival Place shopping centre a major new addition.

Gosport

Gosport is on the south coast on a peninsular, with Portsmouth on the opposite side. Some think of Gosport as an extension of Portsmouth but it is a town in its own right. It used to be a major naval and military town but declined in the late 1900’s. It held the last specialist military hospital in the UK until its closure in 2007. The first recorded settlements in what is now Gosport were in Anglo Saxon times. Famous people include singer Joe Jackson, actor Keith Allen and former athlete Roger Black.

Waterlooville

The name Waterlooville comes from a pub that used to be in the centre of the town; the Heroes of Waterloo. It was so named because on its first day of opening it was visited by returning soldiers from the Battle of Waterloo. Many of the soldiers settled there. A pub of the same name still exists, though in a different location.

Winchester

Despite not being one of the largest cities in Hampshire in population, Winchester is one of its best known places and is the county town. It is a cathedral city with one of the most famous cathedrals in Britain, and one of the largest in the world. The cathedral was built in 1079. Settlements go back to the Iron Age and Winchester became a capital of England in 686, one of several. It became the main capital city in 827 and remained so until after the Norman Conquest. A fire in 1141 accentuated what was already a decline in the city’s importance. Winchester is now a popular city due to its history and character. Jane Austen died in the city in 1817 and is buried in the cathedral.

Andrew Marshall ©

What is a Trojan and how do I get rid of one?

2011-12-13T03:24:00.000-08:00

A Trojan Horse is effectively a type of computer virus that works by imitating something that users might want or find useful, such as music download software or even anti-virus software. This is to encourage computer users to download the Trojan, unknown to them. The user is therefore downloading this piece of malicious software themselves that goes on to attack their computer. These Trojan’s will then infect the computer and allow the Trojan’s creator to benefit. Typically, Trojan’s allow hackers access to your computer; they are able to control your computer from their own meaning they can steal secure information it stores. If you store sensitive information on your computer, such as bank account details and important passwords, then they may be able to gain access to these.

So, if you establish or suspect your computer has been infected with a Trojan, how can you remove it?

There is software that can do this for you. If you have antivirus software (which you should always have installed on your computer) then you can try deleting the Trojan using this. Run a scan, and if the Trojan is detected is should give you an option to delete it. It may appear in a list of suspicious items. Where this is the case, select all the items you feel may be unsafe and delete them using the options available to you.

If you are unable to remove the Trojan using the antivirus software, you can delete it manually if you have a windows computer. First, click on the Start icon in the bottom, left-hand corner of your screen and click on this. A menu will appear, click on ‘Control Panel’ on the right-hand side of this menu. In the next box that appears click ‘Programs’. Underneath Programs and Features in the following box click ‘Uninstall a Program’. This will bring up a list of all programs installed on your computer. Here, select the program you wish to delete (the Trojan) and then click ‘Uninstall’, which is above the list of programs. This will uninstall the Trojan virus. Make sure you do not uninstall any programs that you wish to keep.

In an ideal world your computer won’t get infected by a Trojan to begin with. Although you can never 100% guarantee this won’t happen, there are things you can avoid to limit the chances. The first one may seem obvious; don’t visit websites you are suspicious of, and especially, don’t download anything you are unsure of. You should also avoid opening links in emails you are uncertain of, including those claiming to be from banks or government organisations, such as tax authorities. These are two of the most common ways that people contract viruses, including Trojan’s.

Does antivirus software prevent your computer from being infected by a Trojan Horse? Yes, it should, but it is not guaranteed. If a Trojan is more advanced that the antivirus software designed to stop it, then you might still get infected. You are, though, much less likely to get infected if you have antivirus software installed, and you should always make sure you are protected and that it performs regular scans.

Andrew Marshall ©

Future Generations expected to be Less Well Off than their Parents

2011-12-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the last few generations each generation has had more disposable income, relatively speaking, than the last. This trend could soon change though. Those currently in their 30’s and 40’s are expected to follow this pattern and be better off than their parents, but their children are, on average, expected to be less well off.

According to a PWC study, those born in 1993 will be 25% poorer when they retire than those born in 1963.

Those born in 1963 were able to buy a home earlier, at the age of 29 on average, and benefited from rapid increases in the value of their homes. They had no student debt and many are likely to be able to retire early.

Those born in 1993 are likely to have a higher real income but they are also likely to spend more. The PWC study states that it is expected they will be able to buy their first home by the age of 35 on average. This could be higher, though, as the average is already more than that now. Many of those born in 1993 will have student loans to pay off. They will also live longer so their retirement pot must last longer.

So why is the trend of each generation turning? The wealth gap between each generation is already narrowing in relative terms. Pensions and property could be two key factors.

Pensions are getting worse. Fewer people are paying into a pension fund at all, and this problem is increasing with people living longer. So while bigger pension pots are needed, pension contributions are actually going down. This is already a problem for some who have retired and will likely get worse in the future unless something is done to revert this.

Property has risen sharply in the last few decades. With each generation benefiting more, each generation has become wealthier than the last. It has been easier to obtain a mortgage than it is likely to be in the future. Many house prices have now got to a stage where they have become unaffordable to many young people so getting on the housing ladder is become harder. Increases are also likely to be less in the future so future generations may make less on the property market.

A current issue is that wages are not rising comparably to inflation. So things are costing more relative to what people are earning.

Each generation since world war two has been wealthier than the previous, but this difference is becoming less. The tide is turning and those born now are likely to be less well off as adults than their parents.

Can parents help protect their children from what could be a decline in living standard? The answer is yes, if parents have disposable income they could save it on behalf of their children. The best way to protect against inflation could be to invest it, for example in a Junior ISA. The Junior ISA is the new savings scheme for children, whereby parents can make investments on behalf of their children where gains will not be taxed.

Andrew Marshall ©

Pros and Cons of doing your Christmas Shopping Online

2011-12-09T04:41:00.001-08:00

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular and the numbers shopping online looks set to reach new height this Christmas. According to The Telegraph, Brits are expected to spend more than 350 million hours shopping online in the build-up to Christmas, a 15% increase on 2010. What are the pros and cons of doing your Christmas shopping online?

One benefit is that you don’t have to go out into town for your Christmas shopping. If doing all of your shopping online there is no need to travel to town or an out of town shopping centre on a cold winters day. It can all be done from the warmth of your own home and you don’t have to race around as part of the large Christmas crowds.

There are sometimes online offers to be found that are not available in the shops. With the increase in online shopping, retailers are targeting this customer base with enticing offers.

If you are shopping on the internet you have a choice of an endless number of retailers. If your favourite retailer doesn’t have a physical store then you would normally have to go somewhere else, but it doesn’t matter where they are if you are buying through their website. You might even be able to buy from retailers based abroad.

Christmas shopping can be stressful; rushing around at the last minute trying to find presents for everyone. Shopping online can take away the stress and make it a lot more relaxing.

While shopping through the internet has its positive side, there are also some negative points.

For one, you can’t see what you are buying prior to making a purchase. This means you won’t find defects that you might if visiting the shops. It is, therefore, more likely you will have the hassle of having to return items.

There can also be extra charges when shopping online, especially delivery charges. In some cases this can make online shopping a more expensive experience.

One of the main fears of shopping on the internet is online shopping safety. For example, it is possible your bank account details could be stolen or your computer could be infected with a virus.

So looking at the pros and cons, should you do your Christmas shopping online?

A large part of it comes down to personal preference. Some people love going into town for their shopping, while others hate it. But, is it safe? The reality is that despite all the stories we hear, in the majority of cases internet shopping is safe. Internet safety needs to be considered, but if the right precautions are taken then it shouldn’t be a problem. It is wise to only use websites that you know you can trust. There are two other key things to look out for; make sure there is a lock symbol in the address box of any webpages that ask for payment details and make sure the web address beings with ‘https’ instead of the usual ‘http’. You may be wondering if you can return items bought online. A misconception is that you cannot, but you have the same legal rights as if you were buying from a physical store. If in doubt, check the terms and conditions on the website or call the company.

Andrew Marshall ©

Should Cohabitation Law Change?

2011-12-08T07:34:00.001-08:00

More couples than even are living together without getting married, whether never planning to get married or living together for a while prior to marriage. There are more than four million cohabiting couples in the UK now, with nearly half of children being born outside of marriage.

While a couple living together may not be a problem, it can become problematic if they separate. It can be confusing for people as they may not know exactly where they stand. For example, what happens if they own a home together or have children? Many have the wrong idea of family law in these cases, while others don’t consider it when they first move in together. After all, to some, simply living in a house with another person may not seem that bigger deal even if they are a couple. Some assume that cohabiting couples have the same legal rights as a married couple, with the idea of common law marriage, where couples who have lived together long term automatically have the same rights as married couples. This is not the case; the idea of common law marriage in the UK is a myth.

The problem at the moment is that people don’t really know where they stand, and many who think they know have the wrong idea. This issue has recently been in the news with the case of Ms Jones and Mr Kernott, who were an unmarried couple living together with their children. They separated and Mr Kernott moved out of the home with Ms Jones and the children continuing to live there, with Ms Jones paying the mortgage. Once the children had grown up Mr Kernott made a claim for the home, assuming he would be entitled to 50%. After many lengthy court battles the Supreme Court has awarded Ms Jones 90% and Mr Kernott just 10%. This could be a significant case in terms of determining entitlements of separating cohabiting couples.

Many legal experts have argued that with so many cohabiting couples the law needs to be changed and simplified. But how? There are many opinions as to what the law should be regarding separating unmarried couple who have lived together. Below are some of these arguments.

It should be balanced to reflect the assets that each person brought into the relationship.

This would be simple in many cases, as if one person owned the home the couple lived in, they would retain ownership after. Where both work, it would mean each keeping their own earnings. The problem would come where circumstances are different when they separate to when they moved in together. For example, if they have children and one parent gives up work to look after the children, then it would be unfair for this parent to be left with nothing. There is also the fact that just because one person owns the home doesn’t mean that that person is paying the mortgage. At the same time splitting the mortgage payments could be conceived as being the same as splitting rent on a rented property. The thing with this argument is that it should simplify things where the circumstances are straightforward but it would not work where it is more complicated and things have changed over time.

It should work just as it does with a marriage

In some ways this would be the easiest way for things to work, effectively bringing into law common law marriage. This would mean both halves of a couple would know exactly where they stand prior to moving in together and changes in circumstances would be taken into consideration during a separation. The reality, though, is that some couples when first living together have not got married for a reason; they do not want to be treated as a married couple. They might not be really for that sort of commitment, either emotionally or in terms of sharing assets in the same way a married couple does. Would it be right for a couple to live together only for a few months and then to have to split assets upon separation? And it could be argued that if you want to be treated as though you are married, then you should get married.

A couple should be able to make a legally binding agreement prior to living together

This could make things simpler. The couple could have a family law solicitor draw up a written agreement that states what would happen, and how assets would be divided if they were to separate. This would mean both know where they stand, and if they were to separate things would be fairly simple to sort out. However, changes in circumstances could prove problematic. For example they may have been splitting mortgage payments when they first lived together, but one person may have then been made unemployed and therefore hasn’t contributed to the mortgage. It may not be considered fair, therefore, that this agreement would still stand.

Family law can be complicated, and can be even more so where cohabiting couples are concerned. There have been calls for a change in the law, and it seems as though this would be a sensible step considering the number of cohabiting couples these days. However, it is difficult to establish how exactly it should be changed, considering the differing circumstances of different couples and how they could change over time.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Housing Markets Impact on the Rental Market

2011-12-06T08:39:00.001-08:00

The circumstances are not at their best for buying property at the moment, something that has led to an increase in the numbers renting. The housing market has stagnated in the last few years, which is in stark contrast to the boom that preceded it. House and flat prices had previously rocketed and fast rises in value were almost thought of as a guarantee. Despite higher prices many were able to buy with mortgages easy to come by, with many providers even offering 100% mortgages.

The story of the economy and its impact on housing in the last three or four years has been well documented but, in short, it has made it a lot harder for people, and in particular first time buyers, to obtain a mortgage. A significantly higher deposit is now required to purchase a home.

The problem for those wishing to buy a home has been confounded by the fact that while prices have fallen, in most cases they haven’t fallen significantly. Home owners have been reluctant to sell for less than they bought for, and this along with it being harder to buy, has meant a lack of movement in the housing market. This has made buying a home less affordable.

The problems in the market for buying homes has led to a more flourishing rental market. More have been looking to rent a flat or house, something that has many benefits, some of which are outlined below.

Renting doesn’t carry the same commitment that buying a home does. If circumstances change, for example a change of job, then you can move quickly with a month or two notice. It is also a lot easier to find another place to rent as you don’t have to spend months trying to sell and find another property.

The most obvious benefit of renting is that it tends to be cheaper. In particular, you don’t need the same sort of deposit. A deposit for a rented flat is likely to be a few hundred pounds, not several thousand as it is for buying a home. This can mean renters have more disposable income or can live in a bigger or nicer place.

If things go wrong in a bought home, then it is the home owner’s responsibility to either fix it or pay for someone to do it for them. If renting, this is the responsibility of the landlord.

Being harder to buy a home has inevitable meant more people are renting. This has had a positive impact on buy-to-let mortgages. People are seeing the demand for rental properties and looking to buy for the purpose of renting the property out. The flourishing rental market has been a good opportunity for some to become private landlords. Although prices haven’t dropped as much as some expected, they have gone down so places are available for less. This has further assisted private landlords. They can collect rent to pay for the majority of the mortgage and wait for the value to increase before selling for a profit in the future.

For many renting has become a must recently, while for others it has become the sensible option to avoid having an unaffordable or risky mortgage. In some cases it is a choice, either because it is easier for practical reasons such as relocation or less responsibility, or because you can get more for your money.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Advantages of Blinds and Interior Shutters

2011-11-30T02:11:00.001-08:00

Blinds and interior shutters are two different types of window coverings. They have their similarities but in others ways are very different. Blinds are the cheaper option but shutters are generally considered more elegant and aesthetically pleasing. Each have their own advantages as well as some benefits that are common to both blinds and shutters.

The Advantages of Blinds

As already mentioned, blinds are cheaper than shutters. Depending on the type required, blinds can be an option for those looking for a low cost window covering. Due to the cost, replacing them is inexpensive. They are also simple to install; anyone with basic DIY skills can buy some blinds and put them up themselves. Maintaining blinds is easy.

Due to the advantages they have they are often used in offices. This is partly due to the low cost and the easy maintenance. They fit in a professional office atmosphere better than curtains do. One of the reasons is the adjustability they offer as they can be adjusted to block sunlight without staff having to sit in a dark room during the day.

There are many options with blinds. You can almost always find some that suit the interior of any building, with them coming in many colours and many materials. They are available in wood, plastic and other fabrics.

The Advantages of Interior Shutters

For many, the look of interior shutters is what makes them special. They are considered elegant and are customisable. Most window shutter providers will design and manufacture shutters specifically to a customer’s requirements, so you have a real choice in how your shutters look. This gives more options than with the off-the-shelf options that are more common with blinds and curtains.

So there are aesthetic advantages of shutters, but also many practical benefits. They can help home owners save on energy. They are very study due to being made with good quality, thick wood, which when closed keeps the heat in. They are also extremely long lasting, more so than any other window covering. They often come with a lifetime guarantee so there is no need to worry about needing to have them replaced at a later date.

Both blinds and shutters have individual benefits, but there are also advantages that apply to both. Both are adjustable, allowing for the optimum amount of light and air to be let into the room. By having blinds or shutters closed with the slats/louvres open it allows for privacy while not completely blocking out sunlight. With curtains you would have to choose between one or the other. In the summer this adjustability means that a room can be kept cool, with the window being open with the blinds/shutters closed but the slats/louvres open. A final advantage is that both are very easy to clean. When curtains need cleaning they need to be taken down and machine or hand washed, then left to dry before they can be hung up again. When cleaning blinds or shutters they simply need to be wiped down with a damp cloth.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Different Benefits of Dedicated Hosting and Shared Hosting

2011-11-29T01:33:00.001-08:00

Dedicated hosting and shared hosting are very different things. With dedicated hosting you hire your own web server dedicated to just your websites. With shared hosting a server is shared between a number of the hosting company’s customers and split into portions. If you choose this option you only hire part of the server, which is then used to host your website. There are benefits to both of these types of hosting, with some of the key ones outlined below.

BENEFITS OF DEDICATED HOSTING

Resources

If you choose dedicated hosting you will have more extensive resources provided for your site. This includes more disk space and more bandwidth. As you are not sharing with others there is more disk space, meaning more options in terms of website content. The extra dedicated bandwidth will enable your site to cope with more traffic.

Security

Having your own server is more secure than sharing it with others. There are no other websites that will interfere with yours. With shared hosting there is the danger of other websites on the server being hacked, and this can impact your site. This is not an issue if you have your own server.

Reliability

Having your own server is more reliable. There are no other websites sharing the server that can impact the quality of your hosting. This avoids the problem of issues with other sites impacting yours and means the bandwidth use of others won’t have a negative impact on the performance of your website.

More Choice

In many areas there is more choice with dedicated hosting. This includes operating systems and hardware. Shared hosting is more restricted and is more like paying for a specific plan than dedicated hosting is. This means much more flexibility.

BENEFITS OF SHARED HOSTING

Cost

Cost is the most obvious benefit of shared hosting. As you only use a portion of a server you only pay for a portion of the server. This can lead to significant savings. With the increasing number of websites on the world wide web and the amount of people who use shared hosting, it has made it a very competitive market. This has further driven down the cost as providers fight for your business.

Maintenance

If you opt for shared hosting, the hosting company will maintain the server. This means there is one less thing for you to worry about, and if updates or fixes are required you won’t have to pay extra for it.

Customer Support

Customer support is generally pretty good with shared hosting. Good hosting companies will provide quality support for both dedicated and shared hosting customers, so despite paying less you can expect a good quality service.

Control

While there is not as much control as with dedicated hosting, you will still have a good amount of control. Using your control panel you will be able to manage your website and certain aspects of the hosting.

Simplicity

Shared hosting is more basic, but also simpler from the customers point of view. It is simple to set up and simple to maintain.

With both dedicated and shared hosting there are a number of advantages. All in all, having your own server does mean better quality hosting but there are also benefits of shared hosting, in particular the cost.

Andrew Marshall ©

Why is the Chinese Economy Growing?

2011-11-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

The Chinese economy is growing and it seems inevitable that it will soon overtake the United States as the world’s biggest. There are many reasons for China’s rise, from economic reform to changes in society and more integration with the rest of the world. So what are the main reasons for the vast growth in China’s economy?

The start of the rising trend can be traced back to over thirty years ago and economic reform in 1978. This was two years after the death of Mao Zedong and China was the world’s tenth biggest economy at the time. Most assets had been state controlled prior to this when the government decided to encourage more individual enterprise and private business. Growth immediately increased by 50%, from 6% to 9%, and this increased further in future years. This growth has continued ever since.

China’s population has something to do with its economic growth. With a population higher than any other country on earth it means a ready-made workforce is available. With so many people there is the opportunity for vast economic growth that countries with a small population would be unable to achieve. All things being equal China should have the biggest economy.

So, what is the main contributor to China’s growth? The most obvious is the rise in the stocks of capital assets. The increase in the productivity of workers is just as important though. According to IMF research, more than 42% of the country’s growth between 1979 and 1994 was purely due to the increase in the productivity of workers. Technological development has also played an important role. As with other Asian countries, China has a strong technology industry which has boomed in recent times. Improved technology has also played a part in making business more productive.

Society as a whole has been changing in China. It has been gradually moving away from traditional farming towards more people working in large cities over the past three decades. Many have moved to work in the country’s two largest cities Beijing and Shanghai, with the latter becoming a real business hub. Many new cities have also sprung up, though. This has all meant a less rural and more urban culture throughout much of China. This has encouraged more commercial business with more people available to work in the cities meaning continued growth in business. There has been a change in the attitudes of the Chinese people, especially young Chinese. They have become more business focussed and the aspirations of people have generally shifted.

Over recent times China has opened itself up more to the rest of the world. This has led to more foreign investment in China and Chinese companies have benefitted from working with businesses from the rest of the world.

There are many reasons for China’s economic growth. At the time of the economic reform in 1978, China had the world’s tenth biggest economy. Today it has the second largest and it seems almost certain that it will overtake the United State soon.

Andrew Marshall ©

Preventing Health and Safety Problems in the Workplace

2011-11-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Health and safety is a much debated subject these days and something employers need to be aware of. Businesses are responsible for the health and safety of their employees; they need to make sure their employees are able to work in a safe environment and offer any help that they will need to ensure this is the case. Below are some of the typical workplace injuries and how employers can prevent them from happening to their staff.

Back Problems through Lifting

Back problems are one of the most common injuries that happen in the workplace. One way these happen is due to lifting. You need to make sure your employees lift in the correct manor by using their legs to bend rather than bend their back. You could be responsible if you have not trained your staff properly and they suffer injuries. You should not ask or allow employees to lift unreasonably heavy things. You should encourage them to refuse lifting something they believe to be too heavy and never force them to lift something against their will.

Tripping and Slipping

People can trip up and fall for all sorts of reasons, but you need to make sure you do not cause someone to fall and injure themselves. If something is spilt make sure it is cleared up, if the floor is slippery make sure there are warning signs. You also need to be careful of loose carpet or wires running across the floor that people could trip over.

Electrical Safety

Technology, and in particular computers, is used a lot in business today. This makes electrical safety more important than ever. Any equipment you supply to employees must be safe for use. It should also be tested regularly, with PAT testing a good way of doing this.

Repetitive Strain Injury

Repetitive strain injury, or RSI, is an injury caused by someone repeatedly performing the same action. The most common of these is when someone is typing on a computer all day, every day, but it can also happen in other areas of work. Employers should encourage (or enforce) regular breaks or try to vary someone’s job so they are not constantly doing one thing. If someone does begin to suffer pain it might be wise to find them something else to do for a while.

Injury from Sitting

Even sitting in the wrong way can cause injury, with many developing problems from having the incorrect posture while sitting at a desk. You should make employees aware of how they should be sitting. They should sit back in the chair with a straight back. If sitting at a computer monitor the top of the screen should be in line with their eyes. The right type of chair is also important, and they should be adjustable so they can be altered to suit each person’s body and height.

Eye Problems while at a Computer

This is another modern day hazard. The best way to limit the chances of working on a computer having a negative impact on someone’s eyesight is for them to have regular beaks away from the screen, for example five minutes every hour. The correct lighting should also be used in offices.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is wrist problems from typing on a computer. This is caused when the keyboard is above where the wrists are resting on the desk. The solution is to provide wrist rests to employees.

Falls from Height

Falls can occur in a vast array of different working environments. Any time that someone is working from height their safety needs to be maintained as much as possible. Where relevant ladders and scaffolding should be secure. When someone is working from great height they should be held in place by a harness.

There are a few important things to remember when it comes to health and safety at work. Employees need to be kept as safe as possible. If there is equipment that can help ensure their safety it should be supplied by the employer. Training is also important; employees should be made aware of how to perform their job as safely as possible.

Andrew Marshall ©

Host your own server, use a hosting company, or colocation?

2011-11-22T02:09:00.000-08:00

When hosting a website there are many different options. You can host your own server or host it with a web hosting company. There is also the option of colocation, where you have your own server but hire rack space at a data centre where it is hosted. This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages of hosting your own server, hosting through a hosting company, and colocation.

Hosting Your Own Server

The main advantage of hosting your own server is that you have control over your hosting. You make all the decisions regarding the server and operating systems used. Because you are in control you don’t have to worry about any mistakes from a hosting company impacting your website. You also don’t need to be concerned with any problems that might be caused by other websites sharing the server. All hosting resources, including bandwidth and disk space, are entirely dedicated to your server and your website.

While you are in control, you will also have to resolve any problems that arise. This could be a problem if you don’t have the relevant expertise to deal with these issues. You will need to closely monitor your server if you are in charge of it to make sure you spot any issues quickly. Another disadvantage is that you will have to pay for any required software or hardware updates. Overall, hosting your own server can be expensive.

Hosting With a Hosting Company

One of the benefits of using a hosting company is that instead of you being in charge, the experts employed by the hosting company monitor and take care of your hosting. This is particularly advantageous to those without their own technical expertise. Because resources are being shared between all of the hosting company’s customers, the cost is reduced. Professional web hosting companies regularly update their servers and infrastructure and, unlike when hosting your own site, this is factored into your hosting costs so it will not cost you extra.

The problems can come if you don’t choose a good quality provide. If the hosting company makes mistakes, your website could suffer. The other downside is that other websites sharing a server with your site could potentially have a negative impact.

Colocation

Colocation goes somewhere in between the two options above. You have your own server but co-locate it at a data centre by hiring rack space. The positive is that you have some of the same control as with hosting your own server. You choose the server and can make decisions regarding it. Colocation is cheaper than hosting it yourself, though, as you are sharing the infrastructure costs with other customers. Although you are responsible for the maintenance of the server, you are not responsible for the maintenance of the infrastructure. Security is of a good standard and there are other benefits such as temperature control you may not have when hosting your own server.

Even though you have a significant amount of control, you don’t have as much as with hosting it yourself. Another disadvantage is that the colocation centre’s resources are shared between customers so there will be some limits. In the majority of cases colocation is more expensive than hosting with a hosting company.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Advantages of Different Types of Investments

2011-11-21T05:53:00.001-08:00

Do you have some money to invest? If so, you may be wondering what to invest in. This article takes a look at some of the advantages of different types of investments.

Investment Trusts

An investment trust is essentially a company that invests the funds of its shareholders in the shares of other companies. An investment trust is a standalone company that individual investors can buy shares in. The trust then invests in other companies on their shareholders behalf. The main advantage is that investors are using the expertise of the fund managers. They are experienced investors and are therefore in a position to make wise choices on behalf of their shareholders. This also saves on time; you don’t need to spend time analysing the markets and choosing where to invest your money as someone else is doing that for you. Trust managers are independent advisors and are therefore acting in your interests. Investment trusts also enable those with limited funds to invest where they might not otherwise be able to. This is because their investments are pooled together with those from others.

ISA’s

An ISA is a tax efficient way of saving. Investors are able to invest up to £10,670 a year in an ISA, with no tax paid on any interest gained or on capital gains. There are two types of ISA; cash ISA’s and stocks and shares ISA’s. Investors can either have one cash ISA, one stocks and shares ISA, or one of each. The maximum that can be invested in total per year is £10,670, with a maximum of half of this being able to be invested in a cash ISA. It is possible to invest the total allowance into a stocks and shares ISA.

The obvious advantage is the tax benefits, but there are also individual benefits of each type of ISA. One of the advantages of a stocks and shares ISA is that the allowance is higher. The potential of a stocks and shares ISA is more significant than a cash ISA. Because it is invested in the stocks and shares of companies it is more likely to lead to significant returns over time, and in the majority of cases will be a better long term investment than a cash ISA. The advantage of a cash ISA is that while the potential returns may not be as high, your money is safer. If investing in an ISA you have to decide whether to go for the safe option or the one with the more potential.

Investing in Something Tangible

Investing in something tangible is another possibility. You could invest in real estate. The market is not great at the moment with some prices having fallen. This could mean an opportunity though, as you might be able to get something cheaper than it was at the height of the property market. This could make real estate a good long-term investment.

Gold is something that many have championed as a good investment recently. It can be a safe haven in an economic downturn, as it is something that is always in demand. Gold prices have risen in the last couple of years and many predict this trend will continue.

There are many other things that could be a possible good investment. Wine, for example, has become a more popular investment in recent times. Vintage wines improve and grow in value over time so is something that can be taken advantage of. Anything that is likely to grow in value over time is a good investment as is anything that will always be in demand.

Andrew Marshall ©

A History of Bathing in Britain

2011-11-21T01:55:00.001-08:00

Public bathing in Britain can be retraced to the 1600’s and Roman times, when it first became a popular pastime. Prior to arriving in Britain the Roman’s had already discovered bathing as a leisure activity. Roman manors had their own small private bath houses, which were separate buildings to the main manor, containing baths. They also had public baths, though, which were for the use of the general public. These included hot and cold rooms and extra services such as food, wine, and exercise and personal training. It was a major social activity and one of the few places where different classes mixed and were treated equally. The Romans took this idea with them when they came to Britain, most famously to Bath in Somerset.

Sea bathing in Britain goes back to the eighteenth century. People started to believe that bathing in sea water had health benefits, including curing disease, and started going to the sea to bathe in the 1700’s. It was very different to now though, in particular in terms of the swimwear worn. Women’s swimwear consisted of bathing gowns and men’s swimwear of long swimsuits. For both genders most of the body was covered. Women even used bathing machines to ensure no unnecessary flesh was shown. Bathing machines were wagon type vehicles that were taken out to sea and women would change in them and step straight into the water. This meant they wouldn’t show their bare ankles and lower legs while walking from the beach into the sea. These were in common use until the 1890’s and were still used as stationary changing rooms beyond this time.

Beach resorts originally began to appear in the 1700’s in places such as Blackpool, Southend, Scarborough, Bournemouth and Weymouth. It was the extension of the railways in the 1800’s that increased its popularity and access to the masses. It meant that a much higher proportion of the population had access to the seaside, for example Londoners could visit Brighton. This lead to an explosion of seaside resorts throughout Britain. This was before the time of air travel so few people could travel abroad for holidays, and visiting the sea became the most popular holiday activity for the people of Britain by the early 1900’s. It was seen as a holiday for the working class. Whole towns grew or expanded due to this, with places such as Blackpool and Brighton two good examples. Piers were built and resorts began to have amusement parks, donkey rides and Punch and Judy shows amongst other things. Hotels, Guest Houses and restaurants took over much of Britain’s seaside landscape as beach holidays became big business, as they still are to this day.

Sea bathing has changed a lot since it first became popular and so has the swimwear. Gradually swimsuits that almost covered the entire body have developed into swimming shorts and bikinis as it has become more socially acceptable to show more of the body.

Bathing has changed significantly since the Romans first introduced it to Britain. Back then sea bathing was almost inconceivable but went on to become a key part of summertime culture.

Andrew Marshall ©

Designer Swimwear for Men

The Basics of Jury Service

2011-11-18T01:18:00.000-08:00

For a criminal law case to be heard in court a jury is necessary. A jury consists of twelve or fifteen jurors. These jurors are members of the general public who sit in on the court case, analyse the evidence, and decide upon a verdict.

Jury service is a civic duty, and if chosen people must attend except for in exceptional circumstances when they can apply to be excused. In some cases those chosen for jury service can ask for it to be delayed if the timing is particularly inconvenient for work, health or personal reasons. In these situations they will have to do their jury service within the next year. In most circumstances, though, jurors have to attend jury service as instructed and are fined £1,000 if they do not.

People are chosen for jury service randomly. The majority of people aged between 18 and 65 are eligible to be called up. Typically, jury service lasts for ten working days, although this can last longer for lengthy court cases, usually serious criminal trials. The two week period can include more than one trial but there are also times when it will not include any. This is dependent on the nature of the cases and any changes in the situations of cases that are due to take place. Trials can be dropped, for example where a suspect pleads guilty at the last minute or the judge decides there is not enough evidence to hear the case.

It is a legal requirement for employers to grant employees time off when they have been selected for jury service. This will be extra paid time off to ensure employees don’t lose their holiday entitlement and don’t lose out financially. For very long cases, for example where they may last for a year, employers must be consulted and may be able to prevent an employee being away for this length of time.

While on jury service, people are part of a large pool of potential jurors. For a particular case, the required number of jurors are chosen randomly. Solicitors on either side of the case can object to a particular juror serving on the trial but must have a genuine reason for this. Should both sides object it is likely that juror will not be on the trial. If only one side objects the judge decides whether or not the reason given is likely to affect the juror’s decision making. If someone is likely to be biased towards one side or another then they will be deemed an inappropriate juror. For obvious reasons, someone involved in the case in some way or someone who knows someone involved will not sit on the jury.

Jurors are banned from talking about a case while it is taking place. This includes talking to a spouse about it. The only people it can be discussed with are the other jurors and this can only take place in the jury room. Once a case is over it can be discussed unless the judge has explicitly banned it.

After a trial has been completed, the jury must discuss the case and decide upon a verdict. In criminal trials there are three possible verdicts; guilty, not guilty and not proven. For a guilty verdict to pass at least eight jurors must agree.

Andrew Marshall ©

An Introduction and History of Children in Need

2011-11-17T01:40:00.001-08:00

Children in Need has become a national institution, and the charity raises millions of pounds for children’s charities every year. The main part of the fundraising drive is through an evening long BBC television broadcast one night a year.

The history of Children in Need goes back to 1980, although there had been charity broadcasts of one sort or another prior to this on both BBC radio and television. The first Children in Need broadcast was presented by Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen. Terry Wogan still presents part of the annual television broadcast to this day. In its first year, £1 million was raised.

Although Children in Need was originally established to raise money for children’s charities, it is now a charity in its own right. It has been a registered charity in England and Wales since 1988 and more recently in Scotland.

The television show typically consists of a variety of entertainment pieces and documentary footage. The entertainment slots include things such as live musical performances, comedy, and specials from other television shows. Sometimes this includes two shows being married together, for example Top Gear meets Ashes to Ashes in 2010. The last few years have featured news readers performing something on stage. The documentaries throughout the evening inform viewers of some of the causes the charity helps as well as showing why this assistance is needed.

Since raising £1 million in its first year, the amount raised has increased massively. The charity has expanded and become better known and now has a real place in the nation’s hearts. The amount raised has risen almost continuously, and in 2010 was a record breaking £40 million.

The balk of the money raised over the years has come through public donations, with much of this coming during the television broadcast. These days, though, there are many other fundraising events throughout the country that also make money on behalf of the charity. Some of these are directly through the BBC, including Children in Need specials of other BBC programmes, while others are set up by other organisations and individuals wishing to do their bit.

The official mascot of Children in Need is Pudsey Bear. He is named after the town of Pudsey, where his creator, Joanna Ball, is from. Created in 1983, he first appeared on the television broadcast in 1985. Back then he was a brown bear, but was changed to the famous yellow with a bandage over his right eye for the 1986 fundraiser.

Pudsey wasn’t the only trend to begin in 1985; the other was an official song, with all proceeds from its sales going to the charity. The first song was by Clanned, followed by Suzi Quatro with Bronski Brown and other artists in 1986, and then Paul McCartney another two years later. Others to have performed the official song have included S Club 7, Will Young, Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls.

Children in Need has become a real part of British culture over the years. The show attracts millions of viewers every year and people throughout the country take part in fundraising events and donate to the charity.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Specialism of Private Healthcare

2011-11-15T01:43:00.001-08:00

One of the main positives of private healthcare is that it is easier to get specialist care specific to the health issues a particular patient is suffering from. There are obviously specialists in the NHS for certain key areas, such as cancer, however private healthcare can offer specialist care where it may not be possible on the NHS, which has to cover all bases and provide for everyone within their budget.

On the NHS someone will initially have to visit their GP, even if they have a good idea of what the problem is. GP’s cover everything and may not have much experience with this particular issue. If using private healthcare services a patient can, if they wish, go straight to a specialist who focuses on this area alone. Dealing with a specialist right from the start can be very beneficial. A patient might be referred to a specialist on the NHS but this will be through their GP.

Some private health clinics specialise in one area and one area only, for example mental health or pregnancy, so the entire clinic is dedicated to this alone. This can be advantageous to patients. They are dealing with practitioners who have a large amount of expertise in this area and they may be able to offer all kinds of services and extra’s that might not be available elsewhere.

Specialist doctors can improve the service for patients. The first reason is an obvious one; they have a particular experience and expertise in dealing with the exact problems a patient is suffering from. They can, therefore, be better placed to help as they know this area inside out. It is also possible to receive very specific help rather than just within the same illness or condition. For example, rather than just seeing a cancer specialist, there may be specialists for different types of cancer, and then dietary experts and fitness experts who can advice patients on the lifestyle that is most likely to get them through their illness and prevent it from returning.

Unfortunately, the NHS has to be limited to some extent. It has to serve everyone and there are limited financial resources available to them. Extra services can be available privately that aren’t available on the NHS. One example is pregnancy services. There is, of course, good quality pregnancy care on the NHS, but if going private, other services such as extra pregnancy tests are available. This is not a criticism of the NHS, but it is simply impossible for it to offer absolutely every service, so it has to prioritise. With private healthcare there are a wider range of services.

Are private doctors better than NHS doctors? The answer is that it is not the doctors that are better, but they are in a position to be able to specialise and offer more specialist services. They have more time to dedicate themselves to a particular specialism and more time to dedicate themselves to individual patients. This means they can offer a more personal touch and patients have more choice in how they are treated.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Things to do in Southampton

2011-11-14T01:33:00.001-08:00

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire. It has a rich history which has included playing an important part in both world wars. The city’s population is around 240,000. Here are some of the things that might be of interest to visitors.

If you’re looking for history why not take a walk around the city walls. It was built for protection after an attack by France in 1338 to close the city in and prevent the likelihood of further attacks. Much of the walls still exist as do some of the towers and gates, including the famous Bargate, which almost serves as an entrance to the main shopping area. Some of what is England’s second longest stretch of medieval wall can be walked on. The walls are a great way of finding your way around the city.

If art is your thing the Southampton City Art Gallery should be of interest. The gallery is free to enter and has a variety of interesting exhibitions. Another museum is the Southampton Maritime Museum, which is naturally located on the docks. Amongst other things the museum includes items relating to the world famous Titanic.

Since the West Quay Shopping Centre was build, Southampton has had the area’s best shopping. It was opened in 2000 and covers 800,000 square feet. It is located right in the centre of the city.

For sports fans, watching Southampton Football Club might excite you. They are currently in the Championship, the second division in English football, and play their home games at St. Mary’s Stadium which was completed in 2001. The England football team played one match at the stadium while Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt. The Rose Bowl Cricket Ground is the other main sporting ground in Southampton, and Hampshire regularly play there.

For those who enjoy the outdoor life, there are many parks within a short walking distance of the city centre. These include Andrews Park, Watts Park, Palmerston Park, Houndwell Park and Hoglands Park.

If you want to venture outside Southampton, the New Forest is nearby. This is a large area of 150 square miles of forest and heathland. This is heaven for walkers and cyclists, and millions visit the New Forest every year.

There is lots to do in Southampton. If you want some more information about the city, below are some interesting fact about Southampton.

The Pilgrim Fathers originally wanted to use Southampton to depart for the United States, or the New World as it was then known. In the end they had to depart from Plymouth due to problems when attempting to depart from Southampton.

On 10th April 1912 the Titanic left Southampton for its ill-fated maiden (and only) voyage to New York.

Southampton is home of the Spitfire Aircraft that was instrumental during World War 2, and in particular in the Battle of Britain. Over 20,000 were built in the city between 1936 and the end of the War.

The Cenotaph War Memorial in London was modelled on a similar structure in Southampton.

The railway tunnel that runs underneath the city into its main train station was initially a tunnel for a canal that was never built.

Isaac Watts was born in Southampton.

Jane Austen lived in the city for three years in the early 1800’s.

In 1955 it was the first town in Great Britain to sample Fish Fingers.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Solicitors Southampton
Solicitors Bournemouth

Types of Milk Packaging

2011-11-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

Milk packaging can be very varied and the types of packaging have increased over time. The aim of packaging is both practical and commercial, which means there is much for packaging suppliers to think about. It must carry the milk and keep it fresh, while keeping the cost down and marketing the product. Glass bottles, cardboard cartons and plastic bottles are all used as milk packaging. There are three main types of milk in the UK, skimmed milk (low fat), full fat milk, and semi-skimmed, which is in between skimmed and full fat. Packaging needs to tell customers which type of milk a particular bottle or carton is.

Glass Bottles

Glass bottles are the traditional milk packaging. They originally had necks that started relatively low on the bottle, although these have now developed to they are narrower and shorter. The lettering appears directly on the bottle. This was originally built into the bottles during manufacturing, but were then started to be painted on directly. This was due to painting the lettering being cheaper while also allowing for stronger marketing. The main advantage of using glass bottles for the packaging of milk is the cost; it is generally cheaper. These days they are most commonly used where milk is delivered directly to people’s homes. The colour of bottle lids signifies the type of milk. With glass bottles, a blue and silver lid is skimmed milk, red and silver is semi-skimmed and silver is whole milk.

Milk Cartons

Cardboard milk cartons came along later than glass bottles, with the main benefit being marketing. It is easier to get more information onto packaging as it is essentially one large label. The entire carton can be printed on if necessary. This gives marketers more licence; they can basically do what they want. Glass bottles can only carry the brand and the type of milk, whereas cartons can carry all sorts of information. They can include graphics (further branding than just the brand name) and nutritional information, for example.

Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles have been used more and more in recent years. They have some of the advantages of both glass bottles and cartons. They are cheaper than cartons but can carry more branding on them and be more colourful than glass bottles. Another advantage is that this type of packaging can be easily manufactured into a variety of sizes. With plastic bottles skimmed milk is usually signified by red, semi-skimmed by green and full fat milk by blue.
Milk packaging is something that has developed a lot over the last 130 years from when glass bottles were first manufacturer in the last 1800’s. Marketing has become more important and this has meant going away from glass bottles to some extent and heading towards cartons and plastic bottles. There are also many different types of milk these days. As well as full fat, skimmed and semi-skimmed milk, there is now also organic milk and other variants available. Milk manufacturers also want to carry more information.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Examples of how Businesses can use Technology

2011-11-10T02:13:00.000-08:00

Technology is changing all the time and businesses are always adapting. There are numerous ways that businesses can utilise technology to their benefit. This article looks at some of the common ways that businesses use technology to increase productivity and profitability.

Video Conferencing

Many businesses use video conferencing to hold meetings between employees and with customers. This allows them to hold meetings with those involved being in different locations, therefore limiting the need for travel. This saves on travel costs and travel time, which increases productivity and profitability.

VoIP

Business VoIP has become more popular over the last five years. Using VoIP instead of telephones can save businesses money with calls often cheaper. For those who make a lot of calls, especially international calls, this can make a big difference.

The Internet for Research

The internet is the technology that has changed the world the most over the last decade and few businesses have failed to utilise it in one way or another. There are many ways that the internet can be used by businesses, and one of these is for research. Any business where research is important, and that is most businesses, can use the internet for this. It may not help with all research but the internet can be used for much of it. For some, being able to use the internet for research can save a massive amount of time compared to having to use other avenues.

Business Websites

The most obvious way that businesses use the internet is by having their own website, something that most businesses do these days. They can be used as a shop window to show off what they can do, therefore working as a marketing tool. This can increase the geographical reach of the business; depending on the sector it can open it up to the whole world. Business websites can also be used as a tool for customers to interact with, which can enhance customer satisfaction.

Online Stores

Businesses who sell products now often sell them online as well as in their shops. This can open them up to people who don’t live near their shops, possibly placing them above their competition.

Word Processing

Almost all businesses require word processing. This is one of the oldest ways in which businesses have used computers. Using computers for this is much more productive than the old fashioned alternative of pen and paper, and it is something that most now take for granted. Some industries, such as the newspaper and magazine industries, have completely changed due to the invention and advancements of computers.

Email

Email is now the main form of communication used within business, both internally and with customers. It allows for instant communications so decisions can be made quicker which increases productivity.

Design

Any industry where design is important uses computers these days. Computers and computer software have massively changed the way design of all types work. This is now usually completely done with computers, whereas it used to be done completely on paper.

Mobile Phones and Laptops

Mobile phones, laptops, and other mobile devices have enabled people to work on the go, for example on the train. This makes it easier to move between different offices where necessary and work in different locations without it having a major impact on productivity.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Recommendations of the Family Law Justice Review

2011-11-07T01:41:00.000-08:00

The Family Law Justice Review has been carried out by David Norgrove, with recommendations to the government on ways to improve family law, in particular with regards to children.

Key Recommendations

In his now published review, David Norgrove has said that where children’s futures are concerned cases should take no longer than six months. If this were the case it would mean a lot of cases being sorted out much quicker than they currently are.

Another key point is that families (and parents) should be enabled to, and assisted in, making their own decisions when a family breaks up. The objective here is for the courts to only be used when absolutely necessary, rather than just being a matter of course, as it currently is some of the time.

A third key recommendation is to overhaul the family justice system so that agencies and professionals work together in the hope of improving services for everyone.

What the Review Found

The review found that the current system is under huge strain, with the number of cases rising all the time. Cases are taking too long, which means the whole system gets clogged up with delays having a negative impact on children and their parents. It currently takes, on average, over a year for the outcome of a case where a child’s future is being decided. This leads to children not knowing where they will live and there are currently around 200,000 children waiting for their futures to be decided.

The main aim of any changes would be for family law to be more effective and more efficient. Norgrove recommends that delays should be reduced so the processes quickens up, especially where children are concerned.

Reducing the Need for Court

When the courts have to be used in family law cases it generally takes a lot longer and can cause stress for all those involved. The review has stated that this could often be avoided. Parents should be given more information and educated more so they don’t have to turn to the courts. There have already been moves planned to increase the use of mediation, where couples can discuss their situation and come up with an amicable solution that is good (or as good as possible) for everyone. Separating couples may soon be required to enter into mediation except for where abuse has taken place. The key, according to the review, is that the courts should only be used as a last resort.

Other Recommendations

Something that has been established as key is that agencies and professionals work together. It has also been recommended that more cases are heard by specialist family law judges to increase understanding and consistency. The court structure should also be simplified so that it is easier for people to deal with. And all in all, the system should be more child focussed.

Criticisms

The recommendations have been criticised in some quarters for not suggesting changes so that Father’s have, by default, equal rights to the custody of children. This has lead to newspaper stories claiming that it has ruled against Fathers having equal rights. This perspective is not accurate though, as this part of the law would not change should Norgrove’s suggestions be followed.

The key, according to Norgrove, is that the whole legal process in family law cases should be simplified and sped up to make it easier for everyone. Mediation should become more important with courts only used when absolutely necessary. The priority should be on parents agreeing on child care arrangements between themselves wherever possible.

Andrew Marshall (c)

The False Perception of Health and Safety

2011-11-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

There have been many interesting, and extreme, health and safety stories doing the rounds over the last few years. There have been over the top health and safety rules and regulations, and businesses and other organisations making strange decisions due to being frightened of health and safety. Often this has lead to people being scared of doing perfectly legitimate things in case they face the consequences should something go wrong.

Below are some examples of things that have been banned for health and safety reasons:

In several schools children have been banned from playing conkers or told to wear protective goggles. This, apparently, is because it has the potential to cause injury, especially eye injuries.

Some clock winders have been banned from climbing church towers due to the danger of them falling.

In some cases children have been banned from playing on monkey bars at playgrounds, including at school playgrounds.

There have been some bans on children’s sack races. Presumably this is because they could get trapped in the sack.

The hill at Wimbledon was at one stage closed this year. Why? Because it was raining.

There have been many stories of situations where people and organisation have been frightened of health and safety, under the misconception that they could get sued should something go wrong. The most publicised example has been where shop owners have been afraid of clearing away snow outside their shops as they could be sued if someone slips on the ice that is left. At some schools children have not been allowed outside when there has been snow, or even in some cases when it has just been raining. This is due to the fear that parents might sue should this result in injury. The reality of these situations, though, is that they could not be sued. If someone attempted to take legal action they would fail. Accidents do happen and there is not always someone to blame.

Looking at the funny side, there have been some over-the-top and unnecessary warnings on things, especially food. Some examples are below:

On hot food: contents may be hot
On a packet of peanuts: may contain nuts
On meat: not suitable for vegetarians
On a pack of carrots: Ingredients – carrots
On a box of ice cream: may be cold
On a packet of peanuts: instructions – open packet, eat peanuts

There is a funny side to some of the health and safety stories above but it has become problematic. The truth is that many so-called health and safety precautions are way over the top and completely unnecessary. People don’t need to be told that peanuts contain nuts and that ice cream is cold. Organisations, from shops to schools, are often frightened of being sued for things that they could not possible be sued for.

Health and safety has often been criticised, but health and safety itself is not the problem – it is the perception of health and safety that is the real issue. People have a distorted view of how it works. The reality is that health and safety laws are not as strict as many believe them to be.

Health and safety is important – if done in the right way. There are genuinely potentially dangerous situations that have to be protected against and laws that are necessary. So they are important but the perception, and over cautiousness, has got out of hand due to people being unnecessarily frightened of the law.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Should Child Trust Funds and Junior ISA’s be Combined?

2011-10-31T08:26:00.001-07:00

The Junior ISA (JISA) has been introduced to replace the Child Trust Fund (CTF), which was scrapped by the current government. It is possible to open an account under the name of any child who wasn’t entitled to the child trust fund, whether they were born before the child trust fund was introduced or after it was scrapped.

Those with a CTF are not able to have a junior ISA account opened for them but investments can still be paid into their CTF. In theory this means their child trust fund will continue to act as it was intended to but without the investment that used to be paid by the government once a child turned seven.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the child trust fund now that the junior ISA scheme has begun. Many fear that interest rates will not be as good with a child trust fund as with junior ISA’s. Some believe that providers will choose to focus on the junior ISA where they can generate new customers, rather than the CTF where they cannot.

There is one way that the child trust fund will be changing to keep pace with the junior ISA and that is in its limit. The maximum yearly investment that could be made with the CFT was £1,200, but with a JISA this has been increased to £3,600. Parents whose children have a child trust fund will now also be able to invest up to £3,600 a year. With both products this will increase with inflation.

Many have the opinion that families should be able to transfer a child trust fund into a junior ISA. This would mean that whatever interest rates do, the situation would be the same for children with each plan. Some have claimed that with keeping the CTF and JISA separate, it means that those with a child trust fund are being punished as the interest rates might not be so favourable. It is not the fault of children or their parents if they do not get the same rates; it would simply be because of the timing of their birth.

Child trust fund accounts being transferred into junior ISA’s would be fairly simple. It would not cost a lot and could make things easier for everyone. It could be argued that it would be better for investment companies as it is easier to keep everything together than to keep child trust fund accounts open even though it is no longer being offered as a new product. If interest rates do differ combining the two products would also be better for children with a child trust fund.

In a way it doesn’t seem to make sense to keep child trust funds and junior ISA’s separate. It would be simple to combine them and prevent the possibility of differing interest rates. This would stop some children being left with an old investment product that is no longer the focus of investment companies who had originally offered them.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Methods and Dangers of Identity Theft

2011-10-31T03:42:00.001-07:00

Identity theft is an increasing concern for many, and something that has become even more prevalent over the last few years due to the internet. There are many ways that someone who has stolen your identity can use it against you. This article contains some examples of how people can be caused problems by others stealing their identity.

The most common cases of identity theft are where credit cards or credit card details are stolen. This has become more commonplace due to the internet. With so many people now making purchases online it gives an extra opportunity to criminals wishing to obtain the details of innocent people’s credit cards. This has the obvious problem of someone being able to use somebody else’s credit card to buy things and withdraw cash, while the credit card owner can get left with the bill. The problem with your details being stolen rather than the physical credit card being stolen is that you are likely to notice soon after your card has gone. If the details are stolen, for example during an online transaction, then you may not realise for a while, while someone else is spending your money.

Some have taken out mortgages and other loans using a stolen identity. Someone who would not otherwise be able to get a loan may use the details of someone in a stronger financial position. This can cause the person who is being imitated being charged for repayments and interest on a loan they haven’t taken out. One the other hand, the lender can lose out having already paid out the amount of the loan, although this can often be reclaimed.

It is not just individuals who can be victims of stolen credit cards and credit card details, but businesses as well. If a business accepts a stolen credit card from someone buying goods or services from them then it may mean lost income, as the money might be reclaimed by the credit card company.

Identity theft is not just about money though, people can use others’ identity in other ways. One example is to use someone else’s passport. This can enable wanted criminals to travel to another country, or illegal immigrant to enter a country by what appears to be legal means.

People have had their driving licence used by somebody else. This has led to people driving illegally. It can also mean someone being fined for speeding when, in fact, they haven’t committed the offence.

Another instance of identity crime has been where people have managed to tell the postal services that someone has moved, re-directing mail to their own address. This means receiving their mail, which can have disastrous consequences. This can mean receiving mail that enables them to use their identity for wrongful means.

The above is not by any means an exhaustive list of potential identity theft crimes. There are many other ways that people’s identities can be used for wrongful means. The danger of identity theft means that everyone has to be careful to make sure they limit the chances of their identity being stolen.

Andrew Marshall (c)

A Brief Introduction to Melksham

2011-10-27T04:03:00.000-07:00

Melksham is the fifth largest town in the county of Wiltshire in South-West England. It is on the banks of the River Avon and has good access to Bath, Swindon and Salisbury, as well as the M4 motorway. Junction 17 of the M4 is only 10 miles away. Bath is 13 miles from the town with Bristol 36 miles away. The population of Melksham stands at around 23,000.

Melksham was originally developed at a ford across the River Avon, and the name derives from the word ‘meolc’, which meant milk and ham in old English. In the Doomsday Book the town was described as having “8 mills, 130 acres of water meadows and 8 leagues of pasture in length and breadth”. At the time of the Norman Conquest Melksham was a Royal Estate after the Prioress and Nuns of Amesbury surrendered their Melksham estates to the King.

In the nineteenth century a Spa was developed in Melksham. The Melksham Spa Company was formed in 1815 by a group of wealthy men who had made their money from the textile industry, which was by this time in decline. They were looking for another project and believed a Spa was a good money making opportunity. The Spa idea was thought about after a failed attempt to find coal uncovered two springs. Six large three story lodge buildings were built that included a pump room and private baths, both hot and cold. Unfortunately for its founders, the Spa did not prove as successful as they believed it would, partly due to the Roman Baths in the nearby city of Bath. The buildings, however, still exist today. The area to the south of the town is now known as The Spa. There was a plan for a similar area on the north side that was never developed.

The biggest employer in Melksham these days is Avon Rubber, a tyre producer that employs over 300 people. Knorr-Bremse, a designer and manufacturer of railway braking systems, also employs a significant number of people. Several manufacturing industries have existed in the area due to the easy access to the M4.

In recent times there has been a development of the town centre. The town includes facilities such as banks, cafe’s, food shops, chemists, a post office, a library, a police station and a fire station. There is also a railway station which is on the Wessex main line connected to Chippenham and Trowbridge. Only two trains in each direction, though, stop in Melksham each day. There are nine primary schools in Melksham but only one secondary school. Sports facilities in the town include a gym, swimming pool and sports centre. There are also many pubs, several of which have live music.

One of the highlights of the year in Melksham is the annual Party in the Park, which takes place in July. It consists of a fair with rides, a fireworks display, and a stage with live music and dance. As part of the festival there is also a carnival parade that travels through the town.

Andrew Marshall (c)

The Efficiency of Window Shutters

2011-10-20T01:38:00.001-07:00

When you are choosing the type of window covering you want for your home there are many things to take into consideration. This includes what suits the interior of your home, the price, practical issues, and personal preference – what you think looks best. Another thing you might want to consider is efficiency. In many ways window shutters are more efficient that other window coverings such as curtains and blinds.

Window shutters can insulate the home much more effectively that other window coverings, therefore helping to keep down heating costs during the winter. This is due to the thick, quality wood material that is normally used to manufacture shutters. They compare very favourable to curtains. The cloth materials used for curtains insulate to an extent but nowhere near as much as the wood used for shutters. You can compare it to accommodation – you are warmer sleeping in a wooden hut than a tent – and you are warmer in a home where windows are covered by wooden shutters than a home where they are covered by cloth curtains. Blinds can be made from a variety of materials and one of these is wood. Even wooden blinds, though, do not insulate as well as shutters because the wood does not tend to be of as high quality and thickness. Being a better insulate not only saves on heating costs but is also good for the environment.

As well as keeping you warm in the winter months, shutters can also keep you cool in the summer, thus saving on air conditioning, and therefore electricity. This is also good for your wallet and the environment. Window shutters can help to block out sunlight while still letting air in. This can be achieved by having the shutters closed but the louvres open at the right angle. Although blinds, and in particular wooden blinds, can have this advantage too, curtains do not.

Shutters can be relatively expensive compared to curtains and blinds, but they are longer lasting, meaning they are not likely to need replacing for a long time. They can last a lifetime. This is due to the quality of their manufacture. They also often come with a lifetime guarantee so if something does go wrong it will not cost any more.

There is one way that shutters can have a financial advantage – they can add value to a home. This is the case with both interior and exterior shutters. Therefore, when you come to sell your home you can recuperate some of the money spent on them. They are generally considered elegant and a real part of the home so they impact the asking price.

Most of the above is focused on wooden shutters, but there are efficiency advantages of exterior shutters as well. They also increase insulation and add value, but have another advantage interior shutters do not. This is protection from the weather elements. They can protect your home and its windows, particularly from wind. For this reason they are popular in areas where there is a danger of tornado’s and hurricanes. They can prevent windows from being smashed and debris from flying into them.

Andrew Marshall (c)

ISA’s and Pensions Compared

2011-10-19T01:55:00.001-07:00

Are you thinking of beginning to save for your retirement? Have you wondered whether paying into a stocks and shares ISA would be more effective than paying into a pension? This article looks at the advantages of both.

With an ISA investors can make up to £10,680 worth of investment each year. The main advantage is that there is no tax to pay on any interest earned. This is advantageous over a pension, where income tax needs to be paid. As a pension counts as income, anything earned over the income tax threshold each year is taxable. For most, this means losing 20% off most of their pension. With an ISA you would get the whole amount the fund is worth.

ISA’s allow you to take money out when you wish; you don’t have to wait until you retire. Of course, the aim may be to fund your retirement but an ISA does allow you some added security. Should you suddenly find that you need the money you have been investing then you can have access to it.

A disadvantage of an ISA for some is the limit. The maximum that can be invested into an ISA each year is £10,680. There is a limit to a pension but it is much higher. Although most don’t reach the ISA limit anyway, for those looking to save a large amount it could be the deciding factor.

You may have to pay tax on the pension you receive but there are tax benefits when paying into a pension. If your employer is contributing then the pension contributions are paid before income tax is taken off, so you are not paying income tax on what is effectively part of your earnings. For personal contributions you have to pay income tax on your earnings before you make the payments (as you have received it as monetary income) but the pension provider will claim back tax at 20%. This means that to pay £100 into your pension, you only have to contribute £80. Over the course of many years this can build up significantly. For example, if paying £200 a month for forty years you will be contributing £96,000 towards your pension fund. Once tax is paid back this would be £120,000, a £24,000 difference, the equivalent to the average UK gross salary.

Another tax advantage of pensions is the possibility of taking a lump sum when you first retire. If you choose to, you can immediately take 25% of the total pension fund as a tax-free lump sum. This means no income tax is paid on this amount. There will still, however, be income tax to be paid from future sums received.

There are both advantages and disadvantages of stocks and shares ISA’s and pensions when it comes to saving for retirement. Some financial bodies have carried out research looking at the differences, and the truth is the end result in terms of yearly payments after retirement will be very similar on average. Therefore a decision should be made on other preferences, for example some would prefer an ISA because of the security of being able to take some back if you choose, or a pension because of the higher limit.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Examples of Personal Injury Claims

2011-10-18T01:25:00.001-07:00

Personal injury solicitors are those who represent clients who have been injured, or whose injuries have been worsened, by others being negligent. These include injuries that could have been prevented and where doctors or other medical practitioners have not done their job as they should have. In these cases medical negligence solicitors may be needed. This article looks at some examples of where there may be possible personal injury cases.

Some of the most common personal injury cases come from car accidents. There can be a claim where someone has been seriously injured after a car accident that is deemed the fault of another driver. This can be to pay for medical help or a loss of their quality of life in serious situations, such as where the victim has been paralysed. Normally this will not be paid for by the at-fault driver, but by his or her insurance company. Were the driver uninsured or driving illegally then they may have to pay any compensation themselves. Compensation can be either on-going (if regular, indefinite, medical assistance is required) or a one-off lump sum.

Medical negligence is where a professional medical practitioner is held legally responsible due to a mistake or lack of foresight. Below are a couple of examples:

Someone might go to the doctor due to some chest pain. If the doctor does not investigate, perhaps saying it must just be temporary chest pain or indigestion, and it turns out to be a serious heart condition, then he or she could be held legally responsible. It could be deemed that the doctor could have dealt with the problem effectively had it been investigated.

Another example is if someone is having an operation and a mistake is made. Doctors will not be held responsible for genuine mistakes, but if it is due to not following procedure properly, they could be.

The outcome of clinical negligence cases can vary massively. It depends on the circumstances of the mistake and the problems it has caused.

Accidents or illness suffered at work can also lead to personal injury cases. If someone has an accident due to a lack of protection is could lead to legal proceedings. Below are three examples:

Someone who works in a music venue is not given earplugs or other protection and suffers a loss of hearing.

Someone whose job involves heavy lifting suffers back problems having not been trained to lift correctly.

A builder who has not been given a safety helmet suffers a serious head injury after something falls from above.

Assault is another area that can lead to a legal case. If someone has been attacked in the street for no reason they could sue the attacker. This is also the case if attacked by a burglar in your home, or any number of other cases where there has been an assault.

Manufacturers can end up in court if they are to blame for injuries. For example, if someone gets a neck injury using a bouncy castle, a faulty car or bike causes an injury, or someone is electrocuted due to a manufacturing fault while listening to their personal stereo.

As well as physical injuries, people can seek damages if they have suffered psychologically due to the fault of someone else. This is the case if someone has been psychologically impacted by a road accident, perhaps leaving them unable to drive due to the trauma.

Andrew Marshall (c)

The Differences between Dedicated Hosting and Shared Hosting

2011-10-17T01:23:00.001-07:00

Dedicated hosting and shared hosting are the complete opposite of each other, with dedicated hosting the most advanced form of web hosting and shared hosting the most basic. Dedicated hosting is suitable for larger websites and websites that receive a large amount of traffic.

A web server is a piece of equipment which web pages are uploaded to. For a website to appear on the internet, and be seen by others, it needs to be hosted – it needs web hosting. When a web hosting company is hired they upload the web pages of a site onto the web server, and this will make it viewable to anyone with an internet connection.

The difference between dedicated hosting and shared hosting is whether an entire server is used for a website or only part of a server. With dedicated hosting a website uses an entire web server whereas with shared hosting the server is shared with other websites.

There are several advantages to dedicated hosting. It is more reliable and more secure as it is not impacted by other websites sharing the server. This means there is less chance of the server overloading. When choosing dedicated hosting website owners have more choice over the hosting and the way it is set up and run, including which hardware is used. Dedicated hosting is the optimum level of hosting. It means it doesn’t take long to load sites and the chance of there being problems is limited.

The main benefit of shared hosting is simple – it is cheaper than dedicated hosting. It is a less advanced form of hosting so it costs less. It is simple to set up, something the hosting company will usually take care of. In most cases it includes decent customer support, though it may not be as high quality as it is will dedicated hosting.

Whether you should choose dedicated hosting or shared hosting really depends on your website and its requirements. There are situations where dedicated hosting is absolutely necessary, for example websites that take payments and websites where it is crucial they don’t go down. There are even sites that have more than one dedicated server. This is normally very large sites or for backup, so if one server fails the site does not go offline. For very small sites dedicated hosting is rarely necessary, and it is not worth paying extra for something you don’t really need.

Essentially the difference is that you get a dedicated server with dedicated hosting, whereas with shared hosting you share the server with a number of other websites. So it is a choice of sharing a server with others or having your own. With shared hosting you can be influenced negatively by other websites on the same server, but this is not the case if there are no other sites on the server. Dedicated hosting is preferable for larger sites so they don’t slow down. An entire server can cope better with a large amount of content or media such as video and audio. It is also more secure if dealing with bank details.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Are You Getting Divorced? Financial Assistance for Single Parents

2011-10-14T02:15:00.001-07:00

Do you have children and are divorced or getting a divorce? This article looks at the financial assistance single parents can be entitled to with some specific example. Depending on circumstances entitlements can include child benefit, child tax credits, working tax credits, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

After a divorce the parent children live with is often entitled to child maintenance payments from the other parent. This is intended to help support the children financially. As this can vary greatly depending on circumstances and income, this is not taken into consideration in the examples at the bottom of this article.

CHILD BENEFIT
Anyone with children is entitled to child benefit, although those earning above £42,475 a year will soon no longer be entitled to it. Child benefit is currently £20.30 for the first child and £13.40 for any additional children. This is paid to children’s primary carer.

CHILD TAX CREDITS
Families whose total income falls below £41,329 are entitled to some form of child tax credits, with the specific amount depending on the exact income.

WORKING TAX CREDIT
Working tax credits are for those who work more than sixteen hours a week but are on relatively low incomes. The maximum entitlement is £210 a week but it depends on earnings with lower earners receiving more.

HOUSING BENEFIT
Housing benefit is money given to low earners to help them pay their rent. For some, this is their entire rent.

COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT
Similar to housing benefit, council tax benefit is to help low earners pay their council tax. Again, it can be as much as their entire council tax bill.

EXAMPLE 1
Claire is a single Mother with a two year old daughter. She does not currently work. Below are her yearly entitlements:

Child Benefit: £20.30 a week = £1,055.60 a year.
Child Tax Credits: As Claire doesn’t have an income she receives £1,492 a year in child tax credits.
Housing Benefit: Enough to pay her entire rent.
Council Tax Benefit: Enough to pay her entire council tax bill.

EXAMPLE 2
After his divorce from his wife, Tim took sole care of his two children, a boy aged eleven and girl aged seven. He works full-time earning £21,000 a year. He doesn’t have to pay for child care as his Mother picks his children up from school and looks after them until Tim finishes work. Below is the help Tim can get:

Child Benefit: £20.30 a week for his son and £13.40 a week for his daughter = £33.70 a week and £1,752.40 a year.
Child Tax Credits: £2,090.40 a year.
Working Tax Credit: He doesn’t receive any working tax credit as his earning are too high to qualify.
Housing Benefit: £167.31 a week = £8,700.12 a year.
Council Tax Benefit: £23.01 a week = £1,196.52 a year.

EXAMPLE 3
Since her divorce, Sarah has been looking after her three year old and eight year old sons. She works part-time, working 16 hours a week. Her yearly wage is £8,000. While she is working her youngest son is at a day care centre, which costs Sarah £80 a week. Below are her entitlements:

Child Benefit: £20.30 and £13.40 for her two children = £33.70 a week and £1,752.40 a year.
Child Tax Credits: £2,772 a year.
Working Tax Credit: £1,550.58 a year as she works 16 hours or more a week. She would not be entitled to this if she worked less.
Housing Benefit: £167.31 a week = £8,700.12 a year.
Council Tax Benefit: £23.01 a week = £1,196.52 a year.

There is plenty of help available to single parents post-divorce. Everyone’s circumstances are different though, so everyone is entitled to different benefits and different amounts.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Is the Junior ISA the best way of Saving for Children?

2011-10-12T02:03:00.000-07:00

The Junior ISA savings scheme will be in operation from 1 November 2011 and will allow parents to make up to £3,600 of tax free savings a year on behalf of their children. That is equivalent to £300 a month or £64,800 over an eighteen year period, with the limit rising with inflation from 2013. Parents will have a choice of paying into a cash JISA or a stocks and shares JISA.

The Junior ISA, then, is the new children’s savings scheme set up to replace the scrapped child trust fund. But, is it the best way for parents to save on behalf of their children?

As with adult ISA’s the two types of Junior ISA available are cash ISA’s and stocks and shares ISA’s. A cash ISA is a safer investment. As it is a savings account the money is not going to disappear. However, the potential gain may not be particularly high. A stocks and shares ISA is riskier but potentially more rewarding. You are investing in the stocks and shares of companies, which can fall as well as rise, but can rise much more significantly than cash ISA’s. The likelihood is that over the long-term a stocks and shares ISA will produce a better return but it is not guaranteed.

For those able to invest a relatively large amount the Junior ISA is significantly better than its predecessor, the child trust fund, which had a limit of £1,200. The Junior ISA’s limit is three times this, and therefore allows for a high amount of tax savings over the long-term. There is still a limit though, so those wishing to invest significantly more than £3,600 a year may look elsewhere. Those only able to save a very small amount may not reach the taxable level, so they may also look at other options if they can get better interest rates.

Everyone likes to save on tax if they can, and with a Junior ISA investment no tax is paid on any gained interest. This is the main benefit of the scheme over other investment products. For anyone likely to invest over around £25 a month over the course of their child’s childhood, this will be an incentive to turn to the scheme. If saving lower than this it may not reach the tax threshold (depending on the amount of interest).

As mentioned already, there is some risk with stocks and shares ISA’s, meaning some may shy away from them. There is still the option of a cash ISA though, where there is no risk. Another option is investing in investment trusts, where the risk is spread across different investment products, meaning one unsuccessful investment would not wipe out the entire fund.

On balance, the Junior ISA is a good option for most parents who are able to make investments on behalf of their children, in particular for those able to invest on a monthly basis. Children whose parents invest up to the £3,600 limit will be able to make some significant tax savings.

Andrew Marshall (c)

What is Most Effective, Prison or Community Service?

2011-10-10T02:28:00.001-07:00

What are the most effective punishments for those guilty of committing crimes? This is a subject of constant debate and there are a number of ways of looking at it. The two most common questions are whether time in prison or time doing community service is the best option. Below are some of the arguments for each of these being the most positive punishments for society as a whole.

There are times when prison is the only option, for example for those who have committed serious crimes. Dangerous criminals have to be sent to jail as it is not safe for them to be in the wider community; public safety needs to be the priority.

Is prison more of a punishment than community service? This is difficult to judge, and people have differing opinions on this. To many though, having your freedom taken away is a big price to pay for committing a crime, and therefore prison is more of a punishment. And the bigger the punishment is perceived as being, the more of a deterrent it is. To most members of society going to jail would be a terrifying thought, much more so than doing community service. It could, therefore, be seen as a bigger deterrent.

Some believe that the public perception of justice being done is important, and makes us feel safer on our streets. Many believe that prison is the biggest possible punishment and when someone is sentenced to time it makes them feel as though justice is being done. This is particularly the case if someone else’s crime has affected them.

Although prison certainly has its place, there are many who believe community service can often be a better way of dealing with crime. One of the more obvious reasons is money; prison is much more expensive that sentencing someone to community service. Even a short sentence for a minor crime can cost an average of over £50,000.

People doing community service is actually acting as a service. Useful tasks, such as litter being cleared up, are being completed so something positive is being done in the community. It is producing free labour. Although some might argue that in some circumstances community service is taking jobs away from law abiding citizens, many of the jobs carried out are things that would otherwise be left undone.

The attitude of those taking part in community service can be a positive. Rather than spending time in jail waiting for their sentence to pass, they can feel they are doing something positive; giving something back to society. This can give them more of a positive attitude to life. It can be particularly useful to those who are long-term unemployed as it can teach them the value of work. It can encourage them to want to work, eventually meaning they go back into employment.

Community service is also a public demonstration of making up for a crime. People see people taking part in community service, which shows them justice is being done. It also gives an example of what might happen should you commit a criminal offence and shows that crime does not pay. Picking up litter, for example, does not look like an attractive proposition to most, and seeing someone being forced to do this may put them off crime.

There are positives to both prison and community service. The appropriate punishment is often determined by the specific circumstances of the crime committed and the person being sentenced. There are differing opinions, though, about which is generally more effective.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Video Conferencing to Save on Travel Costs

2011-10-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

Over the last few years many businesses have struggled due to the financial problems business as a whole has encountered. This has made saving money more important than even with many budgets being cut. This has included travel budgets.

As well as the economy leading to less business travel, in some areas transport costs have also risen. The increasing price of oil has been a major factor in making a high amount of travel unaffordable, and this is a trend that is not likely to change.

There are other advantages apart from cost that businesses have for cutting employee travel. It also saves on time, and being more productive makes a business more money in the long run. It is more environmentally friendly too, something that has become more important to many in recent years.

Although there are positives of not travelling, there are also negatives. Travel may be necessary for meetings, so there could be less company get-togethers to discuss business and forward planning. This can mean a lack of planning that eventually leads to a less profitable business. Depending on the geographic location of customers, travelling less can mean not meeting customers as regularly, potentially damaging customer relationships. It can also prevent a business from going out and generating additional work.

So, while there are positives of cutting down on travel, there are also negatives that can impact profitability. There is, however, one way of not travelling but preventing many of these potential problems. The solution could be Video Conferencing.

More businesses are utilising video conferencing as a way of travelling less while still being able to communicate with fellow employees and customers. It can replace holding business meetings in person. For example, if employees need to meet with a customer, they can each use a video conferencing suite for audio/visual communication with each other. They will each be filmed, with their voices recorded, and this can be transmitted across to the video conferencing suite on the other end. There, they will be seen on monitors or large video screens, and heard through microphones. This all takes place instantaneously, meaning no delays. If video conferencing can be utilised there will be many situations where in-person meetings will no longer be required.

Video conferencing is not a cheap option. However, it can save money once travel savings are taken into consideration. Not only that, but due to the travel time saved, it can also lead to better employee productivity. Travelling can take up a lot of time, especially when travelling abroad. If travelling by air there is the time travelling to and from the airport at both ends, the time spent at the airport checking in, boarding and collecting luggage, and the flight time itself. There is also the likelihood of having to stay overnight, possibly the night before and after the meeting. This can be a lot of hassle for one meeting. It can take three days for a three hours meeting. This would only take three hours if using video conferencing instead.

There are always going to be times when face-to-face meetings with clients and staff are necessary. However, with video conferencing technology, this can be reduced while still allowing meetings to take place and seeing facial expressions and body language. This can save businesses money and increase productivity.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Differences Between Web Design and Graphic Design

2011-09-30T01:52:00.000-07:00

Being a good web designer and graphic designer can be very different things. Although there are some similarities, they are different mediums and the design considerations can vary.

With a website the design must work on a computer screen as opposed to a poster or leaflet. This needs to be taken into consideration with the design. The good thing about a webpage is that there is the option of scrolling. That said, this doesn’t mean it can be an endless size as this can frustrate visitors. One thing that designers have to be careful with is images as they cannot be larger than the screen, and should preferable be much smaller. There is more license when it comes to image size with graphic design as, in theory, they can be a large as the designer (and client) wishes.

Another thing that needs to be considered with web design that is not relevant for graphic design is the amount of time it takes to load websites. Visitors will soon leave a site if it takes too long to load, so the site cannot take more than the web servers can take. It cannot, therefore, be overloaded with graphics as this will slow the site down.

The way a website acts in different browsers needs to be thought about during its design. Although this may be more of a web development issue, the original design from the web designer has to be realistic in different browsers as they can sometimes act differently to each other.

With print a colour design costs more than a black and white design due to the cost of printing colour. This is not the case with web design. It is on a computer screen so doesn’t cost more to produce. Colour wise there may be more room for maneuver when designing a website, whereas with print the budget needs to be considered.

The functionality of a website is a major concern during its design. It is possibly even more important than the design, as a website is completely useless if it doesn’t work properly. All the features must perform as intended so the designer must think about what is and what is not possible. This is a completely redundant consideration for graphic design. While graphic design is more about just the design and message, web design also has to incorporate technical elements. Therefore it can be a good idea for designers to work with programmers who will better understand the technical limitations.

Both web designers and graphic designers need to think about the overall layout of their work, with the types of layouts that work for each not necessarily the same. What is generally acceptable for each medium needs consideration as does what works in the space. For example, the layout of the graphic design on a poster and in a leaflet will work differently to each other.

The main aim of graphic design is generally about advertising. With something like a billboard the aim is to catch the interest of a passer-by. There is more license with images and graphics and getting the right message across is the most important thing. With web design the aim is also to hook in the viewer but information might be more important than a single message. The intention is usually for a visitor to look at the site in more depth, to purchase something from the website, or to contact the company. Graphic design might be more about brand awareness that eventually leads to a sale.

Andrew Marshall ©

What is Video Conferencing?

2011-09-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

Video conferencing is a way of holding meetings with people who are not in the same room. It makes it possible to have a meeting with someone in different parts of the country or even the other side of the world. Holding video conferences can save on travel time and costs and for this reason they are becoming more popular across business.

Video conferences use video and audio technology so different parties can see and hear each other. A conferencing room is set up using a computer, camera (webcam), microphone and broadband internet connection.

A typical video conference will take place between people in two difference meeting rooms, or video conferencing rooms. They will usually comprise of a group of people in each room sitting along the same side of a desk with a large screen in front of them. They will be able to see those in the other meeting room on the screen and hear them through the speakers. A camera is placed in front of each group and films them. This is then relayed to those on the other side of the video conference. Both rooms work in the same way with each group being filmed and recorded and it being instantly shown via the large video screen and heard via the speakers. The internet is used to transmit the images and voices so a fast connection is required. This means a broadband connection is needed as a break in something being recorded and relayed would not mean a smooth running meeting.

There are a number of ways that video conferencing can be set up, and the type that is most cost effective is dependent on how regularly a business will utilise it. Businesses can have their own video conferencing suits set up which is useful if they regularly have video conferences as it ends up being cost effective over a period of time. Another option is to use a professional video conferencing company, with two different options. One is for them to set up the video conferencing equipment when businesses require it, although this can be expensive. The other option is to hire a video conferencing room from a video conferencing companies premises, something that is often a better choice for those who only require them for occasions use. In this case businesses don’t have to pay for the set up costs and can just hire it when they need it.

Video conferencing allows two groups of people to have a meeting wherever in the world they are. It is therefore especially useful for international business. If they have customers abroad who they need to have meetings with or branches across the globe it can be extremely helpful. It can save a lot of money on travel costs and means better productivity due to the travel time being saved. It has many of the advantages of physical face-to-face meetings with people able to see each other’s facial expressions and see when someone is about to talk or has finished talking.

Andrew Marshall ©

Junior ISA Allowance: You Don’t Need it All to Take Advantage

2011-09-27T01:19:00.000-07:00

The new Junior ISA scheme, also known as the JISA, will be up and running in November and will give parents a way of being able to make tax free investments on behalf of their children. This articles looks at some ways that parents could look at this opportunity to benefit their child once they turn eighteen and how you don’t need to maximise the JISA allowance for it to make a difference.

One thing some parents did when the child trust fund was in operation was to pay the child benefit they received on behalf of their child into their child trust fund. If you can afford to forego child benefit you could do this with the Junior ISA. For their first child parents currently receive £20.30 a week, with a £13.40 payment for all other children. Paying £20.30 into a Junior ISA every week over an eighteen year period will add up to £1,055.60 a year and over £19,000 in total. This is a significant amount of money that a child could have put aside for them.

A lot has been made of the £3,600 a year allowance, but you don’t need to use this full amount every year for your child to greatly benefit from the scheme. £10 a week, for example, could make a big difference over the lengthy period of eighteen years. That would be the equivalent of £520 a year, which is over £3,000 less than the allowance, but still almost £10,000 in total. And that is before interest on any investments is taken into consideration.

What about those who aren’t able to put aside £10 a week? Would £10 a month be enough to make a difference? The answer is yes – that would be over £2,000 in total. It may not enable your child to buy a home but it could pay for driving lessons, for example, which is something many teenagers struggle to find the money for.

Utilising the advantages of the Junior ISA scheme could pay for your child’s living costs while at university. The way tuition fees are paid for will be changing with parents no longer able to fund this for their children. Instead they must take a loan out (something the majority are already having to). There are, of course, also living costs that need to be paid for, something parents can help with. This will mean not having to borrow more above what they need for their fees. If you can invest £500 a year the Junior ISA should cover this. That is just under £42 a month.

The average price of a second hand car is currently around £5,000, and saving towards a Junior ISA could effectively be the equivalent of you buying your child a car when they turn eighteen. £23 a month will result in around £5,000 being paid in the JISA. Car prices will go up, but the interest on the Junior ISA investment should take care of any rises in inflation.

If you are in the position of being able to put £185 a month towards your child’s Junior ISA it could be enough to pay for the deposit on a home. With the average first-time home owner now thirty-eight years of age being able to buy one at eighteen could be a major benefit to a young adult.

As the above shows, you don’t need to be able to maximise the Junior ISA payments to significantly help your child as he or she approaches adulthood. Anything is better than nothing, and even investing a small amount per month could make a big difference over an eighteen year period.

Andrew Marshall ©

Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in Central London and Commuting

2011-09-23T08:30:00.001-07:00

If you are working in London should you live in the City itself, or live further outside commuting to and from work every day? Much of the decision comes down to personal preference, but this article covers some of the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Advantages of Living in Central London

If you are working in central London then living in the City will mean a shorter journey to work. You might even be able to walk to work, something that is a lot easier and quicker than commuting by public transport or car.

In London everything is on your door step and there is lots to do. Whatever you need, it is not far away. Whether it is music venues, the theatre or sports events you are interested in, there is always something happening close by. These are easy to get to and do not need prior planning as it might if you weren’t living in the city. If eating out there are also lots of options.

Public transport is cheaper and more convenient that in other parts of the country, meaning less need for a car and money savings. Because everything is nearby you don’t have to travel as far even when you are using public transport. A single journey on the underground can be as little as £1.50 with an Oyster card; the equivalent journey by bus outside of the city is likely to be significantly more. Over time this can make a big difference.

Disadvantages of Living in Central London

The main reason some working in central London don’t choose to live there is the cost. It is one of the most expensive cities in the world, with house price, if renting or buying, having increased rapidly over time. This can mean having to live in an area you would otherwise choose not to. Council tax and other housing related costs can also be higher than outside of the City.

With so many people living and visiting London there is always a lot of people around. This can lead to a feeling of claustrophobia, with overcrowding and noise. It can be difficult to get away from the hustle and bustle of the City. There are also higher levels of pollution and crime.

Advantages of Commuting

With one of the main disadvantages of living in the City being the cost of housing, a major advantage of living outside can be savings in this area. If living in the suburbs of London prices are hardly cheap, but compared with central London they can be significantly less. The prices of other things, such as eating out, are also cheaper.

The suburbs are typically quieter than the City. To many people, living in a leafy suburb such as Wimbledon or Richmond is more pleasant than the noise of central London.

Depending on where you live, it can be easy to get into the countryside, something that can take several hours from central London. So if you fancy it, you can make a spur of the moment decision to go into the countryside without taking a whole day out.

Disadvantages of Commuting

A major disadvantage is the commute itself, especially if living a significant distance away from where you work. The longer it takes to get to and from work the less free time you will have. This can be tiring and expensive.

Another downside of living outside of the City is that there is comparably less to do. The options of central London are not there.

The City or Outside?

We all have different ideas of the perfect lifestyle. Some prefer the busyness of the City where there is always something happening, while others prefer the relative tranquility of living further afield.

In terms of cost, living in London is generally more expensive than living outside the City. However, some areas close to London can be very expensive too, while the costs of commuting to and from work also need to be considered.

Andrew Marshall ©

Food Packaging Considerations

2011-09-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

There are many things that need thinking about when the right food packaging is being chosen. There are legal, practical, safety and cost issues to consider.

Packaging needs to offer protection, although the specific factors are dependent on the product. The product needs to be held within the packaging, for example in cannot leak. It can’t rip or break easily so needs to be strong enough, and might need to protect against temperature.

Food has to be labeled by law, although again the specific laws vary between different items. Below is the information that may need to be included on labeling:

Name of the product
Ingredients
Nutritional information
Instructions for use
Storage conditions
Place of origin
Warnings
Best before date
Use by date

Some types of food products need to be child protected so they cannot be easily opened by children. This means certain items may have safety mechanisms. Whatever the product the safety of the packaging itself must be considered; for example it can’t be too sharp so it is easy for it to cause injury. The packaging must also not impact the safety of the food negatively, so it cannot contaminate the product, for example ink leakage into the food must be avoided.

Distribution needs to be taken into consideration when packaging so products are easier to distribute. This can not only save on work but, in the long run, can save on costs.

The way that food looks in its packaging is important to retailers. They obviously want to sell as much as possible and packaging can be used as a marketing tool to make it seem appealing.

Like everything in business, cost always needs to be thought about. The cheaper packaging is the better, but all the above factors also need considering. Packaging needs to be affordable so a decent profit can be made post-sale.

Different types of food need different types of packaging. Below are some examples.

For meat and fish products contamination is an important issue. Contaminating other products can cause health issues so must be avoided at all costs, whether it is being transported, is on the shop shelves, is in the customer’s shopping basket, or in the customer’s home. Meat and fish packaging is often see-through so it looks attractive and customers can see what they are buying.

Drinks and other liquids are sold in cans or bottles. These are secure and prevent leakage. Certain drinks need to remains fresh while others might react badly with certain materials. It is also important the packaging stays in line with customer expectations. For example, you won’t find wine in a plastic bottle, while water won’t appear in a can.

The practicality of packaging for frozen foods needs thinking about. Due to where they will be placed (in the freezers) the packaging can’t be negatively affected by the cold by causing it to soak through or break in any way.

There are many things that need thinking about when choosing packaging suppliers. Different foods require different packaging, while any safety issues and cost issues need consideration.

Andrew Marshall ©

Famous Computer Viruses

2011-09-21T08:29:00.001-07:00

Computer viruses have bought misery to millions of computer users around the world. It is one of the negatives of the computer world we live in today. This article takes a look at ten of the world’s most famous Computer Viruses.

Morris Worm

The Morris Worm goes back to 1988. Its creator claimed the program was invented to crawl the internet (at this stage in its very early days) to investigate its size. It did, however, cause major damage to computers. It was capable of infecting computers many times over, each time causing more problems and potentially resulting in it eventually becoming unusable.

Michelangelo Virus

This was given its name due to it being programmed to attack on 6th March, the date of Michelangelo’s birthday. Once installed on a computer it lay dormant, with all infected computers being attacked on the same date. The virus caused massive data loss.

Melissa Virus

This was named after a topless dancer in Florida. It was spread via emails which contained a Microsoft Word document. Once the document was opened it infected the computer and sent the same email to the first fifty addresses in the receiver’s email address book. Large corporations and organisations were infected, including some government networks.

I Love You Virus

The I Love You virus appeared in emails titled “I love you” with an attached text file, which the email claimed was a love letter. When this was opened it would attack the computer and send it to all email addresses in the recipient’s address book. This meant it quickly spread widely. Along with millions of other computers across the world, it infected the White House and Pentagon computers.

Conficker Virus

The Conficker virus infected millions of Windows users including the British and French military computer networks. It linked infected computers and could be controlled by a central computer, run by its creators.

Bugbear

This virus copied itself to the hard drive of computers via Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer but exploiting a security hole. Once installed onto a computer it was also capable of infecting any computers it shared a network with. So, if it infected one computer within a business network it could soon infect the entire network. The virus was also sent to others in the address book of the receiver. Bugbear copied any usernames, passwords and bank details the user typed into their computer and sent this information via email.

Code Red Virus

This attacked a large number of websites and meant that instead of viewing a website, visitors would see a message stating that the website had been hacked. Amongst the websites it infected were a number of US government sites.

Nimda Virus

This first attacked exactly a week after 9/11 and was therefore thought to be connected, something that was later found not to be the case. Unlike most computer viruses, it spread in several different ways, including via email, across shared networks, and to those who had browsed infected websites. It targeted computers using Microsoft Windows.

Sasser Virus

This exploited holes in Microsoft Windows and caused computers to shut down. Some large organisations and corporations were impacted, including the European Commission, British Airways and Goldman Sachs.

Blaster Virus

Blaster attacked computers using the Microsoft Windows XP and 2000 operating systems. It caused the overuse of memory and therefore eventually resulted in computers crashing. The virus would start up again every time the computer was restarted.

Andrew Marshall ©

Using a VPN to Work from Home

2011-09-20T01:32:00.000-07:00

A VPN can allow employees to work from home more easily and safely. It allows them to have access to a company’s network when they are away from the office, something that enables them to be just as productive when out of the office as when in it. A VPN allows for this to be done more securely than using other methods; a safe network can be maintained and unauthorised users cannot gain access to any confidential information.

What is a VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is effectively an extension of a private network. Instead of just having access to a business’s network in the office, it is also possible to have access from remote locations, such as at home. This is accessed via the internet but is still a private network so others cannot gain access.

Advantages of Virtual Networks

Virtual networks have a number of advantages over “non-virtual” networks. There is no need for leased lines, which is good for practical reasons and for cost reasons. This means that despite not needing to be physically connected to the network it is possible to gain access from a computer anywhere. Wires are not needed to connect a computer directly to the network; instead the internet is used.

How a VPN Works

A VPN is a private network using a public network. A public network, such as the internet, is used to connect to a business’s private network (the VPN), which can only be accessed by those with the relevant permissions.

With a virtual private network there is a Network Access Server (NAS) where the network’s data is held. This is essentially a hub where all data is stored, and it transfers to other computers from here. A user connects to the NAS using the internet. They can then access the data held on the NAS. Different permissions can be given to different users, meaning each can access the data they need to do their job without accessing areas not relevant to them.

VPN Client

The VPN Client is the software that each user installs on their computer to allow them to access the VPN. Once on their computer, the VPN can be accessed using a secure username and password. They will then be able to access the data that they have been authorised to view.

Why is a VPN more Secure?

When data is transferred over a VPN it is encrypted, or scrabbled. This means that should a human be able to intercept it, they will not be able to make sense of it and it will be useless to them. The data is then decrypted into its original form once it reaches its destination.

Many businesses these days utilise VPN’s so employees can work at home, especially those who are involved in dealing with secure information. A VPN is a simpler system for allowing people to work from home, as they can access a company’s network without the need for leased lines. By using encryption, it also means data travelling over the network is secure.

Andrew Marshall ©

The World’s Top 5 Stock Exchanges

2011-09-19T01:32:00.000-07:00

The world’s top five largest stock exchanges in terms of market capitalization are New York, the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, Tokyo, London and Shanghai. This is a brief introduction to each of these.

New York Stock Exchange

With a market capitalization of its listed companies at $13.39 trillion at the end of 2010, the New York Stock Exchange is the world’s biggest. The average trading value is over $150 billion a day. The New York Stock Exchange is located in the world famous Wall Street in Lower Manhattan and has been operated by NYSE Euronext since 2007 when there was a merger with the fully electronic stock exchange, Euronext. A stock exchange in New York goes back to 1792 when the so-called Buttonwood Agreement was signed by twenty-four stock brokers outside of 68 Wall Street under a Buttonwood Tree. This became the New York Stock and Exchange Board in 1817 and changed to its current name in 1863.

NASDAQ Stock Exchange

The NASDAQ is also based in New York. It was founded in 1871 by the National Associates of Securities Dealers. It was the world’s first electronic stock exchange and used a computer bulletin board system, but did not initially connect buyers and sellers. It helped lower the difference between the bid prices and asking prices of stock. It was eventually a successor to the OCT (over the counter) system. In the late twentieth century the NASDAQ added trade and volume reporting and automated trading systems and later became the first US stock market to trade online.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has over 2,000 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of almost $4 billion, the most in Asia. It was originally established in 1878. In 1943 it combined with ten other stock exchanges throughout Japan to form a single Japanese stock exchange. This was, though, soon impacted by World War II, when it was shut down. It was re-established in May 1949. The stock exchange grew massively during the 1980’s, and in 1990 accounted for 60% of the world’s stock market capitalization. However, it then crashed. It has recovered since, but is not as large as it once was.

London Stock Exchange

The trading of shares in London began due to two voyages, one to China and one to India, needing to be financed. This was in the 1680’s and proved a big success. Shares were sold to merchants in exchange for a share of any future profits. A trend had begun and other types of organisations and businesses followed suit. In 1697 it became necessary for all traders to be licensed. This idea was introduced because there had been several problems arising from insider trading. For a long time non-British citizens could not become member of the London Stock Exchange, with this eventually changed as late as the 1970’s. In 2005 and 2006 there were takeover bids from the Macquarie Bank and the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, though both were rejected. There is though, a 28% stake owned by The Borse Dubai stock exchange.

Shanghai Stock Exchange

The market for Securities trading began in Shanghai in the late 1860’s when several banks were established. In the 1890’s there was a boom in mining shares and foreign businessmen founded the Shanghai Sharebrokers Association headquarters in the City. In the early years it mostly consisted of the exchange of securities of local companies. In the 1920’s the Shanghai Securities and Commodities and the Shanghai Chinese Merchant Exchange operated separately, but were merged in 1929. This officially became the Shanghai Stock Exchange. With Shanghai occupied by the Japanese Army in 1941, the stock exchange was closed down. This was re-opened in 1946 but closed again after the Communist Revolution in 1949. A stock market was opened again in 1978, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange re-established in 1990. It has seen steady growth since and is now the fifth biggest stock exchange, and continuing to grow along with the Chinese economy.

Andrew Marshall ©

Divorce Statistics: Who Divorce Most?

2011-09-15T09:10:00.001-07:00

Divorce statistics are just numbers, and are not necessarily representative of making divorce more or less likely. But let’s have a look at some of the statistics that show which groups divorce more or less often.

Age of Marriage

Divorce is more common amongst couples who marry young. Almost half of those who marry very young (under 18 years of age) divorce, with this reduced to around a quarter for those who marry after the age of 25. After the age of 25 the statistics don’t change much.

Divorce occurs more amongst couples where women are older, than where men are older or they are the same age. This is the case where an age gap is less than five years; where it is more than this the divorce ratio is higher whichever spouse is older.

Family Backgrounds

A higher percentage of people whose parents divorced end up going through a divorce themselves. This is even more the case where their parents re-married. Those bought up within a religion divorce less, with the specific statistics varying between different religions.

Cohabitation before Marriage

There are certain groups where cohabitation more regularly leads to marriage. These include those who value religion, those who come from families with higher education and higher income, and couples where the woman is employed.

Roughly half of couples who marry nowadays live together first. However, according to statistics this makes a long-lasting marriage less likely, with divorce more common amongst couples who had live together prior to marriage than those who did not. People who lived with more than one different partner before they got married divorce even more often.

Children before Marriage

Divorce is more common among those who have children prior to getting married. This is the case whether they have married the other parent of their child or not.

Second Marriages

A higher percentage of second marriages fail than first marriages. This is why the overall divorce rate is around 50%, with the divorce rate for first-time marriages only just over 30%. More second marriages fail if this marriage took place when one or both partners were from a single parent family, have a lower level of educations, or were under the age of 25 at the time of their second marriage.

Over half of those who marry for a second time are re-married within five years of their first marriage ending. This happens more for those with no children and higher incomes.

Children

Divorce occurs more where couples have daughters than sons, with a five percent difference. The difference is wider where there are several daughters compared to several sons. Couples who have had twins or triplets divorce more regularly than those who do not.

The Role of Men

According to statistics, the more men help out the less likely they are to divorce. This is the case whether it comes to cleaning, cooking, or playing an active role in bringing up children.

Obviously every relationship is different, and just because a couple fits some of the examples above does not mean divorce is more or less likely. It is, though, an interesting look at some generalisations when it comes to this subject.

Andrew Marshall ©

Employment Law when Dismissing an Employee

2011-09-15T01:45:00.001-07:00

As an employer it is never something to look forward to, but there are times when someone needs to be dismissed from their job. To many businesses the rules of when and how an employee’s contract can be terminated can be confusing. This article tries to simplify this area of employment law.

There is a clear three-step procedure that should be followed that can eventually lead to someone being sacked from their job. They are a verbal warning, a written warning and a letter of dismissal. The verbal warning should be the first step to let an employee know that (s)he is not working or behaving as expected when at work. The aim of this is to change the employee’s behavior so they become a better asset to the company. Unfortunately, this change doesn’t always happen. This may lead to the employer wishing to issue a written warning, which can serve as a final warning to improve. If there is still no improvement then a contract can be terminated. This will involve a meeting and an official letter of dismissal.

There are only a few reasons why someone can be sacked, although many sub-reasons within each of these. These are outlined below.

Conduct of an employee - This covers the behaviour of an employee in the course of carrying out their job, whether directly impacting their own job or not. This can include not working the required hours (i.e. always getting to work late), an office worker spending half the day browsing the internet for non-work related websites, and inappropriately behaviour towards other employees.

Capabilities of an employee - Any job requires a certain amount of skill in a particular area. If it transpires that an employee is not capable of reaching this skills level they could be dismissed. This includes, but is not limited to, situations where an employee has lied about qualifications or experience. This is not the case where a role changes though – in this case an alternative role should be found for the employee or they could be made redundant.

Working illegally - Working illegally is….. well, illegal. If an employee is breaking the law to work or while at work then the book can be thrown at them. For example, they may not be able to legally work in the country or may be under the minimum working age (and have lied about this unknown to the employer). Committing a criminal offence related to the job, such as stealing from the company or other employees, is another possible reason for dismissal

Another substantial reason - This covers many other areas that are sackable offences.

It is important to make sure there is a valid reason for sacking someone, otherwise you could be sued for unfair dismissal. For example, you cannot discriminate against someone for any reason. You cannot dismiss someone for being on maternity leave or being off sick for a valid reason. It is also important to be consistent; you cannot give one person a warning and sack another for the same offence.

In most cases a dismissed employee is entitled to a notice period, usually the same period of notice they would have to give were they resigning. However, they can be asked to leave immediately but must be paid until the end of their notice period. So, if the notice period is four weeks they would be entitled to four weeks pay. Many employers prefer this as it prevents a difficult working atmosphere and any resulting bitterness on behalf of the employee. There are occasions when someone can be dismissed with immediately effect without being paid, for example cases of gross misconduct.

Andrew Marshall ©

Is a Website Worth the Cost?

2011-09-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Almost all businesses have a website these days. There are many things that go into having a successful website, all of which costs money. But is having a website worth this expense?

Firstly, a website needs to be designed. For a business website it is important that it looks professional as it is an advert for the company. This needs to be balanced with usability. It doesn’t matter how a website looks if it does not meet the needs of the user. Customers need to be able to navigate their way around a site and find the information they are after. Many businesses simply need a brochure site, with information such as who they are, what they do, and how they can be contacted. Others need more functionality, perhaps allowing customers to purchase products through the site.

Once the design phase is completed it needs to be developed. This is where it goes from an idea on paper to a fully functional website. Web development is the most time consuming area of creating a website and involves technical expertise, whereas the web design requires creative skills and imagination.

After the development stage, the website will be ready to go live. For this to happen it needs web hosting. Without this nobody will be able to view it. It is possible for a business to host their own website but this requires the relevant technical expertise and is usually more expensive. Therefore, most choose to outsource their web hosting. There are many different packages and varying prices. Many choose managed hosting, where the web hosting is fully managed by the hosting company. This means the business itself doesn’t need to worry about this aspect of running a website.

Marketing of a website may also be required. There is little point in having a website if no-one can find it. Ideally a website will be found on the front page of the search engines for related phrases. This is where Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, comes in. These are techniques that optimise a site and increase the authority of a site so it ranks well in search engines such as Google. This hopefully leads to people finding the website and becoming customers. Depending on the nature of a website, it may also need maintaining or updating.

Every aspect of creating and running a website costs money, from the design and development to the hosting and marketing. So, are these costs worth the end result? Well, if done properly, then yes it is. These days businesses without a website are really missing out. With so many having a website it becomes increasingly important. People often search online now instead of places like the Yellow Pages. Without a website, businesses are missing out on a lot of potential business. A website is even important if people are looking specifically for a particular business. Many will still search for the brand name online, and if there is no website they might go elsewhere. So although a website can be expensive, in the long run the return on investment is almost always worth the cost.

Andrew Marshall ©

Choosing a Private Doctor

2011-09-13T01:13:00.001-07:00

Choosing a private doctor is not an easy decision. There are many factors to consider and everyone has different priorities.

There are different reasons why someone might wish to use a private doctor. It may be that they require an operation or have a particular medical condition that they need to sort out and wish to do it privately. Or they may want a private GP who they can see on a regular basis whatever their medical needs.

Qualifications

Before choosing a private doctor you need to make sure they have the appropriate qualifications. Obviously, any practitioner needs certain qualifications, but you may wish to compare the specific qualifications of different doctors so you can decide who you think is more qualified. If you are using a doctor for a specific condition or an operation then you need to make sure they have qualifications specifically to deal with this particular issue. You want to be sure they have an expertise in the area you will be paying them to help you with.

The Way they Operate

In the private sector everyone has different ways of doing things and this can have an influence on patients and patient care. Unlike NHS doctors, they do not have such strict rules and procedures that they must follow. You may have certain preferences as to how you would like your doctor to operate. You want to choose a doctor whose way of doing things fits in with what you would find comfortable.

Location

Location is of obvious importance, as for most people it is important that they are nearby. You may at times need to be able to get there quickly. If you visit the doctor regularly, this becomes even more important.

Track Record

It is always wise to find out about a doctor’s track record. This will allow you to compare different doctors and consider their relative advantages and disadvantages. When looking at this you need to think about which aspects of their records are most important to you. If you are choosing a private doctor for a particular operation, research their success rate. How many times have they carried out such as operation, and how many of these have resulted in a successful outcome? It would be useful if you are able to find out the opinions of previous patients. Were they happy with the service they received and were there any problems that they experienced?

What about a Healthcare Plan?

Some opt to pay into a medical insurance policy so they are covered for private healthcare. It is important to choose a healthcare plan that suits, as they can vary greatly. An obvious consideration is how much it is going to cost you. You need to check out what is included and if there is anything extra you might need to pay for. If there are any specific medical conditions you suffer from, make sure these are covered.

Whatever type of private medical care you are looking for, make sure you can learn as much as possible. Ask as many questions as you can to build up an overall picture of the care you will receive. We all have different priorities – so make sure yours are met.

Andrew Marshall ©

What are Academy Schools?

2011-09-12T01:28:00.000-07:00

Academies are a relatively new type of school that are being encouraged by the UK government. They are free from the government regulations that regular schools are and are independently run. They are state maintained but can also have the financial help of sponsors and businesses.

Although academies can be independently funded they cannot charge for entry and cannot make a profit. They are effectively publicly funded schools that operate outside of local authority control and can seek additional funding as well. They have more freedom over finances, the curriculum, and teacher’s conditions than regular schools.

Academies can have a large amount of choice over what they teach and how they teach it. They do have to follow the national curriculum in English, Maths, Science and IT, but other than this can teach what they like. This allows them to focus more intensely on other areas if they wish or teach subject that other schools do not. The majority of academies specialise in a certain area, such as technology or sport.

Although they cannot charge pupils to attend, academies are free to choose how they run their admission processes. Pupils must be broadly from the local area but there are not specific requirements for the entry process as there are for regular schools.

The academy system can particularly benefit those who wish to start religious schools. This is because they don’t have to follow the curriculum in teaching a broad range of religions. If they wish they can solely focus on one religion.

Any existing school can apply to be converted into an academy that will be maintained and partly funded by the state but run independently. The first step in starting an academy is for the current governing body to apply to the department for education and for a charitable company to be registered with companies house. An academy trust needs to be set up to run the academy. If the application is successful, this trust will be granted ownership of the school’s land. They will then be able to take over the running of the school, which will at this stage become an academy. Rather than being funded by the local authority, they will be funded directly by central government receiving an annual grant. As mentioned earlier, they will be able to receive additional funding on top of this.

It is thought that academies and the rules that go with them will help improve poorly-performing schools. The thinking is that by being able to attract more funding and have more freedom it will enable them to make changes to improve the quality of teaching, the curriculum and other things. They will be more able to do what they think is necessary to improve a school rather than follow strict regulations as to how it should be run. With more freedom comes more individualism and it is hoped that if specific schools have specific requirements to improve, this will be possible under the academy system. One of the aims of state education is for the quality of education to be the same for everyone. It is hoped that academies will allow poorer quality schools to improve so the gap between the better performing schools and poorer performing schools will narrow.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Advantages of ISA’s

2011-09-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

An ISA is a tax free way of saving. Adults in the UK can invest up to £10,680 a year in an ISA and they will not be required to pay tax on any gains. This article looks at the advantages of ISA’s.

Non-Taxable Income

The main, and most obvious, advantage of an ISA is that you do not have to pay tax on the interest gained. For those in the regular tax bracket this means saving the 20% tax they would otherwise have to pay on the interest.

No Capital Gains Tax

As well as being exempt from income tax, an ISA is also exempt from capital gains tax. This would normally be paid at 28%.

You Have Easy Access to Your Money

Unlike some investments you have access to your money if you need it. If you realise you have invested money that you now need, it is simple to withdraw this from the investment.

Can Split Between Cash and Stocks and Shares ISA’s

ISA investments can be split between the two types of ISA; cash ISA’s and Stocks and Shares ISA’s. The total investment that can be made per year in £10,680. A maximum of £5,340 can go towards a Cash ISA, so anything above this must go towards a Stocks and Shares ISA. Should investors wish, anything up to £10,680 can go towards a Stocks and Shares ISA.

Can Invest Long Term

Money invested into an ISA can be invested for as long as the investor wishes. Although the yearly limit is £10,680, this can be invested every year with no overall limit.

Can Invest from the Age of 18

Stocks and Shares ISA’s can be opened from the time someone turns 18. It is even younger for Cash ISA’s, which can be invested in from someone’s sixteenth birthday with the £5,340 a year limit.

More Beneficial for Long Term Investments

An ISA is most beneficial where invested in over a long-term period. One way it can be used is as an extension to a pension. The longer term an investment is for, the more interest that can be gained and the more there is in the investment in total. If someone is able to invest the full £10,680 a year, that is £213,600 if they do it every year over a twenty year period. Once interest is put on top of that it is a very healthy amount.

There are also fewer risks if investing over a long period. There are ups and down in the financial markets – especially in the current economy – but over a long-term period investment will usually grow. This is even more likely if spread around among various investments products, as is the case with most investment plans and investment trusts.

Benefits to Regular Investors

Some ISA providers will reward customers for making regular investment over a certain amount. For example, they may offer higher interest rates in exchange for a specific minimum investment.

ISA’s are a great way to invest with the tax-free benefits particularly good news for investors. Stocks and Shares ISA’s are particularly advantageous as they will almost always grow more over a long-term period.

Andrew Marshall ©

Step-Children after Divorce

2011-09-08T01:21:00.000-07:00

We often read about how children are impacted by the divorce of their parents and how the dynamics of their lives can change as a consequence. But, what about step-children? What happens to a step-parent’s relationship with their step-children if they divorce from the child’s parent?

Although we hear many stories of troubled step-parent/step-child relationships, many are very positive. There are situations where they have lived together for a long time, possibly since a child has been very young. The step-parent might have been around since before a child can remember. They might even call them Mum or Dad. In these cases the step-parent might see the child in the same eyes as if he or she was a biological child of theirs. Others might be in a situation where they have biological children who have lived together in a family with them along with their step-children.

Where there is a strong step-parent/step-child relationship and a divorce occurs, the step-parent will often want to maintain a close relationship. They may want to see them on a regular basis as they would likely be able to with a biological child.

In the vast majority of cases biological parents who divorce and do not live with their children still have a right to see them. They tend to have an arrangement where they see them on a regular basis unless there is an extreme reason for this not being the case, for example fears for the safety of the child. This is not always the case with step-children, even if their relationship had previously been very close.

Step-parents don’t necessarily have a right to a continuing relationship with their step-children after a divorce from one of the child’s biological parents. In some cases parents will be happy to let their ex-husband or wife see their child and a relationship can therefore continue in the same way as it would for biological children in a similar situation. It is, however, largely the decision of the biological parent with the former step-parent having no legal right to this. This means their relationship with someone they may perceive as their child suddenly being taken away from them.

More recently there have been situations where this has been challenged in the courts. Former step-parents have seeked the legal right to see their former-step children. In some cases this has been granted where it has been deemed best for the children and the children wish to have continuing contact. Such a situation is still the exception rather than the rule, though. It is still all too easy for parents to prevent this from happening. Unlike divorcing biological parents where on-going contact is the norm, in the vast majority of situations for divorcing step-parents it comes down to the choice of his or her former spouse. To some this can feel like their son or daughter being suddenly taken away from them forever. This doesn’t benefit anyone and can be difficult for both the child and the former step-parent.

Andrew Marshall ©

Why Choose Dedicated Hosting?

2011-09-07T01:24:00.001-07:00

Dedicated Hosting is where a website has an entire server to itself. So, unlike shared hosting, it is the only website hosted on the server. Without getting into the technical stuff about the way dedicated hosting works, let’s look at why it can be advantageous to the average business.

Flexibility

Dedicated Hosting is more flexible. As a website is on its own server it doesn’t get impacted by any other sites. With shared hosting there are many sites on the same server, which can cause them to be impacted by one another. If you have your own server you have full control and more choice is many different areas. You have a choice over operating system, hardware and other variables.

Security

Again, not being impact by other websites is helpful. The more websites that share a server the more variables there are. And with more variables comes the increasing chances of something going wrong. This can cause security issues. With dedicated hosting only applications applicable to you will be uploaded to the server and the whole hosting of the website is generally more stable.

High Traffic Websites

For high traffic websites dedicated hosting can be almost essential. The more traffic you have the more important it becomes. The reason is simple – dedicated hosting can handle more traffic. For one thing, there tends to be more bandwidth available. A server can only handle a certain amount of simultaneous traffic. There is a limited amount of bandwidth available and the more websites there are on the server, the less bandwidth is available to each. Depending on the hosting setup, another site on the same server as yours experiencing a high amount of traffic can mean less bandwidth is available to yours. If there are then a lot of people attempting to access your website they may not be able to. Where a server is dedicated to your website this is not a problem unless your website alone exceeds the server’s capacity. It is not just if visitors can access the site that is an issue here, but the speed at which the website operates. The closer to capacity the server is operating at the more likely it is that there can be speed problems.

Better Quality Service

Dedicated hosting packages usually offer a better service. You are hiring an entire server from the web hosting company so you will be a more important customer. You are paying more so you get a better service. This means the support is better so any problems are likely to be resolved quickly. For example, 24/7 monitoring is often included so issues are identified promptly. For many website owners support is crucial, and with dedicated hosting support is of a higher quality.

Scalability

When you have your own dedicated server it tends to be easy to switch to a different package or upgrade. So, if your website suddenly becomes more popular with more visitors, you can upgrade to a necessary package.

Dedicated hosting is not necessary for all websites. It is a better quality type of hosting than shared hosting, though, so for many it is advantageous.

Andrew Marshall ©

Is it still worth saving for Children’s Education?

2011-08-31T07:32:00.001-07:00

The system for paying university tuition fees is changing just as the new Junior ISA is coming in. But does the change in tuition fees mean that one of the main reasons parents save for their children, to pay for higher education, is no longer worth doing?

Tuition Fees Currently

Current tuition fees are set at £3,375 a year, and the majority of university students pay this amount. A student loan can be taken out to pay for this or it can be paid up front, either by the student or their family.

How Student Loans Currently Work

Students are able to borrow money from the Student Loan Company to pay for tuition fees and living costs, with the amount they can borrow dependant on their circumstances. This starts to be paid back once they have graduated and are earning over £15,000 a year. Beyond £15,000 they pay 9% of their earnings towards repayments of the student loan with this automatically coming out through the tax system each time they get paid. Someone earning £20,000 a year, for example, will pay back £450 each year (or £37.50 each month). It is effectively like paying 9% extra in income tax and it is paid until the loan is fully paid off. If a graduate’s earnings fall below £15,000 they don’t have to pay anything until it rises above this again.

Tuition Fees from 2012

There has been much controversy over the changes that will be coming in for students starting university from 2012. Fees will no longer be the same for everyone, with universities having more choice and being able to vary it between different courses. Universities will be able to charge a maximum of £9,000 a year, which will be £27,000 for a three-year course.

Student Loans from 2012

As well as changes in the cost of tuition fees, there will be changes in how they are paid for by students. The loan system will still exist but with some slight changes. Every student will need to take the money out in the form of a student loan and will not be able to pay it upfront. This has been done to avoid the argument of it being more affordable to those from wealthy backgrounds. The student loan will still be paid back in the same way but there will be a higher income threshold before it has to be paid back. Nothing will need to be paid back until graduates earn over £21,000, £6,000 more than is currently the case. Whatever a graduate earns, they will therefore be paying back less that if earning the same amount under the current system. The downside is that they will be paying it back over a longer period because they will start paying it later and will have borrowed more. If it is not paid back after thirty years the debt will be written off. The argument is that those who are paying it back will be those earning enough to be able to afford it.

Until now the emphasis has often been on parents to help their children pay their tuition fees. This will no longer be possible when the changes come in because everyone will need to take out a student loan.

Saving for Children

Many parents have chosen to save for their children’s education. Do the changes mean that this was a waste, and will it be pointless for families in future?

The answer to this is no. It will still be a great helping hand as the cost of higher education is not just tuition fees but living costs. For example accommodation, food and bills all need to be paid for. This means savings for children could be just as much of a help as it is now. This will make the new Junior ISA attractive to many parents.

Andrew Marshall ©

History of the Shanghai Stock Exchange

2011-08-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Shanghai Stock Exchange is now one of the biggest in the world and is growing all the time. It has an interesting history which has included it being halted during World War 2 and it being suspended for over forty years after the communist revolution.

The first stocks were traded in Shanghai in 1866, but it was events two decades later that was really the beginnings of a stock market in the city. In the late 1880’s the Chinese mining industry boomed, something that was further boosted by mining stocks being launched by provincial governments. The Shanghai Sharebrokers Associations was established in 1891 by foreign businessmen, and this became China’s first stock exchange of sorts. This mostly dealt with the stocks of local companies.

Between 1889 and 1891 there was a boom in real estate companies, and in 1910 a boom in rubber plantations. The wave of confidence in these areas was partly due to cheap credit being offered by banks, something that eventually ended in bust.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange did not open until 1929. At the beginning of the 1920’s the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange (1920) and the Shanghai Chinese Merchant Exchange (1921) were both established. During this time over 140 stock exchanges started up in Shanghai, all but twelve of which had disappeared by 1922. In 1929 the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange and the Shanghai Chinese Merchant Exchange combined to officially form the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Rubber was the prime stock and foreign companies, especially Japanese companies, started to take control of the stock exchange.

By the 1930’s the Shanghai Stock Exchange had become the financial centre for the region and was trading in stocks, shares, government bonds and futures.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange ceased operation during World War 2. In 1941 Japan invaded and the stock exchange closed down. When the war ended it opened again but only for a short period. When the communist revolution took place in 1949 the stock exchange was again closed and remained so for forty-one years.

There was no trading in stocks in China for over two decades until the cultural revolution of the 1970’s. Initially this was only open to the Chinese, with it opened to foreign investors from 1978. Companies began to trade securities with foreign firms and this caused a surge in the economy. The modern Shanghai Stock Exchange was eventually opened in 1990, forty-one years after it was closed during the Communist Revolution. Another stock exchange was also opened in Shenzhen, which dealt with technology and government securities.

In 1997 the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was implemented into the Chinese system.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange was the sixth biggest in the world in 2010, behind New York, Tokyo, the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, the Euronext Stock Exchange and London. It is run by the China Securities Regulatory Commission as a non-profit organisation and trades in stocks, funds and bonds. It is continuing to grow and could well complete with New York and Tokyo as the world’s biggest over the next few years.

Andrew Marshall ©

Does it really cost £200,000 to bring up a child?

2011-08-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

According to research carried out by the insurance provider LV=, it now costs just over £200,000 to bring up a child from their birth to their twenty-first birthday. This works out at an average of around £9,500 a year.

Although many parents would agree that bringing up children is expensive, many would refute this figure, which is over a third of the total annual income of the average family today. The survey has taken certain areas of spending and looked at what they believe is the average cost within each of these having surveyed a group of parents.

Seeing that it costs over £200,000 to bring up a child is something that would scare many parents and parent to be. There is, however, much reason to believe it is possible to bring up children for much less than this.

The report states that it costs £52,000 for education, but does not include private education. It includes things such as uniform and school trips. This does seem a high figure if only taking into consideration things that are considered necessities or important.

Child care is named as the most expensive cost in bringing up children. However, not everyone requires child care. In many families only one parent works or family members can look after children while their parents are working. It could be argued, though, that it is mostly families on low or middle incomes that require child care as they can’t afford to have only one working parent.

Listed amongst the extras are driving lessons and a first car. This is not an essential though and many children pay for this themselves, or don’t learn to drive until after the age of twenty-one anyway. Therefore many parents will find that the high costs of their children learning to drive won’t be paid by them.

The LV= survey does not state whether presents from other family members are taken into consideration. Family and friends often buy items such as clothes and toys for children, something that brings down the cost for such items for parents. Over the course of an entire childhood this can make a big difference.

Holidays are stated as costing an average of over £600 a year for a child. Some might argue, though, that holidays are a luxury and something parents have a choice over. It is nice to go on holiday if you can afford to but not essential if you can’t. There is also the option of having a cheaper holiday closer to home rather than travelling abroad.

The study says that a child’s university years of the ages 18-21 cost £14,000 each, a total of £42,000. This is something many parents will not recognize. In the future parents will be unable to pay their children’s tuition fees for them should they choose to go into higher education. Some parents will help with related costs but many parents are unable to and therefore won’t. Taking off this £42,000 would mean an overall cost of close to £150,000 over twenty-one years.

Everything can be done cheaper. The quality/price of items that need to be bought for children are not given but there is a big difference in the range of items that can be bought, making it very difficult to give exact figures. To use one example, a top of the range pram can cost over £1,000 but you can get a perfectly adequate one for around £100. They are available for less than this if bought second-hand. The same could be said for hundreds of other items someone needs from the age of zero to twenty-one.

It is very hard, almost impossible, to say how much it really costs to bring up a child. Many of the headlines around the LV= study state that “it now costs over £200,000 to bring up a child”. They do not go into enough detail to show how much of a true statement this is and you can never say a specific amount that it takes to bring up a child. All families and their choices are different and in reality this figure varies massively from one family to the next.

Andrew Marshall ©

A Beginner’s Guide on Sending Emails

2011-08-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

Email has become a major method of communication in the internet age and is now the most commonly used form of communication in business. There are also millions of personal emails sent everyday throughout the world. This is a beginner’s guide to sending personal email for those who have never used email before.

To be able to send emails first you need an email account. There are a variety of free email platforms, with three of the most popular being Gmail (from Google), Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. Below is a step-by-step guide to opening an account with each of these and sending emails.

Gmail

To set up an account visit mail.google.com. On the right-hand side of the page there will be two boxes. In the lower box click the button that says “create and account”. This will take you to another page.

Fill out the boxes with the relevant details. This includes choosing an email address that must end in @gmail.com, and a memorable password. Once you have filled out all the details read the terms and conditions and click the button at the bottom of the page that says, “I accept. Create my account”.

After this you will be asked to select a verification method and to provide a phone number to do this. When you have done this follow the instructions and enter the verification code you have been given either by text message or via a phone call.

You will now have a Google account and be able to use their email platform, Gmail.

To log into your account visit google.com. Click “Sign in”, which can be found on the top-right of the page. This will take you to a Sign In page where you need to enter your Email and Password you chose when opening your account. After you have done this click “sign in”.

To reach your account go to the top-right of the page and click the arrow next to your email address. This will bring up a dropdown menu. Click “account settings”. On the next page click “Gmail”, which will take you to your main email page.

To begin the process of sending an email, click “compose mail” on the left-hand side. You will be taken to the page for sending an email.

In the “to” box enter the email address of the person you wish to send the email to. Enter a subject in the “subject” box and then in the large box enter your message. Once you have done this click “send” at the bottom of the page. Your email will be sent to the recipient.

Yahoo Mail

Visit yahoo.com. At the top-right of the page are some options including “sign up”. Click this. Here you need to enter your details and chose a desired Yahoo ID/Email and password. After this click “create my account” at the bottom of the page.

Once you have an account you need to sign in to send an email. Again, visit the top right of Yahoo, and this time click “sign in”. Enter your Yahoo! ID (email address) and password and click “sign in”. You are taken back to the main Yahoo page with a number of options on the right-hand side. Click “mail”.

Once on the mail page visit the top left of the page. Next to “new” there is an arrow. Click this. On the dropdown menu click “email message”. Enter the email address of the recipient in the “to” box and anyone you wish to copy in the email in the “cc” box. Enter a subject and the body of the email. Finally click “send” which is above the main email box.

Hotmail

To set up an account visit hotmail.com. Click the “sign up” box. You will be taken to another page where you need to enter your details, including a desired email address and password. After doing this click the “I accept” box at the bottom of the page. You will now have a Hotmail account.

To sign in visit hotmail.com again. Enter your email address in the “windows live ID” box and password in the “password” box. Click “sign in”. On the next page click “send email”, which is found under the “hotmail highlights” section.

As with Gmail and Yahoo, enter the recipients address, a subject and the body of the email. Then click send, which is towards the top of the page.

Andrew Marshall ©

Benefits of Video Conferencing

2011-08-25T01:53:00.001-07:00

Video conferencing is something that has become more widely used across business in recent years. With the technology improving it enables businesses to communicate with partners and customers and have meetings without leaving the office. There are a number of benefits to video conferencing.

Video conferencing can have a big impact on productivity. It means you can have several meetings in one day and can do them all from the same place instead of travelling from location to location.

Being capable of having video conferences means decisions can be made more quickly. If something needs to be discussed it may be possible to have a meeting immediately to talk about the issues. In normal circumstances it might take a lot of planning, with all parties needing to find space in their diary, not just for the meeting but to get to and from it. This can mean weeks, rather than minutes or hours, before a meeting has taken place and decisions have been made. It is much simpler for everyone to log onto the video conferencing software and do it immediately if possible.

Investing in video conferencing software can be expensive to begin with but if used regularly will save money in the long run. As well as the financial benefits of improving productivity the major cost savings are on travel costs. Constantly travelling to and from meetings can be expensive, especially if many people are involved. This may not be much of an advantage if all of your customers and partners are local, but could save a fortune if they are across the country or even international.

With video conferencing someone can be “at a meeting” just like that. This can make a big saving on travel time to and from meetings. Without it a one-hour meeting can take a full day; there might be two hours of travelling each way with contingency time taken into consideration. If you have video conferencing you can go into the relevant room a few minutes before the meeting and be back at your desk immediately after.

The above are benefits of video conferencing over physically going to a meeting. You may think that it would be cheaper to have telephone conferences, but there are benefits to video conferencing over telephone conferencing. You can see the faces of the people you are having the conference with. This may not always be necessary, but it is surprising how much of a benefit seeing the other person/people can be. A large part of communication is expression, be it facial expressions or body expressions. You can also sense if someone wants to say something or someone has finished talking. This prevents people from constantly talking over each other.

Video conferencing can be a great benefit to many businesses, especially those with a wide customer based. It has many of the advantages of physical meetings but without the disadvantages. You are able to communicate properly with people and see them, but don’t have to spend time and money travelling to meetings.

Andrew Marshall ©

Decorating a Living Room

2011-08-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

The living room is one of the most important rooms in a home. This makes both practicality and aesthetics important. A lot of time is spent in the living room so it needs to fit in with your lifestyle. It is a room for relaxation and watching television, and you may even eat in there. The amount of time spent in a living room also makes it important that it looks right.

Furniture

How furniture fits in the living room is important. You might want a corner sofa, for example, but if it doesn’t fit in with the shape of the room it will not work. The size of the room is important in deciding exactly what you want to do with it. You don’t want a lot of furniture in a particularly small room, but if you have little furniture in a large room it will have an empty feeling.

The colour and style of your furniture needs to go well with the colour and style of the rest of the room, for example with the colour of the walls. Different parts of the furnishings also need to go well with each other. The placement of all furniture needs to be thought about.

The Walls

Firstly, you have to decide whether you want wallpaper or just want the bare walls painted. If you opt for wallpaper you have to choose the style you want. Do you want a distinctive style or just a plain one, possible with the wallpaper painted over? Whether you use wallpaper or not, the colour of the walls need to be carefully considered. The colour of the walls is possibly the most important factor in giving a room the feel you want.

Windows

There are three main types of window coverings to consider; curtains, blinds or window shutters. Once you’ve decided which one to opt for, the colour of them also needs to be chosen. It is important this goes well with the rest of the room, especially the colour of the walls. You may decide that the window frames and window seals need to be painted to fit the style of the living room, or you might even want to alter the style of the windows themselves.

Flooring

Depending on the home, there are different options with the flooring. The three main choices are between tiles, wood and carpet. With tiles you need to think about whether they work, as they don’t suit all homes. With wood you need to choose between the different types of wooden floors that are available. There are many possible styles if choosing carpet with even more possible choices of colour.

Other Factors

Every living room needs to have adequate seating, not just for those living in the home but for visitors as well.

In many homes the dining room is incorporated into the living room. Where this is the case how the whole space fits together needs to be thought about; it becomes even more important to use the space well. You might want the dining area and the living area to be distinctly separate.

Andrew Marshall ©

The Differences between the Junior ISA and the Child Trust Fund

2011-08-22T07:19:00.001-07:00

The Junior ISA will be the new savings product for children, and will be available from November 2011. It is a replacement for the Child Trust Fund, which was scrapped early this year. There are similarities between the two schemes, but there are also some important differences.

The Junior ISA will be available to anyone who missed out on the Child Trust Fund, meaning it will be available to those born before September 2002 or after 2nd January 2011. An account will not be able to be opened on behalf of those who already have a Child Trust Fund. The Junior ISA will be a replacement for the Child Trust Fund, with parents of children who have a Child Trust Fund still being able to pay into that account.

One of the major advantages of the Child Trust Fund was that the government contributed £250 when a child was born and another £250 when the child turned seven. It was a major plus for less well-off families to affectively have £500 worth of investment invested on their behalf. It meant those who could not afford to contribute themselves would still be able to open an account on behalf of their children. These two payments have been scrapped for the re-vamped Junior ISA. This has been criticized by some, who say there is no incentive for those who can’t afford to make regular investments.

As with the Child Trust Fund, there will be a choice of investments with the Junior ISA, although the way it will work will be a little different. With the Child Trust Fund there were three options; a savings account, a stakeholder account, and a shares account. Just as with adult ISA’s there will be two choices with a Junior ISA, a Cash ISA and a Stocks and Shares ISA. Cash ISA’s will be similar to Child Trust Fund savings accounts, with Stocks and Shares ISA’s being similar to Child Trust Fund shares accounts. It will be up to parents to decide whether to go for the safer Cash ISA, or the potentially higher gains of a Stocks and Shares ISA.

With the Child Trust Fund, family and friends were able to contribute up to £1,200 a year to a child’s account. This is being trebled with the Junior ISA; they will now be able to invest up to £3,600 each year. This means that those who really want to, and can take advantage of the scheme, will be able to invest more, further helping their child in the future. The limit for those who already have a Child Trust Fund will be increased from the previous £1,200 to £3,600, to match the Junior ISA. It is hoped that those who already have a Child Trust Fund will get the same benefits as those with a Junior ISA.

As with the Child Trust Fund, the Junior ISA will allow parents and other family member to save for their children. They will then have access to the account once they turn eighteen, with any gains being tax free.

Andrew Marshall ©

Recession Proof and Recession Vulnerable Businesses

2011-08-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

The recession and financial troubles over the last few years has hit many businesses, while others have been able to continue much as usual. Although this is partly due to how each business is run, there are certain industries that are better placed to cope in economically turbulent times than others.

Below are some “recession-proof” businesses as well as businesses that particularly suffer in tough times.

RECESSION PROOF BUSINESSES

Below are some industries and businesses that are better placed than most in an economic crises.

Food Shops

People have to eat so food shops are well placed to see out a recession. Although food purchasing habits may change everybody will still be buying it. Luxury foods and more expensive retailers may suffer, but cheaper food retailers can really benefit as people do everything possible to spend as little as they can.

Very High-End Products

You may be thinking “how can expensive products be in demand during a recession?” There are, however, always wealthy people no matter how bad the economy looks. This can mean high-end products do not suffer as much as you would expect. Here we are talking private jets and mansions. People who can afford these types of things are not going to be suddenly left with nothing even if they do loose a percentage of their wealth. This means high-end products can still be in demand.

Discount Shops

People are always looking for a bargain, but this is even more the case if people are struggling financially. Offering products or services cheaper than the competition is particularly beneficial in the present climate.

Some Health Related Businesses

Health is essential whatever the circumstances. This means that some health businesses and healthcare providers will still be in business post-recession. This does, however, depend on the business and whether or not it is essential or a nice-to-have extra.

Pawnbrokers

Many people in financial trouble may have items at home of value, such as jewellery and family heirlooms. They may not want to sell these items but they might be willing to trade them in for cash in the short term. This means pawnbrokers can become particularly busy.

Pound Shops

Perhaps not unsurprisingly, Pound Shops, and similar outlets, have been very successful over the last few years. The quality may not quite be there but people know they will get a discount. In the current times many are willing to trade quality for price.

Any business that can save people money will be a hit in a recession. Whether this is by providing something cheaper than the competition or providing something that means people don’t need to spend on something else, they are likely to snap up these opportunities when they are strapped for cash.

BUSINESSES THAT SUFFER IN A RECESSION

So the above are the type of industries/businesses that can do well in a recession, but which are particularly vulnerable?

Marketing

Marketing companies can suffer as it is something businesses feel they can cut back on. It is an interesting one though, because it depends on the type of marketing. For some businesses to be successful they must invest in marketing. So although marketing budgets are still available they may need to be thought about in more detail. Web design and related industries have not particularly suffered, and in some instanced have become more successful as the internet becomes more important to businesses. Other areas, such as newspaper and television advertising, are deemed less effective than they once were and are therefore less of a priority for marketers.

Luxury Items

OK, so above I said luxury items can be unaffected but there I meant high-end luxury items. Other types of luxury items, however, can be impacted in the opposite way. For example, people are less likely to buy luxury biscuits when there is a cheaper option available. It is the small, but fairly regular, luxuries that people are more likely to do without. These are the items that are more “wants” than “needs”.

Restaurants

More people have chosen to save money and eat at home in recent years. And those who do still eat out do so on a less regular basis. Eating out can be expensive and it is something many people feel they can do without.

Tourism

Holiday’s cost a lot of money and is something people feel they can cut down on. But it is not just skipping a holiday altogether, it is people choosing to holiday in the UK rather than abroad. This means certain tourist related industries can suffer. It may be a positive that more Brits are taking their holidays at home, but fewer people are travelling to the UK from abroad.

Andrew Marshall ©

Rules and Regulations for Residential Landlords

2011-08-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

An important part in renting out a residential property is the rules and regulations that landlords must abide by. This article covers some of the most important regulations, and includes gas, electrical and fire safety.

Gas Regulations

If not dealt with in the right way gas can be very dangerous. Carbon monoxide can be particularly dangerous, and carbon monoxide poisoning is the most common cause of gas related illness as it is odourless and can go undetected.

All rented properties must at all times have a valid Gas Safety Record, and both the landlord and the tenant must have a copy. This is the case if the home has any gas supply at all, even if capped off and not used. All gas appliances and pipework must be checked by a CORGI registered engineer. This gas check must be carried out at least once a year with the Gas Safety Record being updated with a copy of the updated version being given to the tenant. The above are legal regulations and failure to comply could result in a fine or even imprisonment. If these regulations have not been met and there is a related fatality then the landlord could face a charge of manslaughter.

Electrical Safety Regulations

Electrical safety regulations are applicable to any electrical items that are supplied by the landlord but are not relevant to those supplied by the tenants themselves, such as their own televisions and computers.

Examples of applicable items are ovens, microwaves, televisions and irons. Electrical appliances themselves are included as are any leads and plugs. Leads cannot be worn and the correct plugs must be fitted. All plugs, sockets and adapters must have insulated pins and plugs and be pre-wired. Appliances should be in good (and safe) working order.

There are fewer specific rules with electrical items as with gas but the landlord has a responsibility to make sure all electrical appliances are fit for purpose and safe to use. As with gas, they could face the force of the law if they fail to meet these responsibilities. One way in which landlords can ensure electrical safety is by regularly carrying out PAT Testing.

Fire Regulations

The most important part of the fire regulations is that working smoke alarms must be fitted. How many should be fitted and where they should be placed is dependent on the property and its size. If fire protection equipment is supplied, such as fire distinguishers and fire blankets, they must be fit for use.

Furniture Regulations

Rented properties can come furnished, partly furnished or unfurnished. The below applies to any furnishings that are supplied by the landlord. As with electrical safety regulations it does not apply to furnishings belonging to the tenant. Certain types of furniture must meet fire safety standards. These include beds, mattresses, sofas and garden furniture. Bed-clothes, curtains and carpet are not included.

Buildings

Any building, including the home itself, garages, sheds and greenhouses, must comply with UK safety standards.

The above is a basic look at the safety rules and regulations that landlords must make sure are met before letting out a property. Potential landlords should look at the regulations in more detail before letting their property out.

Andrew Marshall ©

History of Divorce in England

2011-08-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Prior to the 1850’s marriage was viewed as an indissoluble lifelong union and separating from your husband or wife was almost impossible. Only in extreme situations could couples be granted to live apart but even then they were still officially married.

In 1857 the Matrimonial Causes Act allowed ordinary people to divorce; it had previously had to be granted by an Act of Parliament. Even where this was possible it was very expensive and the vast majority were unable to afford it. And women could not apply for divorce; it had to be the man.

The Matrimonial Causes Act did make it possible for women to pursue divorce but it was still more difficult for them than it was for men. The only acceptable grounds for divorce for either party was adultery and it had to be proved. Unlike men, women had to prove other reasons why they were seeking a divorce in addition to this; adultery alone was not enough.

Things were made easier for women in 1923 when it was decided they could petition for divorce solely on the grounds of adultery. This still had to be proved though, and was the only acceptable grounds for divorce. The list of possible reasons was expanded in 1937 when it became possible to divorce due to drunkenness, insanity or desertion for a least a three year period. Divorce could not be petitioned in the first three years of a marriage and one spouse had to accuse (and prove) one of these faults in their husband or wife. The so-called guilty party could not be the one to initiate the divorce.

The Divorce Reform Act of 1969 transformed the way divorce worked in England, and much of the act still works in a similar way to this day. The previous reasons for divorce were scrapped and the list reformed. It was now possible to divorce after being separated for two years if both parties agreed, or after being separated for five years if only one party was seeking the dissolution of the marriage. The other possible reason was if the marriage had irretrievably broken down, something that covered many areas including adultery and desertion. In theory any reason that contributed to the breakdown of a marriage could be the basis for it having “irretrievably broken down”. From this time it was no longer necessary for an undefended divorce case to be heard in the High Court in London; local County Courts could be used. Defended divorces, however, were still held in the High Court.

In the mid 1970’s a Special Procedure was introduced. This made things much simpler in uncontested divorce cases. This has since become the norm and it is these days very rare for contested divorces to take place; only around one if fifty thousand divorces are now contested.

Over the last one hundred years there has been a big change in divorce in England, from the reasons they can take place to the way they are dealt with.

Andrew Marshall ©

VoIP: Price not the only important consideration

2011-08-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

VoIP is generally cheaper than other types of voice communications, such as the telephone, and this has led to increasing numbers switching to VoIP. The running costs are cheaper for providers meaning they are able to offer a more cost effective service to their customers. There are even free options, such as those where downloadable software is used so people can talk to each other through their computers. The price is obviously a major advantage for those considering choosing VoIP but it isn’t the only important thing. With the lower cost options, quality can suffer. When choosing a VoIP solution price should be considered but it shouldn’t be the only important thing.

Call Quality

This is an obvious, but important, consideration. The problem with VoIP is low quality services can result in an echo and other issues. It doesn’t matter how cheap the service is if you can’t understand what the person on the other end is saying. How good the quality needs to be depends on what you will be using VoIP for. If choosing Interoute are a top quality Business VoIP Provider. it may need to be of the highest quality. You want to seem professional and need a VoIP system that meets those needs. You need to be able to have business conversations with partners and customers. If you are simply using it for calling family and friends then call quality may not be quite so important. In this case the quality of your VoIP is not going to affect your business. You will probably still want a decent service, but it is not quite so crucial.

Reliability

A VoIP solution is no good if it keeps cutting out and you are unable to have a proper conversation with anyone. Therefore reliability can be very important, especially for a business where you need it to be available whenever you wish to make a call. You may be able to handle some reliability issues if using VoIP for personal calls, but for business it is not really acceptable.

Technical Support

Where quality is important, technical support is important. This should mean maintaining the high quality your VoIP system is capable of at all times. Any problems will be able to be dealt with when they occur. It is also important that your VoIP systems are set up correctly. When using a specific business VoIP provider then you may need support for this, whereas for a cheap personal VoIP system you may be able to set it up yourself.

Features

You can go for very basic VoIP where you can simply call from one phone to another without being able to do anything else. These are better priced but that doesn’t mean they are better value for money. You might want an integrated system with several phones and phone lines with services such as call forwarding and an answer phone service. This is more likely if using it for business purposes.

Cost

And then there is cost. Cost shouldn’t be considered alone though. Just simply looking at prices and choosing the cheapest option does not mean you will chose the best option. Price should be used along with other factors to decide on a service. What you need will largely depend on your needs and circumstances. What will you be using VoIP for? Will it be for business purposes or personal use? Value for money is more important than simply price. You need to find the service you need for the best possible price.

Andrew Marshall ©

Overnight Courts dealing with Rioters

2011-08-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

After the recent riots in London, some UK courts have been operating overnight to process criminal charges. With over 1,000 people arrested in London alone, there has been an unexpected strain on the legal system. Opening some courts overnight and at the weekend has lead to faster convictions.

The riots began in Tottenham in North London and quickly spread to other parts of the capital over the following days. The violence then spread to other parts of England including Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham. Crimes committed involved throwing missiles at police, smashing shop windows, looting and arson.

The courts quickly began to process the cases of the arrested individuals, much more quickly than for most criminal charges. It was decided to quickly deal with these cases, partly to make an example of the rioters while it was still in the news. One reason for this was to discourage others from doing the same by making it obvious that people will be punished for such actions.

Due to the vast numbers arrested it suddenly became necessary for several hundred people to be tried. Overnight courts have meant that some cases can be dealt with promptly so they don’t drag on for months. Rioters have been seen to face justice while people are still thinking about the events that took place. Hundreds of people have gone through the court system already, very few of whom would have done had the court been operating at their usually schedule. Many are likely to face custodial sentences.

There have been convictions for a variety of offenses, including robbery, arson, violent disorder and public disorder. Those found guilty have included people from all backgrounds, with many facing sentencing at a later date. Some of those who have pleaded guilty have already been sentenced while others have been referred to the Crown Court. For these people, a more in-depth trial will take place in due course.

It has been questioned whether or not fast tracking these cases through the courts is the best way to deal with them. Some have stated that convictions are being rushed into just to get them done, without enough time to really establish the facts of the crimes of the individual concerned with each case. Some see the courts operating overnight as a way of making a point (perhaps a valid one) rather than the best way of treating a criminal case. They see it as a political decision rather than a judicial one. With overnight courts everyone, including judges, solicitors and defendants, are tired and this can contribute to the wrong decisions being made.

There is no doubt that much criminality has taken place and that those responsible must face the consequence. Although thousands of people across the country have been guilty of serious crimes, the majority of the population across the country has been quick to condemn those responsible. It is hoped that the actions taken against the guilty parties will discourage others from getting involved in similar actions in the future.

Andrew Marshall ©

Charity in the Current Economy

2011-08-12T02:46:00.000-07:00

The economic situation over the last few years has had a major impact on British society. But what impact has it had on charities and charitable donations? Have people been giving less to charity? With people having become employed, and others with reduced or unchanged incomes, many people have less disposable income so they don’t have as much they are able to give away. This article investigates the impact of the economy on different aspect of charity.

The government have made cuts to many areas of spending, something that is set to continue. One area in which money is being saved is by charity funding being reduced. Some have lost around half of their funding while others have lost it all. Many rely on this funding as well as individual charitable donations. More than 2,000 charities are being forced to close services and it is particularly having an impact on smaller charities.

Compared to pre-recession figures, the total amount of charitable donations by individuals has dropped by around £700 million a year. Fewer people are giving money to charity and those who are giving are tending to give less.

Cash charitable donations makes up a higher percentage of giving that any other type of donation, 50% of the total. This is an area that is impacted by people’s personal circumstances. With the financial situation of many people very different to a few years ago this means a lot of people are unable to give as often as they would have previously. This is the area of charity that suffers most in an economic downturn.

People giving to charity in connection with natural disasters has been impacted less. Donations for those affected by disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have been as high as would normally be expected. These are more emotional decisions, for example based on seeing the devastation on television and being compelled to help out. In these circumstances people often give without thinking about their finances so much.

One area where the news has been good has been with charity shops. For one thing, more people are looking to work in charity shops. More people are unemployed so are free to volunteer their time or work for low wages. They would rather be doing some work or earning a little than be at home earning nothing. The most significant thing about charity shops in an economic downturn, though, is the number of people buying from them. With people having less disposable income it means they are less able to afford to shop at more expensive outlets. This is driving them to charity shops. It can be a great way of giving to charity for people struggling financially. Rather than spending more money by giving to charity, people are spending less money while still giving to charity.

Although the news is good with regard to charity shops, overall charities have been negatively impacted by the recession and its aftermath. Funding for charities is being reduced and people are donating less.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Is Divorce Always Wrong?

2011-08-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

Some believe that divorce is wrong under any circumstances, with some claiming that God is against it and it is a sin. In an ideal world every marriage would be a happy one and divorce would never be necessary. However, we don’t live in a perfect world and there are times where, for whatever reason, a marriage just isn’t working. There are times when a separation is the best, or even the only, option.

Adultery

It is very difficult for a marriage to survive adultery, especially for it to remain a loving and trusting marriage. If one spouse is unfaithful and his or her partner finds out, then it is often difficult for the victim to forgive. This means the marriage is unlikely to remain a happy one. In these circumstances a divorce may be the best option.

Long-term Affair

If one spouse is having an affair it is likely to seriously damage a relationship. It can be even more damaging than a short-term fling as it is more calculated and over a longer period. It is again likely to mean a lack of trust from the victim with divorce often the inevitable outcome.

Abuse

Where abuse is taking place within a relationship divorce can sometimes be the only option. No-one deserves to be physically or mentally abused and victims in these situations should be encouraged to look for a way out. This is even more the case where children are involved. If children see abuse in the household they may think of it as an example and believe this type of behaviour is acceptable. They may even be in danger of being abused themselves.

Addiction

One spouse being addicted to drugs or alcohol can cause problem within a relationship. It can lead to all manner of problem, including potential abuse. Those who suffer from addiction can receive help and it doesn’t have to spell the end of a marriage, but there are times when there may be no other solution.

It is an Unhappy Marriage

Happiness is the most important thing and there are times when people just aren’t, or are no longer, happy together. Maybe they can’t see eye to eye on the important issue and they are always arguing. This is not a healthy relationship and not an easy way to live. It is also not a healthy environment to bring children up in. Many couples “stay together for the kids”, but an unhappy, confrontational household, is not a good thing for children. If things really can’t be worked out then a separation may be the best option, both for the couple and for any children they may have.

Lack of Love

Sometimes couples simply fall out of love. They become tired of a relationship that no longer has the spark it once did. This is where things become difficult. There may not be one outstanding reason why the marriage cannot last, but neither spouse is as happy as they might be.

Divorce should not be encouraged but that does not mean it is wrong. Every situation is different and so is every couple, but there are circumstances where it is the best thing for all concerned.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Tuition Fees and Student Loans in England: The Changes and What it Means

2011-08-09T04:20:00.001-07:00

The amount that students of the future will have to pay in tuition fees in England is changing. The way they are paid for is also changing with an extension and revision of the student loan system.

Current Tuition Fees

Currently tuition fees are £3,290 a year for all university students, whichever university they attend and whichever course they take. This is going up to £3,375 for students starting in 2011. To pay for this grants are available, depending on a families earnings. For families who earn under £25,000 a year a grant of £2,906 is available, meaning only having to pay £384 a year in tuition fees after this. The available grant is reduced with increasing family earnings. Those with an annual income of £50,020 aren’t entitled to a grant. After the student grant is taken into consideration it is often parents who pay the tuition fees on behalf of their children.

How Does the Student Loan Work Now?

All students are entitled to a student loan to pay for their living costs through university. The amount that can be borrowed depends on each student’s personal situation. For those living in their family home (e.g. with their parents) a maximum of £3,838 a year is available with £4,950 available for those living away from home. The loan is increased for those studying in London. 72% of the above maximum amounts are available to all students, with the remaining 28% depending on family incomes.

The student loan does not have to be paid back until former students are earning above £15,000 a year. Once earning this amount repayments are automatically taken out of their salary at 9% of their earning above this amount. So those earning £16,000 will therefore pay 9% of £1,000 (£90) and those earning £30,000 will pay 9% of £15,000 (£1,350). This is then paid until the loan is fully paid off. More than this can be paid if former students wish to pay the loan off quicker.

Tuition Fees from 2012

Fees are going to be significant rising. Students beginning university from 2012 could pay up to £9,000 a year, with individual universities able to decide how much they will charge. Many have chosen to charge £9,000 for most, or all, of their courses.

How will this Work?

Students, and their parents, will not be able to pay upfront, something they currently are able to do. Students must take out a student loan to pay for their tuition fees, and can take more for living costs above this if required. There has been much controversy and debate over this. Even if the loan is only required for the tuition fess this could add up to £27,000 over three years.

It is not quite as bad as much of the media has made out though. As repayment is based on later earning, former students will not have to pay it back unless they earn a certain amount. If it is not paid back after 30 years the loan will be cancelled.

Although the amount of the loan students will require will be higher than it currently is, the good news is that the threshold is being increased to £21,000. So for someone earning £30,000 they will pay 9% of £9,000 (£810) rather than 9% of £15,000. This means that anyone paying off a student loan will be paying less a month than they would under the current system. Former students will be saving £540 a year. The downside is that they will be paying for longer.

Will University be Worth the Costs?

Whether university will be worth it in the long run ultimately depends on future earnings, something that is difficult to predict. Someone earning £30,000 and paying off their loan will be better off than someone earning £25,000 without a degree and without the loan. So it depends on the likely salary increase with a degree as opposed to not having one. If a prospective student is looking for employment in a sector where a degree is required or likely to lead to a higher salary, then it is likely to be worth the costs.

Should Parents Save for their Child’s University?

As mentioned above, tuition fees will not be able to be paid up front. Some parents have complained that they will suddenly need to find £9,000 a year, but this is untrue due to the loan system (with favourable conditions compared with other loans).

This doesn’t mean that savings on behalf of children isn’t a good idea. It is not just tuition fees that students need to pay, but living cost. And considering they may not be working, or be working part-time at best, this can be a burden. This could make the new Junior ISA scheme attractive to parents. The Junior ISA will allow for tax free savings, where parents will be able to pay up to £3,600 a year into a Junior ISA account on behalf of their children. This plus the accumulated interest will then be available to children once the turn eighteen, the age when many begin university.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Who Should Use a VPN?

2011-08-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

In the modern world online security is becoming more and more important. The internet is used for all sorts of reasons, potentially putting users at risk. This is where a VPN (virtual private network) comes in. A VPN can protect against security risks and prevent a computer or computer network from being compromised. Examples of where a VPN can be useful are where several people are sharing resources or where data security could be an issue for whatever reason. It allows for secure communications between different locations.

Below are some examples of where a VPN can be useful.

For a Business

A VPN enhances business security and can make a business much more flexible. It means employees are able to work from many locations. They can work from different offices, from home, or anywhere else using a laptop. They can do this while still working on a secure network. They are able to gain access to the company’s network without others being able to intercept it and can access the network wirelessly. For some businesses is can be very beneficial to have people working in several locations. Being able to do this securely can make employees much more productive.

Government Organisations

Government organisations store all kinds of data on many different things. This means they store billions of pieces of information, much of which needs to be kept securely. It is also often sent between different networks. It is vital that steps are taken to make sure security is not compromised.

Medical Records

These days all of our medical records are stored digitally. It is important, therefore, that people’s privacy is maintained. Medical records can be sent between doctor’s surgeries if patients are changing doctor and can be sent between a surgery and a hospital prior to a hospital visit. With information being exchanged in this way it makes security particularly important.

Wireless Hotspots

Many people use wireless hotspots to gain internet access using laptops, smart phones, and other internet enabled devices. These can be found in cafes and airports amongst other places. Something a lot of people don’t realise, though, it that they are not as secure as using the internet at home, for example, as they are relatively easy to intercept. Having a VPN installed onto the device you are using can prevent your private information from being hacked into.

Personal Information

People are using the internet more and more in everyday life and have all sorts of information on their computer. Many also shop online, meaning they input credit card details. It is therefore very important that people’s home computers are kept secure. A virtual private network will provide a crucial extra layer of security.

Whether you are a business, another type of organisation or an individual user, if you deal with sensitive information or information that must be kept secure, a VPN can help. Using a VPN makes any computer or computer system more secure by encrypting data so it cannot be interpreted and understood by those who should not have access.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Basic Food Hygiene Tips

2011-07-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Whether working in a professional kitchen or cooking in your own home, there are certain basic hygiene rules that should be followed. Some of these are outlined here.

Preparation for Cooking

One of the most important things to do is make sure you wash your hands thoroughly to rid them of any bacteria or other unwanted substances. Clean clothes should be worn while making food. You need to make sure jewellery and hair don’t get in the way while you are cooking and should remove any jewellery, and if you have long hair tie it back or use a hair net.

The cooking environment must be clean, so you should make sure any work surfaces you will be using, as well as kitchen equipment, is clean before you begin using them.

While Cooking

After doing anything other than cooking, including using the bathroom and sorting the bins out, you need to wash your hand again before you begin to handle food. You should also wash them after handling meat, fish or eggs to avoid the possibility of cross contamination or spreading bacteria.

It is important to make sure meat, fish, or anything containing eggs is cooked thoroughly; make sure it is cooked all the way through. This will reduce the possibility of food poisoning. Fruit and vegetable should be carefully washed before use. Do not use the same chopping boards for meat and other types of food.

Where necessary make sure food it fully defrosted before being cooked or eaten.

Food Storage

Don’t keep food for longer than is safe to do so. The period food is safe for varies widely depending on the type of food. Most food packaging contains information about this. Always check this before cooking or consuming a particular product. It is especially important that meat products are not used after their used by date. Never use eggs after the best before date as this could result in Salmonella poisoning.

Fridges and freezers need to be kept at a low temperature. A fridge should be below 5 degrees centigrade and a freezer below -18 degrees centigrade.

After Cooking

It may not be everyone’s idea of fun but after cooking everything needs to be cleaned up. All utensils that have been used to prepare a meal must be washed up in hot soapy water. All work surfaces that have been used should be thoroughly cleaned.

There may be food that you have not used to make a meal but you still want to keep. This should be fully covered. For some foods wrapping it in foil may suffice, but for others they may need to be kept in sealable, plastic containers. This is especially wise for meat and dairy products. Tins and packets containing food should not be left open in the fridge or cupboard. Food should be frozen or refrigerated where necessary.

Food hygiene is of crucial importance. It ensures that contamination and food poisoning is avoided. Although important, making sure you are cooking in a safe environment is relatively simple by following some basic rules of food safety.

Andrew Marshall (c)

The Benefits of a VPN

2011-07-20T01:43:00.001-07:00

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a private network that uses a public network, such as the internet, to transfer data. It uses this to connect people and is a secure way of connecting to a network without being physically connected. A virtual network is where the connection does not use leased lines.

All kinds of organisations use VPN’s, including businesses, educational institutions and government organisations. It allows people to access the network wherever they are as long as they have access to the VPN client. The VPN client is the software that is installed onto a desktop or laptop computer and is used to connect to the virtual private network.

There are many benefits for organisations that choose to use a VPN.

By using a virtual private network users are able to connect to a network from remote locations. For a business’s employees this can be from other offices, from home, from a meeting or on the train. This can make employees more productive as they can work more efficiently or when they might otherwise be idle (for example on the train on the way to a business meeting). Employees are able to access files wherever they are as long as they have access. This means they can be just as productive as when in the office and don’t have to worry about making sure they have saved files remotely. They know they can access them whenever they need to.

Possibly the main reason for using a VPN is the security it offers. With so much data held on computer networks these days it means that network security is of crucial importance. Using a virtual private network will make a data transferred over the network, or across different networks, secure. It uses encryption so data can’t be easily interpreted. This means data is scrambled during transmission from one computer to another so it can’t be easily understood.

Everyone wants to save on costs, and a VPN can help achieve cost savings. Firstly, costs can be saved simply on the physical technology used. When using a VPN leased lines are not needed as they are with other networks. This is because connections are made using the internet. The internet is used instead of being physically connected using wires. Partly due to this, updating a VPN network is inexpensive.

Costs do not rise significantly as a network grows. So if an organisation grows and needs to expand their network the outlay is not particularly high. If needing to connect to a number of different locations other networks can be expensive, but with a VPN this isn’t the case. Setting up users or locations is much simpler.

Network performance can be improved when using a VPN. The bandwidth and efficiency of the network is generally higher than with other networks.

Virtual Private Networks are becoming more popular. They can be very beneficial, particularly to businesses. They can make employees more productive and keep down costs, two things that are of crucial importance to businesses.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Advantages of Property Investment

2011-07-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

Property investment is an expensive business but there are many advantages and the potential for significant gains. This article explores the advantages of property investment.

Properties will always be valuable. If you invest in a business it can go bust but this isn’t really the case with property. Prices may change but people will always need homes. The demand for housing will never disappear, so the possibility of being able to sell an investment property will always be there. This is particularly the case at the moment with much of the UK suffering from a lack of housing.

A major plus of property investment compared to other forms of investing is that you can rent it out as its value increases. With most investments you have to sit back and wait before cashing in at a later date. With property investment you can be gaining an income in the form of rent, which can be used to pay the mortgage. So, as well as making money on the investment, you are making money on the rent.

Another thing that sets property apart from other investments is the possibility of obtaining a mortgage to pay for it. A high proportion of the money you need to invest in a property can be borrowed, meaning you don’t need a hundred percent of the capital.

With property there is less risk. It is very unlikely that a property’s value is suddenly going to be wiped out. There are fluctuations in the market but the value is almost always going to increase in the long term. Sometimes prices will rise quickly and sometimes less so, but it will usually rise over a period. Many properties are currently worth less than they were a few years ago (due to the current economy) but they are likely to grow again. The vast majority of properties will be worth more in five years time than they were five years ago. Patience may at times be required with property investment, but it will usually pay off in the end.

If you are looking for a very long term investment then property is the way to go. Over something like thirty years property will usually rise significantly. It may not rise as much in the future as it did between the 1960’s and the 1990’s, for example, but it will still rise significantly. Investing in just one property can for some produce enough returns for retirement. If it is possible to invest in several properties the possibilities are endless.

One disadvantage of investing in property is that it is an expensive investment. If only looking to invest a small amount then property isn’t for you. When investing in a business you can invest in a few shares (or even one share), but with property you are probably looking at a six figure sum. However, as already mentioned, you don’t need it all in cash; you can borrow it. Although the outlay may be a lot, for those who can afford it the return could be much more significant than other types of investment.

Many previously rundown areas have improved over time. Investing in such areas can be a good choice. It is a little risky as a lack of improvement could mean only a small return, or perhaps none at all. This means choosing the right area is of crucial importance. Many previously rundown areas have seen a dramatic change in fortunes and are now sought after areas to live in, with property prices having soared. Properties in such areas can be bought relatively cheaply.

Is now a good time to invest in property? The property market is not at its strongest at the moment but that doesn’t mean it is not a good time to invest. The immediate future is not easy to predict but property prices will eventually rise again. It is possible to buy for less than it was a few years ago, and that could make now the perfect time to invest. The rental market is strong at the moment with many looking for properties to rent so renting out properties is unlikely to be a problem.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Charitable Giving by Nation

2011-07-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

It is not easy to establish which countries give more to charity as there are so many ways of giving. Some give money will others contribute time and assistance to good causes. Some countries give a lot to charity through governments and other schemes while in others it is individual people who give more.

Amongst people who give to charitable causes, they all give in different ways. Some give as a percentage of their salary (common in the US for religious causes). Some give regular, small amounts while others donate less often but larger amounts. The types of charities people give to also vary. Some prefer religious organisations (who then use if for a variety of causes). Others prefer local charities and small charities close to their heart. Some are emotionally affected by large natural disasters and give to related charities.

Percentage of Gross National Income (GNI)

The Gross National Income is the total amount every individual in a country earns. According to this measure, Northern European countries donate a higher percentage than any other part of the world. Sweden, Norway and Luxembourg give the most, all over 1% of their gross national income. They are followed by Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Total Amount Donated

In theory highly populated countries are more likely to donate a large total. The highest populated countries, China and India, do not figure towards the top of the rankings, although the average wealth of people in those countries is not as high as much of the Western world. In terms of the total amount that is donated to charitable causes, the United States leads the way, followed by France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.

The US are only 19th as a percentage of GNI but top it total amount, due to their larger population compared with those towards the top of the GNI table. France gives 0.46% of their GNI and is in 11th in the table, with Germany 15th and Japan 21st. Countries with smaller populations, such as Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium give less in total (as they are smaller countries) but more as a percentage of GNI.

Humanitarian Aid as a Percentage of GNI

The Middle Eastern countries are prominent in this table. Saudi Arabia is top (0.15% of GNI). Kuwait (0.15%) and the United Arab Emirates (0.04%) are also in the top ten. Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark are second, third and fourth respectively in this table. The United States, Germany, Japan and Portugal make up the top ten.

Average Charitable Donations per Person

Luxembourg is the only country whose people give over $100 on average per year ($114). Norway is second ($96) and Sweden third ($66). Irish and Danish people also donate over $50 a year on average. The other nations in the top ten are the Netherlands, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Finland and Switzerland.

Time Given to Charitable Causes

In terms of time spent assisting good causes, North American’s give the most. Canadians give the most time followed by those from the United States. 25% of Canadians and 20% of American’s give their time.

World Giving Index

The World Giving Index is an index based on giving money to charity, volunteering time and helping strangers. Each country’s population is taken into consideration. The Australasian countries of Australia and New Zealand are the top two, followed by Ireland, Canada, Switzerland and the United States.

Andrew Marshall (c)

The Great Depression and its Causes

2011-07-15T01:37:00.001-07:00

The Great Depression was the worldwide economic depression of the 1930’s. It was the longest and most widespread depression of the 20th century affecting the whole of the western world.

It originated in the United States when stock prices began to fall at the beginning of September 1929. The 29th October became known as Black Tuesday and was the point where the financial crises spread worldwide. This eventually led to a lack of consumer confidence. The general public were expecting deflation and didn’t want to spend until prices fell, which contributed to a struggling economy. People were also reluctant to borrow so they didn’t have as much to spend as they might have otherwise.

The Great Depression had a big effect on jobs. Businesses failed and new businesses weren’t starting up so there weren’t replacement jobs for those who became unemployed. Major industries such as automobiles and farming struggled, which resulted in mass unemployment. It also meant people had less money further increasing the economic downfall. Initially it was the US that suffered but it quickly impacted other areas.

Between 1929 and 1932 the United States’ foreign trade declined by 70% and industrial production fell by 46%. Unemployment increased massively; by 607%. Other countries such as Great Britain, France and Germany also suffered a lot, although not quite as much as the United States.

There are a number of things that may have caused or contributed to the beginning of the Great Depression. The main ones are outlined below:

Debt Inflation

Too much debt meant that the cost of debt increased. People and businesses who were in debt were put into spiralling problems as interest rates on borrowing increased. This had the eventual impact of banks failing because loans could not be paid back.

Disparities in Production and Incomes

The economy was producing more than it was able to sell because consumers didn’t have enough income to purchase everything that was being made. This was in part because of unequal distributions in wealth, meaning that many had no, or very little, disposable income. Although much was being produced there wasn’t an adequate market for these products. Large factories were producing endless product that they could not sell.

Structural Problems Within Financial Institutions

Banks and other financial institutions were not well positioned to cope with the financial crises. Much of this was connected to farming. Farm prices fell drastically in the late 20’s and interest rates went up just as dramatically. This put farmers, as well as the institutions they owed money to, in real trouble. Many, mostly small, banks specialised in farming and had major problems. It was not only small banks who were to blame though. Large banks failed to maintain adequate reserves. Too much lending and investing heavily in the stock market proved a major mistake. All this meant that in a tough economic situation banks were badly positioned.

Collapse of International Trade

After the First World War, many European nations owed large sums of money to the US. Despite much pressure, the US refused to forgive or reduce the debts. The only way these could be repaid was for these countries to borrow further. The US banks started loaning large amounts to Europe so they could repay their own debts to the US government. Once the Great Depression hit it was no longer possible for these countries to borrow from US banks meaning the whole situation got more out of control. This caused the European economies to collapse further.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act 1930

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act raised tariffs on many goods imported into the United States, meaning higher taxes for importers. Many were against it, including Henry Ford. President Hoover was initially oppose but was convinced by his party and some business leaders. Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke out against the policy in his presidential campaign. The aim was to raise money and improve the economic situation in the US, but it had the opposite effect. Importers unsurprisingly began to pull out as it was no longer worth the cost. Other countries were unhappy with the policy with many boycotting the US and retaliating with their own policies by increase taxes on their own imports from America. All this meant fewer business exchanges between the US and other countries. Global trade was impacted and the world’s economy went further down hill.

Not everyone agrees as to the main cause of the Great Depression and it is likely that is was a combination of reasons. It began in late 1929 and it lasted throughout the 1930’s and it wasn’t until the early 1940’s that its affect was over.

Andrew Marshall (c)

The History of Southampton

2011-07-14T01:30:00.001-07:00

Southampton is believed to have been inhabited since the Stone Age. It was once called Porth Hamon, after Lelius Hamo, a traitor who murdered the King during the Roman invasion of Britain. Much later, during the Anglo-Saxon period, the settlement grew into a relatively large settlement to the West of the Itchen River. This evolved into Hampton, which is where the country of Hampshire gets its name from. Its growth has continued to this day.

The Port and Docks

Southampton’s port has played an important role in the City’s history. It has been important for employment in the area, and has at times been crucial to imports into Britain and played its part in both World Wars.

It first came to prominence during the 13th Century, in part due to wine imports from France. Among noticeable departures from Southampton was the Mayflower’s sailing to the United States in 1620, then know as the “New World”.

The Southampton Docks Company was founded in 1835, with the docks opened in 1842. Largely due to this the railway link between the City and London opened in 1840. During this period the Southampton Docks became known as “The Gateway to the Empire” as it was seen as the main entrance point into the British Empire (this was before air travel).

In the Middle Ages shipbuilding became an important industry for Southampton, which continued to be the case into the present century. On 10th April 1912 the Titanic famously left Southampton for its maiden voyage that ended in disaster and the loss of 1,517 lives.

During World War 1 and World War 2 ships were built and repaired in Southampton. It was central to the preparation for the Invasion of Europe in 1944. During World War 2 it was attacked on numerous occasions killing 630 people in total and injuring over 2,000.

Southampton has been the home port of both the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth cruise liners.

Southampton’s Walls

In 1338 Southampton was attacked by France. This caused Edward III to order walls to be built to close the City in and avoid or limit the damage of further attacks. Its building was completed during the following century. Some of the walls still exist to this day as do some of the accompanying towers and gates.

Other Significant Moments in Southampton’s History

During the English Civil War of 1642-1651 Parliament Troops were stationed in Southampton. Royalists attempted to take the City and got close, but were eventually forced out. During Victorian times Southampton expanded significantly. Its population grew and much development occurred. In 1740 the City became a Spa town, with Spa’s built in the area that is now home to the West Quay Shopping Centre.

As mentioned earlier, World War 2 took its toll on Southampton. As well as the loss of life much of its buildings were damaged and large parts of it was levelled. A large amount of redevelopment has taken place since. Southampton currently has a population of around 235,000.

Andrew Marshall (c)

For Solicitors Southampton visit the Lester Aldridge website.

An Introduction to the Junior ISA

2011-07-13T02:21:00.001-07:00

The Junior ISA will likely be launched in November 2011 and has in some ways been designed as a replacement for the Child Trust Fund, which was discontinued after the current government came to power.

What was the Child Trust Fund?

The Child Trust Fund was introduced by the previous Labour government to encourage saving on behalf of children. Parents were given a £250 CTF voucher when their child was born that they could invest in a choice of investment products. They were given another £250 voucher upon their child’s seventh birthday, although few reached this age before the scheme was discontinued. Parents were also able to invest up to £1,200 a year in the account, with interest gained on this plus the invested voucher. The idea was for children to then have access to the accumulated amount from their eighteenth birthday. This scheme will continue for children who already had a Child Trust Fund set up on their behalf but without the seven year payment from the government. This means that for the most part things won’t change for those who have a Child Trust Fund.

The Junior ISA

The Junior ISA will be in place of the Child Trust Fund. Children born before or after the period the Child Trust Fund was in operation for will be eligible. Parents won’t get the two payments from the government, therefore saving the government money, which was the main reason for the Child Trust Fund being scrapped.

The Junior ISA will offer tax free savings meaning a good opportunity for parents to save on behalf of their children so they have some funds to begin their adult life with. It will have many of the benefits of a regular ISA in terms of the tax free benefits. Accounts will be available from High Street Banks, Building Societies and other ISA Providers.

As with an adult ISA, investments will be able to be made into a Cash ISA or Stocks and Shares ISA according to parents’ preference. This can be split however parents see fit.

How Much can be Invested?

The amount parents will be able to invest will be increasing from the limit of the Child Trust Fund. It will likely increase from £1,200 to £3,000 a year. The reason there is a limit is so there isn’t a potentially endless amount of tax free savings.

The money will be locked into the account until a child turns eighteen. At this age the account will automatically become an adult ISA. It can then be withdrawn or can be invested in further according to the rules that apply to a regular ISA.

If parents are able to invest the full amount of around £3,000 a year, with interest it could be worth over £100,000 after eighteen years. Even for those who can’t afford to invest such a high amount a little each month could build up to a significant amount over an eighteen year period. Some have criticised the government for withdrawing the payment they contributed but over an eighteen year period the two £250 payments were only the equivalent to £28 a year or £2.32 a month.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Google Plus, Facebook and VoIP

2011-07-12T01:26:00.001-07:00

Google Plus

Google has unveiled its new social networking site, Google Plus (or Google+), seemingly in an attempt to compete with social networking giant Facebook. One of the things it has done that isn’t currently possible with Facebook, is have in-built VoIP, meaning users will be able to have voice conversations through Google Plus. It allows people to create groups of friends called Hangouts, who will then be able to have one integrated voice conversation of up to ten people at a time. This isn’t currently even possible with Facebook’s instant text messaging service, which only allows for one-to-one conversations.

Facebook Voice Integration

Just after the unveiling of Google Plus, though, Facebook have made their own announcement concerning VoIP integration. They have done a deal with VoIP Provider, Skype, which is in the process of being bought by another of Google’s biggest rivals, Microsoft. The Skype-Microsoft merger still needs to be cleared by regulators but is almost certain to happen. The Facebook-Skype deal will allow Facebook to offer their users video and voice calling by integrating a Skype VoIP service on the Chat section of their website, where instant messaging is possible. This means that in future voice and video conversations will be possible through the world’s most successful social networking site.

Is the Timing a Coincidence?

So, is it a coincidence that Facebook have announced this just as Google make their own announcement? Or are they only trying to follow suit and make sure Google don’t get one over them? Well no, Facebook have been working on this for some time, although the timing of their announcement may not be such a coincidence.

Are Facebook Users Likely to Switch to Google Plus

There will inevitably be differing opinions as to the individual merits of each social networking site. Google are attempting to market their alterative as a social networking site with more choice of who sees what content. Users will be able to choose which of their “circle” of friends can see certain content. This could be seen as an attempt to have better privacy settings. It will be difficult for them to dislodge Facebook though. Facebook has become the default social networking site in much the same way as Google has become the default search engine. Even if Google Plus has certain advantages many are likely to stick with Facebook, partly because it is where many of their friends are. In terms of the voice option, Facebook announcing their agreement with Skype could limit the chances of users switching to Google Plus.

Is a Voice Option Something Users Want?

Are social networking sites something people will use to talk to family and friends, or do they just use the phone or regular VoIP for this? This is something we are at this stage unsure of. People often use text messaging instead of making a telephone call, and instant messaging could be the equivalent to text messaging with each platform’s VoIP system being the equivalent to a telephone call.

Exactly where the social networking battle will go from here is difficult to say. It will likely take some time for Google Plus to really eat into the Facebook market, but only time will tell.

Andrew Marshall (c)

How Interior Window Shutters Can Suit Whatever the Weather

2011-07-11T02:21:00.000-07:00

There are many advantages of Interior Shutters. They bring an elegance to a home and add to its value. They are a great alternative to other window coverings such as the more common curtains or blinds.

One of the major advantages of interior window shutters is that they offer adjustability. If you have shutters installed, you can adjust the amount of light, air and heat coming through to suit the weather conditions.

Hot and Humid

In extreme heat you may want to protect your home from the blistering sun and the humidity. Keeping the window closed will be preferable to keep the humidity out (especially if you have air conditioning). Keeping the shutter louvres closed, meanwhile, will protect from the sun.

Hot and Sunny, but not Humid

If it is hot and sunny, but without the humidity, then you might want to let more air in to keep the room as cool as possible. The louvres could be closed to some extent to protect against the brightness of the sun. It comes down to personal preference whether you would like the sun blocked out altogether or would like some sunlight coming in. The louvres can be adjusted as appropriate, either being completely closed or partly closed.

Hot and Overcast

If it is overcast sunlight doesn’t present a problem. The warm weather might mean wanting to let air in, and without the sunlight you will be able to have the shutters open. With the windows open this could let in the maximum amount of air possible.

Hot and Raining

Again, the warm weather might mean wanting to let air into the home. Depending on the rain, though, you won’t want your home getting wet. You can adjust both how open the window is and the shutters to get the appropriate balance.

Cool and Sunny

In cool weather you are likely to want the window closed. If it is sunny, you might prefer not too much sunlight to be coming through. You could therefore close the shutters completely or open the louvres to let in the preferable amount of light.

Cool and Cloudy

If it is cool and cloudy you might want to let in the full amount of light possible. You can therefore have the shutters completely open as sunlight won’t be a problem. In extreme cold weather, on the other hand, you might want to insulate against the cold. With thick wooden shutters, especially solid shutters, you can achieve more insulation by having the shutters closed.

As can be seen from reading the above, depending on the weather conditions shutters, as well as windows themselves, can be adjusted as appropriate to let in the optimum amount of sunlight, air and heat. Obviously some of this come down to personal preferences; some people prefer it hot while others prefer it cooler, and some prefer to protect against the sun while other love it. This means that whatever the weather is doing you can create an atmosphere in your home that suits.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Divorced Fathers and the Influence of their Relationship with Children

2011-07-07T04:21:00.001-07:00

When parent’s divorce, the relationship each parent has with their children can have a significant influence on their lives. This article looks at the importance and influence of a child’s relationship with his/her Father if he no longer lives in the family home.

In the UK around 9 in 10 single resident parents are female, meaning after divorce many children do not have daily contact with their Father. There is evidence to suggest that around a quarter of children never see a parent they don’t live with.

Just because a Father does not live with his children does not mean the relationship is not an important one. It is generally see as important that boys have a positive role model to look up to; a role that should be taken on by his Father. Whether or not this influence exists, as well as the nature of this influence, it can have an impact on a child’s behaviour as an adult.

There are potential negative impacts on a boy if his Father is not around, especially if there is no positive male influence in his life. As he doesn’t have a male role model he may not understand how he should behave. If in a female dominated household (possible with his Mother and Sisters) he may feel like he doesn’t have anyone to talk to about certain issues; that there is no-one who can understand his feelings. This can cause behavioural and other problems. It has been suggested that having no Father around can increase the chances of depression.

The issues for boys not having a Father figure may be more obvious, but it can also be important for girls. It can impact their relationships with men in the future. Not being in regular contact with a man means that a girl may not have the same understanding of female-male relationships as they might otherwise have.

Some studies have shown that the behaviour of boys is worse where there is no relationship with a Father. They are more likely to behave worse at school, more likely to turn to alcohol and drugs and more likely to commit a criminal offence. Of course, this doesn’t mean any child whose Father is not around will have these problems, but they are more common amongst Fatherless children than for children whose Father’s are in regular contact with them.

It is not just whether a Father is around that is important but the quality of the relationship and the specific influence he has. How much time they spend together is important; whether they have weekly contact or only see each other once in a blue moon. Children need someone to talk to about their problems so it is important that a Father is someone they can talk to, especially as there are issues that may require a male point of view.

If a Fathers influence is negative, on the other hand, then a relationship between Father and child is not necessarily a good thing. For example with a Son, negative behaviour from a Father may give them an idea of how to behave, but not the right way to behave. It may make certain unacceptable behaviour seem acceptable.

Children tend to want both of their parents involved in their lives. Some studies have reported that most children with separated parents think that the main negative influence of the breakup of their parents’ relationship is losing or having less contact with their Father. The vast majority want contact with their Father, this goes for both those who currently do have contact and those who do not.

How do step-Fathers come into this? Perhaps not surprisingly, evidence shows that relationships between step-Fathers and children are less close than between biological Fathers and their children. However in many cases it can grow into a positive relationship, they can become a positive role model. As with a biological Father, a relationship between a step-Father and children can influence their behaviour both negatively and positively.

Andrew Marshall (c)

Bross Bennet are Divorce Solicitors London.

Steel and Shamash are Family Law Solicitors.