Cell Phone in Life Essay

In modern life, cell phone is an indispensable tool to all people. To everyone, a cell phone is a magic tool, which is a mean of telecommunication, an entertainment device and a great work supporter. To me, I cannot imagine how I can live without my phone. The basic function of a cell phone is to connect people. We use our cell phones to communicate with the other ones. For example, we can talk to parents and send our love to them in a thousand mile away in a second. We can help people who are in an emergency with a finger. Or simply, we can gather our friends to hang out have fun with easy calls or texts. A cell phone is a magic tool, which can help us contact people only with a hand. Moreover, a cell phone is an excellent tool we need for our studying and business. At school, some applications of cell phone help us solving the problems in class. For example, we can record the lectures of professors in class and watch his lecture again at home in order to better understand the knowledge, or when applying knowledge, we can take some pictures in the lab class to observe our lab results better. At work, our cell phones can be a USB to store data, or a mini computer to send our report, and even a small portable computer to surf the Internet, which is essentially important to every businessman. A cell phone is vital to an entrepreneur or a student‘s career. Finally, another advantage of cell phones is to entertain. In our cell phones, we can store our favorite songs to listen to when feeling sad, videos and pictures of our beloved ones to view when we miss them, which makes us happier. We can also play games in our cell phones, helping us burning off stress and starting to feel happy again. Without cell phones, our life would be much less enjoyable. For instance, your best friend is upset about problems of her or his family. You can comfort her or him by your favorite songs, and then look for something fun, like game or funny video to relax. With a cell phone, we will never have to be sad for a long time. Today, everybody prepares himself or herself with a cell phone, like a vital thing in his or her modern life. As the cell phones are improved with advance functions, they will make our lives more convenient and comfortable. People are advised to equipped themselves with a cell phone to improve their lives.

Olaudah Equiano’s the Interesting Narrative Essay

Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, is the story of the eponymous real-life character, Olaudah Equiano, his life, trials, tribulations and journey from slavery at an early age to freedom. For Equiano, it seems that slavery is almost a metaphysical phenomenon. His entire life is essentially characterized by the different experiences relating slavery, from Africa to the Middle Passage to plantation life in the West Indies and United States. Equiano’s views on slavery are tough to articulate and truly complex. Throughout the novel he makes reference to different ‘degrees of slavery,’ at times condemning the practice, and at other times contradicting himself and seemingly lauding it. I believe that his conflicting views are products of his first hand experience with nearly all aspects of the practice, and near the end of the novel it is clear that he is in favor of ending slavery. See more: what is a narrative essay Although he was kidnapped at the age of eleven, Equiano’s familiarity with slavery actually begins long before that. Born in a region that is today known as Nigeria. His father a chief, (and ironically himself would eventually reach the same status if not for his kidnapping years later), Equiano’s family was considered ‘upper-class,’ and thus owned their own number of slaves. I believe that this is the beginning and serves as the basis of which he compares the slavery he experiences later in his lifetime to, and also what may serve as the beginning of his conflicting emotion towards the practice in general. He makes note that slaves in this community, while under the direction of a master and with clear distinction of a ‘lesser importance,’ are still treated in a humane way. On his own account, these slaves do a comparable amount of work to that of other members of the community. When put into perspective, with no knowledge of what’s to come (in regards to subsequent experiences in different aspects and degrees of slavery) at this point it is easy to see why Equiano has not yet condemned the idea or practice of slavery. Shortly thereafter, Equiano is kidnapped (along with his sister, though the two are eventually separated), He narrates being taken on a long, arduous voyage through a variety of African regions, during which he had â€Å"often changed masters.† He is first sold across Africa, first to a chieftain, and shortly after to a widow. After which, he is ultimately sold to the owner of a ship destined for the West Indies. Equiano dubs this Atlantic voyage himself â€Å"The Middle Passage,† and this is where I believe his journey truly begins. Equiano elaborates on his introduction and subsequent alienation to the European culture and their treatment of slaves. He details the substandard living conditions and destitution of living aboard the slave ship, and being a stark contrast to the concept of slavery he knew back in Africa, I believe this is the defining moment where his viewpoint regarding slavery is partitioned. I think it’s important to note that when Equiano is enslaved by fellow Africans, he makes note of the strong contrasts and class distinctions between himself and them. He makes direct comparisons between himself and the class he hails from, and these other Africans, going as far as to call them â€Å"barbaric† and â€Å"uncivilized.† I believe that this is worth noting, because it’s almost paradoxical how he is very quick to condemn these people and their form of slavery, while at the same time not criticizing the slavery that took place in his own village when he was a child. Though not yet acknowledging it, I believe that this is when he begins to form his own ‘tiers’ of the practice of slavery. After arriving at the West Indies and experiencing the sale of slaves firsthand, Equiano continues along with the slave ship to North America, and ultimately purchased by a naval captain, Michael Pascal to work in Virginia. Again he is subjected to cruel treatment inside the slaveholders’ homes. This is, I believe, the turning point that eventually leads to Equiano’s final resolution. He details being shocked and hurt to the point where he tries to wash the color of his skin off his face. While travelling the seas with Pascal, Equiano has many more encounters in and with Britain. With more and more exposure to Christianity and European culture, he details that he was no longer frightened and apprehensive towards it, beginning to show confluence of African and European cultures. He was eventually sent to school in Britain, educated and shortly after, baptized. It is worth noting that later in the novel he often relates his new religious standpoint to his enslavement. While becoming a Christian himself, whether or not he holds responsible God, himself, or the hypocritical Christian Europeans for his enslavement is left ambiguous. Ultimately, (and after brief stints of being purchased by other masters) Equiano is sold to Robert King. Educated and under the direction of a master treating him relatively fair, Equiano here observes another facet of slavery. He is further educated and directed along the path of Christianity, which I believe further adds more conflicting emotion, due to it being comparable to his original notion of slavery from his childhood. While working for King on shipping routes, he determines himself to save some money on the side, in order to buy his freedom from King. Interesting to note though, in the novel he explicitly states that he would like to return to Old England, not Africa. While I think this is further evidence of his confluence of English and African cultures, I believe that this is also the beginning of his plea against the practice of slavery, as later in the novel we find out that he does indeed buy his freedom, and much later returns to London and become involved in the abolitionist movement. In conclusion, it is clear to see that in the mind of Equiano, slavery is not simple a one-sided condemnation. From birth until freedom, he has lived and experienced all aspects of slavery, from his family owning slaves to being purchased himself. It’s an interesting and unique point of view that few (if any more) people who were involved in the practice of slavery experienced themselves. In the end, I think it is clear to the reader that Equiano is against the notion of slavery, but I believe that’s a conclusion he came to because of personal experience along with education and indulgement of European culture. While I don’t believe he accepts the practice of slavery, I believe that he accepts slavery as part of how he defines of himself, almost as if slavery could not be abolished were it not conceived in the first place.

Why I find the Lemon Law interesting and what the Lemon Law Is about Research Paper

Why I find the Lemon Law interesting and what the Lemon Law Is about - Research Paper Example This was the first ever consumer protection law filed in the U.S. (Paterson The History of the Lemon Law). The creation of the Federal Trade Commission in 1914 provided consumers with further protection from deceitful business practises and brought in regulations to prevent collusion in the marketplace. In the 1930s, a flurry of government activity at all levels during President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal era saw the creation of a number of regulatory bodies to protect consumers. The Lemon Law also saw its first incarnation in 1906 under the guise of the Uniform Sales Act. Cowan (The History of Lemon Laws) explains that before 1952s Uniform Commercial Code, commerce laws were not really united under one law. In fact, it was not until 1970 when the Song- Beverly Consumer Warranty Act was created. This was the basis for our modern lemon laws. Under this particular act consumers would be protected against defective products. The Federal version of the Lemon Law which is known as the Magnuson-Moss Act was finally passed in 1975 and this act became the basis of our modern Lemon Laws. (Cowan The History of Lemon Laws). Under the Magnuson-Moss Act the buyer is protected when purchasing a vehicle because: This lemon law states that any advertised guarantee should explicitly state relevant information about a warranty. This law ensures that any warranty for goods above $15 should be clearly expressed on the goods and should be clear and easy to understand. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty act enables a consumer to bring suit to any manufacturer, supplier, warrantor, or service contractor for any defective piece of good or services. (StateLawyers.com) The term Lemon Law was originally coined by the government in an effort to describe the laws that the government had set into place in order to protect automobile (thats a car to you and me) buyers from defects. The basic definition of the law basically states that: Lemon Law refers to the

Retirement Awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Retirement Awareness - Essay Example Early health problems often result in an early exodus from the professional arena. Larry: I decided to retire early in 2003. I had formed a consulting service named Benyshek and Hough Consulting Services Inc. The services provided by our firm are management of dataset and develop into readily-accessible form to be used by cattle production forms, commercial producers, breeders, feedlots, and packing plants. We provide the expertise in EPDs, ultrasound and all areas of animal breeding and genetics. The consultation service needed full time work in the firm and I considered early retirement from the office. Larry: I did not receive any training especially on retirement but I have gathered some information from my old colleagues who talked about it generally. The topic is of common interest to all employees and therefore I got lots of information and awareness on it. I understood the importance of retirement planning and saving money for retirement. I was aware of pension scheme of the university and started saving for the future. Larry: Yes. I am very much comfortable. I enjoyed my life while working as University Professor where I had the opportunity to write numerous Articles and made countless presentations on my subject and received international recognition. I am still working on my own and have no financial problems. Larry: Yes, although I have retired as a university professor but I am still working as private consultant. I am fully enjoying my time with my colleagues and family. Retirement relieves you from the hectic routines of professional life. At the same time it gave me an opportunity to spend some time with my family and kids for which I have longed all my life. This is certainly a relaxing experience with no liabilities and work pressure. All I do is have a nice time and look after my private business which is going pretty well for me. Larry: I am regular visitor of Church and participate in social activities of

European Business Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

European Business Practice - Essay Example These include free movement of goods, free movement of people, free movement of services and free movement/transfer of capita (McCormick, 2011). Some of the benefits are as discussed below. Businesses have greatly benefited from the single market. The EU being a free trade area, single market allows the businesses to operate and conduct their business activities in an unhindered manner. Companies have the freedom to invest in any of the member countries as international trade has been fostered. Goods can be accessed at cheaper prices, and the transportation has become easier due to improved infrastructure (Euromove, 2011). The policies for conducting business between the EU member countries have been made more favourable and hence, companies have increased the rate at which they carry out activities and operations. Countries have also benefited greatly from the European Union. This union has boosted and promoted the development of infrastructure, telecommunications and development of trade centers (Weresa, 2010). One example of a country that has benefited from such is Scotland, which is a member country. In the country, roads have been developed, security has been boosted due to the combined armed forces and the level of living standards has been raised as the EU, through structural funds, has given and funded a big percentage of people who are below the poverty line (McCormick, 2011). Another benefit can be seen in terms of economic growth and creation of employment opportunities. Research conducted shows that between 1992 and 2006, the Single market program fostered development as the European Union GDP rose by 2.2 % to 233 billion euros. This, in return, led to the creation of 2.75 million jobs spread across the member countries (Daneshku, 2014; European Union, 2013). Personal benefits can also be realised from being EU members. One has the unlimited

Different ways of manufacturing aluminum Research Paper

Different ways of manufacturing aluminum - Research Paper Example minum has thousands of different applications particularly in construction and manufacturing sectors and â€Å"more than 10 billion pounds of aluminum are produced worldwide annually† (Lindamood n. d.). The most commonly found aluminum ore bauxite is a mineral of aluminum (Al) and hydroxyl (OH) with very strong covalent bounding between oxygen and aluminum. Hence on large scale, it is not possible to directly extract Al from its ore by simple chemical process. The separation is carried out through various indirect methods. The manufacturing of pure aluminum (lxx.x, 99.00% or greater) from its ores is done through following process as given below. Also known as ore separation/purification process is invented by an Austrian chemist Carl Josef Bayer while working at Saint Petersburg, Russia. In this process, after mining, the ore is mechanically crushed into very fine granular form. The fine powdered ore is then mixed in hot caustic soda liquor (NaOH) at 110-270 °C under 340 kPa Pressure to produce slurry of liquid. After several hours of process NaOH completely dissolves the Al. The liquid is then passes through a series of flash tanks to reduce the pressure and to recover the heat. The mixture is separated from its solid impurities by passing it through a settling tank and through filtration process. The saturated aluminum rich liquid passes through a series of six-story-tall precipitation tanks (Hall 1997). As the liquid propagates through each tank, seed alumina hydrate crystals are also added from the top of each tank. The â€Å"aluminum trihydrate crystals grows in size and precipitated calcined in rotary kilns or flui dized bed calciners to produce alumina (Al2O3)† (Aluminum Manufacturing 1998: pp.261).The crystals obtained through kiln are cool down and proceed to smelting process. In Hall-Heroult Process also known as smelting processing the alumina crystal abstained through Bayer process is further dissolved in molten cryolite at a temperature of 960-970 ° C

Concert report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Concert report - Essay Example The program pieces included Handel: Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6 No. 1, Handel: Water Music Suite No. 3 in G, Handel: Water Music Suite No. 1 in F and you you.  There was a lot of excitement and high expectations as the audience settled in their seats before the curtain rose. The conductor, the performers and the orchestra were formally introduced and welcomed with a huge applause from the audience before the show began. The pieces played at the concert are discussed below. Handel: Concerto Grosso in G The piece made a bright opening with a happy and sprightly tune in the form of a waltz. The piece was a sort one which lasted for about 2 and a half minutes and the rhythm was up tempo. When the rhythm slowed down in places the music was soft and when it became fast, the volume increased and this added some variety to the piece. The instrumentation and harmony was good and pleasant to the ears. Handel: Water Music Suite No. 3 in G This piece was quite lengthy and continued for 5mins. And 38 secs. It comprised of three distinct parts which added to the variety of the piece. The first part was medium paced with the whole orchestra playing in unison. As the piece drifts to the second part it has the instruments alternating in prominence while the orchestra lent a good backing for them. The third movement was a loud and sprightly piece with good harmony which was interlinked with soft playing in between to give unity to the piece. Handel: Water Music Suite No. 1 in F This sprightly piece was about three minutes long and in the format of a lively dance rhythm which was simple but very attractive. The instruments played alternated in a sort of question and answer presentation with nice melody and harmony which was not only interesting but also captivating. The entire piece was well integrated and had a strong unity despite the variety of instruments offered. Even though the rhythm had a good dance appeal, the volume of the sound was pleasant and toned down. Towards th e end of the piece, the last ten seconds of music had slow paced rhythm before coming to an end. Handel: Il delirio amoroso In the last piece the orchestra joins the Soprano Sonya Yoncheva and serves as a perfect foil while it provides a strong backing for the soprano vocals. The piece which had a length of about 5 and a half minute, had a lively rhythm interspersed with instrumental interludes between the singing of the soprano. The dynamics exhibited by the soprano is quite praiseworthy as it was effortlessly executed, showing her mastery over the subject. Though the piece was well integrated and had a good melody and harmony, yet I felt that it did not have a uniform form as it comprised of both fast and slow paced rhythms and alternated between soft and loud volumes. At about 3 and a half minutes of the piece there is a lengthy instrumental piece, similar to the one played at the beginning of the piece and once again the soprano takes over till the piece comes to a close. Conclu sion I would describe myself as an avid listener and I enjoyed the concert comprising of Handel’s pieces, which proved to be quite interesting as it was inspiring. The pieces chosen to be played had good variety and were very well performed by the soprano as well as the orchestra and this was what attracted the audience, even me, to not just only be a spectator but enjoy the concert wholeheartedly. The level of performance of the conductor Emmanuelle Haim, the soprano and the entire orchestra was of a very high standard

How unions benefit employees Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How unions benefit employees - Term Paper Example Unions are there to make life better for workers, although they as well offer advantages to companies (Yates, 2009). A key benefit that union workers have over their non-union counterparts is compensation. Within a non-union place of dealings, earnings and other compensation are resolved confidentially. There is no assurance that two individuals working on the same post - with the similar qualifications - get the same income and other compensation. A labor union, on the other hand, guarantees that all salaries and compensation are written into the union's agreement. Unions increase salaries of unionized employees by more or less 21 percent and increase compensation, together with both earnings plus other benefits, by more or less 30 percent. Each worker is treated without any prejudice within a union workplace. Preferential treatment does not play a part in who is promoted or what income raise is given. The union agreement indicates when increase in salary takes place, and with how m uch experience the corporation qualifies the employee for a promotion. Everyone is dependent on the similar guiding principle and job tasks. â€Å"Unions reduce wage inequality because they raise wages more for low- and middle-wage workers than for higher-wage workers, more for blue-collar than for white-collar workers, and more for workers who do not have a college degree. Another main advantage of union membership for employees is that seniority is privileged. Within a company, that does not have union representation; the qualifications for a promotion are mostly subjective. In a union, the qualifications for promotion are generally supported by seniority. The level of seniority that is required is spelled out in the union contract. Thus, loyalty is rewarded over a person's subjective opinion of the qualifications of candidates applying for a promotion† (Dray, 2010). Guiding principles within union companies are regular. A company with no union representation can frequently modify its anticipations of employees without notice. In a union organization, these tasks are exclusively established beforehand. This helps both companies as well as workers. Staff has the benefit of more uniformity since they are acquainted with what is expected from them. Employers gain from a more satisfied workers and a reduced amount of time spent on training to implement continuous alterations. Union workers do not have to talk for their own benefit. Instead, union spokespersons talk in support of the whole group. This guarantees impartial dealings with the worker and protects against prejudice within the place of work. An employee can get a better position in discussions when he is united with a mass of workers. Without any help or support, he has little advantage to discuss about raise in salary or enhanced working circumstances. The most extensive benefit for unionized employees is in fringe benefits. â€Å"Unionized personnel are more likely to get paid leave as compar ed to their nonunionized counterparts, are more or less 20 percent to 30 percent more expected to have ‘employer offered’ health insurance, and are 25 percent to 57 percent more likely to be in ‘employer offered’ retirement fund plans† (Mauer, 2001). Unionized employees get more liberal health care advantages as compared to nonunionized employees. They as well pay 19 percent lesser health care deductibles in addition to a lesser share of the

JUDICIARY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

JUDICIARY - Essay Example This is the democratic principle enshrined in the Constitution, the rule of law to prevent the tyranny and also maintain law and order. To achieve this end, the three foundations of a justice system are the police for the enforcement function, the criminal justice system for court trials, and finally, the corrections or the prison system to incarcerate and rehabilitate those convicted of crimes against society. Members of the criminal justice system, such as the prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges or justices must at all times implement and interpret the law with probity, fairness, justice, equality, and solidarity in the pursuit of human rights protection for all, exercise their function without fear or favor. All the said members must act in an ethical manner at all times, free from any corruption, and not influenced by any consideration except morals B. Discussion The judiciary performs its functions with the utmost fairness and equality; how judges must implement or interp ret the law without any influence or pressure from anybody, so that citizens will have faith and trust in their justice system, as their supreme protector against oppression by powerful individuals or influential pressure groups. However, it is also faced with a number of problems or issues it must address so it can carry out its mandate adequately. 1. Judicial ethics – members of the judiciary are brought to a higher standard than other people, they being expected to uphold the law at all times so people will also respect the law. The foundation of law is based on the validity of civil ethics within pluralism (Cortina, 2000). a. Solemn oath – this is a reminder to always stick to the straight and narrow path, despite temptations along the way in performance of duties. Corruption has been a bane, because people tend to accept bribes or other considerations of value (Montinola & Jackman, 2002). b. Sanctions – the judiciary does not take too kindly to its erring m embers and imposes a variety of measures such as fines, suspensions, disbarment, and even imprisonment. c. Code of conduct – members of the judiciary have to be careful in their actions at all times, to uphold the integrity and independence of the judicial branch of government. Standards are contained in the judicial canons issued by the Supreme Court, to include such matters as the avoidance of any impropriety, or even just the mere appearance of impropriety, and to avoid any partisan political activity at all times, such as campaigning for a particular party or candidate. It is a co-equal branch and must exercise its independence always (Fox & Stephenson, 2011). 2. Why people commit crimes – there will always be deviants in any society. Why these people commit crimes despite the certainty of punishment made sociologists offer their theories. a. Anomie theory – this was introduced by eminent French sociologist Emile Durkheim, in his book The Division of Labor i n Society published back in 1893, which explains the modern phenomenon of deviance, resulting from feelings of inadequacy and ambiguity, coming from the industrialization of society, causing normlessness from loss of values and traditions (Franzese, 2009); anomie views criminals as victims of society, unable to cope, and not as mere deviants. b. Strain theory –

Quality Philosophy Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Quality Philosophy Evaluation Essay Focus Paper on Quality Philosophy Evaluation Focus Paper on Quality Philosophy Evaluation Edward Deming led the quality revolution and defined it from the customer’s perspective. He argues that the customer’s definition of quality is the only one that matters (Dale van Iwaarden, 2007). He defined quality as the extent by which the performance meets the expectations of the customer. He also argued that quality is the responsibility of management. Deming conveyed the importance of leadership in the cultivation of a culture of quality. The principles that underpin his philosophy also indicate that workers were to be trained and introduced to spirit of quality. He argued that employees should play a key role in the transformation of the organization. He proposed the 14 point philosophy of quality. 1. Create a perpetual drive towards improvement or plan for quality in the long term. 2. Embrace the new philosophy and adopt quality in the whole organization 3. Constant and perpetual improvement 4. Organizations should not rely on inspections 5. Rely on a single supplier for one item in order to ensure consistency 6. The elimination of management by objectives 7. Unclear slogans should be removed 8. The barriers which exist between departments should be broken 9. The transformation to quality should be everyone’s job 10. The removal of barriers which prevent pride of workmanship 11. The implementation of education and self improvement 12. Instill confidence and eliminate fear in job performance 13. Training should be used to remove variations 14. The organization should have quality leadership Joseph Juran Joseph Juran has also published a vast amount of literature on the topic of quality. Juran has two definitions of quality. The first defines quality as the features of products that meet the needs of the customers and which then allow for customer satisfaction (Juran, 2003). The second definition defines quality as the freedom from errors and freedom from deficiencies which necessitate the redoing of work. Juran came with a trilogy philosophy of quality management. This philosophy included: * Quality improvement-this is the process by which originations experience breakthrough in quality * Quality control-this involves the detection of the difference between actual performance and the set goals. * Quality planning-this involves developing processes and products which meet the expectations of the customer. * The above three dimensions of quality were seen as a prerogative of management by Juran. Quality control defines the standard of measure by which quality is determined. Juran saw workers as the implementers of quality. Philip Crosby Philip Crosby had a zero defects philosophy on quality management. He defined quality as being the conformance to requirements. He saw zero defects as the performance standard. He argued that everyone should do things â€Å"right the first time.† Therefore, according, to his philosophy, workers play a fundamental role in promoting quality (Oppenheim, Oppenheim Levine, 2005). Lewis Ireland He defined quality as the totality of characteristics and features of a service or product that enable it to meet the stated or the implied needs. Lewis Ireland focused on quality in projects. In 1991, Lewis wrote Quality Management for Projects and Programs and stated the importance of integrating quality in projects (Rose, 2005). He has a project management quality philosophy. He argued that quality planning should be used to identify quality standards which are relevant for the project. Project managers have a critical role to play in managing quality. Recommendation The philosophy espoused by Edward Deming holds more water in the current competitive business environment. Deming views quality as a change management initiative which is permanently existent in the methods, systems and processes. He provides the principles which should be followed by management in order to cultivate a culture of quality. In addition, his philosophy is more comprehensive and flexible and therefore easily applied by today’s managers. References Dale, B. G., van Iwaarden, J. (2007). Managing quality. Blackwell Publishing Juran, J. M. (2003). Juran on leadership for quality. Simon and Schuster. Oppenheim, A. J., Oppenheim, R., Levine, D. M. (2005). Quality management (pp. 75-76). McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Rose, K. (2005). Project quality management: why, what and how. J. Ross Publishing.

A Report on the Balanced Scorecard for Yunnan Lucky Air

A Report on the Balanced Scorecard for Yunnan Lucky Air The Chinese airline industry is a heavily regulated industry which provides limiting flexibility to both new as well as growing airlines. In the recent years many low-cost airlines have mushroomed, Lucky Air being one of them. Lucky Air was founded in July 2004 with an initial capitalisation of US$2.2 million. The ownership of the airline is with Hainan Airlines, Shanxi Airlines and Yunnan Shilin Tourism Aviation.The airline exists in a crowded field of around 15 low-cost Chinese airlines. The airline, though growing, anticipates a potential squeeze in its business. The management of Yunnan Lucky Air, hereinafter referred to as Lucky Air, approached us to advice them on monitoring their performance closely so as to achieve their organisational mission and objectives. After initial discussions with the management of the airlines, my team has recommended the use of a Balanced Scorecard to monitor its performance. I present in this report a Balanced Scorecard for Lucky Air that translat es the airlines mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures. Recent Trends in Lucky Air Lucky Air is currently based in Kunming in Peoples Republic of China. The airline has its main base in Dali airport and runs its flights between Dali to Kunming and Xishuangbanna. The routes in this region have greatly contributed to most of its profits. It is slowly reaching out to other regions in China. The overall growth of the airline has been facilitated by the limited route licensing policy of the Chinese government that has given Lucky Air a near monopoly status within Yunnan. The number of passengers carried by the airline has grown from 500,000 passengers over 5,746 flight hours in 2006 to 1.2 million over 17,875 total flight hours. During the same period, its operating revenue tripled from US$31.2 million to US$104.3 million. Over the recent years, Lucky Air has also grown in terms of flights to and from destinations outside the Yunnan province. As in early 2008, the additional routes represented almost 87 of its 150 weekly flights by the airline. Lucky Air Strategy Lucky Air operates as a low-cost, high-efficiency airline. This is the basis of its key strategy. The low-cost and high efficiency is maintained through: Using single type of aircraft leading to reduced maintenance and operational costs. Having only one category of seat class, thereby simplifying pricing. Having no seat assignments or in-flight entertainment. Increasing on-time departure and arrival by having short haul point-to-point routes. Operating mostly in secondary cities to avoid congestion and reduce landing costs. As a part of its expansion strategy, in recent times Lucky Air has tried to build its competitive advantage by focusing on e-commerce. Customers can buy and refund tickets online by paying 5% to 20% less than anywhere else. The airline has created an online community for its passengers and hopes to reach more customers directly via its website and build more brand recognition and a loyal customer base. In addition, Lucky Air has invested in own call centres to facilitate ticket booking. Balance Scorecard for Lucky Air Lucky Airs strategy rests around it being a low-cost, high-efficiency airline. A scorecard can measure the airlines performance across four different but linked perspectives that are derived from its vision, strategy and objectives. These perspectives include: Financial, Customer, Internal and Learning Growth. The left-hand side of the diagram represents the cause-and-effect relationships across the four perspectives that describe low cost and high-efficiency strategy. (Refer Appendix A for an explanation of the Lucky Air Scorecard and Appendix B for Cause and Relationship between perspectives) Benefits and Limitations of the Scorecard Like any other performance measurement tool, a Balanced Scorecard is not foolproof. Before the scorecard that has been designed for Lucky Air is implemented, the benefits and limitations of the scorecard need to be examined and understood. Benefits of Lucky Air Scorecard Balance Scorecard has led companies to develop a variety of corporate scorecards suggesting a process approach to innovations in performance measurements. (Source: Epstein and Birchard, 2000 and Hoque and James 1997). The benefits that can be obtained from a Balanced Scorecard depend on not just its design but also what it is used for and how it is applied. In general, a Balanced Scorecard will help Lucky Air: Enhance traditional financial accounting measures of Lucky Air by including certain non-financial measures. Thus, Lucky Air, through a Balanced Scorecard, can examine the drivers of financial performance by focusing at least three other perspectives: customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. (Source: Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1996). Acquire an effective means for clearly translating a firms vision and strategy into tool for communicating the firms strategy to the various sections of the organisation. In the case of Lucky Air, the Balanced Scorecard can show how focusing on the customer and the services can lead to increased profits. (Source: Chow, 1997; Source: Kaplan, 1992) Motivate performance against established strategic goals. A handful of critical measures have been identified for each perspective and the corresponding targets have been defined. The performance measures force managers to focus on the measures that are most critical. The targets provide managers with a framework to manage the various activities in line with the corporate objectives. For example, a manager can clearly see that managing on ground time is critical and it needs to be kept below 20 minutes. Ensure that its employees understand the long-term strategy of the organisation and also the association between the employees actions and the chosen strategic goals. It can provide strategic feedback and promote learning within the airline through the monitoring of short-term strategic results. Allocate resources and set priorities based on the initiatives contribution to long-term strategic objectives. (Source: Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Evaluate and judge the decisions, policies, plans of the airline. For example, the success or otherwise of the decision of adopting e-commerce as an expansion strategy by Lucky Air can be examined in terms of the four perspectives and its impact on the profitability of the airline. Fosters organisational learning and continual improvement when it is used as a strategic management tool. Limitations of Lucky Air Scorecard Though Balanced Scorecard may be an effective tool for many organisations, it may not help in improvement of performance of all organisations. A Balanced Scorecard is only a tool and the deployment of the tool rests with the airline itself. It is not easy to provide practical guidance for deployment of the scorecard. Some of the key limitations that can cause a Balanced Scorecard initiative at Lucky Air to fail are as follows: Effectiveness of a balanced scorecard depends on a well defined strategy and an understanding of the linkages between strategic objectives and metrics. (Source: Howard Rohm pp.4). If this is lacking its deployment will be unsuccessful. The biggest limitation of the Lucky Air scorecard is that it has been designed by an external team of consultants who have been in discussion with some key players in the airline. It did not involve a cross-section of the airline in developing the system. Thus if the scorecard of Lucky Air fails to link the correct drivers in the internal and learning and growth perspective to the desired outcomes in the financial and customer perspectives, it will not be effective. A scorecard may not be effective if it includes a few measures for each perspective. For example, success of Lucky Air is not only a result of the training and motivation of the ground crew but the entire staff. Thus a scorecard with too few measures may not depict enough of Lucky Airs strategy and does not represent a balance between desired outcomes and performance drivers of the outcomes. Likewise if too many measures are included, the managers attention may get so diffused that he may pay insufficient attention to those measures that can make the maximum impact. No balanced scorecard can be flawless with respect to its design. The Lucky Air scorecard too may have certain design flaws which may not be visible now. These will only be detected when the scorecard is implemented. It is only over a period of time that a company will learn about the effective drivers of performance. (Source: Norreklit, 2000) The scorecard on its own will not be effective if Lucky Airs top management is not committed to it. The top executives may end up looking at Balanced scorecard as a quick fix that can easily be installed in the airline. The scorecard may have its limitations if the top management simply uses it as a checklist for operational improvements or to expand the compensation system to include non-financial measures. (Source: Atkinson, A. et al, 2004) The scorecard seems to have too much internal focus. The scorecard is only depicting incentives for desired behaviour changes in the ground crew and not focusing on other employees. Conclusion and Recommendation A scorecard balances traditional financial measures of success such as profits and return on capital with non-financial measures of the drivers of future financial performance. It can prove to be an effective tool for Lucky Air if it is appropriately deployed by the airline. Appropriate deployment will require complete commitment from all levels in the organisation by making its implementation everyones job. Moreover, the initial Balanced Scorecard should only be taken as a starting point and needs to be looked upon on an ongoing basis. Frequent reviews of the scorecard are required and new performance measures identified as a Balanced Scorecard evolves over a period of time. Data on various measures or metrics needs to be collected on a regular basis and the targets of the metrics should be sufficiently linked to rewards and incentives to motivate their accomplishment. APPENDIX Appendix A: Explanation of the Lucky Air Scorecard The classes which can be formed and the parameters which may be put in the balance scorecard are: Financial: How is success measured by Lucky Airs owners, namely, Hainan Airlines, Shanxi Airlines and Yunnan Shilin Tourism Aviation? The financial parameter can be evaluated by assigning values to parameters like total revenue or increase in revenue from tickets, total amount refunded due to cancelled tickets etc. It is also measured in changes in the plane leasing costs, maintaining and operating costs etc. Customers: This is the customer perspective. It focuses on how the airline creates value for the customers. Customer perspective provides an insight into the perceptions customers hold for Lucky Air. Internal: What internal processes should Lucky Air excel in to satisfy customers and shareholders? Internal Processes can be known from turnaround time, on-ground time, arrival and departure delays, number of ticketing errors, customer care services etc. This would help in attaining an idea of the operations of the organization in question. Learning and growth: What employee capabilities, information systems and Lucky Airs climate does the airline need to continually improve its internal processes and customer relationships? It focuses on the motivation and training of the crew members. Starting at the bottom of the diagram, the strategy has a learning and growth objective to train and motivate ground crew with the expectation that this will lead to better improved ground turnarounds, from arrivals to subsequent departures, for its planes. This internal objective enables Lucky Air to have its planes depart on time and to get better utilisation of its airplanes and flight crews, further enabling it to earn profits even at prices that are lowest in the industry. It also focuses on improvement of internal processes to realise bigger revenue opportunities. The low prices and on-time departures attract more customers, improve customer loyalty and lead to a growth in revenues. The combination of revenue growth and low costs finally results in high profits and high return on assets. The strategy is clearer through the cause and effect relationships among objectives in each of the four balanced scorecard perspectives. These can be stated as follows: Increase revenues through increased sales to existing and new customers (financial) Grow to be service oriented ( customer perspective) Excel in providing services through continuous process improvements ( internal) Bring into line employee incentives and rewards with the strategy (learning and growth)

Goodness Tainted Thoreau Quote Analysis Essay -- essays research paper

"There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted.? -Walden, Henry David Thoreau There are two ways that this quotation might be interpreted, one way focuses on a person's goodness, or lack of, and the other concerns benign or malicious intentions. The quotation could be interpreted to mean that it is a sadder thing for a 'good' person to decline into immorality than for a 'bad' person to do something wicked. This interpretation of the quote can be illustrated by the book The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray enters the story as an enchanting, vivacious, almost cherubic youth, comparable to the beautiful Greek god Adonis. As the story progresses, Dorian gets drawn into a habit of hedonism, financial waste, and self destruction, and this moral decline is paralleled by gradual distortion of his once beautiful portrait. At the end of the book, after Dorian had fallen so far as to commit murder, he is shocked to find that his image has become bloated and hideous, and in a fit of outrage, he stabs his portrait, therefore killing himself. All in all, Dor...

Phosphorous Nutrient Deficiency :: essays research papers fc

Phosphorous Nutrient Deficiency of Sunflowers, Helianthus annuus Abstract: The objective of this experiment was to determine whether or not a complete nutrient solution would have increased stem width, height, and leaf length compared to 25% phosphorous. My hypothesis was that sunflowers with a complete solution of nutrients would have the same growth compared to sunflowers with 25% phosphorous deficiency. The experiment was conducted by setting up two groups of sunflower seeds, control and treatment. Each group contained five seeds. The nutrients were added when the seeds had germinated. The controls were treated with a complete nutrient solution, whereas the treatment was treated with 25% phosphorous deficiency. Both groups were watered regularly with the nutrient solutions until harvest time. The measurements of both groups were taken periodically. During harvest time, the healthiest plant in each pot was measured for stem width (mm), height (cm), and leaf length (mm). The results indicated that there was no significant change in the controls a nd treatments because the p-values of all three types of measurements were greater than 0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted. Despite the insignificant results, observations and measurements of growth in both groups of sunflowers in terms of stem widths, lengths, and leaf lengths suggested that the presence or absence of phosphorous did influence the plant growths. Introduction: The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of nutrient deficiency in sunflower, H. annuus. My null hypothesis was that sunflower plants that were treated with a complete nutrient solution would be the same as plants that were 25% deficient in phosphorous. My alternate hypothesis was that sunflower plants with a complete nutrient treatment would have increased growth compared to plants with phosphorous deficiency with respect to stem height, width, and leaf length. Phosphorous is an essential nutrient for root formation, flowering, fruiting and ripening (Gayle et al. 2001). Ten elements that are required for normal growth in plants are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and iron. The absence of any one of these elements causes plants to display characteristic abnormalities of growth known as deficiency symptoms. Often such plants do not reproduce normally (Raven et al. 1999). One reason why phosphorou s is essential in plants is because it is responsible for the general health and vigor of all plants. Some specific growth factors that have been associated with phosphorus are: stimulated root development, increased stalk and stem strength, improved flower formation and seed production, more uniform and earlier crop maturity, increased nitrogen N-fixing capacity of legumes, improvements in crop quality, and increased resistance to plant diseases (Webb 2002).

Margaret (peggy) Timberlake Eaton Essays -- essays research papers

Margaret (Peggy) O’Neal (who preffered to be called Margaret) was born in 1799 in Washington DC. She was the daughter of William O’Neal, who owned a thriving boarding house and tavern called the Franklin House in that same town. It was frequented by senators, congressmen, and all politicians. She was the oldest of six children, growing up in the midst of our nation’s emerging political scene. She was always a favorite of the visitors to the Franklin House. She was sent to one of the best schools in Washington DC, where she studied English and French grammar, needlework and music. She also had quite a talent for dance, and was sent to private lessons, becoming a very good dancer. At the age of twelve, she danced for the First Lady Dolley Madison. Visitors of the Franklin House also commented on her piano playing skills. During Margaret’s teenage years, there were many rumors circulating about her romances. The stories included one of a suitor who swallowed poison after she refused to return his affections, one of her being briefly linked to the son of President Jefferson’s treasury secretary, and one of her botched elopement to a young aide of General Winfield Scott. As the story goes, she accidentally kicked over a flowerpot during her climb down from a bedroom window, which woke her father, who promptly dragged her back inside. When Jackson first met Margaret at the age of 24, he took an immediate liking to her. The tavern had been recommended to him by his close friend John Henry Eaton, who would later marry Miss O’Neal and cause quite a scandal. Jackson’s wife, when meeting Margaret a year later, was equally taken with her. Margaret married a navy purser named John Bowie Timberlake. They had three children together, one whom died while still an infant. When John was gone at sea, John Eaton entered the picture again, escorting Margaret on drives and to parties. The rumors flew around town of Margaret and Eaton’s supposed affair, and of her husband’s drunkenness. The people around town were all saying that the reason Timberlake kept sailing was to avoid his wife’s obvious philandering. Timberlake was soon reassigned to the Mediterranean squadron. The Mediterranean was very hot and contained few friendly ports in those days, making it a less than pleasant assignment. Timberlake died while in the Mediterranean, the official cause was pulmonary disease. ... .... It was common protocol that if two members of the cabinet resigned, the rest would do so out of courtesy in order to allow the president to reorganize his cabinet. With some resistance, all of the cabinet members resigned, allowing Jackson to rename the members and hopefully end the affair once and for all. The newspapers attributed the cabinet’s fall the Margaret Eaton, and everyone thought that Jackson had doomed any hope for reelection. Jackson was reelected, with Van Buren as a running mate. He quickly sent Eaton to the Florida territory, where he became governor. Two years later, Jackson appointed Eaton as the United States minister to Spain. Margaret and John thoroughly enjoyed their lives in Spain for a period of four years. John Eaton died in 1856, leaving Margaret a small fortune. She lived in Washington DC with her two daughters, both of whom married into high society. It seemed as though Margaret finally had the societal life and respect she had always wanted. She changed all of that when, at the age of 59, she married her granddaughter’s 19 year old dance tutor, Antonio Buchignani. A mere five years later, he ran off to Italy with her money and her granddaughter.

Child Consumerism Essay

The essay â€Å"Kid Kustomers† by Eric Schlosser talks about how children got sucked into the idea of consumerism. It all started in the 1980’s with parents wasting more money on their kids. Now companies such as Kid2Kid, the Gepetoo Group, and Just Kids and other big corporations specialize in finding ways to get kids to buy their products. The author mentions the different ways children nag to get what they want, such as the pleading, persistent, forceful, demonstrative, sugar-coated, threatening and pity nag. The television plays the biggest role in consumerism because of the advertisements that children are watching all day and the effect it has on them. The reason advertisements are the best tactic when it comes to consumerism is because children think that advertisements are part of the television show. Schlosser brings up several good points throughout the essay. This world is a materialistic world. Most people nowadays are sucked into being the consumers and buying things that they do not even need because now it is all about who has the best clothes, shoes, car or house. It’s one big competition and hardly anyone is ever happy because there is always someone who has something that you do not have. Another reason people like to be consumers is because like to own the newest version of something. One example would be the millions people who buy the new iPhone or iPad when in reality it’s practically the same as it predecessor. If these marketing techniques work well on adults than that is the reason they are more effective on children. Lastly Schlosser’s points are valid because I too have seen children being convinced to buy a product by people on the streets ,beg to their parents and have seen the effects advertisements have children. It happens all the time, whether people realize it or not. When a child sees a guy with a big sign advertising toys or food the kid is going to want to ask their parents if they can get the toy or that they are hungry. It is sad that almost all children know who Ronald McDonald is and when they get hungry they are most likely to go to McDonalds because it is convenient. Children are more easily targeted now because now their friends influence them and if that one friend has something that they like, they will find a way to own it too. My little cousin Max who is ten years old feels he has to own the newest thing. It saddens me because he is in a competition with his friends and these companies are making money off him when he may not truly be interested in their product. Companies target children specifically because they get what they want the majority of the time. Companies depend on their children to beg to their parents so that they can buy their product. Whenever my cousin Max beg to his parents he eventually gets what he wants because he is persistent and persuasive and makes his parents feel guilty if he does not get what he wants. Sometimes while I am walking down the street or in the mall I see a kid with a iPhone wondering what they with something that sophisticated at such a young age. It makes me wonder if kids have things such as the iPhone then what else do they have? These are the children who are sucked into consumerism and have to buy everything that is considered cool or new. To me one of the biggest reasons companies invest time and money on marketing advertisements directed towards children the most is because children have not learned the true importance of t the dollar bill. They no value behind it and do not think it of as much when their parents are the ones out their spending there money on them. Advertisements on television play the biggest role in consumerism. One effect that advertisements have on children is that the advertisement gets suck in their head. Children remember the words or specific tune that went along with the advertisement. A majority of children that I know are watching television most of the day. When I was a kid advertisements played a role in what I should buy or eat. The majority of the things that I had heard of had come from advertisements. This is true because most people do not eat at a place they have never heard of because they do not want to take the risk. The same thing goes for things such as video games and toys for kids because advertisements make the product look good, which gives people a sense of hope that it will not be a waste of money if they buy it for full price. An example would be my cousin Rachel buys most of her toys because she sees them on the television. The advertisements reassure her that buying the toy will be worth it. She falls for the same toys each time because they are not much different from each other. She mostly gets dolls and princess castles, which all virtually look the same but only, differ in color. In the end advertisements effect our decision when we go out to buy the things we want. Companies have succeeded when it comes to convincing children to buy their product. It doesn’t matter where a pers on is at now. They can be outside or in their house and they will still be surrounded by advertisements. The advertisements are on the television all day, billboards, people on the streets and one of the stronger forms of advertisement the Internet. Whenever a person watches a video on YouTube they are stopped by a short advertisement and overtime a majority of the world knows the advertisement and may be a little more tempted to go out and buy it. This world has become a world where humans feel need to buy everything even if they do not need it. As long as companies keep releasing new products then children will be consumers because children always buy the newest toy even if they just bought their last toy two weeks ago.

Reading Summary of Eric Abrahamson and Gregory Fairchild’s Management Fashion Essay

Thesis While most fads in management technique are short-lived some techniques become institutionalized and evolve and are reshaped to fits current fashions. Exogenous and endogenous forces shape the demand for management- knowledge entrepreneurs to constantly reshape and redefine rational management processes. Evidence Abrahamson and Fairchild’s study yielded findings that help contextualize the concept of management fashion. Lifecycles of a management techniques typically follow a â€Å"short-lived, bell-shaped, symmetric popularity curve†. Positive feedback on management techniques increases the discourse promoting that technique, making it more diffuse across organizations. Exogenous forces facilitate or suppress fashion niches and endogenous maintain niches. Superstitious learning suggests that managers seek to find instant-results and cure-all solutions for their management approach, motivated by emotion rather than detailed studies. Whereas real-learning constitutes careful planning and evaluation of ideas to produce an effective management technique. Limitations Abrahamson and Fairchild articulate the negative aspects of constant transience -temporal instability and cross-sectional diversity- but fail to indicate the effects these management fashions have on the institutions in which they are implemented. Do shifting management techniques stunt institution growth, do changing techniques disrupt the markets for the products of these institutions? Questions (1) What causes certain management practices to become institutionalized while others are only passing fads? (2) Are the results of â€Å"superstitious-learning† or â€Å"real-learning† more likely to be adopted? Which is more effective?

Gandhi Commemorative Speech Essay

Specific Purpose: To commemorate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi Central Idea/Thesis Statement: Gandhi is considered to be one of the most influential and admired individual who played an important part in the independence of India Introduction Attention Getter: George Washington. What comes to your mind when I say that name, â€Å"First President of the United States† or maybe â€Å"Father of the nation†? Yes, to Americans he is the father of this nation just as Gandhi is a father of my nation, India. Today I’m going to talk about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi also known as â€Å"Bapu† meaning father. Relative to Indians and India, he led us to independence in 1947 from the British Rule. Preview: I am going to commemorate Gandhi by providing an insight on his two of his personal qualities, non-violence and simplicity. Central Idea/ Thesis: I won’t speak in the context of his life and ways, but I would rather put a light on his personal qualities and would start with how non-violence led him to greatness and finally how he lived his entire life with simplicity. Starting with my first point, Main Point 1: His bravery as an individual, transcended into the millions who were under the British Empire A. India was one of the prized countries under British Rule 1. India was a country rich in traditions and culture thousands of years old. 2. The British Empire took control of the government of India. 3. Ancient traditions and religions were thrown out. As you can well imagine, the native people of India suffered greatly. When Gandhi came to India from South Africa, Instead of encouraging native born Indians to take up arms and force the British colonists out of their country, Gandhi created a policy of non-violent protest. â€Å"Non-violence,† he said, â€Å"is a weapon for the brave.† Gandhi explains his philosophies and way of life in his autobiography â€Å"The Story of My Experiments with Truth.† One of his famous quote was â€Å"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. † Gandhi was aware that this level of nonviolence required incredible faith  and courage, which he realized not everyone possessed. He therefore advised that everyone need not keep to nonviolence, especially if it were used as a cover for cowardice. Main Point 2: His simplicity sold the idea that he wanted no praise for return to his services Moving on to my second point, Gandhi earnestly believed that a person involved in social services should lead a simple life which he thought could lead to divinity. He gave up western style clothing upon returning to India from South Africa. He dressed to be accepted by the poorest person in India, advocating the use of homespun cloth. Gandhi and his followers adopted the practice of weaving their own clothes from thread they themselves spun and encouraged others to do so. It was Gandhi’s view that if Indians made their own clothes it would be an economic blow to the british establishment in India. Consequently, the spinning wheel was later incorporated into the flag of india. He subsequently wore a dhoti for the rest of his life to express the simplicity in his life. Conclusion Moving on to the conclusion, Review: I have shared with you gandhi’s principles in nonviolence and simplicity which played a major role in Indian freedom movement. Clincher: I hope I made you learn bit about a great Indian freedom fighter who made India. I thank you all for listening my speech.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an Early Marriage Essay

Below is a free essay on â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of an Early Marriage† from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Young people in modern society have completely different views on marriage. Ones prefer to get married at an early age; others, however, tend to postpone marriage until they finish their studies and make a successful career. Early marriages have lots of advantages, such as experiencing the joy of parenthood and other benefits of the wedlock and becoming mature as early as possible, but also have some negative sides, such as economic restrictions, misunderstanding between partners and inability to get proper education. On the one hand, marrying young has some advantages. Firstly, due to the heavy workload arising from new responsibilities and duties, such as earning the living, taking care of children, organizing time properly, running the household, the newly married youngsters mature much earlier than their peers. see more:advantages and disadvantages of family Read more:  Child Marriage Essay Introduction Secondly, the earlier the partners get married, the more time they spend together, the more obstacles they overcome hand in hand, the more mutual interests they have, and, as a result, it is quite easy for them to find common ground and see eye to eye on various problems. Besides, such spouses are more likely to compromise and to comfort each other more successfully. Thirdly, having children is another important aspect of family life, which is worth mentioning. The idea is that giving birth at an early age is not likely to be followed by any health problems. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages in getting married at an early age. To begin with, both partners do not have an opportunity to finish their education, as they have to provide for their family and one of the spouses is likely to become a breadwinner. Furthermore, marrying young leads to a wide range of problems and inconveniences, such as insufficient income and lack of suitable accommodation. This is when a young couple realizes that the reality is much tougher, than their pure feelings and family life is not always about being lovers, but it also demands self-sacrifice.

IMC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

IMC - Essay Example These include sales promotion, direct marketing, publicity, and advertising. Many big companies have been implementing new ways of technology and media that will help them in their IMC strategies. IMC has become very beneficial to companies in maintaining their competitive advantage, by helping them focus on marketing, operations, and sales resources in promoting the same messages to consumers and by making sure that marketing and sales promises are consistently being delivered. IMC also improves the value of the promotional effort by increasing its cost-effectiveness. This has a direct positive effect on the expenses incurred per unit being sold, which in turn has a positive effect on the balance sheet. Finally, IMC brings out better results for the company because sales, advertising, and marketing functions, which were in the past taken as separate functions now function as one under the IMC. This brings out coordination and cohesiveness that is reflected in positive results for the company. IMC has become a crucial aspect of companies that want to succeed in their operations. This helps in coordinating and branding communication efforts to achieve the objectives of the organization (Schultz, 1993). The most popular version of the IMC planning model is the five-step strategic planning process. This includes selecting the target audience, understanding the target audience decision-making, determining the best positioning, developing a communication strategy, and setting up a media strategy. Selecting the target market starts by analyzing and comprehending the market and understanding consumer wants. This is considered the start of a successful marketing campaign. Once the company has found a niche for its products and services, it is crucial that it does a research on its competitors and similar products and services that are available in the market. After this process, the company can be

Major Theories of Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Major Theories of Organizational Behavior - Essay Example In this paper we would discuss the ways the major organizational behavior theories have helped, guide the way for managers in the complex and changing global business environment. The principal purpose of organizational structure is one of control: to control the way people coordinate their actions to achieve organizational goals and to control the means used to motivate people to achieve these goals. At Microsoft (Dumaine, 1990), for example, the control problems facing Bill Gates were how to coordinate scientists' activities to make the best use of their talents and how to reward scientists when they developed innovative products. Gate's solution was to place scientists in small, self-contained teams and to reward them with stock in Microsoft based on team performance. For any organization, an appropriate structure is one that facilitates effective responses to problems of coordination and motivation - problems that can arise for any number of environmental, technological, or human reasons. As organizations grow and differentiate, the structure likewise evolves. Organizational structure can be managed and changed through the process of organizational design. At the same time that organizational structure is evolving, so is organizati

Evaluation of Long-Term Finance Alternatives Article

Evaluation of Long-Term Finance Alternatives - Article Example A firm can opt in for any kind of long-term financing like issue of securities, term loans, internal accruals, suppliers' credit scheme and equipment financing. There are also some additional options of funding like deferred credit, unsecured loans and deposits and venture capital financing. Types of Capital: Three types of capital can be issued by firms namely equity capital, preference capital and Debenture capital. All three of them vary in terms of risk, return and the pattern of ownership. Equity Capital - Equity share holders are the actual owners of the business. They enjoy all the profits of the company that are residual in nature and this is after paying the preference shareholders and all the other creditors, if any. The liability restriction of equity share holders is limited to the amount of share capital contributed by them. The cost of equity capital is higher than all other forms of capital. It is to be noted that equity dividends are not tax-deductible expenses and also the costs of issue is very high. Long term financing is essential for any operating firm. Long term finance are necessary for investments such as modernization or expansion of existing firms and also for working capital management. The funding process should be a trade-off between the cost of funding, the risk factor involved and the expected returns. This is in order to maintain a reasonable spread is maintained for the firm. References: 1. Financial Management for Managers, published by ICFAI center for Management Research, Ref no: FMM - 04200405. Preference Capital - Though similar to equity capital, preference capital has no obligatory payment to the preference shareholders. Even the preference dividend is not tax deductible. An advantage that the preference shareholders have is that they earn a fixed rate of return for their dividend payment. Debenture Capital - Debenture is nothing but a marketable legal contract whereby the company promises to pay its owner, a specified rate of interest for a defined period of time and to repay the principal at the specific date of maturity. These are usually secured b y a charge on the immovable properties of the company. A firm can also raise capital from the primary market by way of issuing securities. Different ways of issuing securities exist. Public Issue: Companies issue securities to the general public in the primary market and thereby get them listed in the stock exchange. These securities are then traded in the secondary market. Rights Issue: When a firm issues additional equity capital. It has to first offer such securities to the existing shareholders on a pro rata basis. Such a method of issuing securities is called as Rights Issue. Private Placement: This method of financing involves direct selling of securities to a limited number of institutional or high net worth investors. The delay in going public and also the expenses involved can be avoided in this case. The major advantages here are the easy access to any company, fewer formalities and lower issue cost.

MGT 511 session long project MODULE 5 Performance Management (walmart) Essay

MGT 511 session long project MODULE 5 Performance Management (walmart) - Essay Example The company ensures that the employees have all the tools, techniques which can assist them in improved overall performance as well as help in better results for the company as well (Aguinis). In terms of the weakness of the performance management systems, it is important to note that the company currently utilises a wide range of technologies and also a number of different innovations to keep the company’s sales and transactions in line and completely accounted for (Bacal). However, with the constant and intensive performance training the company leads to high levels of stress for the employees (Harvard Business School Press). Also, the company has been in the news for the low levels of pay that they provide the employees which in turn impacts the company’s performance and also impacts the company’s performance management system as a whole. In order to improve the systems, the company can focus on improving the work place condition for the employees and ensure t hat employees are given the right remuneration for their jobs and are not overworked (Bacal). Also, it is important that the company focuses on developing performance management systems which are focused more on the continuous training. However the company does not focus on the needs of the employees (Armstrong and Baron).

Analysis of Leadership and Management Research Paper

Analysis of Leadership and Management - Research Paper Example Hence, change is a continuous process in an organization. It acts as an effective tool, which helps the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Change is possible only when the employees are ready to accept the change. Therefore, change leads to the transformation from the old state to the new state, which helps an organization to understand its external and internal conditions. (Collett, n.d.). Successful change management requires employees support and top management support. When the change cannot be managed in a systematic way, there will be a decline in productivity and quality. Therefore, while implementing the change generally people are not mentally and physically fit to accept the change because employees are shifting their old way of doing the things and thus there will be lack of confidence and disloyalty among the employees. Last but not least change will lead to an increase in absenteeism. In case of effective change management, there will be an increase in pro ductivity and organization standard, the employees will start contributing ideas and providing solutions towards the problems, employees’ interest, and motivation level rise up.  Ã‚   To exist in the competitive market, an organization needs to bring behavioral change in employees in order to help them to adjust to the new organizational culture. Therefore, change focuses on creating a new product. For example, Tea Gardens, Jute Mills etc are lucrative organizations but they have been changing from hand to hand perhaps because the new ones are not competent like the earlier ones. That is how changes are continuously going from years to years. Change always requires an extra effort to learn new things since it provides an opportunity for people to feel responsible for the accomplishment of work. From the theories and models of the change management, we generally develop our understanding of planned organizational change. According to Kotter’s framework, change management focuses on increasing employee motivation and encouraging him/her to adopt the change (Heathcote & Taylor, 2007, p.2-7). The reason behind the successful organization change is strong leader ship and educating the employees about the change that will occur in day-to-day activities of the organization. Kurt Lewin represented the three-stage process of change in order to bring the change in the organization. His model is, known as Unfreeze- Change – Refreeze. At the Unfreezing stage, the managers educate the people about the change.  Ã‚  

Starbucks have remained quite stable in carrying out its strategies Essay

Starbucks have remained quite stable in carrying out its strategies that have boosted its expansion across the globe - Essay Example In 1992, Starbucks experienced a tremendous amount of growth, which led to reaching up around 100 stores across United States. This was their major stimulus towards going to public and become a publically traded company. With the exceptional amount of growth in its business, Starbuck managed to satisfy on an average 35 million customer per week, which indicates the quality, taste and aroma of the coffee offered by Starbucks to its customers (Stanley, 2002). The mission statement of Starbucks provides a comprehensive insight to the overall purpose of the organization. Unlike the typical mission statements, Starbucks has strived to incorporate all those purposes which are extremely vital for existence of the business such as achievement of profitability, responsibility towards community and environment, product diversity and lastly but most importantly, fair and equitable treatment with its workforce (Hammers, 2003). Organizational Design Organizational design is influenced by the stra tegies that the top management of any organization designs for it as part of its future areas of operations. Other factors, which contribute in shaping up the good â€Å"fit† for organizational design, are nature of organization, its size life cycle, environment, culture, and technology (Daft, Murphy, & Willmot, 2007). There might be other factors as well but they vary organization to organization. Starbucks has implemented such a design structure in its organization, which helps facilitate the faster communication among employees and from customers to top management. The structure of the organization is developed in such a manner that it fosters meaningful and timely communication across the organization (Hitt, 2008). The top management of Starbucks controls the centralized decision making system of the organization from its headquarter located in Seattle. The other districts where the stores of Starbucks serve its customer are run under the district managers who are directl y reportable to the top managers at the Starbucks headquarters. Under district managers, store managers keep the track of all the store activities. Apart from store managers, there are duty supervisors who take the charge in the absence of the store managers. Baristas are the coffee servers who report to duty supervisors and store managers (Hitt, 2008). In this way, the complete organizational structure of Starbucks stands and facilitates the appropriate communication and decision-making among the employees from top management to the lower-tier employees. This organizational structure of Starbucks allows the employees to work with coordination and collaboration rather than competition. Employees are assigned their specific roles but they are questioned for their tasks to which they are accountable. Adaptive culture is promoted at Starbucks however; the information sharing among employees follows a formal hierarchical chain, which is the bottom-line towards developing a centralized o rganizational structure. Organizational Effectiveness The effectiveness of any organization is mainly shaped as to how its major goals are being accomplished. However, there is no stringent tool to measure the organizational effectiveness. The broad way of measuring the organizational

Autonomy and motivation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Autonomy and motivation - Assignment Example Paradigm This research paper has utilized mixed research method Research Questions: The first question and probably one of the most difficult facets of any research task is the recognition of suitable research questions. Research questions are a pivotal and essential part of any quantitative research. The process of identification for qualitative research that is discussed in chapter 6, is quite dissimilar than for quantitative research (Deci and Ryan, 1985). For example, questions are usually not as narrowly constrained as they are in quantitative studies when keeping with the goals of research in qualitative studies. Questions should be interesting in that they address current and emerging issues; they need to be sufficiently constrained and narrow so that they can be answered at the same time in the same manner. Broad research questions can be easier said than done if not impossible to attend to without breaking them down into smaller questions that are answerable. Ethical conside ration As discussed by Deci and Flaste (1995), in most educational settings, one ought to obtain permission from a committee of human research before recruiting volunteers for a research project or before conducting any research (page 16). DÃ" §rnyei (1994) describes mixed methods research as a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in a single research project. The two approaches have been identified already and there is no need replicate their main features. The methodology used was the sampling of population taken into consideration to get their responses on the contentious issues. The first batch of respondents was gotten from nine different departments of parents. Those in real estate and the building industry, structural engineering, management, hotel management, English, mechanical engineering, bilingual studies and maritime studies. The total population of the respondents was 508. Most of those interviewed were graduates and diploma holders (Dickson, 1995). Inst rumentation According to Holec (1981), typically there are two distinct types of instruments of survey data collection: interviews and questionnaires. Questionnaire instrument is given in written form, and are used where information is to be got or collected from a large number of individuals. On the other hand, interviews are orally administered and are used in cases where there is need for in-depth information from a smaller group of individuals. The instrument used to gather the information was a questionnaire. The questionnaire had four sections. Each section had its own set of information that was to be submitted at the end. The first section was to determine who was responsible, between the teachers and the students should be the one to facilitate various aspects under learning both in and out of the classroom situation according to the students’ preferences. The second section was to determine the specific views according to the students on their own abilities to carry out similar learning aspects in and out of the classroom. The third aspect aimed at gauging the amount of motivation the students could afford to uphold in learning situation, especially of the English language. The fourth section set out to find out the actual activities the learners engaged in under both the classroom and outside class environment that could be considered as a manifestation of the subject

Advantages of television Essay Example for Free

Advantages of television Essay Television is as much a part of everyday life as eating and drinking. It is in fact a very natural part of daily life. 94 percent of European households own a television and make TV viewing an integral part of their day (*). Whether it is together with friends and family, in between and parallel to other activities (while cooking, while ironing etc. ) or as part of a moment alone while relaxing, TV plays a central role in most people’s lives. As such TV advertising is a powerful communication tool and as much a part of television viewing, as the programmes themselves. Television is as much a part of everyday life as eating and drinking. It is in fact a very natural part of daily life. 94 percent of European households own a television and make TV viewing an integral part of their day (*). Whether it is together with friends and family, in between and parallel to other activities (while cooking, while ironing etc. ) or as part of a moment alone while relaxing, TV plays a central role in most people’s lives. As such TV advertising is a powerful communication tool and as much a part of television viewing, as the programmes themselves. Television is as much a part of everyday life as eating and drinking. It is in fact a very natural part of daily life. 94 percent of European households own a television and make TV viewing an integral part of their day (*). Whether it is together with friends and family, in between and parallel to other activities (while cooking, while ironing etc. ) or as part of a moment alone while relaxing, TV plays a central role in most people’s lives. As such TV advertising is a powerful communication tool and as much a part of television viewing, as the programmes themselves. Television is as much a part of everyday life as eating and drinking. It is in fact a very natural part of daily life. 94 percent of European households own a television and make TV viewing an integral part of their day (*). Whether it is together with friends and family, in between and parallel to other activities (while cooking, while ironing etc. ) or as part of a moment alone while relaxing, TV plays a central role in most people’s lives. As such TV advertising is a powerful communication tool and as much a part of television viewing, as the programmes themselves. Television is as much a part of everyday life as eating and drinking. It is in fact a very natural part of daily life. 94 percent of European households own a television and make TV viewing an integral part of their day (*). Whether it is together with friends and family, in between and parallel to other activities (while cooking, while ironing etc. ) or as part of a moment alone while relaxing, TV plays a central role in most people’s lives. As such TV advertising is a powerful communication tool and as much a part of television viewing, as the programmes themselves. Television is as much a part of everyday life as eating and drinking. It is in fact a very natural part of daily life. 94 percent of European households own a television and make TV viewing an integral part of their day (*). Whether it is together with friends and family, in between and parallel to other activities (while cooking, while ironing etc. ) or as part of a moment alone while relaxing, TV plays a central role in most people’s lives. As such TV advertising is a powerful communication tool and as much a part of television viewing, as the programmes themselves.

Find out the difference Essay Example for Free

Find out the difference Essay I am trying to find out the difference in flight time, of a weighted paper helicopter, on comparison to a mass of blue tack with equivalent mass. Variables Things that could be investigated are:   Wing span which would effect the air resistance of the helicopter   Mass attached to helicopter   Wing area   Increase the mass of the helicopter by adding more paper clips which I predict would effect the rate of which the helicopter would fall. Measurement and different interpretation of these variables could be made for example, increasing the amount of mass then compare it with air resistance by timing a piece of blue tact of same mass. Hypothesis What I predict will happen is, as the mass of the blue tact is increased the speed in which it falls will be increased too. Also I predict that as the mass of paperclips are added to the helicopter the faster it will fall. The reason and objects stay at rest is because the two forces on the object are equal. Things that effect the rate of which the paper clip fall are gravity and air resistance: * If an object is released above the ground it falls, because it is attracted towards the earth. This force of attraction is called gravity. As an object falls through air, it usually encounters some degree of air resistance. Air resistance is the result of collisions of the objects leading surface with air molecules. The actual amount of air resistance encountered by the object is dependent upon a variety of factors. To keep the topic simple, it can be said that the two most common factors, which have a direct effect upon the amount of air resistance, are the speed of the object and the cross-sectional area of the object. Increased speeds result in an increased amount of air resistance. Increased cross-sectional areas result in an increased amount of air resistance. I think when theres more paperclips (when the helicopter is heavier) its time of fall would decrease. I think this will happen because the force pulling the helicopter down (weight/gravity pull) is larger when its heavier whereas air resistance is the same. The reason it will fall is due to gravity acting on the mass at nearly 10meters/sec. But the reason why the ball of blue tack and the helicopter will have varying flight times is due to air resistance. A way of increasing an objects rotational momentum is to put most of its mass as far from the centre of rotation as possible as this will maximise its speed and therefore give it more momentum. If a spinning object has more momentum when its mass is far from the centre of rotation, then it must require more energy to make such an object go the same speed as one with its mass in the centre of rotation. In the preliminary tests I decided I would use medium strength sugar paper. The clock is to be started from the top of the ceiling at 2. 5metres and then stopped when the helicopter touches the floor Method. You want to find out the comparison in flight time between the blue tack and the paper helicopter; the helicopter design, which should be used, is attached. Paper helicopter must be kept to the same design each time. First the paper helicopter should be weighed with the specified amount of paper clips on an electronic scale, then the weight should be recreated with a piece of blue tack rolled into a ball. The height of the drop should be stated, then the paper helicopter and blue tack should be dropped at separate times while being timed with a stop watch and recorded. This should be repeated 3 times to make sure no mistakes occur. It is fair test because: 1. Electric scales are used to make sure the measurement are as precise as possible. 2. The test is committed inside thus avoiding wind, which would effect the experiment. 3. It is repeated 3 time in order to make sure no anomalies occur. 4. The same height of which it is dropped will be kept. Some of the variables that can be changed are the weight and design of the helicopter but those will be kept the same by simply making sure accuracy and care is performed. The clock is to be started from the top of the ceiling at 2. 5metres and then stopped when the helicopter touches the floor Risk Assessment. Well the experiment is fundamentally safe with the only danger being that of which you stand on to reach the desired height on to drop the helicopter and the ball. Diagrams Results Analysis The experiment was repeated so that we have 3 separate results for accuracy. What I found out was that although the mass are the same for both object this doesnt mean that they will have the same amount of flight time. This is due to the varying air resistance of the two objects. My results proved my hypothesis to be correct and I also found out was that the higher the mass on the helicopter the faster the helicopter span. As gravity pulls the helicopter down, air pushes up against the blades, bending them up. Because the blades are slanted slightly, some of that push becomes a sideways push. Because you have two blades that are pointed in opposite directions, the two opposing pushes of air cause the helicopter to spin. The rotation speed increases as the weight (paper clips) increases, but a point is reached where additional weight pulls down with such force that the wings move upward and the plane falls like and falling object. Air resistance is proportional to the falling bodys velocity squared. For an object to experience terminal velocity, air resistance must balance weight. An example that shows this phenomenon was the classic illustration of a rock and a feather being dropped simultaneously. In a vacuum with zero air resistance, these two objects will experience same acceleration. But this does not happen on Earth. Air resistance will equal weight more quickly for the feather than it would for the rock. The reason why the helicopter with most paper clips fell faster was due to Terminal Velocity. So a helicopter with more paperclips will experience a Terminal Velocity greater that a helicopter with less paperclips. Trends that happened in the experiment include that as the mass increased on the helicopter the time to fall was shortened and with continued tests would equal out to the same flight time of the ball of blue tack, reducing the effect of air resistance drastically. The paper helicopter initially accelerates due to the force of gravity, because the downward force due to his weight is the only force acting on him. Then it starts to experience frictional force of air resistance in the opposite direction. As the helicopter increases in speed eventually the force due to air resistance is equal to the force due to his weight. This means that the air resistant force is equal to the force due to the weight. This means that the resultant force acting on him is now zero and it continues to fall a constant speed called the terminal velocity. Conclusion What I found out was that as the mass increased on the helicopter the effect of resistance on the helicopter dropped on comparison to the blue tack ball. I found out that although two objects may be the same mass it depends on the other forces effecting it, and in this case it was air resistance acting upon it. The helicopter was better shaped to stay in the air longer, but as the mass increased the wings were unable to open. Evaluation The results did fit into a clear pattern and are as expected, as the mass was increased the rate in wish it fell was faster and as you can see by the comparison of the blue tack it was getting close to the rate of the blue tack. For one example of a slight anomaly is in experiment 1 at the weight at 2. 2g It seems out of place. The results seem reliable and follow a trend with minimal anomalies. Preliminary tests were completed and no alterations were made, as the tests were a success. In the preliminary tests I decided I would use medium strength sugar paper. Some of the reasons that could have caused the anomalies are:   The accuracy of taking the timing could have been at fault   The releasing of the helicopter Things that made the test unfair are:   Every time you put a paper clip, centre of gravity / centre of mass is different. What would have been better to get a precise reading to the falling would have been to use a laser trigger to set the stop clock off because for people to be split second accurate it would be extremely difficult if not in possible. To extend my experiment I would like to drop the helicopters with greater masses on but be able to record the timing of them accurately. References 1. The essentials of AQA science: Double Award Coordinated Physics 2. Key science by Jim Breithaupt Chris Sommers Page 1 10/05/2007.

Land Resources Land As A Resource Environmental Sciences Essay

Land Resources Land As A Resource Environmental Sciences Essay Land or soil is one of the natural bases for human life and social development. Soils are defined and characterized on the basis of their morphological profiles because the assemblage of obvious physical features represented by these units are often related to the less obvious features of their chemical composition, chemical properties, and fertility. Men have tilled the soil and irrigated and drained it for at least six millennia. This is basic to civilization. Systematic scientific study of agriculture began in the first half of the nineteenth century, along with physical studies of the soil. In its natural state, the soil is normally a three-component porous medium consisting of solid soil particles, water, and air. Much of the water involved in the hydrologic cycle is located in soil between the time of its arrival as rain at the soil surface and that of its return to the atmosphere. The processes of water movement in soil play a central part in the scientific study of the terrestrial sector of the hydrologic cycle and in the problems of dry-land and irrigated agriculture, of plant ecology, and of soil biology. These determine the transport of materials in solution such as natural salts, fertilizers, and urban and industrial wastes through the soil. Properties such as infiltration, drainage, and retention of water in the soil layers; extraction of water by plant roots; and the evaporation of water from the soil are also important. The solid phase of the soil has mineral and organic matter, which is usually highly colloidal, seldom exceeds 5-10% by weight of soil. In an agricultural context, the main interest in soil structure is in terms of soil tilth, which is related to the ability of aggregates to maintain their integrity when the soil is irrigated, tilled, or otherwise worked so that water retention and drainage and aeration are kept at favorable levels. As soil is a complex mixture of many components there is usually little value in determining the amount of a chemical element present without any indication of the fraction of the soil in which it occurs and its form of combination. Indeed, fractions that comprise only a small proportion of the total soil mass are often very important in determining its behavior. The following is a convenient classification of soil fractions: The Organic Fraction, The Mineral Fraction, Soluble in water: Simple inorganic ions, Soluble in dilute acids: Carbonates, Insoluble in dilute acids. Primary minerals mainly occur in sand and silt fractions; secondary minerals usually occur in the clay fraction ( Organic Fraction Organic materials are added to soils as dead plant and animal remains. They are decomposed by the microflora and microfauna to form humus, an amorphous material distinct from undecomposed litter. Well-humified organic matter contains about 58 % carbon, so the amount of the soil organic fraction is usually specified by determining the organic carbon content and multiplying it by 1.73. Organic contents range from zero in some mineral subsoils, through 1 to 10 % in arable topsoils, to nearly 100% (of the dry weight) in some peat and muck soils. The amounts in surface soils depend on the balance between accumulation and decomposition, and these processes in turn are influenced by temperature and moisture content. Apart from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the organic fraction contains nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus. The proportions of these elements are often expressed as ratios compared to nitrogen taken as 10, and typical values are C:N = 80-150:10, S:N = 1.2-1.5:10, and P:N = 0.2-3.0:10. Metals such as aluminum, iron, manganese, and copper are also found in small amounts in humic complexes. The organic compounds in humus are very different. The main portion appears to consist of polymers, some of which are formed by random condensation of phenols, amino acids, and other related microbial degradation products. A large number of compounds have been isolated from humus extracts, but many of these must be artifacts. Of particular interest, apart from the polyphenols, are amino acids (implying that humus contains protein), sugars (indicating carbohydrate fractions), and amino sugars. The sulfur seems to be part of the main humus fraction, probably as sulfur-containing amino acids and organic sulphates. In some soils, much of the organic phosphorus is present as inositol polyphosphates, which appear not to be an integral part of the humus. Water-soluble Components The soluble-salt content of most soils is low so that the soil solution typically contains between 5 and 25 mmol/L of calcium and magnesium salts, mainly as nitrate. In saline soils, however, the salt content is of the order of 100 mmol/L, and although still less than 1% of the soil mass, the soluble salts dominate the behavior of the soil and include also sodium (Na+), chloride (Cl-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), and sulphate (SO4) ions. The salt content is normally determined in a saturation extract prepared by wetting the soil until it is just saturated with water and filtering off the extract under reduced pressure. The filtrate may be analyzed chemically, but a rapid indication of the degree of salinity is given by measuring its electrical conductivity. Conductivity values above 4 milliSiemens (mS) indicate that crop production may be reduced by salt damage, while above 20 mS only salt-tolerant species can survive. The approximate conductivity at 25Â °C of a 100 mmol/L solution referred to above is 8-10 mS. The reaction of soil is one of its most important diagnostic parameters. It is given by a pH measurement on the saturation extract or on a suspension of soil in water or in a dilute electrolyte solution. Strongly acid soils may have pH values down to 3.5, and strongly alkaline soils as high as 9.5, but more typical pH values of soils range from 5 to 8. Carbonates In soils formed from limestone rocks or other carbonate-containing sediments, carbonates occur mainly as calcite (CaCO3) but sometimes also as dolomite [(Ca, Mg)CO3]. They are important in the buffer system that controls the pH and cation balance of soil, and also for their reactions with anions, particularly phosphate. In their reactions with anions, the particle size and surface area of the soil carbonates are more important than the amount. Amounts of soil carbonate are estimated from the carbon dioxide evolved when the soil is treated with dilute acid, the results being expressed as a percentage by weight of the soil. In a leaching environment, soil carbonate is gradually removed by solution in carbonated water [CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 = Ca(HCO3)2] so that topsoils contain less carbonate than subsoils or the parent material. The leached carbonate may be concentrated by chemical precipitation at depth in the soil profile. Primary Minerals Soil analysis includes the separation and determination of sand, silt, and clay fractions by sieving and sedimentation. The mineral matter of soils is directly inherited from the parent material, although its composition is usually different depending on the age of the soil and the resistance of minerals to weathering. The minerals in the sand and silt fractions are mainly quartz and feldspars, plus a host of accessory minerals. Only the most resistant primary minerals remain in advanced stages of soil development, i.e., quartz (SiO2) as the major component, with smaller amounts of heavy metal oxides such as hematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), and rutile (TiO2). Secondary Minerals The clay-sized ( Land Degradation Land degradation making the land unsuitable for habitat construction and agriculture has become a major problem in recent times. This has threatened the world food production as soil quality degradation results in severe reduction in crop yield. It is estimated that 15 percent of the worlds total land area has not maintained its quality due to a number of problems that include erosion, nutrient decline, salinization and physical compaction. The countries which are mainly dependent on agriculture as a national resource suffer more from the effects of land degradation. Some of the major soil degradation processes and the causes for them are given below. Loss of topsoil by erosion/surface wash. This results in a decrease in depth of the topsoil layer due to more or less uniform removal of soil material by run-off water. The possible causes are inappropriate land management especially in agriculture (insufficient soil cover, unobstructed flow of run-off water, deteriorating soil structure) leading to excessive surface run-off and sediment transport. Terrain deformation is an irregular displacement of soil material (by linear erosion or mass movement) causing clearly visible scars in the terrain. The possible causes are inappropriate land management in agriculture forestry or construction activities, allowing excessive amounts of run-off water to concentrate and flow unobstructed. Fertility decline and reduced organic matter content resulting in a net decrease of available nutrients and organic matter in the soil. This is likely to be due to imbalance between output (through harvesting, burning, leaching, etc.) and input (through manure/fertilizers, returned crop residues, flooding) of nutrients and organic matter. Soil contamination indicates the presence of an alien substance in the soil without significant negative effects and soil pollution signifies soil degradation as a consequence of location, concentration and adverse biological or toxic effects of a substance. The source of pollution may be waste dumps, spills, factory wasted, etc. The source can also be diffuse or airborne (atmospheric deposition of acidifying compounds and/or heavy metals. Eutrophication with the presence of an excess of certain soil nutrients, impairing plant growth. The possible causes are imbalanced application of organic and chemical fertilizer resulting in excess nitrogen, phosphorus; liming. Compaction resulting in deterioration of soil structure by trampling by cattle or the weight and/or frequent use of machinery. The possible causes are repeated use of heavy machinery, having a cumulative effect. Heavy grazing and overstocking may lead to compaction as well. Factors that influence compaction are ground pressure (by axle/wheel loads of the machinery used); frequency of the passage of heavy machinery; soil texture; soil moisture; climate. Sealing and crusting which is clogging of pores with fine soil material and development of a thin impervious layer at the soil surface obstructing the infiltration of rainwater. The possible causes are poor soil cover, allowing a maximum splash effect of raindrops; destruction of soil structure and low organic matter. Waterlogging that results from effects of human induced hydromorphism (i.e. excluding paddy fields). The possible causes are rising water table (e.g. due to construction of reservoirs/irrigation) and/or increased flooding caused by higher peak-flows. Lowering of the soil surface resulting from subsidence of organic soils, settling of soil. The possible causes are oxidation of peat and settling of soils in general due to lowering of the water table; solution of gypsum in the sub-soil (human-induced) or lowering of soil surface due to extraction of gas or water Loss of productive function which results from soil (land) being taken out of production for non-bio-productive activities, but not the eventual secondary degrading effects of these activities. The possible causes are urbanization and industrial activities; infrastructure; mining; quarrying, etc. Aridification, which is the decrease of average soil moisture content. The possible causes are lowering of groundwater tables for agricultural purposes or drinking water extraction; decreased soil cover and reduced organic matter content. Salinisation / alkalinization which is a net increase of the salt content of the (top)soil leading to a productivity decline. The possible causes are a distinction can be made between salinity problems due to intrusion of seawater (which may occur under all climate conditions) and inland salinisation, caused by improper irrigation methods and/or evaporation of saline groundwater. Dystrification, which is the lowering of soil pH through the process of mobilizing or increasing acidic compounds in the soil. Worldwide, almost 2,000Â  million hectares of land show at least minor signs of degradation, corresponding to approximately 1% of the ice-free surface. Around 300Â  million hectares of land surface are already seriously degraded. Soil degradation situation in India is shown in Fig. 2.10. Population growth and soil Population growth exerts enormous pressure on soils, and the soil degradation is due to additional migration and urbanization processes. The higher the rate of global population growth, the higher is the demand on the soil functions. There is already a growing disparity between growth-related demand and the availability of land. Many states are no longer capable of feeding their own populations with domestic agricultural products because they do not have enough land. Given the speed of population growth and the level of soil degradation already apparent, an increasing scarcity of soils available for meeting competing demands is expected. Two case studies of soil degradation 1. The Sahel Region The problems of soil degradation and desertification in the Sahel can be attributed to changes in nature as well as to socioeconomic causes. The nomadic groups in the Sahel are increasingly restricted in the mobility and flexibility that once provided them with a secure basis for ecological adaptation. Growing competition from other forms of land use, political measures and unclear or disadvantageous land-use rights led to their sedentarisation; they were pushed into more marginalized locations much less suitable for grazing livestock. The sensitive soils and ecosystems in the region are degraded as a result, mainly due to overgrazing. Subsistence farmers are similarly affected by displacement to marginal land that is unsuitable for farming. Greater mechanization without parallel soil protection measures (erosion protection, and suitable irrigation) has negative effects on the soils. Finally, cash crops (cotton, groundnuts) on fertile soils is not pursued in a sustainable fashion. These monocultures are farmed with the help of machines and pesticides, both of which can cause great problems. The Sahel also undergone tremendous social changes caused by internal and external conditions. Of importance is the general neglect of rural concerns and the orientation to agrarian export production through large-scale capital-intensive projects in the agricultural sector. External factors can be identified both in the global economic conditions (agricultural subsidies and/or export policies of the industrial nations, international debt) and in the practice of international development organizations, which in the past were not geared to the principle of sustainability, and which through their orientation to production technology gave too little consideration to the existing development potential. If the complex problems faced by the Sahel are to be solved, greater attention must be given to the socioeconomic causes and to organizational and financial decentralization. 2. The Leipzig-Halle-Bitterfeld region The soils in the Leipzig-Halle-Bitterfeld region are contaminated, in some cases alarmingly, by depositions of airborne pollutants through deliberate depositing of inorganic and organic substances. A prime cause of this contamination was the concentration of chemical industries, mining and energy production, all of which used outdated production methods. Since the turn of the century, there have been five brown coal mining fields, and large-scale chemical plants developed in Bitterfeld (paints and dyes), Leuna (methanol, nitrogen) and Buna (synthetic rubber). For economically and environmentally sound development of the region, soil remediation and the removal of contaminated soil are a matter of urgency, which requires considerable support from the state or from outside the region. Fig. 2.10. Soil degradation in India Landslide In a landslide, masses of rock, earth, or debris move down a slope. Landslides may be small or large, slow or rapid. They are activated by: storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, alternate freezing or thawing, and steepening of slopes by erosion or human modification. Debris and mudflows are rivers of rock, earth, and other debris saturated with water. They develop when water rapidly accumulates in the ground, during heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt, changing the earth into a flowing river of mud or slurry. They can flow rapidly, striking with little or no warning at avalanche speeds. They can travel several miles from their source, growing in size as they pick up trees, boulders, and other materials. Landslide problems can be caused by land mismanagement, particularly in mountain, canyon, and coastal regions. In areas burned by forest and brush fires, a lower threshold of precipitation may initiate landslides. Land-use zoning, professional inspections, and proper design can minimize many landslide, mudflow, and debris flow problems. Protection from a landslide or debris flow (a) Guidelines for the period following a landslide: Stay away from the slide area. There may be danger of additional slides. Listen to local radio or television stations for the latest emergency information. Watch for flooding, which may occur after a landslide or debris flow. Floods sometimes follow landslides and debris flows because they may both be started by the same event. Check for injured and trapped persons near the slide, without entering the direct slide area. Ask for rescuers and give them correct locations. Help a neighbor who may require special assistance infants, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Elderly people and people with disabilities may require additional assistance. People who care for them or who have large families may need additional assistance in emergency situations. Inform appropriate authorities about damaged roadways, railways, electricity lines and other utilities. Reporting potential hazards will get the utilities turned off as quickly as possible, preventing further damage. Check building foundation, chimney, and surrounding land for damage. Damage to foundations, chimneys, or surrounding land may help assess the safety of the area. Replant damaged ground as soon as possible since erosion caused by loss of ground cover can lead to flash flooding and additional landslides in the near future. Seek advice from a geotechnical expert for evaluating landslide hazards or designing corrective techniques to reduce landslide risk. A professional will be able to advise you of the best ways to prevent or reduce landslide risk, without creating further hazard. (b) During a Landslide or Debris Flow What one should do if a landslide or debris flow occurs: Stay alert and awake. Many debris-flow fatalities occur when people are sleeping. Listen to radio or television for warnings of intense rainfall. Be aware that intense, short bursts of rain may be particularly dangerous, especially after longer periods of heavy rainfall and damp weather. If you are in areas susceptible to landslides and debris flows, consider leaving if it is safe to do so. Remember that driving during an intense storm can be hazardous. If you remain at home, move to a second story if possible. Staying out of the path of a landslide or debris flow saves lives. Listen for any unusual sounds that might indicate moving debris, such as trees cracking or boulders knocking together. A trickle of flowing or falling mud or debris may precede larger landslides. Moving debris can flow quickly and sometimes without warning. If one is near a stream or channel, he should be alert for any sudden increase or decrease in water flow and for a change from clear to muddy water. Such changes may indicate landslide activity upstream, so be prepared to move quickly. Dont delay! Save yourself, not your belongings. Be especially alert when driving. Embankments along roadsides are particularly susceptible to landslides. Watch the road for collapsed pavement, mud, fallen rocks, and other indications of possible debris flows. (c) What to do in case of Imminent Landslide Danger Contact your local fire, police, or public works department. Local officials are the best persons able to assess potential danger. Inform affected neighbors. Your neighbors may not be aware of potential hazards. Advising them of a potential threat may help save lives. Help neighbors who may need assistance to evacuate. Evacuate. Getting out of the path of a landslide or debris flow is your best protection. Curl into a tight ball and protect your head if escape is not possible. (d) Before a Landslide or Debris Flow Protect yourself from the effects of a landslide or debris flow: Do not build near steep slopes, close to mountain edges, near drainage ways, or natural erosion valleys. Get a ground assessment of your property. Contact local officials, geological surveys or departments of natural resources, and university departments of geology. Landslides occur where they have before, and in identifiable hazard locations. Ask for information on landslides in your area, specific information on areas vulnerable to landslides, and request a professional referral for a very detailed site analysis of your property, and corrective measures you can take, if necessary. If you are at risk from a landslide talk to your insurance agent. Debris flow may be covered by flood insurance policies. Minimize home hazards Have flexible pipe fittings installed to avoid gas or water leaks, as flexible fittings are more resistant to breakage (only the Gas Company or professionals should install gas fittings). Plant ground cover on slopes and build retaining walls. In mudflow areas, build channels or deflection walls to direct the flow around buildings. Remember: If you build walls to divert debris flow and the flow lands on a neighbors property, you may be liable for damages. Recognize Landslide Warning Signs Changes occur in your landscape such as patterns of storm-water drainage on slopes (especially the places where runoff water converges) land movement, small slides, flows, or progressively leaning trees. Doors or windows stick or jam for the first time. New cracks appear in plaster, tile, brick, or foundations. Outside walls, walks, or stairs begin pulling away from the building. Slowly developing, widening cracks appear on the ground or on paved areas such as streets or driveways. Underground utility lines break. Bulging ground appears at the base of a slope. Water breaks through the ground surface in new locations. Fences, retaining walls, utility poles, or trees tilt or move. Faint rumbling sound that increases in volume is noticeable as the landslide nears. The ground slopes downward in one direction and may begin shifting in that direction under your feet. Unusual sounds, such as trees cracking or boulders knocking together, might indicate moving debris. Collapsed pavement, mud, fallen rocks, and other indications of possible debris flow can be seen when driving (embankments along roadsides are particularly susceptible to landslides). Desertification The most critical and increasing threat to sustainable land use is desertification. It is estimated that desertification affects one-quarter of the total land area of the world, or about 70 percent of all dry lands, and threatens the livelihoods of over 1 billion people in more than 100 countries. Desertification is closely linked with rural poverty and hunger. It exacerbates conditions leading to famine, migration, internal displacement, political instability and conflict. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities. Current desertification is taking place much faster worldwide and usually arises from the demands of increasing population that settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals. A major impact of desertification is loss of biodiversity and productive capacity, for example, by transition from grassland to perennial shrubs. The change in vegetation induces desertification. In the Madagascar, 10% of the entire country has been lost to desertification due to zoom agriculture by indigenous people. In Africa, with current trends of soil degradation, the continent will be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025 according to one estimate. Deserts may be separated from the surroundings by less arid areas, mountains and other landforms. In other areas, there is a gradual transition from a dry to a more humid environment, making it more difficult to determine the desert border. These transition zones have very fragile, delicately balanced ecosystems. Desert fringes are a mosaic of microclimates. Small hollows support vegetation that picks up heat from the hot winds and protects the land from the prevailing winds. After rainfall the vegetated areas are distinctly cooler than the surroundings. In these marginal areas human activity may stress the ecosystem beyond its tolerance limit, resulting in degradation of the land. By pounding the soil with their hooves, livestock compact the substrate, increase the proportion of fine material, and reduce the percolation rate of the soil, thus encouraging erosion by wind and water. Grazing and collection of firewood reduce or eliminate plants that help to bind the soil. In large desert areas, sand dunes can encroach on human habitats. Sand dunes move through wind. In a major dust storm, dunes may move tens of meters. And like snow, sand avalanches, falling down the steep slopes of the dunes that face away from the winds, move the dunes forward. Droughts by themselves cannot cause desertification. Drought is just a contributing factor. The causes are social and economic, having to do with access to resources, power and economics. Droughts are common in arid and semiarid lands, and well-managed lands can recover from drought when the rains return. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. Increased population and livestock pressure on marginal lands has accelerated desertification. In some areas, nomads moving to less arid areas disrupt the local ecosystem and increase the rate of erosion of the land. Nomads are trying to escape the desert, but because of their land-use practices, they bring the desert with them. Some arid and semi-arid lands can support crops, but additional pressure from greater population or decreases in rainfall can lead to the disappearance of the few plants present. The soil becomes exposed to wind, causing soil particles to be deposited elsewhere. The top layer becomes eroded. With the removal of shade, rates of evaporation increase and salts become drawn up to the surface. This is salinisation, which inhibits plant growth. The loss of plants causes less moisture to be retained in the area, which may change the climate pattern leading to lower rainfall. The degradation of formerly productive land is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend toward greater aridity, or it may initiate a change in local climate. Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well under way. Often little data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Combating desertification is complex and difficult. Over-exploitation of the land and climate variations can have identical impacts, which makes it very difficult to choose the right mitigation strategy. Measures like reforestation cannot achieve their goals if global warming continues. Forests may die when it gets drier, and more frequent extreme events could become a threat for agriculture, water supply, and infrastructure. Current desertification Overgrazing and to a lesser extent drought in the 1930s transformed parts of the Great Plains in the United States into the Dust Bowl. During that time, a considerable fraction of the population abandoned their homes to escape the unproductive lands. Improved agricultural and water management have prevented a disaster of the earlier magnitude from recurring, but desertification presently affects millions of people with primary occurrence in the less developed countries. Desertification is widespread in many areas of the Peoples Republic of China. The populations of rural areas have increased along with an increase in the livestock; the land available for grazing has decreased. Importing of European cattle, which have higher food intakes, has made things worse. Human overpopulation is leading to destruction of tropical wet and dry forests, due to widening practices of zoom cultivation. Deforestation has led to large scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes total desertification. Overgrazing has made the Rio Puerco Basin of central New Mexico one of the most eroded river basins of the western United States and has increased the high sediment content of the river. Overgrazing is also an issue with some regions of South Africa such as the Waterberg Massif, although restoration of native habitat and game has been pursued vigorously since 1980. The Desert of Maine is a 40-acre dune of glacial silt near Freeport, Maine. Overgrazing and soil erosion exposed the cap of the dune, revealing the desert as a small patch that continued to grow, overtaking the land. Ghana and Nigeria currently experience desertification; in the latter, desertification overtakes about 1,355 square miles of land per year. The Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, are also affected. More than 80% of Afghanistans land is subject to soil erosion and desertification. In Kazakhstan, nearly half of the cropland has been abandoned since 1980. In Iran, sand storms were said to have bur