External Environment Analysis Kraft Foods Essay

In the every changing and expanding food industry it is imperative organizations conduct strategic marketing to remain on top of their industry and make better plans for their future. Strategic marketing drives organizations to their peak of success and draws customer loyalty. The Porter Five Analysis and PEST analysis are two of the tools utilized by strategist to enhance organizational success. The Porter Five model examines the internal workings of the organization as well as the industry letting organizations know about potential threats. The PEST analysis on the other hand examines the macro-environment, looking at potential political and social threats to industry. The utilization of these two models together will better equip organizations to face ever changing industries and see potential threats. Below the author will discuss the different aspect of each model as well as provide useful web links to gather additional information. Porter Five Forces Analysis The Porter Five Analysis was developed by Michael Porter as a tool utilized by organizations to help identify the structure and competitiveness within an industry (Porter, 2008). It encompasses five different forces that shape the industry; threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and rivalry among existing competitors (Porter). The ability to analyze and understand trends and threats within an industry is critical for â€Å"effective strategic planning† that will render organizational success (Porter). Below is an analysis of Kraft Foods utilizing the Porter Five analysis model. Buyer Power With so many different varieties of brands available to consumers it is essential that organizations research consumer needs and demands in order to remain successful. As competition increases within the industry,  organizations must â€Å"create new products that adapt to the changing lifestyles and preferences of consumers, which have shifted to a focus on health and wellness† (Hathaway, Mrak-Blumberg, Wexler-Beron, 2006). Consumers have no loyalty or obligation to stay with one brand and will easily switch as prices and nutritional labels fit their needs. Conducting analysis of competitor’s financial statements will also help paint a picture of consumer trends helping organizations to adjust their products. Below are several websites that provide different information on the power that consumers hold. 1. This website discusses some very important facts relating to the immense power that consumers possess in the food industry and how the demand for healthy food is increasing the price of raw materials resulting in organizations absorbing the overhead costs to keep prices low. It also provides some information of Kraft Foods biggest competitors. Analysis of competitors can help strategists determine future marketing strategies and how to establish brand loyalty. Monitoring competition allows for change and adaptability permitting one to stay on top of their industry by tailoring products to consumer needs/demands. 2. This website provides information that describes the growing demands of consumers and the growth of the healthy food craze. This website really demonstrates the power that consumers hold in the food industry. Consumers are mandating healthy food choices with no GMO labeling. This has caused organizations to generate new products that are healthy and cater to consumer needs if they are to stay successful. Analyzing consumer trends is extremely important as it will allow a business to better tailor their food products and draw in new consumers and maintain loyalty of old consumers. http://www.inspirationgreen.com/vote-yes-on-37.html Supplier Power Although there are only ten major suppliers for Kraft Foods they have extreme power over the food industry. Walmart is one of Kraft Foods largest clients with the most revenue generated and with so many competitors on the market Kraft Foods must absorb the additional costs of producing cheap food in order to stay competitive. An individual supplier must â€Å"offer something  special to stand out from the crowd, such as a lower price, faster delivery time, more flexible credit terms, higher product quality or volume discounts† (Sullivan, n.d.) 1. This article provides a thorough discussion and different view point on supplier power and monopoly in the food industry. It provides a discussion on how big organizations, such as Wal-Mart, exert their power over their suppliers. Different suppliers have monopolies at supermarkets and can pay for primary shelf space and promote their brands. This leads to smaller suppliers struggling in an industry dominated by large supply compani es and large retailers. http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/doc/RetailConcentration-web.pdf 2. Pratt provides a good discussion on how to analyze the bargaining power of suppliers. Understanding the questions he poses will enable an organization to potentially avoid competition and build quality relationships with suppliers thus enhancing chances of industry success. http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-the-Bargaining-Power-of-Your-Suppliers&id=4251948 3. This informative website provides a list of the Kraft Foods suppliers. Determining the number of suppliers in an industry can help strategist determine the bargaining power of the suppliers. In hard times suppliers can ration their products causing organizations to spend more money upfront and lose revenues. When an organization is able to differentiate their product from competitors it is easier for them to bargain with suppliers for fair pricing. http://www.dailytrader.com/ss-kraft-foods/suppliers.html Threats of Entrants When an industry is booming the threat of new entrants is high as everyone wants to make profits. The threat of new organizations creates competition among an industry and influences their ability to maintain profits (Wilkinson, 2013). Firms in this industry preserve market share through brand loyalty, diversification and the barriers placed within the industry to enter the market (Porter, 2008). It is therefore imperative that these brands maintain quality at a competitive price and drive off new competition. 1. The following website points out the current economy/industry sales for Kraft Foods and their top competitors. This is a good website as it will paint a picture for future companies as to the  market capital, net income, dividends, operating margin and growth revenue. All of which are great indicators as to expenses and revenue generated and allows them to determining if starting a business in this industry is worth the overhead, time and effort. It can also help determine how different products by different companies are comparing to each other. http://financials.morningstar.com/competitors/industry-peer.action?t=KRFT ®ion=usa&culture=en-US 2. This web page provides a table with Kraft Foods top competitors broken down by categories allowing easy access to different aspects of the business. This also allows potential companies to determine which industry they would have the most impact in to succeed. Additionally it provides revenue, income and market share. http://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionSEG2.php?code=KRFT 3. NASDAQ is a great reference for organizations looking at trends in the food industry as it provides information on the financial, size and growth trends as well as market cap. This information is essential to determine if an organization can compete in certain industries. http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/krft/competitors 4. This informative document discusses current economic indicators and the growth of the food industry over the last 10 years. It talks about nature of the industry, market overview, demand and annual food spending at home. Additionally it provides a discussion on the issues affecting the industry. This resource will help paint a vivid picture of the economy of the industry and help determine if a new product will succeed. http://trade.gov/td/ocg/report08_processedfoods.pdf Threat of Substitutes The growing health trends have led many companies to adapt and change products to fit consumer demands. With a variety of brands available it is imperative organizations cater to consumers in order to avoid losing their loyalty to another company. â€Å"Consumers in the industry have minimal switching costs and there is never the guarantee of brand loyalty† (Hathaway, Mrak-Blumberg, Wexler-Beron, 2006). In order to keep loyal consumers organizations in this industry must offer new and innovative  products. 1. This document provides valuable information on consumer trends, healthy eating, industry dynamic, emerging products, and success factors. This valuable information helps organizations determine current trends and how they can adapt to remain successful and ahead of their competition within the industry. http://www.pwc.com/us/en/transaction-services/publications/assets/functional-foods.pdf 2. This is a very informative website that discusses current trends in the food industry while stating growth percentages specifically relating to the healthy snacking options. This is a good site to gain a better understanding and insight to healthy alternatives that competitors may be producing as well as market trends http://www.snackandbakery.com/articles/84475-snack-food-industry-trends 3. Organic Trade Association website provides information on industry statistics and projected growth trends which is can assist organizations in determining their future products based on consumer trends. http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html Rivalry Among Existing Competitors In every industry there is rivalry amongst organizations to win over consumers. This can generate new and innovative products, intense sales promotions and pricing wars (Porter, 2008). On the outside this activities may appear to be beneficial but in reality it can lead to increased costs and decreased profits for organizations (Porter). 1. CSI Market online provides a nice graph detailing growth rates of the major competitors in the food industry. This is an extremely useful tool to help determine where you stand financially next to your competition. Utilizing this information may assist in determining if a new product should be launched and if new marketing tactics are needed. http://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionNO3.php?code=KRFT 2. If an organization is to remain successful and on top of their organization they must produce numerous products that cater to consumer demands, i.e healthy food choices. This innovative thinking keeps consumers coming back to the same brands and generates loyalty. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/04/22/these-food-companies-are-the  -best-at-inspiring-bra.aspx PEST Analysis PEST analysis tool was developed by Francis Aguilar to help organization see the macro-environment of their business environment in order to make changes and maximize financial success (Mind Tools, n.d.). The ability to adapt and change business tactics to meet consumer demands can create new and improved products enhancing brand loyalty (Mind Tools). The PEST analysis focuses on political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological changes in the industry, helping organizations to determine different opportunities (Mind Tools). Political 1. This website provides information on regulations of the food industry, agricultural industry and federal regulations. Understanding the political implications and regulations of the food industry will assist with licensing and production of food products. It is imperative to know and understand these regulations in order to become and remain a successful and well respected brand. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs118 2. Harris provides a great article discussing government regulations for the food industry, to include agencies and their regulation methods. Knowing the correct process and FDA regulations will help bolster an organization while gain respect and trust from consumers. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/government-regulations-food-industry-76884.html 3. With the growing health trends the FDA has started enforcing stricter food labeling. This labeling ensures â€Å"stringent guidelines to maintain the integrity of the food label† (Philipson, 2005). Additionally this provides accurate information to consumers and allows them to make healthy educated decisions regarding the food they consume. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/262S.full Economic 1. Yahoo Finance provides data on the economic conditions of the food industry as well as a forecast of the growth prospects. This information is valuable to organizations as it can assist in determining present and future growth trends, revenues and specific growth regions.  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/food-beverage-business-confidence-report-130100393.html 2. The FDA addresses the need for government involvement in food safety in order to strengthen consumer confidence thus enhancing food industry growth. It is also a tool that can be utilized to determine how globalization is affecting the economic environment (Mind Tools, n.d.). http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm326870.htm 3. Organic Trade Association provides a website with information on the economy of the growing organic food trend. The needs and demands of the consumers for healthier food options has driven many food industry organizations to reexamine their line of products and begin producing healthier food options. The demands of the consumers must be met in order for an organization to succeed. It is also important to consider the economic impact these changes can have on our environment and make sure we leave a positive footprint. http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html Social 1. Over the last several years the food industry has had to adapt to the growing health conscious population and produce more healthy food alternatives. Understanding FDA regulations of labeling and marking and serving sizes on products will gain consumers trust that the products they are consumer are in line with a healthy life style. The social taboo of mislabeled or healthy food could potentially damage an organization. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/food-labels-fda-changes/2014/02/27/id/555199/ 2. Yahoo Finance provides an article discussing the importance of meeting the demands of the consumers in order to generate profits. Consumers are not only looking for healthy alternative in the grocery store but in restaurants too. There is an increased demand for nutritious organic fresh food in restaurants. Organizations must weigh the benefits between producing fresh products and providing affordable foods. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/health-wealth-food-beverage-industry-13 2935034.html Technological 1. Emerson discusses the evolution of technology in the food industry and how is has helped organizations to produce healthier and fresher food. Utilization of technology can allow organizations to produce large  quantities and variety of products thus catering to a larger consumer population and decreasing organizational costs. http://www.insidetechnology360.com/index.php/how-technology-has-affected-the-food-industry-22970/ 2. This website discusses the importance of evolving technology to running a successful business. Improved technology and software advances over the years have allowed for food industry organizations to make reordering of food and supplier easier and more convenient. These technologies can monitor refrigeration temperatures, energy usage helping to ensure the best food is available for the consumers. When consumers know that organizations go to extra measures to ensure product quality it generates brand loyalty and increased revenues. 3. Gould presents a very informative article regarding the importance of technology in the food industry. The use of technology assists with â€Å"decision making related to consumer insight, brand and product management and pricing† allowing organizations to maximize consumer needs and wants.   4. One new technology in the food industry is the utilization of biotechnology to increase efficiency of production and reduce environmental impact with increase production. This very informative slide show discusses the pros and cons of this innovative technology. In order to meet the growing health requirements by consumers it is beneficial for organizations to understand what technology their competitors are utilizing.   Conclusion If an organization is to succeed it is imperative a thorough analysis of the industry and environment is conducted. Utilization of the Porter Five Analysis will provide organizations with information on the internal and immediate threats to their organization. The PEST analysis on the other hand provides information on the marco-environment allowing organizations to focus on new opportunities for growth and success and see potential threats to the industry. Although both of these methods have different focuses,  when utilized together a significant amount of information in generated that will guide an organization on the path to a successful and profitable future. References Hathaway, J., Mrak-Blumberg, E., Wexler-Beron, E. (2006, April 4). Strategic Report for TheKraft Foods Corporation. Pandora Group Out of the Box Consulting. Retrieved July 23,2014 fromhttp://economicsfiles.pomona.edu/jlikens/SeniorSeminars/pandora/reports/kraft.pdf Mind Tools. (n.d.). PEST Analysis. Retrieved July 24, 2014 fromhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_09.htm Philipson, T. (2005). Government Perspective: Food Labeling 1,2,3. The American Journal ofClinical Nutrition, 82. Retrieved July 23, 2014 fromhttp://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/262S.full Porter, M. (2008, January). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy. Harvard BusinessReview. Retrieved July 23, 2014 from http://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forcesthat-shape-strategy/ar/1 Sullivan, D. (n.d.). Food Industry: The Bargaining Power of Suppliers. Chron Small Business.Retrieved July 24, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/fast-food-industrybargaining-power-suppliers-78188.html

Out of Time

Out of Time is a poem written by Kenneth Slessor and is one of his personally favorite poems to date he has written. Time is personified in this poem, but also associated with the natural phenomenon of water, or vessels such as yachts seen on Slessor’s favorite location, Sydney Harbor (which is itself personified). Personification gives immediacy to an abstraction such as time, and elicits evaluative responses which are more arresting than an address to an abstraction could ever be. So Slessor finds that Time ‘enfolds me in its bed’, but – in the next line – it is ‘the bony knife’ which ‘runs me through. Seeing time everywhere, he notes that it flows through all things and his heart rebukes him: â€Å"Time flows, not you. † Kenneth Slessor constantly reminds us during the first part of the poem that time itself cannot be slowed down or stopped; it is just a force that never stops or runs out. He seems pessimistic about the subject of Time though, as he constantly keeps repeating himself which is why he chose the title for the poem as, ‘Out of Time’ because no matter what, Time will never stop for anyone or anything. He is the pawn of Time whose mastery is complete and indifferent to his emotions: it ‘drills me, drives through bone and vein’, just as ‘water bends the seaweeds in the sea. ’ Time may be cruelly dominant, but the speaker’s view of himself is worse: ‘the tide goes over but the weeds remain’. Yet the engagement with Time and its indifference to us. In both senses, we are, ‘Out of Time’: that is, at once part of its scheme, but then abandoned by it; and also (as in music) out of kilter with its rhythms and purposes. Contrastingly, in the second section, Time is now seen at a disadvantage (which, again, is given immediacy by personification). Time, always flowing, cannot abide in the lovely moments it affords. Ever changing, he is subservient to ‘to-morrow’ and deaf to the entreaties of such as ‘beauty’, urging him to be ‘still’. This is his ‘fate’. Slessor’s execration of Time intensifies as the stanzas proceed, as he proceeds himself through a depressing sequence of ‘dead now’s and heres’: ‘He keeps appointment with a million years’. In contrast, by implication, our limited human experience now begins to appear preferable: ‘I and the moment laugh, and let him go, / Leaning against his golden undertow. ’ Thesis and antithesis anticipate synthesis. Slessor’s threefold ordering of the poem has the structure of an argument. Accordingly, the third section celebrates what the first section denigrated: the moment out of time that liberates us from our time-bound world. Cleverly, Slessor takes a word separate from language to celebrate this escape from ordinariness. The speaker, so critical of himself earlier, now celebrates himself as ‘part’ of a dispensation that is ‘fleshless and ageless, changeless and made free†. His heart, in a rhetorical question, inquires: ‘Fool, would you leave this country? ’ But, as the first word suggest, it is not finally a rhetorical query, as the poem, in closing, returns to its beginning. Time’s ever-flowing processes cannot be resisted: ‘ I was taken by the suck of sea’, and mortality is grimly recovered is grimly recovered, along with the original imagery of the first section in a rhyming couplet that is too pat: ‘ The gulls go down, the body dies and rots, / And Time flows past them like a hundred yachts. In my opinion this is one of my favorite poems of Kenneth Slessor so far, as all 3 parts interconnect with each other which allows for very deep and meaningful analysis. He also discusses and describe that time cannot be controlled or stopped, it only flow’s on which most people and including me, can instantly relate to.

The Civil War: an Inevitable Conflict

The bloodiest time in history for America was during The American Civil War; a time when Americans fought against themselves for their own rights in which they believed they were entitled to. To many it would be considered shocking and absurd to say the Civil War was something that could have avoided – and they’re right. The Civil War was an unavoidable and ultimately inevitable conflict that was essential to the evolution of our nation. The differences between the North and the South, economically and politically, were majors players on why the two divided halves of the America could not prosper together at that time; that and the fact that they had previously tried to compromise also makes the Civil War the inevitable and undeniable conclusion of this melting-pot of problems brewing between the two sides. Excellent introduction There were many differences between the antebellum North and South regions of America, and many of these were economical. The most obvious of which is that the North was, for the most part, industrial; while the South on the other hand was economically dependent of the production of staple crops (primarily cotton). The production of cotton in the South with the advent of the cotton gin soared, causing an increase of labor required; this lead to a dependency on slave labor in the south. Slavery was something the North often looked down upon and also held little or no value to them. How could a nation survive with no conflict when there were two very distinct sides that held opposing economic ideals and beliefs? In terms of politics, there were polarizing differences between the North and the South with their ideals and philosophies. Political parties at the time right before the start of the Civil War often catered to either the North or the South specifically; for example there was the Republican Party which was first organized in 1854 in opposition to Stephen Douglas’s introduction of the Kansas-Nebraska Act into Congress. The Republican Party exclusively catered to the benefits of northerners. They favored internal improvement, building transportation routes between the north and the west while relying on the southerners to foot the bill (while receiving no benefit of their own). The election of the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was the last straw for the southerners politically. Why would they want to be part of a nation with a leader that would not fairly and accurately represent them? Excellent paragraph In spite of these differences, the North and the South tried to compromise with each other VIA a series of legislations. They tried to exhaust their other options before going to war, like diplomatically attempting to compromise; but it ultimately only succeeded in temporarily putting off the war, though not preventing it. For example they established the Kansas-Nebraska act which created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska in 1854. They included the idea of popular sovereignty into the proposal which established that settlers could vote on whether or not to allow slavery. They included this idea in hope that it would ease relations between the North and the South. Though in reality all it did was create conflict, opponents of the act denounced it as a concession to the slave power of the south. The heinous amount of American blood that was shed during the American Civil War was nothing but inevitable. The polarizing differences between the North and the South both politically and economically are what ultimately drove the two sections of the nation apart. The failure to compromise between these differences diplomatically is what led them to come to the undeniable conclusion that war was unavoidable.

The Emergence of Globalization and the Marketing Mix Essay

The Emergence of Globalization and the Marketing Mix - Essay Example The marketing mix that is appropriate for all this multicultural world market for multinationals must converge to achieve the same goal of expanding the market while at the same time saving the firms cost of operation. Different regions or countries have a specific social framework and any marketing strategy and the communication strategy need to conform to this diversity factor lest it realizes insignificant publicity and product promotion. The cultural factors are closely attached to the economic policies of the specified regions, their religious beliefs, political ideologies and the level of economic development. An effective marketing communication plan needs to be designed to promote the image of the firm at the local level with a global view. It is therefore imperative that market research is thoroughly carried out to develop a communication plan that is in line with the demands of cultural diversity and political environment (Smith, Pulford, & Berry, 2009, pp.75). In reporting this subject a case study of two firms is important to bring out the real concept of integrated market communication strategy. Some examples of multinational companies include Coca-Cola, Toyota, Nokia Inc and others. These firms have central headquarters in a given country but their operations are decentralized in different regions like the Middle East, West Africa, North America, and Europe, East and Central Africa and many other regions. In this report, Middle East market is to be compared with Europe such that appropriate marketing plans can be observed by the multinationals to capture a substantial market share through the market (Bjerregaard, Lauring, Klitmoller, 2009, pp.55). One product that would serve best to be used for comparison is the Coca-Cola soft drinks which are consumed at international level. Comparing the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia would provide the best results in terms of the best-integrated marketing communication plans viable across two market environme nts. The choice of these two states is based on their cultural, taste, behavior and the general spending pattern differences across the consumer body. This would facilitate designing of a customer-focused marketing communication strategies for Coca-Cola Company and other multinational counterparts operating in the same product line like Pepsi (Egan, 2007, pp.134). To establish this comparison, the local cultural model of the two states need to be discussed and the prevailing marketing communication environments in each provided by the aid of graphs and charts. Some of the key marketing focal points that will provide comparison grounds comprise of the culture of the citizens of the two countries, their political system, consumer behavior, level of media activity and effectiveness and the overall competition within each country’s local market.

Federalism Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Federalism - Coursework Example Although federalism has the virtue of retaining local pride, power and traditions, it allows the central government to handle common problems as provided in the Tenth Amendment (Dye, 2010). The American federalism shapes the public policymaking by providing distinct role for the state and central government. However, policymaking is a complicated exercise that requires engagements, debates, deliberations and actions to pass laws and develop programs to address the needs at hand (Samuels,  2003). During a crisis, both the federal and state government acts in accordance with the given rules. However, the American constitution is ambiguous in detail the specific duties of the state government and emphasizes the role of the central government that surpasses its enumerated powers. Therefore, the federal and state policy makers should understand that each state has its constitutional limits that demand a direct intervention of the federal government. In short, the state government has the priority to implement policies to control a state crisis (Dye, 2010). Nonetheless, the federal government can make policies that assist the state to manage a crisis if the situation gets out-of-hand in terms of the geographical area or financial

Explain the difficulty in accounting for service trade versus tangible Essay

Explain the difficulty in accounting for service trade versus tangible goods in the Balance of Payments (BOP) framework - Essay Example Therefore, such transactions may not be reported, recorded, or even traced. As opposed to physical goods, the valuation of services is considered to be a difficult task as there may not be a single basis for measuring them and different companies within a single country may be using different approaches to recording of financial data. It is also impossible to deliver the same service or standard of service to customers which may create an argument that services may not recorded on a standardized manner (Arnold, 2011). It is also understood that the valuation of financial services including derivatives can have varying effects on balance of payments of different countries as they are based on different bases of measurement. Furthermore, there may be lacking of benchmarks which can be used for recording and measuring of services. Therefore, it is impossible to include all items of services in the current

The Literary analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Literary analysis - Essay Example Some of the things that the soldiers from the platoon Alpha Company carried with them from the war were material things while others were mental. The mental issues such as fear and guilt that they carried from the actions that they did during the war are the focus of the book with a keen eye being on the death and life. Most stories in the book are not definite as having a resolution except only when a character dies inclining that the anecdotes used to not help in illustrating closure for either of the platoon Alpha Company. The only true representation is that the death of a soldier at the war had a significant impact on the life of those that survived making it to be a worthy war story. With this overview, this essay will delve into the literary analysis of this text by making a personal claim about the impact of the book and its relevance to readers by highlighting what is either valuable or not within the same. Additionally, the essay will also suggest the context that readers should consider as they read it and explain about the place of O’Brien’s book in modern literature. According to O’Brien, it is not easy to narrate a war story but fictional writing can be used to immortalize the dead, which can be valuable to the readers as it helps in understanding the narratorâ₠¬â„¢s past, present and future if they were involved in war. In the initial pages of the book, the narrator starts by explaining some of the material things that the soldiers came with from Vietnam that they considered them to be what used to make life bearable for them there. Some of these physical things included lighters, cigarettes, chewing gum, bible, Kool-Aid, condoms, while another carried pond cake and peaches among a list of other items (O’Brien 2). The emotions of the narrator are triggered from time to time through the thoughts of death of fellow officer Lavender, which

The art of the body adornment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The art of the body adornment - Essay Example It ias also found in areas such as Egypt, Uganda and other Middle Eastern and African countries. The plant is used for body art because it contains a property called tannins which allows the plant to exhibit color when ground up finely and mixed with hot water. One of the practical uses of henna is as a cooling agent. One can rub the mix on hands or feet in order to cool down in hot, Middle Eastern and African countries with extremely hot, dry climates. Henna is also commonly used as a form of hair dye. When it is used however for the purposes of body art, it is mixed with oils and sugars. Henna can be known as some of the following names, â€Å"henne, Al-Khanna, Jamaica Mignonette, Egyptian Privet and Smooth Lawsonia, the art of its application is referred to as henna (Arabic) or mehndi (Indian)† (Islamic World.net, 2006). Historically speaking, henna has been used for as much as 5,000 years for both its healing properties and for cosmetic purposes. Today henna is used in place of tattoos from time to time as it is not permanent. Henna designs can last on the skin for several weeks as opposed to the permanence of getting a tattoo. Culturally however, Hanna has significance in the Muslim religion as well as other religions. Many historians believe that henna originated in India with the Hindu culture but other historians have reason to believe that it originated in Egypt around the twelfth century. It is also possible that henna was used even earlier by certain African countries as well as countries in the Middle Eat. Many archeologists have found henna markings on the fingers and toes of mummified pharos. Hindu body decoration has been used within the Islamic faith but also within Jewish, Hindu, Christian and even pagan religions. Although henna has been used for religious purposes in many cases, it is known to have been used by working

A Discussion on Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa Essay

A Discussion on Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa - Essay Example Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are two conditions that have been found to be predominant in females and that too in a certain age group. These are two of the most common eating disorders that are currently affecting many females and a small population of males in the world. The media is one of the main factors that is said to contribute towards it, and other things such as expectations of the society or pressure from external sources also can lead to such behaviors. However, excluding these pressures and factors, many women still develop these conditions, suggesting underlying physical mechanisms involved in the progression of the condition. Many physicians and researchers maintain that media does not significantly cause the attitude towards anorexia and bulimia; however, researchers continue to show that there is the significant role that media has played in portraying and publicizing ideal body contours. This poses questions about other contributors and etiological factors in the dev elopment of bulimia and anorexia other than the media. Biological components, for example, are being considered as possible culprits, along with genetics, family history and social history of the female. Anorexia nervosa is defined as the eating disorder where the person intentionally tries to lose weight by more than 15% of the normal expected weight for that age, height, and sex. Mostly this control over the self-body image is through three types: restricting, binging and binge eating and purging. Main characteristics of anorexia include rapid loss of weight, loss of hair, depression and depressive behavior, eccentric dietary habits, abuse of diuretics, loss of libido, and low body temperature and blood pressures. It is one of the leading causes of mortality among the psychiatric conditions. (Schlundt, 2008) The men also fall into these eating disorders but the prevalence is low. This concept, however, can lead to misdiagnosis and overlooking the condition in the male subjects, th erefore, careful evaluation in men is as necessary as in women before any conclusive diagnosis is reached. Below is the culmination of the various literature reviews, medical articles and researchers, and studies that have been carried out in attempt to understand the phenomenon of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The path to the discovery of these two syndromes has been also briefly discussed, along with the various psychology theories that have been introduced in order to better define the syndromes. The possible etiological factors that can lead to these conditions are explored and the various factors that can contribute or coexist with these conditions are also evaluated. Finally, the last section aims to highlight some of the options that are currently being used to treat anorexia and bulimia disorders.

Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] Essay Example for Free

Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] Essay Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] is considered the biggest advancement in supply chain management since the first barcode was scanned in 1971 (Waters). RDIF is based on technology that has been in used since the 1940s and World War II. More recently, RDIF tags have been used to track wildlife and to allow speeding cars with Smart Pass stickers to breeze through toll booths without having   to stop (Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID). Only within the past few years has RFID been considered for supply chain applications (Kirk). RFID tags are already being used on shipping pallets, conveyor bins and totes, and packing cartons (Logimax). RFID tags have been embedded in the ears of pets, livestock, and wildlife (Walton), to track school children (Best), and for vehicle tracking systems (WhereNet). Currently, the most common use of RFID technology is to track assets such as desks, office equipment, and other inventory items. About 73 percent of all RFID chips are currently used to track assets (Logimax). That percentage, however, may eventually change. Kirk noted, Every industry will eventually identify a practical application for RFID, but prices will need to come down in order for many industries to consider the technology for enterprise-wide development. The technology received a big boost towards universal acceptance when it was adopted by Wal-Mart, Inc., the worlds largest company. Wal-Mart will require its major suppliers to include RFID tags on their products beginning January 1, 2005 (Barlas). For the end user, the concept behind RFID is the same as the concept behind the barcode. Information is recorded onto an RFID tag that is either attached to or embedded into an item. The recorded information may then be retrieved when the tag is scanned. For end users, the most significant differences between RFID and barcodes will be ease of scanning and the ability to update information. The workhorse of the RFID system is the small radio transponder, called a tag, that is either embedded in or attached to an object. The tag consists of a microchip attached to an antenna. The RFID tag transmits a low-power radio signal that is picked up by the scanner, which is essentially a radio transceiver. RFID is a new technology of storage of identified information about commodity, cargo, product or, for example, participant of some conference. Information is recorder on a micro scheme and together with miniature antenna is placed at/inside of some material. As a result, some token, label, tag appears, which is able to transfer recorder information for a small distance. It is natural that to read information from RFID-bearer we need reading or, as it is called, interrogatory device. This device has an antenna and can be fixed or portable like scanner for reading of bar-codes. Actually, RFID is a further development of technology of marking with help of code-bars.   The advantage is that radio allows reading information in conditions of absence of direct visibility between devices of reading and transferring of information. It means that reading of information with the help of RFID technology can be automated and to take place without direct participation of people. RFID is integrated with any system of coordination, and read information can be recorder into database. You can place inside of RFID-bearers any data, they can be mediators for transfer (synchronization) of information between different information systems. RFID-bearers can keep in memory the history of origin (genealogy) of the product, what allows using them together with other devices in order to increase automation level of manufacture and to preserve from mistakes in this process. There are several types of RFID-bearers. Before you choose any, you need to compare basic technical characteristics of RFID system and standards, which exist in the government regarding frequency regulation. There are two types of RFID-bearers: active and passive. Active RFID tags contain a small battery that is good for about 20 hours of transmission time. Active tags have a longer transmission range than passive tags. They are used when the tag will only be needed for a limited amount of time and/or there is a limited amount of data to store and pass. Active tags are available in read-only or read-write versions. The main characteristics of active tags are: accumulator power supply; data transfer for distance of 8-30 meters; the cost is approximately $20-70 per each; possibility to find its location in the system of two coordinates; the example of usage are cashier posts in supermarkets. The characteristics of passive RFID-bearers are: power supply from reading device; data transfer for distance from several inches to 7,00 meters; the cost is approximately $1 per each; identification of separate products; the example of usage is system of stock-taking. Passive RFID tags wake up when they are scanned. Because they have no battery to wear out, passive tags will last for the life of the object to which they are attached. Passive tags come with either read/write or read-only capabilities. Mostly all the readers follow the basic architecture as shown below. RFID systems are proposed to be used mainly in frequency ranges which don’t need to get a license, so it helps to decrease the cost for their application. There are several radio ranges like these: 125/134, 2 kHz, 13, 56 MHz, 900 MHz and 2, 4 GHz. The distance to read information from the bearer is mainly determined by area where it is used. Nevertheless, bearers which work at long and short waves, can transfer data at distances from 2,5 till 50 sm; passive bearers in frequency range of 900 MHz, work at distance till 7 meters, and in frequency rages – from 30 sm till 2 meters. The 13.56-MHz tags hold as much as 2,000 bits of data, or roughly 30 times the information of 125-KHz tags (Brewin). There is currently no FCC standard for RFID tag frequencies, although manufacturers are working towards developing standards that could be universally accepted. Sony and Philips have agreed to develop technology operating at 13.56 MHz. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Chinas State Radio Regulatory Commission have agreed to support the 434 MHz radio-frequency band (Spiegel Supply Chain Management Review) We need to take into account that distance of action in many respects depends of material in which RFID-micro scheme is placed. Micro scheme is â€Å"tuned† for a certain material. In case you’ll put micro scheme for car windscreen, working at radio range 900 MHz, in a wooden box, there will be some difficulties to read information. Radio-specialists know also that any radio range correspond to certain antennas. RFID just stared to be used in the modern society, mainly in retail trade and storage service for automatic stock-taking. On every interesting story took place in 2003 with a famous electronic manufacturer Philips Electronics and manufacturer of clothes Benetton. In the end of March one of directors of Philips Semiconductor gave information regarding their plans for the nearest future. Particularly, he told that Philips will supply 15 millions of RFID chips to Italian company Benetton, which, in its turn, will use them in their production, selling in their own trading network consisting of five thousand shops over the world. They told that any kind of clothes which costs more then 15 dollars will have RFID chip, realized on basis of tiny micro scheme Philips I.CODE. Although RFID chips are widely used in manufacture processes of Dell computers or automobile giants like Toyota and Ford, new initiative for fashion industry is the large-scale operation. Many famous firms like Prada, Wal-Mart, Tesco already use RFID technology but in smaller quantities. The micro scheme I.CODE will be pressed into â€Å"smart teg† in the process of clothes manufacture. Benetton wanted to put information about a model type , size, color and destination in order to watch the way of every piece from manufacture and storage till retail. I.CODE chip has 1024 bytes of re-writing information (EEPROM) and works at frequency range 13,56 MHz. One can read information from micro scheme at distance till 1,5 meters (conditions of direct visibility are not obligatory). For the moment of 2003 Philips sold approximately more then half a milliard of such micro chips to different customers. The wholesale price is less then 20 cents per each (Richard W. Boss). Naturally, new initiative of Benetton aroused aversion from people who considered it a violation of privacy. The company agreed that there is not much use from such tags, and tried to find a way to deactivate chip at the moment of commodity sale, in case there will be a lot of protesting customers. For the moment, the only way out to get rid of â€Å"tag at your neck† is to cut it off from the product. What are advantages of using RFID tags? Let’s imagine that such tags will be inside of any product which is in supermarket: you just take the necessary thing and go out – without long queers to cashier and other â€Å"benefits† of modern trading system. When you go out from the shop, there is a device, which makes reading of information regarding the price of your shopping from commodity tag and from tag which is in your credit card or passport, and the bill they will send you directly home. It is very convenient to the seller as well, because it helps to simplify the process of trading. This example is the simplest one. They plan to use RFID tags almost everywhere – starting from books and clothes and finishing with money bills (European Union, 2005). Their usage will help to simplify and automate many routine operations, which we make every day. Besides, RFID tags usage will help to increase effectiveness of many processes. Let’s imagine that the buyer of clothes with such tag will come, wearing these clothes, to another shop of the same company (remember Benetton with its trading network): computer will scan it, read the tag and will get the information from internet from central database regarding what this man have bought last time and what they can offer him in first turn. But, as think numerous members of societies for human rights defense, RFID tags in clothes of human being can be used incorrectly: the government will be able to watch dislocation of people (RFID scanners will be added to places where there are a lot of people such like metro stations, squares, crossroads, etc), as well as hackers, freackers and others can use the tags with bad intentions. Access to databases will allow, without any doubt, to identify personality by tags, and this is loss of privacy. Still, it will take time to make the usage of RFID tags in such a way: nowadays RFID tags and equipment are quite expensive and not so popular. There is possibility to put inside the chip a device or program, which will deactivate tag by customer’s wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚   By information of CNET agency, aviation company Delta Air Line invests 15-25 million dollars in integration of RFID technology in its system of luggage processing, After the system will be installed, operator will be able to control dislocation and motion of passenger luggage from terminal of company, where they will put a radio tag â€Å"Destination point – (name of airport)†. The only difference of this new technology is that passenger at least, will know where is his luggage. Now the systems is as follows: radio scanners read information from tiny RFID tags, are installed in zone of passport control, along the belt of transporter which moves the luggage to cargo airliner, and finally, near the doors of cargo liner. Preliminary tests made by Delta Airlines by route Atlanta-Jacksonville, have shown that operator is able to follow up the cargo almost all the time, when the cargo is at zone of his responsibility. Quite possible, that in the nearest future this possibility will have passengers as well (Richard W. Boss). Nowadays, Delta Airlines looses four suitcases from every thousand, which costs more then one hundred million dollars per each year, spent for search of suitcases and compensation of lost things. Considering the fact that Delta, like many of American air companies experiences some financial problems, possibility to cancel these expenses from their budget was the main factor for management of company for such innovations. RFID is often used in circumstances, which can be called unusual. For example, not long time ago identification of animals and putting tags at them was considered to be a novelty. Tradition of such â€Å"strange usage† is increasing. In Las Vegas were held tests for electronic management and identification of value in BlackJack games. All chips-stakes in system â€Å"Safe Jack† contain components Hitag from Micron Identification – Austrian company, belonging to Philips. When the player puts tag in the field of stake, they are recognized and the stake is taken. Several chips can be recognized even if they are put into pile. Given cards are recognized automatically, so every game is under control. Increasing of safety and protection from cheating, collection of statistic data as well made a number of casino owners to show interest to such an interesting system. Because â€Å"Safe Jack† doesn’t prevent a usual way of game, players adopted new system and moreover, novice usage of technology in this field added to the game attraction. These RFID tags will help also to avoid false casino dibs. Usually owners of casino used colors luminescent in ultraviolet. Such protection wasn’t effective enough, so from time to time they were forced to change all the casino dibs, and this procedure not only costs a lot of money, but irritates casino players as well. This idea will prevent robberies from side of stuff as well and owners of casino will get opportunity to watch players which squander money and will have a chance to work with them in order to force them spend more money, for example, proposing them a room in hotel or free drink. Nowadays, the researchers develop works, which will allow finding out if this system will be also good for other games (Richard W. Boss). German company Metro Group also starts RFID identification at chain of supply of its production. Twenty suppliers of company will deliver identification tags to their distribution centers. Company declared that will start to use new technologies on computer basis and information technologies of IBM corporation, which will be used in order to provide standard infrastructure of deliveries in process of manufacture and delivery during collecting, analysis and management of information regarding supplies, received with the help of identification tags and reading devices. â€Å"Means of identification will lift up the industry of retail to a new level†, these are words of Gerd Wolfram, manager of project Metro Group Future Store Initiative. Taking into account Metro, this system will provide constant control under the process of delivery in internet, which will allow the sellers to determine exact dislocation of commodity at any stage of delivery process from supplier to distributor storage facilities and centers. The Metro supermarket in Reinberg is full of technical novelties, which make contact of shop with the customers more personalized. The customer can take in the entrance to the shop a small computer, a personal helper. Gerd Wolfram enters code of his loyalty card inside the computer. We can see personified greeting note and proposition of special individual discounts. â€Å"Really, I buy this kind of bread very often, tells Gerd, the technology allows us to give personal promo-offers, which the customers like very much† (Richard W. Boss). The clever court has other functions as well. For example, we can send from home computer a list of products (About 61,3% of customers in Germany prefer make shopping in accordance with a list), and when you’ll authorize your loyalty card, the list will appear at the monitor. The computer will play a role of navigation system then – it will show direction to the noted product. All shelves in supermarket are supplied with electronic prices (there is about 37  000 of prices). Some of them contain two prices: usual and with discount. â€Å"You can refresh information for prices very quickly†, notes Wolfram and goes to information desk. There are 16 such desks in supermarket. Wolfram puts to scanning device of terminal a bottle of wine. The monitor displays information about manufacturer – region, recommended temperature of storage, etc. If we put there meat, monitor displays schematic picture of caw, and the back flashes. The screen offers to look through and to print the recipes. All these 16 RFID terminals give the managers an opportunity to watch all dislocations of people inside the supermarket. People, who took the commodity with RFID chip. It shows how many minutes he spends, how he is going, what is he interested in. Advertising displays react to this customer as well – when he approaches, different advertisings are been played – but they consist of information that interests the customer. RFID helps against thefts as well. â€Å"Within 10 years RFID system will appear on all commodities†, optimistically notes Wolfram. We go to cashiers. You can pay with a help of cashier or scan the commodity by yourself with the help of interactive sensor monitor. The buyer scans commodity and puts it into a plastic bag, which is located on a special device – controller. â€Å"In case somebody forgot to scan a commodity and put it into the bag, the system will remind him. Besides, the process is controlled with help of video cameras, notes Wolfram.    Device takes credit cards and cash. With the help of this system we managed to make process of client servicing faster† (Richard W. Boss). In the middle of November the biggest world trading network Wal-Mart and manufacturer of cosmetics Procter Gamble were in the centre of scandal as a result of high-tech. They put in one of supermarkets in Tals as experiment, a shelf with lipstick Max Factor LipFinity, each package of which had RFID tag. Besides, they put a web-camera, which allowed specialists of company-manufacturer to watch the process of trading. The representative of lipstick manufacturer explained: â€Å"We wanted to understand, if this technology will help to provide availability of our production on shelves. We know tat our clients are irritated when they cannot find necessary product which is absent or isn’t in the right place†. Control of commodity in real time almost without participation of human is able to influence the volumes of trading and concurrent struggle, simultaneously decreasing the manufacturer’s expenses. The customer who bought a lipstick with RFID tag and who has it in her bag, will be noticed during her next visit to the shop. This scandal, possibly, will be an obstacle in the way of usage of RFID technologies in retail networks, but RFID tags are already used where the defenders of private life don’t have access. First of all, RFID technologies are used in non-contact access cards and tickets. Here is used a high principle of high-tech application â€Å"don’t want – don’t use†. Sure, you can refuse from high-tech access card or a ticket, but at the same time you’ll loose work or discounts for travel. The manufacturer of domestic electric appliances company Merloni is ready to supply washing machines with system of support of RFID tags – because tags can contain coded recommendations for washing. Company Goodyear plans to supply with RFID tags tires, which it produces. Here tag should reflect their basic features, as well as height of protector and pressure. Quite probably this will be for tires for commercial transport (trucks). Russian company Luxsoft develops connections between RFID tags and sensor networks (networks of miniature sensors, possessing calculation possibilities, means of wireless connection and number of sensors) – it will allow in perspective to add into tags additional information, for example, about temperature or humidity at separate stages of transporting. The Ministry of Defense of the United States, which is known for its love to new technologies, announced that till year 2005 all suppliers of USA army should put on commodity, except of friable products and big volumes of liquids, by RFID tags. By opinion of military, this approach will allow to improve control for commodity presence and for its supply. Still, don’t forget the fact that spies will have possibility to watch the dislocation of military supplies and separate subdivisions. Basic tasks in library business are to prevent robberies, to make a database for books and cd-s, and search some definite books with certain criteria. All these tasks cannot be fully realized with help of barcodes and usual means of theft prevention. The French company Tagsys offers specialized decision for libraries. RFID tag realizes simultaneously all these functions and allows keeping information regarding definite book or CD, for example, place where it should be kept. The system consists of the following parts: Terminal for reading of barcodes and reading/writing of radio tags. It allows connecting a usual scanner of barcodes and presents convenient and quick transfer of information from barcodes to RFID tags. Scanning of barcode, recording of RFID tag and activation of safety function is made within one second. With the help of terminal we are able to read and program new RFID tags by any kind of data. Terminal for simultaneous reading of several tags (till 16) This is terminal for table of registration. Is has more functions than the previous one. It consists of separate control block and one or two antenna. It allows scanning till 16 RFID tags at the same time, what allows fastening in dozens of time work with clients. System of safety. System of safety in order to prevent theft of books, which don’t have activation of safety in RFID tags. This is an independent device, consisting of two posts, which is able to produce controlling signals to close the doors, recording of camera or give siren signal. It can be put on any surface, which doesn’t conduct current. Barcodes can only hold a relatively small amount of information. RFID tags can hold much more information, including serial numbers, shipping information, name, price, and any other information that might be useful for a specific purpose. Unlike barcodes, which cannot be updated as the product moves from place to place, the information on RFID read/write tags may be updated as the product passes through the supply chain. Updates may include logging the time of receipt, sales order numbers, quality control information, or even data that would allow the tag to serve as a bill of lading for shipping (Logimax). Proponents of RFID point out that the system boosts productivity and is cost-effective, eliminating scanning times required by barcodes and reducing paperwork. RDIF is fast, although not as fast as some may believe. Current RFID readers are reported to read up to 150 tags per second, not thousands (Kirk). Still, scanning 150 tags per second with RFID is much faster than the time required to scan 150 barcoded items. In inventory management alone, Logimax estimates productivity gains in the 5 to 10 percent range. Additional time would also be saved by being able to know exactly where product is along the supply chain: on the shop floor, in the warehouse, or in the store. WhereNet estimates that RFID can reduce the delivery chain by 1 to 3 days. If companies deploy RFID and data synchronization, the total savings on improved information can reach $200 to $400 billion (Spiegel,RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings.). Kirk is more conservative with his estimates, noting that early adopters of RFID technology have seen 3 percent to 5 percent reduction in overall supply chain costs and 2 percent to 7 percent increases in revenue from inventory visibility (Kirk). Kirk lists five ways by which RFID improves productivity and increases profits: Reduced labor in high-volume product identification Reduced labor in lot tracking Increased information accuracy throughout the supply chain Automated proof of delivery Real-time inventory levels The power of RFID could increase exponentially when the tags are linked to the Internet. A article from Sun notes that information on RFID tags could be hyperlinked to additional information, including manufacturing batch and production history, product handling instructions, storage or delivery instructions, expiration dates, and other details. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination. (Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID). Kirk, however, points out what RFID is not capable of doing. RFID can tell the distributor if the product is in the warehouse, what time it arrived, and when it is expected to leave, but it cannot locate an item. RFID is not a Global Positioning System [GPS] (Kirk, emphasis as it appears in the original). RFID may, however, be used along with a GPS system to locate items with an accuracy of 10 feet. RFID radio waves cannot penetrate liquids, may have trouble penetrating metal, and may pick up interference from electric motors and other electromagnetic devices. These potential limitations could affect how RFID will be used in some production facilities and warehouses. The benefits of RFID come at some price. Spiegel reports that suppliers to Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense and their customers will need to spend $3 million to $35 million implementing RFID in 2004 (Spiegel, R. RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings). Per unit costs decrease with volume, which is why Wal-Mart can afford to implement the system. Smaller businesses might not be able to afford the upgrade to RFID. For those who will not be buying literally billions of RFID tags at a time, the low-end cost is about 30 cents per tag, depending on the type of the chip, how it is housed, and the volume purchased. More durable tags that are designed to withstand the harsh environments found in manufacturing applications can cost between $2 -$4 each at volumes of tens of thousands (Kirk). Prices for tags and other RFID technology will no doubt drop over time. Early cell phones and Palm Pilots were much more expensive and did much less than models that are sold today. Eventually, prices for RFID tags and systems will almost certainly drop as use of the technology becomes more widespread. As with any new technology, there are some concerns regarding issues surrounding security and abuse. RFID tags can carry a lot of information, including an items manufacturing and distribution history. Tags could also record credit card information, which presents another potential security risks. In order to be able to meet the demands of industry, RFID tags must transmit indiscriminately to any scanner that is in the area. Tags and scanners could be misused to gain unauthorized information. There are also concerns about privacy. Actually, all rumors regarding unsanctioned usage of RFID tags are a result of ignorance of different things about RFID technology. It is not a secret that practice to implant tags to people in USA and Mexico.   In 2002 company Applied Digital Solutions got right to sell microchips VeryChip, which are implanted to people and containing his identification code. This code can be connected with database, where any kind of information can be contained, as well as any medical data. The matter is that such chip is a possibility to get medical help in time for many families, who have ill people at home, or for example, to find a person until he gets into trouble. From the other side, and this information can be confirmed by any expert in this field,- it is possible to defend from RFID tags. The idea is to make a â€Å"jammer† which will be able to oppose the reading device. Sure, the best way is to make it in the image and likeness of RFID tags. The â€Å"jammer† should present a device, copying work of radio-identifying micro schemes, with the only difference that it should present as a reply for requests of scanners not correct information, but some accidental garbage. Two moments are important in work of such device. First of all, it should understand requests of different scanners. Second of all, the best way is to give as answer for one request a lot of answers simultaneously. This is supposition that in such situation scanner will simply confuse. This idea belongs to company RSA Security, which for the present moment is researching it in its laboratories and plans to make test micro schemes in the nearest future. So, actually, strugglers for freedom can sleep with calm. At least, this not so revolutionary technology will not bereave them of freedom. Rumors about RFID technology being used to track products to the homes of individuals are probably exaggerated. The limited transmission range of the chips and the lack of GPS capabilities rules out any feasible use of RFID as a system for tracking individual items beyond the store or warehouse. Wal-Mart will be using RFID to track pallets and other shipping containers and not to track individual items. Wal-Mart had explored the possibility of using Smart Shelves equipped with RFID to indicate when inventory was running low or to detect the possibility of theft. Gillette announced that it would work with Wal-Mart to develop packaging that was compatible with the Smart Shelf system. However, the project was deferred after concerns over consumer privacy were raised by consumer groups (Gilbert). Organizations that use RFID will save money in the long-term through increased productivity, decreased inventory loss, and more reliable tracking of inventory. However, these long-term benefits will only be reaped by those who can afford the high start up costs of the technology. There is currently no race to the bottom for RFID technology. Although the price of tags may have dropped since the first tags were introduced, these savings are typically realized only by those organizations that are large enough to buy large quantities of tags – literally billions – at a time. Smaller firms will continue to pay higher prices for RFID tags. High cost of implementation combined with the tendency of some organizations to stick with proven technologies until all the kinks are worked out of the latest generation of products means that barcodes will continue to be in use for some time. It is unlikely that the barcode scanner at the supermarket will be replaced with an RDIF scanner in the near future, although RFID could easily be used for that application. It is more likely that the two systems will exist side-by-side for some time to come, with RFID being used for manufacturing, shipping, and other large-scale business purposes and barcodes being used for smaller, more individual applications, such as pricing individual items. So, a short summary for usage of RFID tags will be as follows: By some forecasts, year 2005 will be decisive for RFID technologies: we expect decrease of prices – XEROX announced the new method of jet-print of RFID tags. Till 2007 market of equipment and service for RFID will be more then 4 milliard dollars. This fact proves the concept that RFID technology is very perspective and has numerous variants of usage. Data of RFID tag can be re-writed and added, it can be classified; tags are more long-termed; the location of tag isn’t of any importance for tag reader; the tag is better protected from influence of environment. In case the RFID scanners will be systematized and work in all used frequencies, the usage will be simpler and more effective. So, finally, we can conclude that RFID technology has a great future. Works Cited Barlas, Demir. Wal-Marts RFID Mandate Line56.com June 04, 2003. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=4710 Best, Jo. Schoolchildren to be RFID-chipped Slicon.com 8 July 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,39024663,39122042,00.htm Brewin, B. Radio Frequency Identification Computer World. 16 December 2002. Online 13 August 2004 http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/technology/story/0,10801,76682,00.html Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID. Sun. Online 13 August 2004 http://www.sun.com/br/manufacturing_1120/feature_rfid.html Gilbert, A. Major retailers to test smart shelves' CNET News.com 8 January 2003. Online: 14 August 2004 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-979710.html Kirk, Julie. Pennies a Tag: Making Cents Out of RFID Myths. White paper. Applied Creative Technologies. May 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.appliedcreativetech.com/pdfs/RFIDMyths.pdf Logimax Making Sense of RFID White paper. Online 13 August http://www.e-logimax.com/downloads/l_making_sense_of_rfid.pdf Spiegel, R. RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings. Supply Chain Management Review; 1 May 2004. HighBeam.com Database. 13 August 2004. http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?DOCID=1G1:118850308 Speigel, R. Supply Chain Management Review 8.5.66. ProQuest Database 13 August 13, 2004. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 Walton, Marsha. USDA steps up efforts to track livestock CNN 28 May 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/05/24/animalidentification/index.html Waters, Jennifer. Wal-Marts muscle advancing use of RFIDs Investors Daily 6 July 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=22013065brk=1 WhereNet. WhereNet Automates Vehicle Tracking and Management for Automotive OEMs 10 August 2004. HighBeam.com Database. 13 August 2004 http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?DOCID=1G1:120383879 Richard W. Boss, RFID Technology, Public Library Association (PLA) Tech Notes

Net present value and other investment

Net present value and other investment Question 1 List the methods that a firm can use to evaluate a potential investment. The methods used to evaluate a potential investment of the firm are as follows Net present value(NPV) Internal rate of return(IRR) Profitability index(PI) Cash discounted flow Pay back period Accounting rate of return(ARR) Question 2 Why is the NPV a preferred method when evaluating a potential investment opportunity? Npv can be explained as the difference between the initial cost outlay and the present value of the future cash flows. The total present value of the yearly net cash flow is the Net present value. Net present value may be used to find the value or reliability of any investment and also to decide if it is far better than the other investments in the market. It is considered to be a potential investment if the NPV is positive a bad investment decision if the NPV turns out to be negative. Whereas, if the NPV is equal to â€Å"0† the decision is indifferent, it can be either accepted or rejected based on other alternates/factors. Question 3 What is the IRR? How is it related to the NPV? Is the IRR always an effective method when evaluating a potential investment opportunity, and why? IRR is the internal rate of return. It is very closely related to NPV, except for a fact that IRR uses only single discount rate, which serves as an advantage also a major limitation. It equally proportionates the discount rate of the present value of the future cash flows with the initial investment. However, IRR is not very effective when it comes to multiple cash flows (particularly with both positives negatives) IRR equates in between initial investment and the present value of future cash flows whereas NPV gives the difference between the initial cost outlay and the present value of the future cash flows. IRR illustrates the advantages of the project, and NPV decides the best investment opportunity than the other investments. Despite all cons, IRR is still a very popular approach to investment decision amongst managers for its simplicity also the fund managers prefer to see a percentage rather than a dollar value. Question 4 Using the article from the Sydney Morning Herald, discuss why John Whiteman, the senior portfolio manager at AMP Henderson, can be considered skilled in respect of his stock pickings. Why would it benefit fund managers to use discounted cash flows when picking stocks? As per the article on Sydney Morning Herald, John Whiteman his team were considered to be â€Å"skilled† for the following reasons- The DCF approach to picking stocks has always proved to be a successful option to John Whiteman. He claims that the DCF approach to working out todays share price, given the future cash flows of the business is the most efficient effective way to estimate the time value of money. Since the discount rate addresses the two main criteria involved in any investment (time value of money risk), the fund managers consider it to be very useful effective, despite all its complexities. Also the long term forecast(10 yrs ahead) coupled with the DCF approach has enabled the AMP Henderson team to make wise investment decision over the last few years. Discounting the future cash flows to todays dollar helps in knowing the stock worth/business value of the firm as on date. As we all know, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. The DCF approach once again proves the current value of the business is the most important aspect when it comes to investment decisions. Question 5 A firm that pays out 65% of its earnings as dividends has an accounting rate of return of 20%. Its P/E ratio is 10 and its earnings per share is 108 cents. What is the price per share? What is the dividend yield? If shares were bought, what would be the payback period? Assume the only return is the dividend. What is the net book value per share of the asset investment of the company? If the risk-adjusted required rate of return is 6%, what would be the NPV per share for buying shares? Would you buy shares using AROR or NPV? Chapter 11-Return, Risk and the Security Market Line Question 1 Discuss how risk is associated with the variances on an assets expected return. What are some of the factors that come into play with respect to changes in the price of a particular security in the market? Investment, risk return are closely related to each other. The higher the investment the risk the greater will be the return. All investment decision involves risk. The deviation is the difference between the actual the expected return and is directly proportional to the risk taken. Variance is the average squared deviation between the actual return and the average return In short; standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Question 2 What is risk with respect to investment? Identify the two types of risk and discuss each one. Which is the most important type of risk? Why can only one type of risk be mitigated or eliminated? Risk and investments are proportional, that it depends on the market strategic values, like the high risk you take the high returns you expect. Risks associated with individual assets, are of two types: Systematic risks Non-systematic risks Systematic risks are the risks which influence large number of assets may be to a greater or smaller extent. These risks influence market wide effects, so these are called market risks. Non-systematic risks are that affects a single asset or a small group of assets, as these risks are unique to individual companies or assets these are called as unique or asset-specific risks. Only one type of risk can be mitigated or eliminated, which is non-systematic risk, because these type of risks can be reduced or primarily avoided as it causes to a single asset or small group of them, but when you consider with systematic risk, it causes affect to the wide-range of assets or to an larger extent which couldnt be reduced or completely avoided. Question 3 What is beta? How does beta relate to systematic risk? Beta is a key component for the capital asset pricing model and is used to calculate the cost of equity or the risk involved. It is the covariance of the return of an individual stock with the market proxy portfolio return divided by the variance of the markets proxy return. A beta of 1 implies the asset has the same systematic risk as the overall market less/more than1 implies lesser/greater risk respectively. Question 4 What is the SML? What is the CAPM, and how does the SML relate to the beta coefficient? SML(Security Market Line) is the pictorial representation of the market equilibrium. The slope of the SML is based on the reward to risk ratio at SML the beta is always considered to be 1. A more risky stock will have a higher beta and will be discounted at a higher rate as opposed to the less sensitive stocks which will have lower betas and be discounted at a lower rate. CAPM is â€Å"Capital aaset pricing model† which is an equilibrium model of relationship between risk and return, the equation of the SML showing the relationship between the expected return and beta. Beta coefficient is the amount of systematic risk present in a particular risky asset relative to an average risky asset.we need the measuring level of systematic risk for different investments.The specific measurements that we use is called bets coefficient. Given below is the graphical representation of how SML relates to the beta coefficient. Question 5 Using the article from The Sydney Morning Herald, discuss how diversification is used to bring about a positive outcome for retail investors. Why do investment portfolios with different asset classes need to be continually monitored? What are some alternative asset classes that investors can diversify into? Diversification is that which reduces the risk,when into investing some assets will do very well,some will do very badly and most will perform upto expectations.Those which do very well will equivalate the very bad done assests minimising the risk with little variation to get the positive outcomes. Diversification reduces unsystematic risk,according to the Sydney Morning Herald diversification gives mostly with possible positive outcomes for the investment made which enhances the minimisal of the risks taken by the retail investors.However ,the risk of holding common stock cannot be completely eliminated by diversification. Asset classes is a group of investments that display similar characteristics viz., shares, bonds, property or cash rather than the same basket,which mitigates the risk involved in the investments. Question 6 Assume that you have the betas of all the companies listed on the ASX. Now you select 20 shares based on their betas and, by investing an equal amount in each share, you create a portfolio with a beta of 1.1. You make sure you select shares with betas ranging in value from 0.4 to 2.4. Is this likely to be an efficient portfolio? Is the portfolio likely to be well diversified? Is the portfolio likely to have much non-systematic risk? Question 7 Now your selection is based upon putting the company names into a hat and withdrawing 20. Revisit Question 6 with relation to this portfolio.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck :: The Pearl John Steinbeck

The Pearl by John Steinbeck   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Pearl by John Steinbeck. This book takes place in Mexico during the nineteen hundreds in the city of La Paz.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main characters are Kino an Indian pearl diver who finds the magnificent pearl and whose life is partially destroyed by this pearl. Juana is Kino's wife and faithful partner and she is obedient and devoted to her family. Coyotito is Kino and Juana's infant son he is bitten by a scorpion and recovers miraculously only to be later killed by a bullet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The theme of this book is not to let greed or money to get in the way of you or your family. Greed is a destructive force and if not controlled it will effect you a lot maybe even forever, like the death of Kino’s son Coyotito. Another theme is fate because fate was a major aspect to why Kino did not succeed in his dreams of having a luxurious life. When Kino discovered the Pearl he thought that it would take him out of poverty and into a life of happiness. The pearl was not meant for anyone to find, and the finding of one was luck, â€Å"a little pat on the back by God.†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem in this story is that Kino is trying to sell his pearl and every one bids a low price. That means he keeps it longer and everyone is trying to steal it from him. The conflict is man vs. man the reason why is that a lot of people are trying to steal it from him the day he got it. It went to the point that people were tracking him for it and attacking him in his sleep.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I hated it when Kino went pearl diving and found the â€Å"pearl of the world,† and started making a scene. When you find something very valuable like that you keep that a secret and under ground. When you make a discovery with something valuable like that you do not deal in front of an audience you do it privately.

Critical Review of Helping Students Meet the Challenges of Academic Wri

‘Helping students meet the challenges of academic writing’ by Fernsten and Reda is an interesting study how reflective writing practices can be useful for marginalized students, who are struggling with â€Å"negative writer self-identity. The possible causes according to Fernsten & Reda are, â€Å"issues such as race, class and gender that are marginalized factors for many basic writers†, in addition to the expectations of the dominant academic culture. However, even though Fernsten & Reda illuminated the ‘potential conflicts’ within the academic world, they have failed to provide conclusive evidence that supports their argument regarding their solution. Their reliance on dated research that provides a one sided historical perspective, may no longer accurately reflect current socio/economic issues. In addition, education has been evolving to an inclusive curriculum approach, as immigrated children enter the school system in record numbers. à ¢â‚¬Å"Persons obtaining legal permanent status in the U.S from the year 2000-2010 are roughly eleven million† (Homeland Security,pg.10/2010). Fernsten & Reda’s confidence of their own limited teaching practices without legitimate comparables from an empirical study leads to their underlying assumptions about the true effectiveness of reflective writing strategies and the causes they believe are associated to a student’s socio/economic background. Evidence given in Fernsten & Reda’s article, lists the numerous barriers students endure academically due to their socio/economic background. Factors include â€Å"negative self-identity of believing they are ineffectual and inept writers and internalize aspects of negative instructor discourses†. (Fernsten & Reda). Additional confirmation under the ... ... practices could be put into action, to build towards an anti-biased curriculum and inclusive environment. Works Cited 1) Carbone II, Steven A. (2010). Race, Class, and Oppression: Solutions for Active Learning and Literacy in the Classroom. Student Pulse, 2.01. Retrieved from: 2) Routio,Pentii. (2007). Planning an Empirical Study & Normative Point of View. http://www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi 3) Kenneth Tyler | Ruby Stevens | Aesha Uqdah. (2003-2009). PREVALENCE OF CULTURAL BIAS EDUCATION. The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved http://www.education.com/reference/article/cultural-bias-in-teaching/ 4) Homeland Security. (2010) 2010 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. Office of Immigration Statistics. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2010/ois_yb_2010.pdf Critical Review of Helping Students Meet the Challenges of Academic Wri ‘Helping students meet the challenges of academic writing’ by Fernsten and Reda is an interesting study how reflective writing practices can be useful for marginalized students, who are struggling with â€Å"negative writer self-identity. The possible causes according to Fernsten & Reda are, â€Å"issues such as race, class and gender that are marginalized factors for many basic writers†, in addition to the expectations of the dominant academic culture. However, even though Fernsten & Reda illuminated the ‘potential conflicts’ within the academic world, they have failed to provide conclusive evidence that supports their argument regarding their solution. Their reliance on dated research that provides a one sided historical perspective, may no longer accurately reflect current socio/economic issues. In addition, education has been evolving to an inclusive curriculum approach, as immigrated children enter the school system in record numbers. à ¢â‚¬Å"Persons obtaining legal permanent status in the U.S from the year 2000-2010 are roughly eleven million† (Homeland Security,pg.10/2010). Fernsten & Reda’s confidence of their own limited teaching practices without legitimate comparables from an empirical study leads to their underlying assumptions about the true effectiveness of reflective writing strategies and the causes they believe are associated to a student’s socio/economic background. Evidence given in Fernsten & Reda’s article, lists the numerous barriers students endure academically due to their socio/economic background. Factors include â€Å"negative self-identity of believing they are ineffectual and inept writers and internalize aspects of negative instructor discourses†. (Fernsten & Reda). Additional confirmation under the ... ... practices could be put into action, to build towards an anti-biased curriculum and inclusive environment. Works Cited 1) Carbone II, Steven A. (2010). Race, Class, and Oppression: Solutions for Active Learning and Literacy in the Classroom. Student Pulse, 2.01. Retrieved from: 2) Routio,Pentii. (2007). Planning an Empirical Study & Normative Point of View. http://www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi 3) Kenneth Tyler | Ruby Stevens | Aesha Uqdah. (2003-2009). PREVALENCE OF CULTURAL BIAS EDUCATION. The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved http://www.education.com/reference/article/cultural-bias-in-teaching/ 4) Homeland Security. (2010) 2010 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. Office of Immigration Statistics. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2010/ois_yb_2010.pdf

Bartleby the Scrivener: Lawyer Double Essay -- Literary Analysis, Bart

Bartleby the Scrivener, by Herman Melville is a novella about a nameless lawyer who has in his employ a scrivener named Bartleby. Bartleby, throughout the novella, has different periods of work. In the beginning, he does his scrivening without reprimand or without hesitation, but as the novella progresses his attitude toward work changes drastically. Mordecai Marcus’ critical essay on the novella makes some good points, such that Bartleby is a psychological double for the lawyer, he represents a subliminal death drive within himself, and the conflict between absolutism and free will. All three of these points are attributed to Bartleby because he represents each respectively. In Mordecai Marcus’ critical essay on Bartleby the Scrivener, he takes the stand that Bartleby is a psychological double for the nameless lawyer. While progressing through the novella, Bartleby begins to slow down and eventually stops working altogether. The Lawyer doesn’t know what to do mainly because, â€Å"Bartleby’s power over the lawyer quickly grows as the story progresses.† (Marcus 1) When the lawyer first hired Bartleby, he was a tenacious young worker, â€Å"There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sunlight and by candlelight.† (Melville 16) This is in the beginning of the novella right after the lawyer had hired him. Bartleby, to the lawyer, doesn’t seem to have any other ambitions rather than scrivening for him. But all of that begins to change when Bartleby begins to not want to do some of the tasks the lawyer asks him to do. The first instance of this is when he is asked to proofread one of the copies he just completed, â€Å"†¦rapidly stating what it was I wanted him to do – namely, to examine a small paper with me†¦Bartleb... ...ast. But again obeying that wondrous ascendancy which the inscrutable scrivener had over me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Melville 44) Again, the lawyer is amazed at the amount of â€Å"power† Bartleby has over him. Bartleby, without actually doing anything, has taken away most of the lawyers’ free will and in turn feed his own absolutism. The novella is set in New York City in a Wall Street law office; both Bartleby and the lawyer represent characters of New York. Bartleby represents a type of person who is excited to come to a new city but then gets ground down into the daily routine of the city and begins to loose the will to work. The lawyer, on the other hand, represents the quintessential New Yorker, owning his own business and trying to succeed in a city that is famous for crushing spirits. Both Bartleby and the lawyer represent true characters within the fabric of the city of New York.

Ethical Practices of Computer and Internet Technology

Computer and Internet technology use In the workplace gives rise to questionable ethical practices among employees as well as managers. For the last three (plus) decades the increasing availability and advances in technology has improved productivity; however the use of computers and Internet in the workplace leads to temptation to misuse the resource for personal gain.Employees and managers accessing private employee information for personal gain, improper data access to hose who are not privy to it and software copying were a few of the concerns discussed in the 30 year old article Computer Ethics: Questions Arise on Misuse in Business (Pollack, 1983). The social media boom of the last decade has brought with It additional questionable ethical violations In the workplace. Time stealing Is discussed in the New York Times online article Opting to Blow the Whistle or Choosing to Walk Away (Tugged, 2013).It states, â€Å"According to the Ethics Resource Center, a nonprofit research or ganization, the No. Misconduct observed ? by a third of 4,800 respondents ? was misuse of company time† (Tugged, 2013 Para. 4). Eric Swenson discusses the stealing of time through excessive personal use of Internet streaming and social media in his video Business Ethics & Stealing Time, by Eric Swenson, Demand Media Video (Swenson, n. D. ). In the words of Eric Swenson, misuse of company time Is time stealing. According to a study conducted by Eric Swenson, â€Å"The average employee in a white collar business spends 3. Hours daily on personal internet usage† (Swenson, n. D. ) However, he broaches the question does this matter? He calls the workers of the present and future, 2020 to be exact, â€Å"millennial employees who want to be connected and be Involved socially' (Swenson, n. D. ) Swenson states that employees now want to be online streaming videos, media, and music. Is this the way people work today? The consideration he gives is that he is more concerned about the productivity of the employee versus the exact method or use of time that it takes to get the work accomplished.My conclusion Is there Is definitely an ethical line to be drawn in personal use of computers and Internet technology within the work place. I would ascertain that if privacy is violated for personal gain or technology or work product is stolen as stated in the first article, it is most definitely ethical violation. As far time stealing, where the line gets fuzzier, It should be Judged on whether the time spent on Internet or social media has any impact on the productivity of the employee or benefit to their specific job.

The Benefits of Team Working

3. 1:Assess the benefits of team working in my organisation. Team works means the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal. Teamwork is often a crucial part of a business organisation, as it is often necessary for colleagues to work well together, trying their best in any circumstance. Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals. Now I am going to discuss the benefits of team working in my organisation. DiversityWhen a team works on problem-solving, organisation benefit from various ideas and perspectives. That variety often leads to creative solutions. Brainstorming sessions uncover ideas and answers that might not have occurred otherwise. Speed Another benefit of teamwork is the speed of project completion for an organisation. Duties can be shared and get done quicker. Very large tasks can be broken up among team memb ers and are less daunting. Quality Teamwork encourages a greater commitment to quality in the organisation. Team members have more sway encouraging each other than a single manager dictating the work.Morale When the employees of an organisation work on teams, they tend to feel like they're really part of the process and take ownership of it. Improved morale results, and that in turn leads to less turnover. Synergy Synergy occurs when forces combine and the result is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Teamwork enhances synergy, and the result is greater efficiency and a more positive end result. 3. 2: A conflict I faced when working in a team for achieving specific goals. I worked as a technician for a large firm.I worked in a team of seven people who prepared material for shipping. On the team were four women and two other men. The people came from three different countries. One of the men on the team feels I worked too slowly and was not doing my share of the work proper ly. He laughs with the other team members about me and talks about me in nasty ways. When I tried to talk about that problem, the rest of the team seemed to be against me. It was a very uncomfortable situation for me to work in; I was constantly made fun of and criticised. I was not understanding what to do.

Paradox Essay

Michael Seamen wrote People of Paradox based on the United States story, culture, and politics, as a paradox and making it tie together all the themes and facts in the American government. He lists his analysis of the many paradoxes that riddle American life. He often observes that the American people expect their leaders to be â€Å"Every man and Superman† which he elaborates that our society is so pluralistic that we expect our leaders to be all things to all people. But not one individual can possibly be everything; not one can be the villain and the hero.With that paradox of â€Å"Every man and Superman† shows how our society is contradicting itself because it's not Seibel to be both or even all. Its what America runs off of and the idea that our leaders should make us all happy, which isn't the case, nor will society make it that way. Although Seamen had strong ideas that showed how paradoxes govern American society, it is often opinionated that the ambivalent stru cture of people is the reason that society can't all agree on one thing.It has been the impulse of our egalitarianism to make all people alike, but because of our social order and intolerance to accentuate differences among groups this cannot be achieved. Paradoxes also show how people are often diverse. Its important to cooperate common goals as a society to create a stabilized life, and I agree that having paradoxes truly do help make that happen.It sticks in people's minds and makes them conjure up their own opinions and ideas on how certain paradoxes can govern their own life and what it means to that person individually. In conclusion, paradoxes govern American life in many different ways. We use them to govern our society and to govern ourselves. It lists to moral concept of how America should be understood. It shows the essential need to be understood even though we as people are often misunderstood.And with that paradox, it just shows how we are not perfect. We live in a soc iety with flaws and aspirations. Not everyone can be fulfilled, but showing your individuality puts you apart from everyone else keeping your mind sane and having your own creed beliefs. Though we are only human, our government leaders are not perfect and are only as ambiguous as the rest of society, its our job to get through life knowing what you personally believe in.

Utilizing Rubble From Demolition Of Buildings Construction Essay

The devastation of 1000s of edifices during World War II gave the people inquiries about what to make with the debris. It wasn t until the 70 s that the potency of rubble to be recycled was explored. Today, concrete is the most widely used edifice stuff in the universe. We use it for our houses, roads, edifices, Bridgess, and most of our constructions around the universe. Concrete after it s used, is sent straight to be disposed of in our landfills. With a batch of attending traveling into the health of our environment, we recycle points such as paper and plastics, to cut down our impact on the environment. We believe that by recycling concrete, non merely will our impact on the environment be reduced, but its economical advantages are adequate ground to recycle concrete. The intent of this paper is to educate ourselves and the reader about what we can make to cut down our impact on the environment by using rubble from destruction of edifices. Environmental Impact hypertext transfer protocol: //www.torontoenvironment.org/gravel/impacts To pull out virgin sums, we have to delve open-pit mines. The sums are so blasted out or delve out. The most common effects are dust, pollution, noise, deposit. The physical alteration to the environing land causes the most impact. All the flora must be removed doing a loss of wildlife and biodiversity. Improper technology leads to improper drainage which causes eroding. In some instances, H2O used to rinse the sums seep into the land and contaminate land H2O. After a prey is used, it is rehabilitated to be restored to its former status. A survey was done in Ontario and less than half of the land disturbed for aggregative production between 1992 and 2001 has really been rehabilitated. By utilizing recycled sums, we can cut down the demand to mine sums. We can utilize the energy that would otherwise be used for excavation, transporting, and processing, to recycle used concrete from dismantled constructions. Recycling concrete is a great alternate to disposing concrete. The usage of recycled concrete reduces the waste that would otherwise be dumped into landfills. The sum of solid wastes at a municipal landfill is comprised of 23 – 33 % of waste from destruction of edifices. Landfills don t acquire smaller. They will increase in size and cut down land that could be used for residential and commercial utilizations. Economicss of Recycled Concrete Concrete is the most widely used edifice stuff in the universe. Because we are extremely dependent on Concrete is cheaper to recycle than sent to landfills but there are restrictions on economic nest eggs. Location is a large factor when looking at the costs of recycling concrete. Typically, remote countries have really small to no entree to recycling sites raising transit costs. During our research, we found that there is a bound where the cost of haling to a recycling works exceeds the cost of dumping in a local landfill. Here in Lethbridge for illustration, it costs $ 22.25 per metric ton to dispose concrete debris in landfills. The nearest recycling works is in Calgary and would be 100s of dollars to transport the debris. Mobile concrete crushers can be used to recycle but they should merely be used on big undertakings. Portable crushers are non widely available in all parts of the state. In some instances, rental and labour costs would transcend dumping costs. Average trucking cost is $ 0.13/ton/km. Processing costs for the recycler costs between $ 2.76 and $ 6.61 per metric ton. The larger the works, the more efficient and more end product it produces. RCA merchandises sell for between $ 1 and $ 18 per cubic metre, with the higher terminal being in aggregate-poor countries. Natural aggregates usually sell for about $ 8. A large advantage of recycling is that you can bear down disposal fees to companies that want to dispose their concrete debris. The works can order the cost of this fee and compensate for the lower recycled sum monetary values. On the other manus, the cost of recycled concrete depends on market monetary values of virgin sums. Natural sums dominate the markets therefore they dictate the monetary values of RCA. Get downing a concrete recycling concern will necessitate an investing of $ 4.40 to $ 8.80 per metric ton of one-year capacity. USGS ( U.S. Geological Survey ) has done a thorough analysis on the costs of different sizes of recycling workss: Based on their research, a large factor that affects the feasibleness of get downing a recycling works depends on the sum of rubble that can be recycled. When a works is non runing near full capacity, the profitableness of the works reduces. It was found that little recycling workss will hold a tougher clip doing net incomes. Small workss are to a great extent affected by the altering market conditions. But they can increase tipping fees or increase merchandise monetary value to counterbalance for the little net incomes. But in most instances, merchandise pricing is out of control of the manufacturer. On the other manus, medium and big recycling workss are more profitable. Larger operations have lower operating costs ( table 4 ) and do non necessitate a tipping fee to hold a rate of return of 12 % . Uses About all edifices today are partially made of concrete. A large portion of recycling is what the stuff can be used for. There would be no point of recycling if there was no usage for the terminal merchandise. The most common manner of utilizing sum is utilizing it as a bed under roads called a bomber base. The crushed concrete provides extra strength to the foundation of the roadway. RCA can besides be used as pipe bedclothes for belowground public-service corporations such as sewerage and storm pipes. The RCA provides a stable foundation to put the pipes on. A job with utilizing RCA for structural class concrete is that the denseness of the aggregative depends on the denseness of the original concrete. In some instances, the denseness of howitzer reduces the strength of the sum. Typically, a mix of natural sums and recycled sums are used when RCA is used in structural class concrete. It was found that up to 20 % of RCA can be used before the compressive strength of the concrete is reduced. Before it is used in structural class concrete, it should be tested and it should run into certain specifications set by ASTM. Concrete made from RCA is typically used for low-rise edifices but its usage in big edifices is really limited. Recycled concrete is being used for kerb, acmes, pavements, and troughs. The decreased specifications allow the RCA-concrete to be used in constructions that don t require defying heavy tonss. Recycled concrete doesn t needfully hold to be used as an sum. Rubble can and has been reused for other intents in its natural province. Recycled concrete is comparatively inexpensive and abundant which makes it perfect for landscaping. Slabs of concrete can be shaped and used as pavers, while larger pieces can be stacked and laid with howitzer to be used as a retaining wall. Large pieces can besides be used as riprap. The riprap acts as a barrier and absorbs impact from moving ridges to cut down eroding along shorelines. It can protect constructions from harm where H2O eroding is a job. Noise barriers can be built in residential countries along main roads. The noise barrier can be built with RCA or it can be built similar to retaining walls to do it aesthetic. Reasons to Recycle Natural sums are unlimited. So why should we recycle? States like here in Canada have tremendous sums of natural resources. We will ne'er utilize all our resources but the distribution of resources around the universe is different. States like Japan have really limited sums of land. They rely to a great extent on importing natural stuffs. Location is a large factor. Preies can non be built anyplace. They have to be carefully planned and approved by the authorities before they can be built. Remote countries frequently have really small to no entree to raw stuffs so it s more executable to utilize what s already available. With increasing attending towards planetary heating authoritiess are puting ordinances to cut down CO2 emanations. Companies are under a batch of force per unit area to cut down those emanations. Recycling concrete allows us to avoid transit of stuffs which leads to less ingestion of fossil fuels. Recycled concrete has a C footmark 65 % less than tantamount merchandises from quarried rock. ( RMIT Life Cycle Analysis ) . If your company aims to cut down its environmental impact, recycling concrete is a great option. Companies are afraid that utilizing recycled sums will cut down the qualities of their merchandises. Recycling concrete is a reasonably new engineering so companies are disbelieving of its hereafter. When the word recycled is mentioned, it is assumed that the quality is reduced but that is non needfully true. Several research organisations have concluded that with proper mixtures, RCA can surpass natural sums in some ways. Another ground to recycle is because of market conditions. Landfill infinite is going scarce and municipal authoritiess are increasing landfill dumping costs. Recycling allows us to extinguish the landfill cost. In instances where portable workss are used, haling costs are besides eliminated. So non merely are you potentially salvaging money, you are besides cut downing the concrete that goes to landfills. Barriers hypertext transfer protocol: //www.pwri.go.jp/eng/activity/pdf/reports/kawano01.pdf As mentioned before, recycling concrete is new to the industry. Most companies have non been exposed to the new engineering and are still loath to give it a opportunity. It is a known fact that RCA has a lower quality than virgin sums. The quality varies from site to site. You will necessitate a batch of quality control proving to guarantee that the RCA will non cut down the quality of the concrete. This discrepancy in quality does present concerns about the quality of constructions being made. Most companies merely lack the experience with recycling and recycled merchandises. When new building methods are introduced, sufficient cognition is required to accomplish a high quality terminal merchandise. Future of recycling concrete We believe that recycling concrete is the hereafter of the industry. As clip goes, more people will be exposed to this engineering. The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. It will be widely accepted in the hereafter whether its 5 old ages from now or 20 old ages from now. The procedure When edifices are demolished, much of the left over stuffs are comprised of concrete, wood, and rebar. The procedure begins after the edifice has been demolished. The reclaimable stuffs are trucked to the recycling works or a portable crusher is brought into the site. The chief equipment used is a crusher. The debris is fed into the crusher and the fragments of concrete are crushed into little pieces. The crushed pieces are put on a conveyer belt where it leads to a magnet. The magnet picks up the reinforcing from the crushed stuffs and separates it into its ain heap. Other stuffs such as wood are by and large removed by manus. The merchandise from the magnet is so screened and separated into separate sizes. The crushed debris goes through a screen mesh where desired sizes can fall through while larger pieces can be isolated. Depending on the specifications of sum required, the larger pieces can be sent to a secondary crusher where it can be crushed farther. The crushed pieces are separated into their ain hemorrhoids harmonizing to size. They are stockpiled until they are sold. There are multiple types of crushers to see: * Jaw Crushers comprised of two jaws ; one stationary and one moving. As the concrete moves down the home bases, the concrete is crushed into smaller pieces. The spacing between the undersides of the home bases ensures that merely little pieces make it through. The merchandise ranges between 4 -8 in diameter. These types of crushers can be used as a primary or a secondary crusher. * Impact Crushers Spinning rotors with bars or cocks fling the concrete into a solid home base doing the concrete to disintegrate into smaller pieces. The terminal merchandise is a 2 sum. These types of crushers can be used as a primary or a secondary crusher. * Cone Crushers – Concrete is crushed between two cone shaped home bases. Cone crushers can manage pieces no larger than 8 which makes it suited as a secondary crusher. The location of the undertaking affects the type of recycling workss to be considered. * Stationary workss These are the same as the aggregative workss we see today. They are fixed to one topographic point. The stuff is trucked into the works. Because they are stationary, they have no restrictions on the size of the operations. * Portable Recycling Plants These are by and large put on a human body and towed to the site. It remains stationary on site until it is moved to another location. * Mobile Recycling Plant These are towed to the site like portable recycling workss but they have paths which allow them to travel around the site. The type of works used should be based on the sum of stuff to be recycled and it s location from the nearest works. Stationary workss are more efficient at recycling big sums of concrete due to larger size of operation. Portable and nomadic recycling workss should merely be considered where there is a big distance between the site and the nearest recycling works. Features of Recycled Aggregate Concrete For the mixture design the same procedure is followed as if you would utilize virgin sum. You would hold to travel through test mixtures to acquire the right proportions and to look into the concrete quality. Excess attending should be made on the higher soaking up rate of the recycled sums, which influence would act upon the batch mixture. Blending H2O and workability Because of the high soaking up of the recycled sums more mixing H2O and a higher get downing slack may be needed. Recycled sums absorb H2O even after blending, so to antagonize this, the sum should be pre-wetted in their stock hemorrhoids. Water-cement ratio When get downing it may be assumed that the compressive strength is the same for if you would utilize virgin sum as recycled concrete sum. The recycled concrete should incorporate both class sum and natural sand and the water-cement ratio should be adjusted consequently if the compressive strength is lower than idea at first. Cement content Compared to conventional concrete, in recycled aggregative concrete there should be higher cement content because of the higher fee H2O demands for the recycled sum. Excess 5 % cement would be required when harsh sum and virgin mulcts are used, and an excess 15 % if both coarse and mulct recycled sums are used. Density and air content New concrete will hold a lower denseness runing from 5 % to 15 % . The natural air content might be a small higher so conventional concrete and an air-entraining alloy is added if freeze-thaw lastingness is required. Compressive Resistance The compressive opposition of recycled aggregate-concrete will be lower than that of concrete utilizing natural sums. A survey done by ECCO ( Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations ) concludes that recycled aggregative concrete will hold a 5 % -10 % decrease of compressive opposition. Features of Recycled Concrete Aggregate Gradation When the concrete debris is crushed, the produced sums are screened harmonizing to size. They are so separated to desired step. Like natural sums, they are separated into all right sums or coarse sums. Particle Shape and Size Recycled coarse sum is similar in atom form as crushed rock or natural sums. Fine and coarse sums are more angular which gives them a higher soaking up which lowers the workability of concrete. The sum of all right atoms ( & A ; lt ; 4.75mm in diameter ) is estimated to be 5-20 % of the entire volume of the RCA. Specific Gravity and Absorption The specific gravitation of RCA is much lower compared to natural sums. This is due to the cement and howitzer that held the old concrete together before it was crushed. The SG of RCA ranges from 2.35 to 2.38. The specific gravitation additions as atom size as class atom size lessenings. Te specific gravitation greatly decreases as atom size lessenings. The porous nature of howitzer and cement allows for higher soaking up within the recycled sum. Coarse Aggregates by and large absorb 2 % -6 % of H2O of its volume while all right sums by and large absorb 4 % -8 % of their volume of H2O. Density The majority denseness of recycled concrete is by and large lower than natural sums due to the lower denseness of the howitzer. The denseness of harsh RCA is around 2430 kg/m The denseness of all right RCA is 2310 kg/m Coarse virgin sums have a denseness of 2700 kg/m. Coarse virgin sums have a denseness of 2590 kg/m. The denseness of RCA will change depending on the water/cement ratio and the type of concrete used in the original concrete mixture. Decision The ratio of denseness of the stuff to the denseness of H2O at a specified temperature is defined as the specific gravitation of a stuff. Compressive Strength of original concrete and recycled sum concrete for assorted water/cement and coarse/fine aggregate ratios