Micromax †The Indian consumer electronics MNC

Micromax is a rather big name today – in fact, it is the largest Indian mobile phone company. It is interesting to note that it took birth as a software company called Micromax Informatics Limited in the year 2000 by a group of four friends. – Rajesh Agarwal, Sumeet Arora, Rahul Sharma and Vikas Jain. In 2008, Micromax entered the mobile phone market and just about managed to get a foot hold, with a 0. 59% market share during the first half year of its existence. By the end of March 2010, its share was 6. 24%. Now it has 23 domestic offices across the country and international offices in Hong Kong, USA and Dubai. Presently, the company has about 1400 employees. It is one of the leading mobile phone manufacturer in India as well as in the world . According to industry analysts, as of 2012, Micromax leads the Indian tablet market with a share of 18. 4%, ahead of Samsung and Apple, and is the third largest mobile phone vendor in terms of volume. Also it is the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the world, according to global handset vendor market share report from strategy analytics. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Innovative products and features- Marathon battery mobile phones with a 30-day battery life, phone which is programmable as a universal remote control, gravity phones are some of the features which have increased the popularity of the product. Low cost of production – With its plants located in China, Micromax bears a low cost in production due to availability of labour at cheaper rates. Effective promotion campaigns- Micromax has been promoting its products through famous celebrities and has also had tie ups with MTV. Weaknesses: Weak brand image in urban areas- Micromax has still not been able to establish itself well in the urban market as its main concentration had been on the rural population. Perception of low-quality Chinese brand- Micromax has a manufacturing unit set up in china which has strengthened this perception among people. Opportunities: Increase penetration in urban market- Since Micromax has not yet entered this market; it has a very huge opportunity to establish itself in this market. Entry into international markets- Micromax has the potential to make its presence felt on global scale eventually as it establishes itself in the domestic market. Threats: Increasing competition from local and international players- With well-established players like Nokia, Samsung, etc. Micromax faces a tough competition from these players. Replication of business model by competitors- Micromax`s business model has been replicated by many new players which again pose a threat to Micromax. IPO offerings On July 28, 2011, Micromax withdrew its 4. 66 billion rupees (about $106 million) initial public offering (IPO) due to volatile market conditions. The withdrawal was recommended by its board in order to allow the company to focus on new product launches and product development. Micromax Informatics Limited has announced its foray into Maldivian telecom space through an exclusive partnership with Sense Wood Maldives (Pvt) Ltd. Objectives Objectives Present objectives: 1. Focus on urban market at large: On capturing major share of urban youth market, for next two years Micromax needs to focus on urban market at large like seiner citizens, physically handicapped etc. 2. Focus on smart phones as well as tablets: Micromax needs to continue focus on smart phones and launch more products and also it needs to focus on tablet market. For 2014: 1. To start new plant and reach market share of 20%: To increase market share, it is essential to increase production capacity. Micromax has plans to start a new plant in Tamil Nadu. With the help of this new plant, it will be able to reach a market share of 20%. 2. Focus on international markets: On making strong focus on rural market and urban market in India, Micromax needs to expand to international markets and enter into neighbouring Indian countries, south African countries etc. So we see that Micromax has established its place as a market leader in phones and tablets, not only in India but internationally as well.

Goodbye, Superboy: a Fond Farewell to the Last Romantic Essay

MANILA, August 21, 2003 (STAR) BY THE WAY By Max V. Soliven – Much has been written about Ninoy Aquino, whose name needs no introduction to many of our readers. Commuters pass by his statue daily on Ayala Avenue in Makati’s Golden Mile, and another monument to him in Manila. But monuments and statues, and glowing encomiums do not a hero make. But my thesis is that today, Ninoy is a forgotten hero. There was so much hype in the first halcyon years after the overthrow of the tyrant Ferdinand E. Marcos, and too many silly celebrations, with excessive hoopla, of each succeeding anniversary of the EDSA â€Å"people power† revolution (and then an EDSA II, and, sanamagan, even an EDSA III so-called) that the man whose heroism and sacrifice inspired not merely the first people power barricades, but a national upsurge I prefer to call â€Å"The Spirit of 1986† has been forgotten. These days, in fact, the Filipino spirit has been dampened, our self-confidence crushe d under the weight of each revealed inequity, and tales of resurgent corruption, graft, vaulting ambition — plus the disgraceful debacle of a contrived escape of the Jemaah Islamiyah mad-bomber, Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, from police â€Å"prison.† This is a time for us to remember a man who believed the Filipino was â€Å"worth dying for,† and from him gather the renewed resolve that the Filipino is worth living for, as well. But let us not sound maudlin. Ninoy would have laughed at such sticky sentimentality. When he was sent by the old Manila Times to cover the Korean War (the 50th anniversary of whose conclusion was just commemorated some weeks ago) he was 17, the youngest correspondent of them all. The Time’s editors Dave Boguslav and Joe Bautista had spotted that gung ho quality in Aquino that was to rocket him to fame — and, in the end, impel him remorselessly to his final rendezvous with treachery at the Manila International Airport. Ninoy was a hard-nosed newspaperman, and what set him apart from so many others was precisely his nose for the news. He had an eidetic memory for facts, figures and detail. â€Å"You get the facts,† Dave Boguslav told him when he sent him off to war, â€Å"and I ’ll take care of the grammar.† Ninoy delivered — and a star reporter was born. Ninoy paid his dues as newsman. He took risks where others preferred to be prudent. For him life was a great adventure — and a short and glorious life better than a long and dull one. God granted him his wish. Everyone has already written a torrent of words about how Ninoy had been a Young Man in a Hurry. He became the youngest town mayor — just a shade underage; the youngest deputy governor, then governor, the youngest Senator (he almost topped the polls, coming in slightly behind late his comprobinsyano, Tarlac’s elder Sen. Jose J. Roy). If a free election had been held in 1973 (but martial law intervened and dashed that prospect), Ninoy — whose only rival in his own Liberal Party was the late Senate President Gerry Roxas — would almost certainly have been elected president. Aquino had that golden tongue to which every politician aspires, but with which only a few are gifted. It goes beyond rhetoric or eloquence on the entablado: a strange power to move hearts, provoke laughter, attract loyalty and affection, whip a crowd up to a frenzy and the fervor of a crusade, inspire hope in listeners miserably perched in the brink of despair. Ninoy was so eloquent in English, Tagalog, Kapampangan, and even Ilocano (his native Tarlac, after all, is a province of three dialects) that he was accused of glibness. He was dubbed â€Å"Superboy,† partly in admiration, party in derision. It took martial law and cruel imprisonment to make us realize that the Boy had become a Man. By a quirk of fate, I was assigned to be his cellmate in the maximum security compound of Fort Bonifacio when we were arrested as â€Å"subversives† in September 1972. Out of the 400 prisoners crammed into the Camp Crame gym, after we had been picked up between midnight and dawn, 11 of us were singled out by name and told by a colonel to step forward. Ninoy had nudged me cheerfully in the ribs and exclaimed in a stage whisper, â€Å"Eto na, eto na! Firing squad na tayo.† (This is it, this is it. We’re going to the Firing Squad). Yet, they didn’t shoot us. They trucked us instead to Fort Bonifacio, where they sent a military chaplain to hear our confessions — thus reinforcing our conviction that we were to be executed. Once more, we were disappointed. All throughout, it was Ninoy, who surely realized he was the number one target, Marcos’ favorite bete noir, the dictator’s pet nemesis, tried to cheer us all up. The days of captivity stretched into weeks, the weeks into months. Nobody who has never been in prison can understand what you suffer from is simply being caged — you suffer from the uncertainty of it all, and from boredom. You never know when your military jailors, who have the power of life and death over you, will drag you out and shoot you, at any hour of day or night. Afte r a while, the world outside becomes a memory — you begin to forget that there are streets with people and vehicles in them, and noise, and hustle and bustle, and bright colors and pretty girls. One gray day follows the other and you learn to live from one day to the next. Yet, I wasn’t bored, because I had Ninoy to entertain me. We talked, we read. We swapped ideas, jokes, argued ideologies. We dreamed dreams. We went jogging during the exercise hour and steeled ourselves to run a mile in seven minutes. It was then that I realized that Ninoy Aquino, for all his wit, his air of bright cynicism, and his veneer of tough political pragmatism, was an incurable romantic. He had visions of the Filipino rising up to overthrow any tyranny. He had pinned his hopes on the Filipino’s love of freedom and his will to resist either coercion or seduction. He had faith in the Filipino. At nightfall, the soldiers — many of them Ilocanos — would come to our barracks-prison and Ninoy would regale them with stories of the Korean War. Or the Vietnam War, which we had both covered. We would talk of the Huk campaign, which we also had covered. Ninoy’s spellbinding recollections were so mesmerizing that after a week or so I had warned him: â€Å"Watch out brod. You will soon be accused of conducting teach-ins. Those guards are beginning to like us too much.† Sure enough, after three weeks, we found a notice on our bulletin board. The guards had all been replaced. The notice said: â€Å"Our guests (yep, that’s what they called us at the â€Å"Bonifacio Hilton†) are requested not to talk to the guards who have been ordered not to talk to them.† â€Å"You see, you see,† I chided Ninoy. â€Å"Those poor fellows have been sent to the battlefront in Mindanao, just because they laughed at your jokes!† When this writer and the rest of us were released, Ninoy and the late Pepe Diokno were left behind, but in separate barracks. Ninoy spent seven years and seven months in solitary confinement. On the front page you’ll find a photograph of the two of us arm in arm with each other. This was taken when he was allowed home at last — under heavy guard — for a brief â€Å"Christmas leave† after seven years in jail. We hugged each other at the entrance of his Times Street home in Quezon City: â€Å"Max, Max,† he laughed. â€Å"How right you were. I thought I would be out in six months or a year because the people would demand for my freedom, but you were the one who told me to dig in for the long haul — I remember you said from five years to 10 years. But you know, prison has been good for me. I have had time to think, to read, to formulate my ideology, to find God. What is ambition? It’s nothing. I have put all ambition away — all we must fight for is for our people to be happy, and to be free.† We talked about proposing a formula for a return to free elections to Marcos. He had written Marcos a letter, he said, suggesting national reconciliation. Everybody knows the rest. Aquino, after his two-week furlough, went back to his lonely prison. He suffered a heart attack. Worried about international reaction, particularly the reproof of the American government (although President Ronald Reagan and Nancy were good friends of Macoy and Imelda) they let Ninoy go off to Texas, and exile, for an emergency heart operation. We warned him not to return. I told him, â€Å"They will kill you.† But on Aug. 21, 1983, a Sunday, he came home to die in his own country. In a last interview with Radio Veritas, Aquino had declared: â€Å"Kamatayan lamang ang makapipigil sa akin (Only death could stop me from coming home).† Most politicians bet on a sure thing. Ninoy gambled on the goodness and sense of decency of the Filipino. A pragmatist would have kept himself safely in the United States preserving his life â€Å"until a better day.† But Ninoy was a romantic who believed that promises must be kept, pledges must be redeemed, and death — if awaited him — must be faced in order to show the people that there are things more important than life. When he died, I penned an adieu entitled: â€Å"Goodbye, Superboy! A Fond Farewell to the Last Romantic.† Thus the title of this piece. Yet, I hope Ninoy was not the last romantic — for such romantics are what we desperately need in these painful days of harsh and bitter realities. Someone once said that it is far better to soar with the eagles, braving the hunter’s gun, than to scratch on the ground with the chickens. The hunter’s gun finally found Ninoy Aquino at the airport which now bears his name. His spirit was freed to soar among the stars. I am proud to have known him. To have been touched by him. To remember him now.

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Sociology - Essay Example ucture to its formation and progress as a function of social units, customs, interactions, and general stimuli within the society built around to affect that behavior (Farlex). Besides proposition of acknowledged theories which most hard sciences carry out through an inductive process, social science has made it a point to be founded on a deductive methodology, taking the matter of fact that by real experience, social relation would not set itself alone in an individual, as distinctly impacting oneself apart from external communication or influence by others. It has then become a requirement in its meaning that a social relationship should validate its existence in a situation where there flows substantial interaction between two individuals at least. Social institution, on the other hand, establishes and enhances such interaction by getting individuals in a framework that makes them meet, know each other increasingly, and eventually share a common ground from which to form a culture. As normally encountered on a longer term, this culture or way of life becomes one’s source of paradigm and core values to be used in response to how its continuous reality shapes the human being who is self-aware of the necessity to either maintain or modify his social attributes whenever it suits him. The mutual aims and interests of humans who socialize with each other on a regular basis among different institutions under diverse culture, further fit into a sum known as society. It is perhaps in deeply ascertaining what the society ought to be made of in view of idealism that had made the typical concept of classifying individuals into ranks based on the results of their talents effected through constant socialization which later establishes for them an economy and status they can be identified with. Economic discussions are however rather more specialized to go with social factors and must be treated in separate detail beside the points brought up in sociological studies. In

Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 17

Business Plan - Essay Example The SmartHand pointing and teaching device is a touch screen instructor that accurately figures commands that include clicking, double clicking, moving the mouse, as well as left and right clicking. It is designed with the aim of enhancing the teaching quality of the instructor. It helps in getting the job done and minimizes the waste of time in lectures since it allows the lecturers to write on the projection screen remotely. The lecturers are also able to change windows as they move away from the computer. It is a great appeal to those who are interested in an incorporate and advanced technology in the educational use. It is made in a way that the computer has a customized action by hand gestures such as the screen, capture; minimize windows and the rotating objects in design software. With this, it is customized for those lecturers who yearn for convenience and portability. The SmartHand is available for sale at most of the electronics retailers such as the Bestbuy, and the softwa re download is available at the company website. About 57% of all the Universities professors, targeted at Architecture, Engineering, Design schools are expected to present content using their computer screens, which help in the illustrations. These include drawings and plans of different structures. There are about 1,267,700 post-secondary school teachers, 5,726,160 individuals employed, by the large, entrepreneurial firms and 211,500,000 individual gamers. 70% of the professors have computers that they use to teach, 27% of them possess projectors while 5% have alternative pointing devices that make their work easier. Very few of them have portable devices that they can use remotely to illustrate from any position in the classroom. Thus, the main target market of the SmartHand pointing device are the lecturers in universities and the tutors who are faced with the challenge of having to move around the classroom in

Inflation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Inflation - Essay Example The concept if inflation is indeed an important component considering how it influences many aspects of life. The paper seeks to delve into the causes of inflation in order to illuminate the factors which lead to the persistent increase in the prices. In the same way, it will provide an analysis into some of the effects of inflation while focusing on the different types of inflation arising from different economic situations. Introduction Inflation is described to be a rate in which the overall price of goods and services is increasing while the purchasing power decreases in an economy (Nicholson 57). Inflation usually causes money to lose its value. This comes about in that as inflation increases, currency only buys a small percentage of goods compared to what it used to when there was no inflation. This happens due to the increase in the money supply which is measured by the producer price index and the consumer price index over time. When inflation rises in an economy in higher ra tes, it leads to adverse effects in the economy. However, mild inflation in the economy can lead to positive effects such as creation of employment. To keep the rates of inflation low, monetary authorities usually central banks are given the responsibility of controlling prices. This paper will discuss various causes of inflation, types and the effects that it has in the economy. Causes of inflation One of the causes of inflation is cost-pushing. This is a case where companies incur a lot of costs in running their operations. Hall states that these higher costs are usually brought about by workers or trade unions pushing for their wage increase (163). When they receive the increase, the impact is felt by the consumer in that it transfers the cost to the consumer by increasing the costs of goods and services. This tendency is characterized by an increase in wages irrespective of the productivity. Productivity normally remains the same which leads to the increase in the prices of good s and services in order to counter the effect. When a lot of firms increase wages in the same manner and pass the effect to the consumer in terms of high prices, this the leads to inflation. Another cause of inflation is demand-pull. This is a case where the overall demand exceeds supply and is normally brought about when an economy experiences full employment. The demand can be in terms of goods and services or it can as well be the demand for labor. When the demand exceeds supply in the market, the suppliers have a tendency of increasing the prices of commodities. This is because of the surety that their goods will sell at whichever cost due to scarcity. If the supply of the goods remains low over a period of time, this leads to inflation because the prices will keep on getting higher and higher. This can also portray itself where employers demand more workers than what they can get. In turn, they increase their salary in order to attract more labor which leads to inflation in the long run. Exchange rate is another cause of inflation. This comes about when a nation has increased exposure to the foreign market. It is one of the critical factors that determine the rate of inflation. If the rate of exchange suffers, the local currency loses value to the foreign currency. This leads to the foreign goods becoming expensive to the local consumers which simultaneously lead to the local goods becoming cheap to the consumers in the overseas markets. In simple terms, the import price gets higher than the export price which leads to inflation. National debt is another cause of inflation. If a country has a higher debt, then this can accelerate the levels of inflation to higher rates. This leads to inflation because, if the debt increases, the government of the country is left with two options; to either print more money to pay off the debts or to increase the taxes which will lead to higher revenue hence provide means of settling the debt. Increase in tax is passed dow n to businesses that in turn increase

International Purchasing and Supply-Chain Management Essay - 1

International Purchasing and Supply-Chain Management - Essay Example The company is acclaimed for maintaining the highest inventory turnover, the highest sales per square foot and the highest operating profit margin in the retail industry since the last ten years. The transition of Wal-Mart from being a local retailer to a global retail giant has been largely driven by the unique and excellent supply chain management of the company. Wal-Mart has implemented a low cost strategy in its business and makes profit through large volume sales. The company is characterized by advanced inventory management systems, aggressive pricing policies, a unique retail and supply chain distribution system and has needed very less promotion and advertising in its journey to become one of the biggest private companies in the world. Wal-Mart is a retailing giant famous for its innovative business practices and is one of the first businesses to implement a centralized distribution system. The company has been renowned for continually integrating the latest technologies into its supply chain processes. Discussion The efficient supply chain management system of Wal-Mart is a major driver for the success of the company as a leading retail giant. The supply chain model of the business is formed by the effective integration of the purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing and distributing processes (Lysons and Farrington 2005, p.90). The supply chain of Wal-Mart implements four main strategies: technology, cross docking, vendor partnerships and distribution management and integration. Wal-Mart operates both retail outlets and distribution centres constitute its supply chain network. The supply chain of Wal-Mart comprises of 95 Distribution facilities and around 1500 stores operating all across the world. The distribution centres hold different types of merchandising goods varying from eatables to clothing and accessories. Procurement and Distribution The supply chain of Wal-Mart starts with the process of strategic sourcing to identify the proper suppliers wh o can provide the products at the best possible prices and can meet the huge demand level of the retail giant. Wal-Mart has entered into strategic collaborations with a major number of suppliers and has guaranteed sourcing products at lowest possible expenses by providing the suppliers with opportunity for high volume sales over a long period of time (Martin, 2006, p.156). The company maintains a strong logistics network comprising of the largest employee base for fleet of private trucks consisting of around 8000 drivers who were involved in the delivery of the goods from the distribution centres to the stores of Wal-Mart. The distribution centres of Wal-Mart comprised of general merchandise, as well as food and clothing distribution centres. The products are picked up from the warehouse of the suppliers by the trucking division of Wal-Mart and then transported to the distribution centres of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has formulated standardized labelling and consignment sizes to ensure tha t the shipments were easily transferred across the distribution centres. The consignments are cross docked to the inbound trailers. The supply chain follows a uniform operating and distribution process throughout its supply chain. Each of these distribution centres are designed in a way to provide maximum support to the stores with similar kinds of merchandise being stacked together Hub and Spoke Design The establishment of Wal-Mart’s stores was directly driven by the distribution strategies of the business. The opening of the first distribution centre of the business was a significant investment strategy of the company and was aimed at attaining economies of scale. So the location of the stores was selected such that the distance could be covered within one

What are the positive and negative effects of legalizing marijuana Essay

What are the positive and negative effects of legalizing marijuana - Essay Example Although it is illegal to use it, many people have continued to either sell or abuse it. These illegal activities associated with the use of marijuana leads to violence and fraud by some public officers for them to conceal the matter. The issue of legalizing marijuana raises questions on whether to change the laws to make it legal (Caulkins, et al. 4) This means that the production, sale and use of marijuana will not be done by criminals but farmers, wholesalers and merchants since it is legal. The issue of legalizing marijuana in U.S was first introduced in the twenty-first century as economists found it as a source of revenue (Morgan 12). Income in the form of tax revenue would be realized from the sale of marijuana like any other legal trade. In addition, it is argued that the cost of arresting, detaining, and disciplining the marijuana traffickers would be used in performing other essential activities. In contrast, other economists argue that due to legalization of the drug, many people would become addicts leading to increase in violent and criminal activities. This means that security will be at stake as the police department will have to act on the addicts (Morgan 13). Therefore, the short term income realized from the sale of marijuana will be diverted in maintaining peace and security. Additionally, there would be decrease in production since energetic and able minds will be diverted to drugs. This means that the economy will lag behind as some contribution is lost. According to some doctors, marijuana is useful to people with AIDS, cancer, anxiety among others and should be legalized. It is also known in the treatment of allergies, anesthetic and sedative. On the other side, marijuana is harmful to human beings as it leads to mental and addictions (Morgan 22). Marijuana has both negative and positive effects to users and the society at large. The major reason behind

Any topc about flying by Olga Mukhina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Any topc about flying by Olga Mukhina - Essay Example This scene is to be analyzed in relation to the treatment or depiction of time. The scene actually was first described in Part Two of the play entitled Awe (Mukina, 2004, p. 55) where Blizzard, described as the VJ and streetfighting man, alleged that he has to go someplace for an interview. While he was looking for his car, which was a white Lexus, he was approached by Volodya, a character that Blizzard recognized to have seen somewhere. The reader could surmise that their initial encounter was actually at the cafà © where the group initially met Bushy-Tail, the 17-year old waitress. It was in this cafà © where Volodya apparently gave a suspicious glance at Blizzard for making advances to Bushy-Tail, whom Volodya was intently observing. As this, one recognized that there must have been some previous drug activities that Volodya was already apparently observing where Blizzard could have been identified as involved. Therefore, the setting and time element were clearly depicted to be related and where events were apparently intertwined. Due to the suspicion for Blizzard’s apparent involvement in drug activities, he was further searched in his apartment by Volodya and in the presence of Blizzard’s friends: Orangina and Snowstorm. It was in this setting where Volodya found several more evidences of drugs and when the opportune time was noted, when the door to the hallway that traversed to Orangina’s apartment was seen, Blizzard evidently rushed outside of the window and it was at this moment that it was described that he was actually flying. The description of that particular moment seemed to be unrealistic since the moment seemed like eternity. The manner by which the event seemed to be prolonged was the author’s style of describing separate events and situations which go back and forth like a broken continuum. It was during Blizzard’s supposed flight when it was likewise vividly narrated that a dog, named Yo-Yo, supposedly observed

Los Angeles International Airport Risk Assesment Essay

Los Angeles International Airport Risk Assesment - Essay Example Risk assessment varies from interpretation of data based on numerous and regular occurrences or vents to the approximation of the probability of very atypical events, amalgamated in each scenario with the measurement of exposure to risk. Setting of the target needs forecasting of the exposure, extent of risk, and tolerable and viability of the policies and mitigations for risk reductions, to spot targets which hits a balance between achievability, challenge and public and political suitability. STEP ONE: THREAT IDENTIFICATION AND RATING LAX Terrorist threat Identification and rating Airport terrorism risk assessment and analysis is not conducted in a vacuum. This kind of risk is usually assessed and analyzed as a way to control or buy down risk over duration via developing certain measures and mitigations across the airport facilities. Presently, majority of the world known airports LAX included are at increasing risk from both internal and external terror attack due to their securit y arrangement. Presently, despite the improved security at LAX, it still remains one of the centers of targets by the terrorist attack, owing to the fact that it has sustained more alarming incidences than any other airport in the United States. This implies that counterterrorism still remains a top concern for the LAX safety management. In 1974, a terrorist organized a bomb in the LAX airport terminating the lives of three and severely injuring eight people. The mitigation for any terror attack at LAX is therefore, a very a fundamental concept which must not be wished away and must be supported by all the employees within the LAX working environment or footprint. LAWA management is charged with responsibilities of operating, capital improving and provision of security at the airport. Given the ongoing massive construction, competing demands of managing the airport and the renovation of other terminals to expand its international terminals, there is a conviction that the security of the airport is wanting, making it to be very vulnerable for threat attack. In addition, intelligence associated with aviation is not institutionally passing all public safety agencies of LAX on a constant basis. This means that as a pre-mitigation measure, there should be consistent intelligence sharing of the information between public safety agency, local laws enforcement and US intelligence committee. Improvement of relationships and collaboration between these three bodies whereby they provide one other with crucial intelligent information based on the evolving terrorism threats, both in the US and abroad is very critical for the general safety of the airport. Explosive Blast armaments According to LAX terrorism threat identification, two parameters are applied to describe the explosive blast plan threat: the size of the weapon determined in equal pounds of TNT (trinitrotoluene) and the stand-off. The stand-off is defined by the distance calculated from the charge’s cent re of gravity to the component of interest which in this case is the LAX and its surrounding. Table 1.1 Showing Explosive Evacuation Distance Threat Description Explosive Substance1 With respect to TNT equivalent LAX Evacuation Distance2 Open-air Evacuation Distance3 Semitrailer 27,214kg 480m 2,136m Moving van 13,608kg 377m 1980m Small Moving van 4,537kg 265m 1144m Cargo van 1,815kg 196m 838m Sedom 454kg 122m 536m Compact Sedom 229kg 98m 456m Briefcase Bomb 22kg 47m 566m Suicide Vest 9kg 33m 415m Suicide Belt 4.5kg 26m 330m

Do pure monopolies exist Essay Example for Free

Do pure monopolies exist Essay â€Å"No firm is completely sheltered from rivals; all firms compete for consumer dollars. If that is so, then pure monopoly does not exist. Do you agree? † (Brue, McConnell, Flynn, 2010). I would have to agree with this statement. I do not believe that there is such a thing as a pure monopoly. There are always alternatives or substitutes available when choosing to purchase products or services from firms. Pure monopoly exists when â€Å"a single firm is the sole producer of a product for which there are no close substitutes† (Brue, McConnell, Flynn, 2010). There are less pure forms of monopoly and near-monopolies, but not totally pure monopolies. There are several main characteristics that must be present in order for a pure monopoly to exist. These are: single seller, no close substitutes, price maker, and blocked entry. A pure monopoly is an industry in which a single firm is the sole producer of a specific good or the sole supplier of a service. Their product is unique in that there are no close substitutes, therefore, consumers who decide not to purchase the monopolized product must do without it. Many people will argue that electric companies are pure monopolies. I disagree because there are alternatives available: oil, propane, natural gas, solar, and wood are substitutes that can be used as sources of light and heat. The pure monopolist controls the total quantity supplied and as a result has considerable control over price; it is a price maker. The pure monopolist confronts the usual downward-sloping product demand curve and can change its product price by changing the quantity of the product it produces. A pure monopolist faces no immediate competition because certain barriers keep potential competitors from entering the industry. Those barriers may be economic (economic of scale), technological, legal (patents and licenses), or of some other type. In a pure monopoly entry is totally blocked. All firms compete with rivals for product sales, whether they control the entire market for a product or not. The control over a market and product does not necessarily mean there is not competition. Even if one single firm were to control an entire market and their product, there is always another firm that can produce a product that holds the same qualities and is closely related to the other. The post office is usually our first choice when we want to send a letter or package, but it also has competition from FedEx, UPS, and DHL. If there were a situation where there was a market that did not have to compete with another market over product sales, there would always be competition when it comes to the amount of money they need to bring in. Many characteristics must be present to classify firms as pure monopolies. There may be less pure forms such as: the water company, the cable TV company, and the local telephone company, and near-monopolies such as: Intel, First Data Corporation, and De Beers, however, I do not believe that pure monopoly exists. All firms compete with rivals for product sales, whether they control the entire market for a product or not. When choosing to purchase products or services from firms there are always alternatives or substitutes available even though they may not be our first choice. References Brue, S. L. , McConnell, C. R. , Flynn, S. (2010). Essentials of Economics (Ashford Custom 2nd ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Importance Of Scale In Ecology Biology Essay

Importance Of Scale In Ecology Biology Essay The concept of scale in ecology is seen as increasingly important in our understanding of the functioning of ecological communities and the interaction of individual species with the environment. This has been recognised globally by the awarding of the 2011 Crafoord Prize to Ilka Hanski for his work on the concept of metapopulations (www.crafoordprize.se). The importance of scale in ecology was only seriously recognised in the late 80s and 90s by ecologists (Krebs 1985; Wiens 1989; Levin 1992; Bissonette 1997). Krebs (1985) stated: the importance of scale in ecology is a focal issue for the 1980s as we attempt to gain a finer understanding of how ecological systems operate in the real world. This is further highlighted by the fact that Karieva and Anderson (cited in Wiens 1989 and Bissonette 1997) showed that about half of all studies conducted between January 1980 and January 1987 were done on plots a metre or less in diameter. The two major types of scale are spatial scale and temporal scale. Spatial scale can be considered in terms of grain size and extent. The grain size is the resolution of the sampling. It describes the size of an individual sample. A common example for grain size in ecology would be a quadrat. The extent describes the area (or volume) within which all the samples are taken. Temporal scale can be thought of as the frequency of sampling. The importance of scale when studying migrations was shown by Hanski and his colleagues (Hanski 1999, Hanski et al. 1994). Previous work has suggested that there are two types of butterfly populations; open and closed. This is due to the mobility of different species of butterflies with some migrating long distances like the monarch butterfly and others only a few kilometres. It was observed that the majority of species of butterflies in closed populations remained in their natal habitat patch. However, Hanski states that nobody had conducted extensive mark-recapture work simultaneously in many habitat patches (populations) to really establish the extent of migration. In other words he suggested that by looking at the metapopulation instead of population level, a better picture of the butterfly migration would be had (Hanski 1999). When this was done it was found that some populations were not as closed as they seemed (Hanski 1999, Hanski et al. 1994). Insect herbivores life-history strategies According to Bale (2002) there are six different types of life-history strategies found in insect herbivores: Methuselah. Growth and development is dependent on climatic conditions. The life cycle can last several years. For example, the periodic cicadas have a 13 or 17-year life cycle (Williams and Simon 1995). Stop go. Growth and development is controlled by environmental cues. It starts and stops in synchrony with seasonal changes. This can be seen in the heather psyllid Strophingia ericae (Miles et al. 1998). Grab it. There is close synchrony of life cycle with host plant phenology because the duration of the availability of the plant as a food resource is limited to an interval during the growing season. There is usually only a single generation per year. For example, in the spruce bud moth (Zieraphera canadensis) larvae surviviorship decreases significantly for those hatched 4-5 days after bud burst (Quiring, 1992). Keep trying. The host plant allows for continuous development during a limited growing period. Two or more insect generation may occur per season depending on temperature and host plant condition. For example, the southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis can have up to five generations per season depenting on temperature (Rudinsky 1962). Hop about. The insect changes host plant depending on suitability. An example of this strategy can be seen in the moth Hyles lineata (Cates 1980). Never give up. In non-seasonal environments, continuous development occurs on a single host with several generations per year. In seasonal conditions, insects are adapted to survive unfavourable periods in any one of all stages. A seasonal synchronization mechanism may be included in the life cycle (e.g diapause and photoperiodic inhibition of development). An example of this strategy in seasonal conditions can be seen in the corn borer Pyrausta nubilalis (Babcock, cited in Masaki 1961) and in non-seasonal environments in the beetle Chelobasis perplexa (Strong and Wang 1977). When studying any aspects linked with growth and development in insect herbivores, it is therefore important to know what type of life-history strategy the study species displays when choosing the temporal scale of the study. A species with a never give up strategy can be sampled continuously throughout the year but this is not the best sampling process for a species with a methuselah strategy because growth and development is dependent on climatic conditions and, to study its whole life cycle, sampling would have to take place over several years. Temporal and spatial influence on community ecology Krebs (1985) recognised five traditional characteristics of communities that have been measured or studied; species diversity, growth form (e.g. trees, shrubs, herbs, and mosses) and structure, dominance amongst species, relative abundance of species, and trophic structure. Temporal changes to these characteristics are known as successions and lead to a stable climax community A climax is the final or stable community in a successional series. It is self-perpetuating and in equilibrium with the physical and biotic environment (Krebs 1985). Krebs describes the floral development of abandoned farmland in Oklahoma as example of plant succession. Booth (1941) analysed the different plant stages and their duration in the succession. His findings are tabled below. Table 1. Plant succession stage and its duration. (After Krebs 1985) Stage Duration of Stage Weeds 2 years Annual Grass (Aristida oligantha) 9-13 years Bunchgrass (Andropogon scoparius) 25+ years Tall grass prairie Climax vegetation The replacement of weeds by annual grass can be explained to be due to weed species producing chemical inhibitors that affected themselves but not the annual grass. A. oligantha can survive in a low nitrogen environment and nitrogen levels are low after crop abandonment. As the soil improves, the bunchgrass replaces the annual grass and in turn is replaced by the prairie grass. Temporal changes that occur in a stable community are known as cyclic changes. An example of this type of change can be seen in the population of lemmings in Greenland (Gilg et al. 2003). The collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) in Greenland is preyed upon by four species of predators; the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), the stoat (Mustela ermine), the snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), and the long tailed skua (Stercorarius longicaudus). Gilg et al. were able to show that there is a 4-year cycle in lemming and stoat numbers. They were also able to predict this 4-year periodicity in lemming dynamics by constructing a predator-prey model. This and the Gilg et al. observations of the 4-year cycle were graphed and can be seen in Fig. 1 below. Fig. 1. The top graph is a visual demonstration of the lemming (black squares) and the stoat (grey circles) 4-year cycle based on field observations. The bottom graph demonstrates the cycle predicted by a model. (Gilg et al. 2003) They also highlight that there is a similar cycle in the arctic fox in Greenland. Using data from trapping records, they demonstrated that arctic fox numbers between 1935 and 1960 peaked at intervals of 4, 5, 4, 4, and 4 years. Like the changes in stoat numbers, they suggest that this cycle is due to changes in lemming densities. Spatial influence on community ecology is especially obvious when considering the theory of island biogeography put forward by MacArthur and Wilson (1967). This theory states that on an island, the number of species is proportional to the size of the island and its distance from the source population (usually the mainland). This theory does not work solely on island populations. It has been adapted to work on fragmented forests, lakes and ponds, caves, and mountaintops (Harris 1984, Lassen 1975, Culver et al. 1973, Riebesell 1982). Communities can have different species diversity depending on their latitude. Simpson (1964) recognised a north-south gradient in the abundance of mammals in North America. He identified a clear but irregular gradient with a minimum number of 13 species in a quadrat (240 km2) in one of the nothernmost areas (latitude 70Â °) and a maximum number of 163 species in one of the southernmost areas (latitude 10Â °). This gradient can be explained due to the warm temperatures found in the tropics which favour the diversification of the biota (Krebs 1985, Jacobsen et al. 1997). Krebs (1985) states that the increase in species diversity towards the tropics could be due to an increase in spatial heterogeneity. This influence has been recognised in forest ecosystems by Burnett et al. (1996) and in bird species diversity by Roth (1976). Another factor to this gradient might be that towards the equator diversity in species is greater because the area is greater and species richness is scale depe ndent; it increases with area (Willig et al. 2003). How communities are structured/evolve A community is formed from processes which occur at very large spatial and temporal scales such as speciation, vicariance, and dispersal (Holt 1993). Two types of community structures are the physical structure and the biological structure (Krebs 1985). The physical structure refers to the structures within which species distribute themselves, for example, trees and shrubs. Krebs (1985) recognised three components to the physical structure of communities; growth forms, vertical stratification and seasonality which will be discussed in the next section. The growth form refers to the architecture of a plant in terms of its form, method of branching and arrangement of its shoot system, and underground system if possible (Gimingham 1951). They can be classified into six major growth forms: Trees Lianas Shrubs Epiphytes Herbs Thallophytes All communities have a vertical structure. This stratification is associated with a decrease in light (Krebs 1985). Biological structure involves species composition and abundance, temporal changes in communities, and relationships between species in a community (Krebs 1985). Examples of temporal changes and relationships between species in communities were given in the previous section. All these characteristics of the community structure are interlinked. This is best shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2. The relationships between factors that influence the structure of a community. (After Krebs 1985) The evolution of a community is not dependant on individual biological components but of the pattern of interaction expressed in the community structure (Olson 1966). Although, it could be argued that changes in a species can change an interaction in the community structure (Brooks and McLennan 2002). Changes in one of the factors in Fig. 2. can contribute to the evolution of a community. The evolution of a community can also be thought of in terms of succession as a community changes until it reaches a stable climax community. The extent to which a community can evolve is dependent on species density. A community which has a number of species that is below equilibrium numbers has a greater chance of evolving than a community in equilibrium (Brooks and McLennan 2002). Factors influencing the structure and longevity of communities Seasonality is a major component of the physical structure of communities. The structure of all communities is affected by seasons, and seasonal events are important to the functioning of communities (Krebs 1985, Wiens 1974). It can also be considered as affecting the biological structure since the physical structure of a community affects its biological structure (Krebs 1985, Wiens 1974). Wiens (1974) states that the highly seasonal distribution of precipitation and production found in grassland habitats can influence the species abundance or the size of the resident population. He also describes how climatic irregularities can limit the number of species in a community, especially in large unfragmented grasslands where there are few places for opportunistic species to reside. He argues that in grassland which covers a small area, populations of species can take refuge in a different habitat type until conditions are favourable for them. Also, natural hazards (e.g. fires and floods) and anthropogenic influences can affect community structure (Zimmerman 1992, Dale et al. 2001). The longevity of a community is dependent on its resilience. Resilience indicates how fast a community can return to an equilibrium state after a perturbation (Pimm 1984). If a community is resilient it does not mean that it is unstable. In fact, Holling (1973) states that the spruce budworm forest community is highly unstable and because of this it is very resilient. Measurements of resilience are specific to a type of perturbation. A community can be resilient to one type of perturbation (e.g. low temperatures) but not at all resilient to another (e.g. increased nutrients) (Krebs 1985). Two factors that can affect the resilience of a community are patchiness and dispersal (Krebs 1985, Holling 1973). Some communities are resilient because they reside in a patchy environment. When a perturbation occurs in one patch, species can disperse to another patch until conditions are favourable again (Krebs 1985, Wiens 1974). Species composition and biodiversity can also affect resilience (All ison 2004, Griffiths et al. 2000). According to Pfisterer and Schmid (2002) greater number of species can express a greater range of responses to environmental perturbations. Differences in immigration/emigration between guilds, species, and kingdoms Different organisms have different success in migrating. For example, Walsh and Kay (1995) showed that when eucalyptus trees were introduced to New Zealand from the Australia, woodborers, sapsuckers and defoliators species immigrated to New Zealand to colonise the eucalyptus number of species being roughly equally distributed amongst the three guilds. At around the same time, pine trees from the North America were introduced to New Zealand. Half the amount of woodborer species that colinised the eucalyptus emigrated to colonise the pines while only a quarter of the numbers of sapsuckers that colinised the eucalyptus colonised the pines and no defoliators managed to establish in the pines. The succes of the insects, considered to be pests to trees, is due to the distance of their source population from New Zealand (Fig. 3). The insect that colonised the eucalyptus trees came from Australia and had no problem in immigrating. However, the insect pests to the pines originate from North A merica and would have had to travel a long distance to reach introduced pines. The defoliators could not emmigrate and synchronise their life history with the introduced pines. The woodborers are well-adapted to travelling long distances because their life history is isolated from their environment. Sapsuckers are not as well adapted to travelling long distances but only one female need to arrive at the destination to colonise because of their parthenogenesis capability. Fig. 3. An adaptation of the MacArthur and Wilson (1967) model for the prediction of the number of pests that can colonise a host. (Walsh and Kay, 1995) Insects have more success in establishing themselves in a new environment if they migrate on an east-west axis as opposed to a north-south (Kay, 2005). This is because there is more of a chance of phenological synchrony of pests and host in east-west dispersal because season reversal is encountered when travelling north-south. How does this assist our understanding of ecology on a local and global scale? When choosing scale one must be aware of the characteristics of the processes that might influence your study (if they are not the subject of the study themselves) and the characteristic of organisms in the study. For example, if we are studying the potential threat of an invasive herbivore insect to a community, it is not enough to study the community structure to see if it can accommodate the insect but the distance of the source population must be known as well and also the life-history strategy of the insect. Although spatial and temporal scales are usually positively correlated to achieve high predictability in a study (Wiens, 1989) this is not the case when looking at the evolution of a community. When studying succesion, a later sequence can survive longer than the investigator (Connel and Slayter, 1977). This means that you could be looking at the succesion of a local community in a small area using years of data. Hanski (1999) makes an argument of not restricting to a local scale when studying a local population. By looking at a more global scale you can make an inference on a local population. It is important to note that even when a community is in a stable condition, temporal changes can still occur and lead to population dynamics. These cyclic changes could affect data and therefore the temporal scale of a study done on species in a stable climax community would have to take this into consideration. For example, if one were looking at the stoat population in Greenland between 1996 and 1999 (Fig. 1.) one would assume that there is a pattern with number of individuals gently rising, unaware of the cyclic changes in their population. Since when we look at evolution we look at changes against time it is safe to say that time is the main process influencing the evolution of a community. This is visually demonstrated in Fig. 2. where time is on top of the diagram showing the factors that influence community structure. However, there is a spatial influence on the evolution of a community as well. Spatial heterogeneity, as previously discussed, can dictate the species diversity. Also, the species density (amount of species per area) affects the ability of a community to change. The theory of island biogeography can be applied on a local and global scale. The Culver et al. (1973) study on cave-limited species in the Greenbrier valley in West Virginia can be considered to be done on a local scale compared to the MacArthur and Wilson (1967) study on amphibians and reptiles in the West Indies using data collected by Preston (1962). On a global scale, we see that species diversity increases on a gradient from one of the poles to the equator. This can be attributed to the change climate, spatial heterogeneity, or simply because of the greater amount of space available towards the equator. Seasonality can have an ecological effect on global as well as local scale. On a local scale, it can effect species abundance and population density in a community. Seasonl irregularities can affect species diversities in spatially homogenous communities. On a global scale, seasonality can lead a community to be species specific. Some herbivorous insect cannot colonise certain areas because they are unable to synchonise their life cycle with the potential host plant phenology due to change in seasons. A communitys longevity is not dependent on how stable it is but on its resilience. A communitys resilience is influenced by how patchy is the environment it occupies. If its environment is heterogenous, species can disperse between habitat types to avoid perturbations. Biodiversity is also important for resilience and , as already mentioned, is affected by spatial and temporal forces. Success of migration in species is dependent on the scale of the migration. Walsh and Kay (1994) showed that woodborers, sapsuckers and defoliators had much more success in immigrating to New Zealand from Australia than from North America. There was also variation in successes to the emigration of the three guilds from North America due to the different influences that seasonality has on the guilds. In brief, the main conclusion of this review is that a study should not be restricted to one scale. When possible, different observations should be done on different scale. For example, when studying species diversity we know that it can be affected by spatial heterogeneity (local scale) and latitude (global scale). We have already established that different processes work on different scale but it is important to note that some processes work on multiple scales.

Believing in Una of Naslunds Ahabs Wife :: Naslunds Ahabs Wife Essays

Believing in Una of Naslund's Ahab's Wife Naslund's novel, "Ahab's Wife" was immensely more satisfying and realistic than Melville's "Moby Dick." I hope to explain why Naslund did not merely present a "feminine" version of Moby Dick, but presented similarly universal themes within more realistic and meaningful contexts. By becoming intimate with the reader, she expects more: she expects us to understand the world from a different perspective. Melville tries to be funny by making things ridiculous. Naslund makes reality funny. From what I gathered of other's opinions of Moby Dick, the hilarity came from the absurdity. In my mind, however, when something seems impossible the story seems to change to the realm of cartoon or science fiction. It seems not only not funny, but weird and irrelevant. I was glad, after feeling like I must not have any sense of humor, to laugh out loud to Ahab's Wife. "'And some people believe' Kit put in, 'that if you eat cucumbers, your nose will grow long. Or other parts.' 'What parts?' Frannie asked. 'Your feet,' Aunt said"(p93). Although just as silly, this is funny because it speaks to an awkward situation similar to one everyone has been in, probably on all sides. It is not the absurdity of the myth of the cucumber that I laugh at, but rather the Aunt's reaction to his reference. Naslund speaks to me, however, not because of realistic humor, but because of her contextual insight. Melville makes profound but irrelevant commentary on the world, while Naslund shows us her journey to different understandings of the world. Melville, to use one of many examples of his philosophical meanderings, tells us that, "there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast." This statement could be very insightful, except that he is talking not about understandings of the world or identity formation, but rather feeling physical warmth: "We felt very nice and snug, the more so since it was so chilly out of doors; indeed out of bedclothes too, seeing that there was no fire in the room. The more so, I say, because truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast." 52 This leaves me impressed that he was able to connect his wise perceptions of the world to an only slightly relevant story, and makes me want to steal the quote and apply it out of its context.

Use of the Classical Tragic Mold in Shakespeares Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

Macbeth: The Use of the Classical Tragic Mold in Character Development In Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, there are many characters. Only one character stands out, and his name is in the title of the play. Macbeth's character was made in the mold of the ancient Greek tragic hero. Besides being endowed by Shakespeare with an abundance and variety of potential traits and characteristics, Macbeth also follows the Classical Tragic Mold, which is presented with a hefty supply of hubris, and in this case, ambition. Because Macbeth follows the Classical Tragic Mold, he is a Classical Tragic Hero. The first step of the Classical Tragic Mold is recognizing the problem. The problem in Macbeth is not a true problem that presents itself outwardly. The problem for the character of Macbeth is deciding if he should listen to his ambition and kill Duncan. At first, he ponders reasons why not to kill his king. He at first thinks that he cannot kill him because of four reasons: Macbeth is Duncan's subject, Duncan is a good king, they are blood-related, and Macbeth is his host. These reasons dissuade Macbeth at first, but later Lady Macbeth convinces him, by questioning his manhood, to commit the dastardly crime. When he finally murders Duncan, the problem comes to closure. But, even long before then, the next step in the mold had begun: the descent into the abyss. The "decent into the abyss" is the second step in the Classical Tragic Mold. It is started with Macbeth's second soliloquy. This is after Macbeth hears from Duncan that Malcolm was to be named the Prince of Cumberland. "The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, for in my way it lies ... Let not light see my black and deep desires." (Shakespeare, 281). This quote from the soliloquy indicates that Macbeth has, indeed, told himself that he will commit the murder of Duncan, although he doesn't actually admit it until his wife pressures him to do so. With this decision, the reader (or audience) reads (or sees) that Macbeth is straying from the righteous path, and descending into the abyss, even though he is keeping his feelings to himself. His decision to murder Duncan tarnishes his "war hero" image and casts it in an ominous shadow. The third step in the mold has two parts and is known as Transformation and Transcendence. The character of Macbeth goes into Transformation during his fourth soliloquy. "...I have lived long enough. My way of life is fall'n into the sear..." (Shakespeare, 343).

Earthquakes: Application of Mathematics Essay example -- Geology

Earthquakes: An Application of Mathematics The October 13, 2010 earthquake triggered a large buzz across Oklahoma University’s Norman campus, startling students walking to class or sitting in the middle of calculus. This magnitude 4.3 earthquake was 10 miles southeast of Norman and was felt as far north as Stillwater. To many students, the few seconds of shaking was unrecognizable as an earthquake because Oklahoma’s seismicity is not well known. In reality, Oklahoma experiences multiple earthquakes, almost daily; they are usually just not strong enough to be felt. While understanding how and why earthquakes occur in Oklahoma involves knowledge of faults and rock types, the methods involved in locating the epicenter of an earthquake and determining its magnitude require an awareness of the mathematical principles involved The focus of an earthquake is the spot within the earth where the earthquake originates, where the fault is first ruptured. The epicenter of an earthquake is the location on the earth’s surface directly above the focus. When attempting to locate the epicenter of an earthquake, an understanding of seismic waves is crucial. There are two types of seismic waves, body waves and surface waves. Love and Raleigh waves are surface waves that travel across the earth’s surface and are responsible for a majority of the shaking felt during an earthquake. The two types of body waves, p and s-waves are more useful in determining information about earthquakes. Body waves travel throughout the interior of the earth, propagating from the focus of the earthquake eventually reaching seismograph stations. The arrival times of p and s-waves are used to locate the epicenter of the earthquake as the waves are recorded onto ... ...here are debates about which scale is the most precise, although most seismologists claim the moment magnitude scale to be the most consistently accurate. Works Cited http://eqseis.geosc.psu.edu/~cammon/HTML/Classes/IntroQuakes/Notes/waves_and_interior.html http://eqseis.geosc.psu.edu/~cammon/HTML/Classes/IntroQuakes/Notes/waves_and_interior.html http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol204/eqcauses.htm http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol204/eqcauses.htm http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.php http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.php http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/richter.php http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.php http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.php http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.php http://www.okgeosurvey1.gov/media/Oct13-2010-FactSheet_Revision2.pdf

High School vs College Essay

Having a good education is the key to becoming successful in life. It is a proven fact. This achievement requires not only graduating from high school, but also from college. Moving from high school to college may be an exciting transition, but it is also a very difficult one. It is a challenge that the student will struggle with and eventually adjust to over time. Although there are many differences between high school and college, one should not think that they are tow completely different worlds. They have their similarities, too. Being a college student requires a lot of responsibility, lots more than is required in high school. In college you won’t have your teacher to remind you of a test coming up or to do your homework. They give you a syllabus with all the due dates on it and expect you to go by it. Also, you’re mom isn’t with you in college to make sure you are awake and ready for class in time either. All of this, my friend, is up to you. The first few weeks of college, I slept in and missed my 8 o’clock chemistry lab class. In high school my mom always made sure I was awake and ready for school. College also has fewer rules than high school does, but this freedom is not all that it’s cut out to be. If you get into a fight, don’t look to just be sent to the principal’s office for a lecture. Instead, you should be well prepared to put your hands behind your back and be escorted away in a car driven by a uniformed police officer. In high school there are rules for dress code. In college, expect to see anything, because there are no dress code rules. Most people in college are mature enough to wear what is appropriate. However, there are always those few exceptions to this generalization. The ratio of similarities between college and high school is almost equal to that of the differences. In the first few years of college, the type of classes is similar if you took the challenging ones offered in high school. You’ll always be taking math, english, science, and social studies. If you thought you were going to avoid these classes, then you thought wrong. I thought I was done with english and history. My high school guidance counselor pulled up VSU’s core curriculum and proved me wrong. Just like in high school, college students have to take a certain amount of classes from each subject in order to get a degree. In high school there are many cliques that form. The rich students bond together in the preppy clique. There are also cliques for those that are involved in sports. Cliques form in a wide variety and every student is in some way or another involved in at least one. College also has cliques that are very similar. As soon as you â€Å"warm up† to the college life, you will find yourself involved in one and there’s nothing wrong with that. It will help you meet new people and ease the transition from high school to college. These cliques help the school year pass quicker and make it more memorable when you are doing things with friends as compared to being alone the whole year. In college you will find the structure of classes to be the same as the one used in high school. Semester systems are used to divide up the year into at least two grading periods. In addition, everyone has classes to attend or else they wouldn’t be considered a student. Each student also has a certain grade requirement that they must meet in order to pass the course. In college if you don’t make a certain grade, you may lose your financial aid and end up paying for it out of your pocket and maybe even your parents. Among the many similarities and differences, the most significant is the difference between the institutional cultures, or how the school is run and the atmosphere that is created in it by the administrators. Many of you will agree that high school has the atmosphere of a prison. Everything is regimented. You have a strict schedule that fills your day from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon and there’s no way to get out of it. By the time you get home, you don’t want to study after being in school and doing school work all day. Also, even though you’re considered to be a young adult, you still get treated like a child. Teachers monitor everything the students do and act as if they need to be contained. Students are told what they can and cannot wear. Some high schools have even implemented uniforms. Basically your ways of expressing yourself is limited. Everything you do or say is restricted to the school’s Code of Conduct, which is so refined there will be no loop holes, I promise you that. Many of these rules even take away some of your Constitutional rights. You have no freedom of speech. And the only way you have a sense of freedom of opinion about something or someone you don’t like is if you keep that opinion to yourself. College is where all of that changes. You decide when your classes are and what subject they will be based upon your major. If you prefer to get your classes over with in the mornings, you can. You can even schedule classes for late in the evening. Many college students tend to space out their schedule to give them free time in between classes. You can even pick your professors. Furthermore, the atmosphere is more laid back and heterodox. There are hardly any rules and none of them violate your Constitutional rights. College consists of many different students from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Since college is so diverse, students are actually encouraged to express their point of views, whether it be by what they decide to wear or just by their actions and speech. If cussing is how you express yourself, then there are no rules opposing it like in high school. In addition, at the end of every semester you can even express your opinions on your professor(s), whether it’s negative or positive. No rules are in place that affects what you say about your professor. There are rules, don’t get me wrong, but the administrators or faculty members don’t stand by and watch your every move. If you violate a rule the majority of the time no one pays attention. However if a person reports it, rest assured that you will be notified of the consequences pretty soon. In a sense it is unfair to compare and contrast these two forms of education. There are so many different things that each person does to define their period in high school and college. These branches of life are what you make them. The similarities and differences that I have told you are the most basic ones. Each university and high school is different just as its students are. To find more of the similarities and differences, you must experience both yourself.

My aim in life Essay

â€Å"The mere act of aiming at something big makes you big.† (Jawaharlal Nehru) Bestowing man with life and sending him on earth to live is fully justified. This all has been done for a specific reason. Idealizing his purpose and endeavoring to objectify it into reality is the real pinnacle/ culmination of human being. A man without an aim is like a rudderless ship in stormy sea; a vagabond wandering/rambling in streets with no particular direction to follow. To give one’s life a defined pattern and to enjoy it in its full bloom, one must have an aim in his life. â€Å"Aim simply means an ambition or a desire for ones future which helps him keeping attention focused on particular target.† In this avaricious and money-oriented world, everyone enjoys a materialistic life and lives for an aim that proves to be a financial boost as well. That is the reason why most of the people wish to become a doctor, engineer or a businessman. But I dream of becoming a techer. Though teachers are very ill-paid in our society, I want to adopt this profession on completely spiritual basis. Teaching, being the work of prophets and saints, is also a subject of my religious inclination. I always love to wonder teaching a number of students the principles of justice and fair play, epitomizing them in a particular skill and nurturing their fledgling ideas into veteran moods. I want to contribute in the society by providing it with minds having innovative ideas, high objectives and good moral values; an assemblage that will steer the sinking boat of our country through the winding river to a heavenly abode. Becoming a teacher would be a way to do that. I want to inculcate the sense of richness of talent in the brooding minds with which they can do something exemplary. I want to be the guiding star showing the right path to the passengers lost in the pitchy darkness. I wish to open new horizons to/on the coming generation so that they may learn something new beyond the world of books; so that they may learn seeking answers themselves, something learned not by reading but by experiencing/practicing. For this, I would have to be a paragon of the saying of F.W. Robertson: â€Å"The true aim of everyone who aspires to be a teacher should be not to impart his own opinions but to kindle minds.† Savoring that wonderful sensation when one of your students gets a feather in the cap; experiencing the love of hundreds of adolescents; tackling with their pure mischiefs and lifting them  up to rule the sky, are those experiences only a teacher can have. Our country is direly lacking true teachers. It needs educators, mentors, reformers, guides and moralists as teachers. I would like to develop all these characteristic capabilities among my pupil so that they may serve the society in the best possible way. Becoming a doctor, I would be treating patients only! Becoming an engineer would merely result in constructing buildings! But becoming a teacher, I would be able to build a whole new society and can treat the entire spiritual (mystical) ailments prevailing around; provide the society the best manpower; and produce many doctors, engineers, bureaucrats, business men and many more, as Alexander once said: â€Å"The world doesn’t need any Alexander, but Aristotle. As Alexander can’t make any Aristotle but Aristotle can produce many Alexander’s.† A teacher plays the most constructive role in the society. He changes attitudes, to maintain a congenial environment for the society to flourish. He is the one who makes anonymous reap laurels. Utilizing all hi s capacities, he makes his pupil continue their journey amidst the endless world of victories. Doing all this, his spiritual ecstasy is at its peak and this is the foremost reason why I aim at becoming a teacher.

The Eighth Amendment

The eighth amendment is defined as â€Å"excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (Lectlaw, 2010). This amendment was adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791. The eighth amendment serves the purpose of protection of those who are innocent until proven guilty and to ensure that all persons are treated fairly in the criminal justice system. Defendants who are not released on bail are being denied the opportunity to prepare their defense. Also, denying bail or having excessive bail imprisons the defendant without being properly convicted. There are cases, however, where bail must be denied or set excessively high. If an unconvicted defendant is feared to be a danger to the community or a flight risk, the constitution permits the denial of bail (FindLaw, 2010). The â€Å"no excessive fines clause of the eighth amendment presides fines directly imposed by, and payable to the government and in civil forfeiture cases† (Onecle, 2009). The term â€Å"excessive† still has not been defined by the United States court system. Asset forfeiture, however, has become a key element in the war on drugs as the government has the power to seize property of persons that have not yet been convicted of a crime (Hornberger, 2005). The law â€Å"there shall not be cruel and unusual punishment† under the eighth amendment means that society will deem what is cruel and unusual. The standards of society transform over time as citizens â€Å"do better when they know better†. Medevil practices such as cutting off the hand of a theif are obviously unacceptable forms of punishment in today’s modern society. While the death penalty is used in some states for those who commit the most heinous of crimes, not all states impose such a severe sentence. The first known execution within the United States occurred in the year 1607 in Jamestown. Captain George Kendall was shot to death by a firing squad for allegedly spying against the British (Justice, 2009). Since then, there has been a struggle among society and lawmakers attempting to decide if the death penalty falls under unusual and cruel punishment. In the late 1960s, â€Å"all but 10 states had laws authorizing capital punishment† (Justice, 2009). During Furman v. Georgia in 1972, the U. S. Supreme Court decided against capital punishment on federal and state levels. The majority ruled in a five to four vote that the death penalty violated the rights of the eighth amendment (Justice, 2009). Over 600 inmates sitting on death row had their sentences overturned between the years 1967 and 1972. This suspension of the death penalty continued until 1976. During the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976, the court decided to uphold a procedure in which the trial of â€Å"capital crimes was bifurcated into guilt-innocence and sentencing phases† (Wikipedia, 2010). These proceedings entailed a jury to first decide if a defendant is guilty. Based upon that decision, then a jury decides whether any aggravating and mitigating factors in assessing the ultimate penalty: life in prison or capital punishment (Wikipedia, 2010). In 2002, the United States Supreme Court decided that the execution of criminals who are mentally ill to be cruel and unusual punishment. Also, in 2005, it was decided that the execution of criminals under the age of 18 to be cruel and unusual as well. As of the year 2008,†the death penalty is authorized by 37 states, the federal government and the U. S. Military† (Clarkprosecutor, 2008). Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Minnesota, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Rhode Island do not support capital punishment (Clarkprosecutor, 2008). If the past has any influence on the future, the laws governing the death penalty will probably change time and time again. Society must do the best they can with the knowledge they acquire. Who is to say that the death penalty will be abolished forever or that possibly the death penalty might become usual punishment for crimes less than heinous? The future, in regards to the death penalty, may hold some surprises for us. Only the future will reveal what is to come. ClarkProsecutor. Org, 2008. The death penalty. Retrieved on January 31, 2010 from http://www. clarkprosecutor. org/html/death/dpusa. htm FindLaw (2010). The eighth amendment. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. findlaw. com/ Hornberger, Jacob. G. The bill of rights (2005). Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. fff. org/freedom/fd0503a. asp Justice (2009). History of the Death Penalty. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://justice. uaa. alaska. edu/death/history. html LectLaw (2010). The eighth amendment. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. lectlaw. com/def/e082. htm Onecle (2009). Excessive Fines. Retrieved onJanuary 30, 2009 from http://law. onecle. com/constitution/amendment-08/02-excessive-fines. html Wikipedia (2010). The eighth amendment. Retrieved on January 30, 2010 from http://www. wikipedia. org

Is the Financial Crisis caused by inefficient financial data management or financial models or both? Essay

This question is posed at the conclusion of â€Å"As Securities Become More Complex Is Financial Data Management Becoming More Complex?† by Jeffrey Rooney.   This paper discusses OTC derivatives as an example of how the financial crisis escalated and Enterprise Data Management (EDM) as a financial data model that offers a solution to data problems faced by the industry. Based on Rooney’s presentation the financial crisis is a symptom of inefficient financial data management which is the result of intentional   use of poor financial models coupled with the intentional misuse of financial models. Poor financial data management has a cultural and technological basis.   The cultural component is the Chinese wall or siloed business unit structure which facilitates and operates on the intentional misuse of financial models for the purpose of preserving the identity and autonomy of independent business units.   The technological component includes other issues such as merger activities and â€Å"disparate legacy systems† (Rooney 2009, p.2)   which results in either use of poor financial models or provides no framework for effective financial models at all. The IBM-World Bank currency swap was structured with the goal of avoiding highly regulated capital markets and regulation by affected countries.   This was a $290 million transaction which paved the way for the creation of the now $700 trillion OTC derivative market.   (Rooney 2009, p.3) As a result of these inefficiencies a financial crisis has occurred in multiple sectors of the financial markets. The financial crisis is the result of the systematic use of poof financial models and inefficient data management strategies built around the primary goal of expanding the derivative market.  Ã‚   Avoiding regulation and   hiding the complexity of derivative transactions is a primary goal of, resulting in, the inefficient financial data management and financial models. Bibliography Rooney, J.   (Spring 2009) As Securities Become More Complex Is Financial Data Management Becoming More Complex?   FinTech Project. Polytechnic Institute of NYU Finance and Risk Engineering.

Surveillance in the Workplace A Violation of Human Rights Essay

Surveillance in the Workplace A Violation of Human Rights - Essay Example The first type used by companies is computer monitoring. â€Å"Computer-based monitoring is the use of computerized systems to automatically collect information about how an employee is performing his or her job" (George 459). For employees doing data entry, some corporations monitor their performance by installing a computer software which can check the keystroke speed and accuracy. Some software can monitor how much time an employee surfs the net and what sites they visit. There are companies which even monitor the emails of their employees without their knowledge. Another type of employee monitoring system is the video surveillance. Turk explains that this type of surveillance is â€Å"used by employers for detecting employee misconduct (particularly theft), monitoring job performance and efficiency, and assuring conformance with safety procedures† (qtd. inMorgan , par 13). Most organizations today install closed -circuit television (CCTV) cameras in various parts of their offices. Outside the office, employees are monitored through the global positioning system (GPS).

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 36

DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE - Essay Example I think the use of hand gestures is also very true for communication with a peer. Do you think that slang or jargon might also be an appropriate in this type of scenario too? I think because of the informality of this type of communication, these elements would be all right to use. I think the easiest type of person to communicate with in a persuasive manner would be an open-minded person. This type of person will be willing to listen to what you have to say no matter what approach you might use. At the same time, however, I think this type of freedom can be a bit overwhelming. I also like what you said about body language and non verbal communication being an important component of persuading a challenging person. If this person sees you with a confrontational stance or attitude, they are likely to also remain confrontational or challenging. Therefore, I think a person would have to be hyper aware of everything that they are doing when communicating with this type of person. Good

What Part Does Cultural Compatibility Play in Determining The Success Essay

What Part Does Cultural Compatibility Play in Determining The Success of Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions - Essay Example Most often, considerations in relation to financing and strategies have become the main concern in obtaining the acquisition targets or merger partners that are most suitable for a company’s purpose. Usually, decisions are made depending on certain issues such as availability, price and probable earnings. When their activity fails, the analysis of merger failure or weak performance is often focused on the re-examination of certain factors that initiated the decision for selection (Schweiger & Goulet 2005). Often, poor selection decisions for mergers and acquisitions are associated with an overly high purchase price, incompetence of managers in achieving goals, or that the companies simply do not match each other. These factors have been continuously examined yet M & A activity has not obtained the necessary improvements (Teerikangas 2007; Seo & Hill 2005). Because of this, international acquisitions make up inconsistencies: despite the fact that business practice and academic research have reported that many of these activities fail to achieve their objectives, cross-cultural acquisitions still remain to be a popular strategy for multinational companies. Therefore, it is necessary that the causes of international merger and acquisition failure are examined as well as the strategies for addressing such problems. As reported by Galpin & Herndon (2007), in a study of 190 top executives who were involved in the global acquisition, it was believed that cultural incompatibility was viewed as the greatest barrier to the success of their M & A activities. Furthermore, the 1996 British Institute of Management survey reported that when merging two cultures is underestimated, it becomes a significant factor for failure (Carleton and Lineberry 2004).

Module 5 - Case assigment-Business Ethics and Organizational Culture Essay

Module 5 - Case assigment-Business Ethics and Organizational Culture - Essay Example It is a cautionary tale of how to destroy a seemingly good corporation at the very peak of its success in the highly- competitive world of energy trading in a liberated but loosely regulated environment. Many things had connived to cause the unraveling of Enron, one of which was its wrong bet on the direction of the energy market. Prices were going south and so a desperate effort of covering up was undertaken, primarily that of off-balance sheet financial commitments. It was the perfect storm, so to speak, a confluence of negative events finally brought Enron down and taken positively, the failure of Enron brought about many positive changes in governance. A few examples of this benefit are today's increased vigilance, passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and reforms in the banking and financial sectors through stricter accounting reporting standards. Hopefully, Enron is the last of its kind of case, but one never knows for sure it will not repeat. This paper is a critical appraisal of the business ethics at Enron within the context of its organizational culture and how its leaders influenced and shaped that particular culture which in a way ultimately led to its spectacular end. Many things went wrong at Enron then but in a strange twist, no one raised a howl until it was too late. Enron is a classic case in business ethics. Discussion There are many different definitions of organizational culture, and several examples of its definition are given here. This is to give a general conceptual background of what it is and in a sense, what it is not. Organizational culture is the abstract but dynamic phenomenon observed in organizations that influences the people within that particular organization (Schein, 2010, p. 3) to think and act in certain prescribed ways acceptable to majority of its members. In this meaning of organizational culture, there is a certain emphasis on how culture is created through a series of constant exchanges between people, re-enacted and rei nforced by our interactions with the other people that are in turn shaped by our own conscious behavior. With this in mind, organizational culture implies a certain kind of rigidity that builds up stability within the organization, because it has coercive power on how people should feel, act, speak, think and do things in an acceptable manner that creates social order. In other words, organizational culture demands conformity. A slightly different meaning of organizational culture is the formal system of all shared meanings, values and viewpoints within an organization by which all members abide by (Divedi, 1995, p. 9); it positions the organization as something different from other similar organizations as it helps to define the basic or intrinsic nature of the said organization. Organizational culture can be structural in terms of its enduring characteristics which differentiate it as an organization, it can be subjective, in the way employees and members feel about the organizati on as a group, and lastly, it can be synthetic, which is a combination of both structural and subjective elements. It is the perceived subjective influence of the formal system within the organization, and coupled with the informal system of how its leaders and managers act and think, with all other factors. Another meaning of organi

Trafficking in Person's Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trafficking in Person's - Research Paper Example Whereas the individual reader may be thoroughly familiar with the trade in illicit substances and/or narcotics, the level of knowledge that many societal shareholders have with respect to human trafficking is quite limited. One need look no further than the way in which popular culture and media portray drug smugglers, drug addicts, and each and every wrong of the supply and demand chain for narcotics to realize that this has primarily come to be the focal point of discussion and analysis with respect to the illicit/underground economy. However, according to 2011 statistics, human trafficking is a $35 billion a year global industry (Knepper, 2013). Moreover, from an ethical and moral standpoint, the trade of human beings and the buying and selling of these individuals as if they were merely a commodity to be consumed and disposed of as perhaps the most troubling aspect of all. Whereas it is true that the impacts of illegal drugs have far-reaching consequences that can harm any number of individuals in any socioeconomic strata in any country, human trafficking is unique due to the fact that it is one of the only exhibitions of slavery that currently exist within the world. Sadly, human trafficking is increasing with each and every passing year as the demands for cheap labor, sexual services, and healthy babies only continues to rise with the increasing population of the world. As a function of this sad reality, the following analysis will seek to analyze the scope, definition, impacts, policies, levels of governmental engagement, and factors that ultimately encourage the prevalence and continued exhibition of human trafficking around the globe. Although the greatest emphasis with regards human trafficking will necessarily be with respect to the way it is evidenced within the United States, it is impossible to engage such a topic without realizing and appreciating the global ramifications that the increasingly interconnected world demonstrates. Within such a mann er, global aspects of human trafficking will be discussed and engaged interchangeably with domestic concerns. The United Nations typically defines human trafficking as international organized transnational crime. For this very purpose, the United Nations reached an international agreement entitled â€Å"The UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime†; specifically targeting trafficking protocol is one of the first major issues that must be engaged. With regards to the actual definition of human trafficking, this particular analysis will refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a means of defining the way in which the reader should approach the issue throughout the course of this analysis (Onuoha, 2011). As such, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines human trafficking as the following: â€Å"†¦the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of the production, of fraud, a perception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or the giving up of receiving payments or benefits to achieve the consent that a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs†

Appian Way Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Appian Way - Research Paper Example The Appian Way in Rome has been always accounted as one of the earliest roman construction works, which has remarkable significance even in this modern day context. This pathway construction found its existence during 312 B.C. and was constructed by ‘Appius Claudius Caecus’ who during that period held the position of a powerful political figure. This political figure was also known for the construction of the primitive aqueduct structures within Rome so as to provide consumable water to the entire nation. The entire pathway spanned around a distance of 563 kilometers connecting Rome and the Brindisi, Italy. In terms of historical significance, this road till date represents the preliminary phase of traditional human engineering. Apart from just being a sign of historical significance, the Appian Way consistently served multiple other purposes as well1. One of such purposes was found to be the provision of a fighting advantage to the roman army during situations of war ou tbreak. The Roman army during that period utilized this pathway in an extensive manner for supplying ration, reinforcements and armaments to their front line fighting troops. After their expansion within Italy, the Roman Empire invested significant amount of time and finance in terms of developing and mastering the procedures of distant roadway construction. Eventually with time, such pathways emerged as significant connective lines between Rome and its acquired domains. As a result of all these roman developments, multiple underdeveloped cultural civilizations also had the chances of developing and marking their existence in the history of mankind (National Geographic Society, â€Å"Rome Walking Tour: Ancient Appian Way†)2. The utility of the Appian Way again formed a factor of historical significance as a result of Rome’s victory against Samnite tribes between the period of 343 & 341 BC. As a matter of fact, the

Selling Sunglasses in an Online World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Selling Sunglasses in an Online World - Essay Example The mission of the shop is to deliver the most highly sought after brand names with the top costumer service, in a mix which delights customers and has enabled the retailer to become one of the most successful examples of e-business in UK. On their website you get an on outlay which is at once catchy and informative. The brands are prominently displayed and range from premium to the ‘purse friendly’. There is a wide selection available and the shop team carefully monitors fashion trends and new arrivals to constantly update the products. They are registered dealers of all the brands they sell and some of the brands link back to their website as Oakley and Rayban. Technical eyewear such as goggles and designer spectacles are also two of the categories available for their customers. One of the main focus of the business is their strong inter relations within the employees and the suppliers. Training sessions and discussions with the suppliers keep the staff knowledgeable a bout the demand and supply of the sunglasses sector and they can further use this knowledge for the convenience of the customers. They act as experts on the latest and most desired products and the range of sunglasses available as well as provide quality control checks for the products which they deliver. Like other online retailers some of the perks offered by the retailer are the ability to compare and contrast the different products and prices available from the comfort of their home and free delivery of their shopping. The company goes to great lengths to ensure potential customers of their security and refund policies which work out to their benefit. The FAQ and about us page lets them know about the policies in a transparent way and provides the email address and contact number of customer service in order to answer any queries or provide any more information that the customer requires. The retailers do have a physical store in Highstreet, Essex. Fifteen employees in total man age both the online and retail business. The retail outlet was built to give their customers the opportunity to come and experience the products for themselves, as well as to attract those who were not very fond of online shopping. The outlet acts as a center for the transitional and accounting activities, they currently use the Wasp Quickstore solution to manage their check-out, stock levels, vendors and purchase orders. The emphasis is on replicating the same kind of efficiency in their outlet that exists in their online business. Possible E business models â€Å"Although â€Å"e-business† is a relatively new concept, there already exists a substantial base of experience in designing and implementing e-business initiatives and measuring their impact. As firms seek to go beyond the initial and often Imitated online store examples to the less obvious areas of their business that could be transformed with e-business technologies, there is a need for benchmarking the existing base of e-business experiences (Bagchi and Tulskie, 2000, 1) An E business can be defined as a company that has an online presence; these businesses sell merchandise, services and interact with customers through the internet. The model of conducting business that they follow is usually a combination of the different technology they use, website layout, company goals, marketing and selling strategies of that particular business. While every business is free to choose a model at their