Strategic Thinking Elysian Hotel

The world is getting increasingly competitive. There are various players within the industry having similar products to offer the market. Customers are increasingly becoming demanding. They have increased knowledge, and therefore, know that there is always an option when they need a product. Suppliers on the other hand, have become more demanding.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Strategic Thinking: Elysian Hotel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They want to supply more products at increased cost citing increase in various factors of production. A firm always finds itself in such an awkward situation in the market. This would force the firm to come up with mechanisms through which it can outsmart other firms. It must be able to offer customers products that are unique in the market. It must stand out as a firm that offers a positive change at regular interval to its customers. According to Wootton and Horne ( 47), it is through this that it will be in a position to manage competition and come out as a successful firm in the market. This would be achievable if the strategies that the management comes up with are competitive enough to make it be seen as the best. This study has its focus on Elysian Hotel in Chicago. The hospitality industry in the United States of America has expanded a great within this century. This is one of the oldest industries in the world. The major growth factor in this industry is the tourism sector, both locally and internationally. The number of visitors a region is able to attract within a year always dictates the growth of the hospitality industry. The United States of America is one of the leading tourists’ destinations in the world. There are a number of issues that affects this industry. The first issue that has been of concern is the seasonality in this industry. During off-seasons, the industry always faces serious economic challenges. In some extr eme cases, the cost of production exceeds the total sales that this firm makes. Another issue that always arises in this industry is the issue of insecurity. Pearson (112) observes that the United States has had a prolonged political stability that has enabled firms to excel in this industry. However, this industry is facing a new security threat in the form of terrorism and hooliganism. The United States remains the leading target of large terrorist groups around the world. The hotels are some of the institutions under great threat. Trigger-happy Hooligans are also targeting social places including the hotels, shooting at individuals indiscriminately. The management has these challenges, besides the challenge posed by competitors, to deal with firmly in order to be considered successful.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The above strategic issues must be approached and handled with care in order to ensure that Elysian Hotel in Chicago maintains its market lead in this industry. It is a fact that this is one of the market leaders in this industry. It has managed to withstand the market competition, but this may not be a guarantee that it will always be successful even if it fails to develop better strategies. According to Michel (92), the management must come up with various options that will help it remain competitive in the market. One of the ways it can manage the issue of seasonality is to embrace social media marketing. Most of the travelers who come to the United always try to search important information regarding the firm in the internet. They visit the internet with an aim of finding the best places to visit and to stay. This makes the internet the best place where Elysian Hotel can market itself to these customers. The firm should also offer online bookings to its customers as a way of making their experience better. This will help it sol ve the issue of seasonality in this industry. Bruce (125) the firm will be able to attract visitors throughout the year. This will eliminate cases where production cost is higher than sales generated. The issue of insecurity can be handled through public-private partnership projects. Insecurity is an issue that is arising from the external environment. It is therefore, not easy for a firm to approach it as an individual. Elysian Hotel should partner with other private firms and engage the government of the United States and the Public at large to combat crime and terrorism. Individually, the firm should install state-of-the-art facilities that can help detect dangerous weapons when one tries to infiltrate them into the facility. Grundy (74) says that it is through this that the firm will be assured of relative security in their facilities. The team members were concerned of the increasing threat that this firm was facing from various competitors in the market. They were in agreement that this industry has had a massive development in the 21st century. They stated that for Elysian Hotel to be successful, it must consider adopting the following recommendations. The management should consider moving most of its operational activities online. It should consider making the process of booking the hotels, and payments of the services online. This will reduce operational activities within the firm. The management should consider improving the value they offer customers. This may include offering additional benefits to the customers such as free transportation within the city of Chicago. This will increase levels of satisfaction of customers. The management should improve the security of the facility. It should install detectors, and other machines that can help detect and prevent the use of harmful weapons by criminals. The management should embrace corporate social responsibility, especially on environment as a way of increasing its popularity. Implementing the abo ve recommendations will have a number of advantages to the firm. However, it also comes with a number of challenges that Elysian Hotel must be ready to face. The following are some of the risks that the firm will face by implementing these strategies.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Strategic Thinking: Elysian Hotel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Going online exposes this firm to cyber criminals. These criminals can use this opportunity to rob unsuspecting customers of their valuables. This may have serious integrity issue against the firm. This will spoil the image of the firm in the world market. Offering additional value to the customers will increase the total cost of production for the firm. Installing the security gadgets may force the firm to hire qualified personnel from outside the firm. Outsourcing this activity will increase the operational costs within this firm. Corporate social responsibili ty may at times fail to achieve the desired impact. The public may fail to appreciate the positive move by this firm to make the environment a better place. The above actions are also likely to trigger competitors in this market to do the same. As such, the strategy may not as successful as would have been expected. Works Cited Bruce, Andy. Strategic Thinking. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Print. Grundy, Tony. Be Your Own Strategy Consultant: Demystifying Strategic Thinking – the Cunning Plan. London: Thomson Learning, 2006. Print. Michel, Robert. The New Strategic Thinking: Pure Simple. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. Print. Pearson, Gordon. Strategic Thinking. New York: Prentice Hall, 1990. Print. Wootton, Simon Horne Terry. Strategic Thinking: A Nine Step Approach to Strategy and Leadership for Managers and Marketers. London: Kogan Page Limited, 2010. Print. This assessment on Strategic Thinking: Elysian Hotel was written and submitted by user Bennett Cabrera to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Discrimination Against Women Essay Example

Discrimination Against Women Essay Example Discrimination Against Women Essay Discrimination Against Women Essay Women were and still are discriminated in Society Discrimination, in a general sense, simply means making a decision based on some distinctive factor. It involves making decisions on treating people differently based on prohibited discrimination factors such as race, age, sex, color, disability or national origin. Throughout history, the most common discrimination we hear about is the race of people. Thus, no one really takes into consideration of how woman are discriminated because of their sex, and how they are treated lower because of what their roles were traditionally. Therefore, by what one knows about discrimination, one would ask why is discrimination directed towards women? Throughout most of history women generally have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men. Wifehood and motherhood were considered as womens most significant professions. Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, fastidious, and unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development. In most pre-industrial societies, for example, domestic chores were relegated to women, leaving heavier labor such as hunting and plowing to men. This ignored the fact that caring for children and doing such tasks as milking cows and washing clothes also required heavy, sustained labor (Ryan 81-82). Wifehood, the natural biological role, has been regarded as the major social role of women, as mentioned before. The resulting discrimination that a womans place is in the home has largely determined the ways in which women have expressed themselves. Yang 2 Traditionally, children (girls) tend to learn from their mothers that cooking, cleaning, and caring for members of the household was the behavior expected of them when they grow up. Tests made in the 1960s showed that the academic achievement of girls was higher in the early grades than in high school. The major reason given was that the girls own anticipation decreased because neither their families nor their teachers expected them to prepare for a future other than that of marriage and motherhood (Ryan 10-11). Women, they say, are encouraged to be good mothers. They need, therefore, to first attract a man to depend on; they are expected (by our culture) to be giving, emotional, unstable, weak, and talkative about their problems; they are valued for their looks or charm or smallness but not their strength or brains; they are considered unfeminine (bad) if they are ambitious, demanding, and tough or rough; they are expected to follow their man and give their lives to their children, and on and on (Pogrebin 44). So basically, women are expected to serve others, to sacrifice their desires and personal needs in order to please and care for others. These myths and facts of how women were naturally inferior have greatly influenced their views of how they see themselves. That is why, in the 19th century, women began working outside their homes in large numbers, mostly in textile mills and garment shops. Since they supposedly didnt have any skills or experience, these were the only jobs they can start out with. They worked in poorly ventilated, crowded rooms and worked for as long as 12 hours a day. It was not until the 1910s that the states began to pass legislation limiting working hours and improving working conditions of women (Ryan 82-83). Yang 3 It was in the 1960s when the federal law started passing laws to improve the economic status of women. One of these was The Equal Pay Act of 1963. This required equal wages for men and women doing equal work. The second one was The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which restricted discrimination against women by any company with 25 or more employees. Even in 1967, a Presidential Executive Order prohibited discrimination against women in hiring by federal government contractors (Appleby, Brinkley McPherson 567-568). These laws that were passed to help women from discrimination, was a failure. Female workers were still underpaid, overworked and exploited. In addition to the problems, women also suffered from the heavy burden of discrimination based on their gender. They were assigned to the least skilled jobs, given the fewest possibilities for advancement, and treated as the most expendable members of the workforce (Chafe 67). Discrimination then persisted in other fields. Department stores would not let married women have their own credit cards because they think that since the man of the family was the supporter, they should not be allowed to own one. Similarly, divorced or single women often found it difficult to obtain credit to purchase a house or a car (Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia). Laws that dealt with crime and prostitution also displayed discrimination against women. Discrimination in crime existed in some areas of the United States. A woman who shot and killed her husband would be accused of homicide, but the shooting of a wife by her husband could be termed a passion shooting (Filene 194). Often women prostitutes were prosecuted although their male customers were allowed to go free (195). As of now, in the 20th century, women have professions such as doctors, lawyers, preachers, teachers, writers, singers, etc. The medical profession is an example of changed attitudes in the 19th and 20th centuries about what was considered as Yang 4 appropriate work for women. Prior to the 1800s there were almost no medical schools, and practically any ambitious person could practice medicine. However, on top of all this, specific discrimination against women started to develop again. Women now, constitute more than 45 percent of employed persons in the United States. Although the number of women working as managers, officials, and other administrators has been increasing, in 1990 they were outnumbered about 1. 5 to 1 by men. Workingwomen often faced discrimination on the mistaken belief that, because they were married or would most likely get married, they would not be permanent workers. But married women generally continued on their jobs for many years and were not a transient, temporary, or undependable work force (Gutek Morasch 57). Despite their increased occupancy in the work force, most women still have a major amount of responsibility for housework and family care. Even though they are workingwomen in society, they dont seem like they can ever escape the fact their expected roles will not change. Women are still discriminated to be the women they once were, which was wifehood and motherhood. The wife who worked from nine to five and who was still expected to be a full-time homemaker experienced difficulty in resolving the conflicting priorities in her life (Chafe 200). Perhaps the most important thing is that women tried to change the traditional views of their role in society. One can definitely say that if women werent discriminated in the past, they would not have been discriminated today. Although the discrimination of women has been better in the present days, no matter what, it still exists. No one can change the way people thought traditionally, no one could now. Yang 5 Discrimination. The Columbia Encyclopedia: 2000 Sixth Edition. Ryan, M. P. Womanhood in America: From Colonial Times to the Present. London: New York, 1979. Pogrebin, L. C. Family Politics. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983. Appleby, J. , Brinkley, A. , McPherson, J. M. The American Journey. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Chafe, W. H. The American Woman: Her Changing Social, Economic and Political Roles. Oxford Press, 1990. Discrimination of Women. Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia: 1994 Filene, P. Him/Herself: Sex Roles in Modern America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, 1975. Gutek, B. , Morasch, B. Sex-Ratios, Sex-Role Spillover, and Sexual Harassment of Women at Work. Journal of Social Issues 38: 55-74, 1982. Woman Labor Force: A Case Study in the Interpretation of Historical Statistics. American Statistical Association Journal March: 71-79, 1960. Blau, F. , Hendricks, W. Occupational Segregation by Sex: Trends and Prospects. Journal of Human Resources 14: 197-210, 1979.

Education in the United States Personal Statement

Education in the United States - Personal Statement Example Choosing to come to the United States to further my academic studies seemed to be the logical next step for me in terms of higher education because my family has always had a well rounded, international education. After all, my father is an architect who lives in California, my mother works as a principal in South Korea, and my brother is already attending medical university studies in the United States at the University of Texas at Austin. I believe that my opportunity to have worked as a Japanese translator helped to entice me to further my studies in English and other languages. It was because of this desire to learn about other cultures and languages that I took a year-long sabbatical from my studies in order to travel and immerse myself in the cultures of China and Japan, the 2 most advanced and highly admired countries in Asia. I fully intend to return to my mother country after the completion of my degree in order to help my mother further expand and enhance the educational system in the school where she works as a principal. By working alongside her, I fully expect to effectively enact a language knowledge transfer program in our South Korean school. In the end, I hope to further raise the educational standards of our school using the knowledge that I will gain from my American educational experience. There are a number of reasons that come to mind as to why I wish to attend SUNY. However, the most important reason I have is that I have already lived in Texas for 3 years and have developed a liking for the area both for the educational opportunities that it offers, and the uniquely American lifestyle that I am experiencing while I live here. Since South Koreans are becoming a major part of the educational landscape of the United States, I am sure that I will be a welcome addition to the SUNY international student community where I can help other fellow South Koreans feel at home and welcome on campus.

Rhetorical Analysis of a Discourse Communitys Practices Essay - 1

Rhetorical Analysis of a Discourse Communitys Practices - Essay Example Obviously, there is a considerable gap when information under the title is being passed over on one hand from professional to professional, and on the other hand, from a professional in the field marketing to a layman. Texts written in professional jargon typically suits the fellow professionals whereas texts written in plain English would, without doubt be constructed to suit the layman. When writing marketing papers it is imperative to distinguish the content for the two types of audiences. In the paper mentioned earlier, the content had been written to suit fellow marketing professionals. In marketing there are terminologies that cannot be easily deciphered by the layman unless they subjected the terms to a research. For instance, cause marketing, the seven P’s , copy testing, intangibility, investometer, low-end market, permission marketing, segregation, segmentation, warm marketing amongst others that were not contained within the paper whose title had been mentioned earl ier. Most of these terminologies are normal English words that would mean a different thing to layman, yet for a marketing professional the terms do have a relational meaning from the normal English usage. For instance, the term intangibility is an adverb and its derivative adjective intangible refers to ‘not having physical presence or unable to be touched’ (Soanes and Angus, 908). In marketing and from the usage in the paper it is used to describe the fruitless effort in assessing the value earned from performing an activity using tangible evidence. Hence, whereas it is proper to write an easily decipherable paper that can be read by everybody, technical languages associated with marketing will always prove difficult for those individuals who are not accustomed to the field. Although critics of technical writing argue that writing in marketing tone interferes with clear communication, it is important to note that

Effects of Maritime Homeland Defense Capability Gaps and Essay

Effects of Maritime Homeland Defense Capability Gaps and Recommendations for Improvement - Essay Example The most smuggled things are drugs, weapons and people (Simons, 121). These threats are defined as the capability gaps that exist in the homeland defense. This necessitates the application of security capabilities in curbing the threats posed. The department of defense has critically used the gap analysis model to identify these existing deficiencies (Simons, 121). The capability gaps identified have been divided into three regions or zones. These territories are within the borderlines of homeland security. The capabilities gaps necessitate planning the implementation procedures for the capabilities (Holder, 15). The challenges faced in the implementation are unique and include the international cooperation to ensure transparency. The effect brought out by these capability gaps is enormous. They have necessitated different security agencies to try to work together. This can create a lot of negative effects on the running of the agencies. From a managerial perspective, each group need s to be given its own authority and mandate. Failure to use this approach will create a conflict of interests between the heads of different groups. The execution of these capabilities under such conditions shall be restrained. This has an enormous negative effect as the capability gaps identified can not be rectified with infighting within the system supposed to correct them. The gap of unforeseen events, like pirates, requires a different capability. The DOD recommends the use of military force as a way of handling this gap. This kind of approach is considered efficient as opposed to a detailed operation plan. A detailed operation plan would be best fitted for a specific threat. In this approach the homeland defense will be providing guidance to the other subordinate departments that shall be helping in the execution of the capability. A detailed operation plan would, however, be used when dealing with threat of adversary nations’ naval forces. This is going to entail a pla nned course of action. With the threat being known homeland security can prepare effectively. The previous threat of unforeseen events however, needs preparedness. It means that there has to be a group kept ready waiting for such an occurrence (Antommarch, 32). These deficiencies have had several effects on the homeland security system. With the identification of the gaps, the operations of homeland security need a total overhaul. There appears the need to alter the budgetary allocation so as to cater for the execution of these capabilities. The effect of doing this shall be creation of extra gaps as opposed to correcting the existing one. Since the government has already made its financial allocation to the homeland security, an internal alteration shall have to be done. Cutting down of spending shall entail identifying the allocation from which some money can be recovered. This shall in turn stretch the capability of homeland security to undertake the correction. Another effect th at can come out of these capability gaps is the ability of a single security agency to handle these capabilities. There brings the need to acquire new equipment which may not be available at the moment. The Federal Acquisition Regulations requires the use of appropriate fund in any such process. With the pressure exerted on homeland security, some of those regulations may be hard to follow. This would mean that the capabilities

Surface State in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 Nanoflakes

Surface State in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 Nanoflakes Result of a study on the surface state in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 nanoflakes 4.1 Introduction The recent discovery of topological insulators (TIs) has provided new route for producing low-dimensional relativistic electronic states. The exotic surface states of TIs have attracted the attention of scientists because of their fascinating physical properties and applicability in spintronics and quantum computations [24-28]. The unique surface states were confirmed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on Sb2Te3, Bi2Te3, and Bi2Se3 [29-34]. Magnetotransport studies have also provided a clear picture of the topological surface state and the  ° Berry phase shift [35, 36],which gives rise to the immunity of Dirac fermions to localization. Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 are suitable candidates for TI studies because of their large energy gaps. Eg is approximately equal to 0.3 eV and 0.17 eV. However, the metallic bulk conduction of natural imperfections, such as vacancies or antisite defects in these materials, makes it difficult to probe surface Dirac fermions. Therefore, a high-insulating bulk state is a prerequisite for transport property studies of TIs. Substantial effort has made it possible to examine both the surface and the bulk channels either through electrical gating [36-42] or substitution doping [12-14, 42]. Recently, it was discovered that Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey (BSTS) is a high-insulating bulk TI. BSTS exhibits a tetradymite structure, a low carrier concentration (2.3 Ãâ€" 1016 cm3), and a large bulk resistivity (8 ÃŽ © cm) because of the ordered occupation of Te/Se in the quintuple-layer unit [12, 13]. However, a reliable detection of surface quantum oscillations is difficult in BSTS flakes because of the inhomogeneous defect [12] and low surface mobility [40]. Thus, the low mobility in a bulk channel plays a crucial role in probing surface quantum oscillations. In this chapter, we report the observation of surface-dominated transport in the topological insulator BSTS nanoflakes. Shubnikov-de Hass (SdH) oscillations study on the 200-nm BSTS nanoflake indicates that the achievement of surface-dominated transport can be attributed its high surface mobility of 2602 cm2/Vs (top surface), 3657 cm2/Vs (bottom surface), and low bulk mobility of 12 cm2/V s, which is a much lower value than those reported [12-13, 40-41]. Besides, the nontrivial Dirac surface state was further confirmed by the weak anti-localization (WAL) effect and the semiconducting to metallic transport transformation as the thickness of the specimen was reduced to the thin film limit, in which a up to 90% contribution from the surface channel was estimated based on the thickness dependence of the electrical conductance and the result of the SdH oscillations. 4.2 Method BSTS single crystals nominally composed of Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 were grown by melting the mixture of Bi (99.999%), Sb (99.999%), Te (99.999%), and Se (99.999%) in sealed evacuated quartz tubes. First the mixture was slowly ramped up to 750  °C at a rate of 100  °C/h and kept at 750  °C for 12 h. It was then furnace cooled to room temperature at a rate of 100  °C/h. The sample was reground and sintered again. The same procedure was repeated three times to ensure sample homogeneity. Finally, the sample was heated to 800  °C for 48 h, then cooled to 500  °C and annealed for 96 h. The crystal structures of the samples were identified using powder X-ray diffraction and refined using the General Structure Analysis System (GSAS) software package equipped with the EXPGUI interface, as shown in Figure 4.1(a). Transport measurements were conducted using a Quantum Design Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) and six-terminal Hall bar geometric specimens. The nanoflake specimens [Figure 4.1(b)] were mechanically exfoliated and transferred to the Si3N4 (200 nm)/Si substrate. The electrodes of the nanoflake were patterned using standard e-beam lithography and thermal evaporation of Ti/Au. Figure 4.1. (a) GSAS refinement of powder X-ray data of a BSTS crystal. Red circles represent experimental results, the green line represents calculated results, the blue line indicates the difference, and the Bragg peaks of the BSTS are shown by the vertical lines, where Rp, Rwp, and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ £2 represent the goodness factors. (b) The SEM image of a BSTS 160-nm nanoflake. 4.3 Results and discussion 4.3.1 Thickness and temperature dependence of resistance The considerable thickness dependence of electrical transport showed a transition from semiconducting to metallic behavior as the bulk content is reduced, as shown in Figure 4.2 (a). For the thick specimens, the thermal activation energies given by the Arrhenius law were 4.3 meV (140 ÃŽ ¼m), 3.5 meV (49 ÃŽ ¼m), and 2.37 meV (7 ÃŽ ¼m). The smaller activation energy of thinner specimens can be explained by the increasing contribution of surface states [12-13, 40-41]. In 140-ÃŽ ¼m BSTS, a significant deviation occurred below 20 K from the fitting to a three-dimensional variable-range hopping model (3D VRH) with Rxx is approximately exp[(T/T0)-1/4] [13], indicating the existence of a parallel metallic conduction of surface states [the inset in Figure 4.2 (a)]. According to Eq. 4.1, the total conductance G ° of a specimen with a thickness t can be formulated as G ° = Gs + à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ³bt, (4.1) where Gs is the surface sheet conductance, and ÏÆ'b is the bulk conductivity [38,42]. Gs =36.2 (e2/h) and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ³b = 4.14 (e2/h) ÃŽ ¼m−1, which resulted from the fit of thickness dependence of conductance to Eq. 4.1. For a 200-nm nanoflake at 2 K, up to 90% of the contribution from the surface state was obtained, as shown in Figure 4.2 (b). Figure 4.2. (a) Temperature dependence of resistivity for BSTS specimens with thicknesses of 140 ÃŽ ¼m, 200 nm, 160 nm, and 80 nm. The inset shows the fit of 3D variable-range hopping to the 140-lm specimens. (b) Thickness dependence of sheet conductance; the red line is the fit with G ° = Gs + à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ³bt. The inset shows the fitting of the Arrhenius law to the 140-ÃŽ ¼m specimen. 4.3.2 Hall measurements of BSTS To understand the semiconductor-metallic transitions, we focus on the charge transport behavior (Figure 4.3) and temperature dependence Hall measurement results of 160 nm specimen (Figure 4.4). Because of that the thickness seems like to the critical in between semiconductor and metallic transition. In Figure 4.3 (a), we gives three regimes in the temperature profile, one can obtain the nanoflake specimen with 160 nm thick showing metallic behavior which contrasts to its bulk. In the regime I, the bulk conduction dominates, as the temperature decreases the resistance increased which shows a general narrow-gap semiconductor behavior this can be attributed to freezing of the impurity band carrier in the bulk [27]. The regime II reveals a typical metallic behavior signature, the resistance decreases as temperature reduced, this can be explained as reduce phonon scattering and nearly constant carrier density (shown in Figure 4.4 (a)) with a decreasing temperature. In regime III, when the temperature is lower than 10 K, a slightly increases in resistance due to the bulk carriers freeze out [28]. Hall mobility measurements provide more clearly picture to realize the thickness dependence charge transport as shown in Figure 4.4 (b). The reduction in the degree of disorder or impurity of specimens can be obtained in Figure 4.4 (b) that the mobility enhanced as thickness decreased and their different temperature dependence trends. In thinner specimens (160 and 80 nm) the mobility shows monotonically increasing as decreasing temperature, surface dominate transport should play a more important role in this manner. Figure 4.3. Temperature dependence of the normalized resistance of specimens. Figure 4.4 (a) Temperature dependence of the Hall measurement results of 160 nm thick specimen. (b) Thickness dependence of Hall mobility versus temperature curve. 4.3.3 Surface quantum oscillations (Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations) Because successive empting of Landau levels (LLs) provides the nth minima in à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx, the relation of the LL index n to the Fermi surface cross-section area AF can be described using the semiclassical Onsager equation: 2 ° (n + à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ §) = AF Ä § / eB. For the Schrodinger electron case, à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0, which results in a zero Berry phase. à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 1/2 indicates the case of the Dirac fermion of TIs, which results in a  ° Berry phase where the charge carrier is immune to localization. The temperature dependence of resistance for a 200-nm nanoflake shows à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx as a function of 1/B after a smoothing background subtraction, as shown in Figure 4.5 (a). Two sets of oscillation periods are marked; one with a black dashed line ([(à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³(1/B) = 0.041 T-1]) and the other with a blue dashed line (0.022 T-1) for the surfaces of the nanoflake specimen. The multicomponent nature of SdH oscillations originates from the Fermi-level positions of the two surfaces. If SdH oscillations are as a result of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed with band bending near the surface, the corresponded carrier density differs in an order of magnitude [35] compared to the Hall measurement result [n3D = 3.5 à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ´ 101 8cm-3], which is obtained from the fit to low field B ( ±1T) data (Figure 4.5 (b)). Figure 4.5 (c) shows the LL fan diagram plotted in 1/B versus nth oscillation minima in à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx. The linear fit of the two-set SdH spectrum yields the intercepts of à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0.48  ± 0.3 for Surface 1 and 0.49  ± 0.02 for Surface 2, where à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § values are closer to the theoretical value of 0.5 for ideal Dirac fermions. It is assumed that Surface 2 is the top surface because environmental contamination provides effective n-type doping [17] to the sample, which strongly influences the top surface. The specimens were closely stacked on the substrate to prevent the bottom surface from air contamination and electron-beam irradiation. Thus, the second set of SdH oscillations appears in the lower inversed field, shown in Figure 4.5 (a), which was probably from the top surface. In Figure 4.5 (c), the slope of one set of SdH oscillations provides the cross-section area of the Fermi surface [AF = 4.15 Ãâ€" 1017 m-2], and the Fermi wave number was = 0.0363 and the 2D surface carrier density was = 1.05 Ãâ€" 1012 cm-2 for the top surface (Surface 2). The second set of SdH oscillations resulted in AF = 2.32 Ãâ€" 1017 m-2 and = 0.02718 , and 0.58 Ãâ€" 1012 cm-2 for the bottom surface (Surface 1). Figure 4.5 (d) shows the fit of temperature dependence of SdH amplitudes to the Lifshitz-Kosevich (LK) theory [11, 43].The cyclotron mass mc = 0.075 me is the same as that reported [13]. Once mc is known, we can calculate the Fermi velocity and the Fermi level position to be vF = 5.6 Ãâ€" 105 m/s and EF = 134 meV above the Dirac point for the top surface and vF = 4.19 Ãâ€" 105 m/s and EF = 75 meV for the bottom surface. The high Fermi level position of the top surface is consistent with the results of environmental doping mentioned previously. Due to the multiple component nature, the Dingle temperature is difficult to extrapolate from the SdH amplitude; therefore, Eq. 4.2 is used to fit the resistance data to the LK theory , (4.2) where F is the frequency of SdH oscillations extracted from the slopes of Figure 4.5 (c), the thermal factor is , and the Dingle temperature is [11, 43]. The solid red line in Figure 4.5 (e) shows the optimal fitted results of à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0.5 and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ´ = 1.11 Ãâ€" 10-13 s for the top surface, and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § = 0.35 and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ´ = 1.56 Ãâ€" 10-13 s for the bottom surface. The fitted à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ § values are close to theoretical value of 0.5 for ideal Dirac fermions. According to the Dingle analysis, the scattering time is approximately two to three times larger than that of the bulk BSTS [13]. Mobility is a measure of scattering time; therefore, it is possible to calculate the surface mobility ÃŽ ¼s = 2602 cm2V-1s-1 and the mean free path = 62 nm for the top surface, and ÃŽ ¼s = 3657 cm2V-1s-1 and = 65 nm for the bottom surface. The surface mobility enhancement is consistent with the longer mean free path of the nontrivial topological Dirac state. The surface contribution to the total conductance (Gs/Gtot = 84.8%) was consistent with the results obtained from the thickness dependence of conductance. Take the sheet carrier density into account, n = ns + nb t [44]. The mobility of the bulk channel was 12 cm2/Vs, which is close to the total Hall mobility of the 140-ÃŽ ¼m thick BSTS specimen, 13 cm2/Vs. The low Hall mobility of bulk carriers causes less interference with the surface Dirac fermions; thus, the enhancement of the surface contribution and quantum oscillations was detected in the specimens used in this study. Figure 4.5. (a) Temperature dependence of resistance. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx is function of 1/B. n = 4, 5, and 6 are the LLs of the bottom surface; n = 6, 7, 8, and 9 are the LLs of the top surface of the 200-nm nanoflake. (b) Hall resistance versus magnetic field. The red dashed line is extended from the low B ( ±1T) fit. The inset shows the Fermi level positions of the top and bottom surfaces, respectively. BV is the bulk valance band, and BC is the conduction band. (c) The LL fan diagram plotted in 1/B versus the nth oscillation minima in the à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³Rxx. (d) The fit of temperature dependence of the SdH oscillation amplitude to the LK theory. (e) à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ³R versus 1/B. The black curve is the experimental data, and the red curve is the fit to LK theory. 4.3.4 Weak anti-localization effect In addition to SdH oscillations, the helical surface state was further probed using the WAL effect on the 200-nm BSTS. The WAL effect in TIs originated from the  ° Berry phase, in which the probability of backscattering was suppressed as a result of the destructive interference of time-reversed paths. The angle field dependence magnetoconductance analysis is shown in Figure 4.6 (a). The sharp cusps of the magnetoconductance in the lower field region are features of WAL. The 2D nature of Dirac fermions associated with the  ° Berry phase, which is dependent only on the perpendicular component of the applying field, was obtained by subtracting the background from the 3D bulk WAL contribution, ΔGxx(ÃŽ ¸,B) = Gxx(ÃŽ ¸,B) Gxx(90 °,B) (5), as shown in Figure 4.6 (b). Figure 4.6 (b) shows that low-angle data merge into a single universal curve [15]. The Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) [15] model is used to calculate sheet conductance [27], as given in Eq. (3): , (4.3) where Gxx is sheet conductance, is the phase coherent length, and is the digamma function. The value for à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ (-0.96) and (121 nm) were obtained for the 200-nm nanoflake. For the WAL effect in TIs, the prefactor à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ was equal to -0.5 for a single surface state [40]. The complicacies of topological surface states resulted in an experimental value à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ between -0.4 to -1.5 [38, 40]. In this study, the value à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ = -0.96 indicated the existence of two surface states. Figure 4.6. (a) The angle field dependence magnetoconductance of the 200-nm nanoflake. The inset is a schematic diagram of the measurement. (b) ΔGxx versus the perpendicular field component (B cos ÃŽ ¸) for various angles. Low-angle data merge into a single curve (the green dashed line) fitted using the HLN model. 4.4 Conclusion In this study, dominated surface transport was observed in BSTS nanoflakes. The thickness dependence electrical transport and the SdH oscillations illustrated that the surface states in the 200-nm BSTS nanoflake contribute to nearly 90 % of the conductance. The achievement of the surface-dominated transport is mainly attributed to the high surface mobility relative to the bulk channel. The observation of SdH oscillations provides clear evidence of surface Dirac fermions. Surface-dominated transport was further confirmed by the WAL effect showing 2D nature of helical Dirac surface states. Moreover, electrical transport transforms from semiconducting to metallic behavior, and mobility was enhanced when the thickness decreased, indicating that surface states plays a crucial role in the thin film limit. The high-insulating bulk state in BSTS nanoflakes provides opportunities for future quantum computation and spintronics applications.

Winstons Predicament in 1984 Essay -- 1984 Literature George Orwell E

Winston's Predicament in 1984 The dystopian world George Orwell created for 1984 is a bleak, emotionless place, grey shaded and foul smelling, full of hate and distrust. The humans that inhabit it do not live, they are simply expected to exist for the good of the sinister Party, a totalitarian government, while their leader gazes down at them from every wall, watching their every move. One of these humans, and our protagonist, is Winston Smith. His problems when simplified may seem like the problems of any other person: his lack of freedom, his repressed emotions and his desperate loneliness. These problems however, are exasperated by the society he lives in. 'Thought crime', punishable by death, goes so far as to prohibit freedom of thought, nevermind speech. The Party want their people to be simply hate machines, incapable of love or even original thought, it wants them to live by slogans instead of natural instinct .By the end of the first chapter Winston believes that what he is thinking and feeling will eventually get him killed, and by the middle of the book he takes to repeating the dogma "we are the dead". Right from the beginning we see this fatalist thinking in all Winston does, as if he lives his whole life under a self imposed death sentence. At times it seems he actually does know he will be caught and has just trained his mind to accept this as inevitable. He knows the illegal diary he keeps will be read and could be used to prove him guilty of thought crime, with its scribbled missives of "down with Big Brother" and "hope lies in the proles", and yet he carries on writing in it, pouring out his restrained feelings onto the 'creamy smooth' paper. His lack of trust in communications with ... ...escribes the Party's idea of the perfect future society to Winston: "a boot stamping on a humans face - forever". Its now we realise that despite Winston's death, this will happen in that world if things carried on as they were. It's at this point that nearly all hope is lost. Next is the betrayal of Julia, the one last thing keeping Winston going. It is a certainty by now that there will be no happy end and that Winston will die and life outside in Air Strip One will remain the same. Winston's predicament is not then to do with love and loss, it's to do with futility. For all he did, for all the rules he broke, for all the rebellion he thought and wrote, nothing changed. The Party remains in power and no future generations were saved. Despite all his good intentions Winston dies broken, hopeless and loveless, a "non-person" who as good as never existed.

Stretegic Analysis of Pepsi

Strategic Analysis of PepsiCo | | Introduction Pepsi co is a carbonated beverage that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in stores restaurants and from vending machines. The drink was first made in the 1890s by a pharmacist Caleb Bradham in New Bern, North Carolina. The brand was trademarked on June 16 1903. The has been many Pepsi variants over the years since 1903 to name a few they have Diet Pepsi, Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi blue, Pepsi raw, Pepsi one etc. PepsiCo is situated in a soft drink industry that is dominated by Coca Cola. By the time it got into the market Coca cola had already made its mark among the public and the newcomer Pepsi found it hard to find a consumer base. Their first effective marketing strategy, they put their sodas in beer bottles and sold them cheaper than Coke. There was more drink for less money. They started selling, and Pepsi was seen as the poor man’s cola. Although this strategy worked, Pepsi recognized that if their image remained as that of the Poor Man’s Soda, their customer base would never widen. In order to improve its image, Pepsi devised a new marketing strategy by employing celebrities for its advertisements. One of their first celebrity endorser was Barney Oldfield, the pioneer for automobile racing. Afterwards, PepsiCo dipped its marketing hands into acquiring even more business. They bought Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and exerted effort into developing overseas restaurant ventures. One of the most successful advertising and promotion campaigns in history. SWOT Analysis Strength †¢ Pepsi has a broader product line and outstanding reputation. †¢ Merger of Quaker Oats produced synergy across the board. †¢ Record revenues and increasing market share. †¢ Lack of capital constraints (availability of large free cash flow). †¢ Great brands, strong distribution, innovative capabilities †¢ Number one maker of snacks, such as corn chips and potato chips Weakness †¢ Pepsi hard to inspire vision and direction for large global company. Not all PepsiCo products bear the company name †¢ PepsiCo is far away from leader Coca-cola in the international market – demand is highly elastic. Opportunity †¢ Pepsi should expand into markets that they are not currently in. †¢ Food division should expand internationally †¢ Noncarbonated drinks are the fastest-growing part of the industry †¢ Pepsi should position itself on t he cutting edge of the healthy food trend in the market place by increasing trend toward †¢ Changing customer tastes e. g. variants of drinks †¢ Focus on most important customer trend – â€Å"Convenience†. Threats †¢ Pepsi is blamed for pesticide residues in their products in one of their most promising emerging market e. g. in India †¢ Over 50 percent of the company's sales come from Frito-Lay; this is a threat if the market takes a downturn †¢ PepsiCo now competes with Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, and Kraft foods (because of broader product line) which are well-run and financially sound competitors. †¢ Size of company will demand a varied marketing program; Social, cultural, economic, political and governmental constrains. External Analysis PEST Analysis: Political influences: – The production distribution and use of many of PepsiCo product are subject to various federal laws, such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act. – The businesses are also subject to state, local and foreign laws. – The international businesses are subject to the Government stability in the countries where PepsiCo is trying get into (underdeveloped markets). Businesses are also subject to de taxation policy in each country they are operating. They also have to comply with federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations. Economic influences: – Pepsi is subject to the harvest of the raw material that they use in their snack foods, soft drink and juice, like corn, oranges, grapefruit, vegetables, potatoes, etc. Because of they rely on trucks to move and distribute many of their products, fuel is also an important subject, so they are subject to the fuel price fluctuation, and to possible fuel crisis. Operating in International Markets involves exposure to volatile movements in foreign exchange rates. The economic impact of foreign exchange rates movements on them is complex because such changes are often linked to variability in real growth, inflation, interest rates, governmental actions and other factors. PepsiCo is also subject to other economical factors like money supply, energy availability and cost, business cycles, etc. Social influences: – Pepsi is subject to the lifestyle changes, because of it bases its advertising campaigns in a concrete kind of people with a special lifestyle, it is for that PepsiCo has to pay a special attention on the lifestyle changes. Around the world Pepsi drinkers are defined, there is a kind of people who drinks Pepsi another kind who drinks Coca-Cola; it is for that they have to pay attention to the social mobility for not losing a possible market. – Taking into account that PepsiCo is trying to introduce itself in underdeveloped markets, they have to be careful with the possible problems with the governments of this countries, and with the problems could rise from PepsiCo act with the people of this countries. Technological influences: – PepsiCo is subject to new techniques of manufacturing, for their three business sectors, snack food, juices and soft drinks. It has to pay attention to the new distribution techniques. – And they have to fix their attention in the competence developed, to know about the new products. Porter’s Diamond: The Porter’s Diamond Analysis tries to explain the Competitive Advantage of Nations. There are four attributes of a nation comprise Porterâ₠¬â„¢s Diamond of national advantage, they are: Factor Conditions: The basic factor conditions are natural resources, climate, location, the more advanced factor conditions are skilled labour, infrastructure and technology. There are some of these factors that can be obtained by any company (like unskilled labour and raw materials) and, hence, do not generate sustained competitive advantage. Below is a market share structure, Pepsi has around the world as of 2007. Pepsi has a long standing commitment to protecting consumer whose trust and confidence in its products. In order to ensure that consumers stay inform about the quality of all Pepsi products sold in the world. Summary of the Pepsi Strategy Conclusion Assessing Pepsi’s marketing strategies; shows that Pepsi has made several right choices. With the existence of Coke, Pepsi can never lay claim to true originality. It is not that unique. So, before it entered the international market, it first familiarized its customers with its product thoroughly in its home base and lowering their prices. By the time Pepsi was ready to enter the international market, it had a good grasp of what its target audience really is. In conclusion, Pepsi’s marketing strategies, from past to present includes: enhancing their distribution system, knowing the environment of the foreign market and finding the things their target buyers had in common, adding new innovations and products while improving the old products, imaginative advertising, use of advanced technology, assertive promotions, trendy, socially-aware campaigns, alliances with major corporations and expansion into other industries such as restaurants. Al in a one Pepsi-Cola  concentrates on markets where it could prosper alongside  Coca-Cola,  rather than trying to defeat it and its still progressing well. The King III Report and its implications in IT Introduction King III states that – In contrast to the King I and II codes, King III applies to all entities regardless of the manner and form of incorporation or establishment applies to all entities regardless of the manner and form of incorporation or establishment. Unlike previous reports, King III deals with IT governance in detail. According to the introduction of the Report: information systems were used as an enabler to business, but have now become pervasive in the sense that they are built into the strategy of the business and the risks involved in information technology (IT) governance have become significant. The King Report III provides a list of best practice principles which have become an indispensable guide on Corporate Governance to directors, executives and regulators alike. King III provides guidance to all corporate entities on various governance related aspects, including: Ethical leadership and corporate citizenship, Boards and directors, Audit committees, The governance of risk , The governance of information technology (IT), Compliance with laws, rules, codes and standards, Internal audit, Governing stakeholder relationships, Integrated reporting and disclosure. IT governance Unlike previous reports, King III deals with IT governance in detail for the first time. In exercising their duty of care, directors should ensure that prudent and reasonable steps have been taken in regard to IT Governance. IT governance should focus on four key areas: †¢ Strategic alignment with the business and collaborative solutions, including the focus on sustainability and the implementation of ‘green IT’ principles; †¢ Value delivery: concentrating on optimizing expenditure and proving the value of IT; †¢ Risk management: addressing the safeguarding of IT assets, disaster recovery and continuity of operations; †¢ Resource management: optimizing knowledge and IT infrastructure. KEY PRINCIPLES OF THE KING III REPORT The Report places great emphasis on: †¢ Leadership; †¢ Sustainability; and †¢ Corporate Citizenship. The importance of the concepts of integrated sustainability and social Transformation is highlighted. This leads to a lasting concentration on the effects of business on society and the environment. The concept of sustainability is linked with the evaluation of ethics and the improvement of ethical standards in business and in the community. The Minister of Environmental Affairs has pointed out that, unless measures are adopted, greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa will quadruple by 2050. This would result in South Africa becoming a pariah nation. Sustainability reporting is also emphasized in the need to utilize suppliers from amongst previously disadvantaged people. The success of companies in the 21st century is likely to involve: †¢ The natural environment; †¢ The social environment; †¢ The political system; and †¢ The global economy. The King III Report has placed great emphasis on an integrated report, which will evaluate the company’s impact on the economic life of the community in which it operates, as well as many other matters. Conclusion The release of King III is welcomed and represents a significant advance in good corporate governance that looks to the future. Companies will also find King III more user-friendly, in particular the new format of the Code which briefly sets out the recommended best practices against the applicable principles, should constitute a handy quick reference guide. In addition, the Practice Notes, when released, will greatly assist with implementation and going forward, the Institute of Directors will also be developing tools to assist different types of entities identify how to apply relevant principles and recommendations. All in one I would say the release of King III is welcomed and represents a significant advance in good corporate governance that looks to the future. Companies will also find King III more user-friendly, in particular the new format of the Code which briefly sets out the recommended best practices against the applicable principles, should constitute a handy quick reference guide. In addition, the Practice Notes, when released, will greatly assist with implementation and going forward, the Institute of Directors will also be developing tools to assist different types of entities identify how to apply relevant principles and recommendations. Reference http://www. sirpepsi. com/pepsi11. htm â€Å"compiled by 2002† http://www. radessays. com http://www. bookrags. com http://www. allbusiness. com. http://www. peerpapers. com http://www. michalsons. com/king-3-published-for-comment/1463 http://www. pwc. com/en_ZA/za/assets/pdf/pwc-draft-kingiii-presentation-09. pdf

Jeep Grand Cherokee Essay

Jeep Grand Cherokee is an American car. This kind of cars is survivor’s favorite things in VALS types. Survivors live narrowly focused lives. They are accustomed to use their familiar things, can’t accept new things quickly. Therefore Jeep brand which has more than 70 years history and born for war can satisfy the sense of survivors’ security. At the same time, survivors are cautious customers. Just in time, the design philosophy of Jeep-safety, comfortable, power, meet their requirements. Jeep brand is their best choice. The price of brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee starts from 39,895 dollars, this price level is medium-high. It’s expensive, but the price is not higher than Mercedes-Benz SUVs and BMW X5. For this reason Jeep Grand Cherokee is not a rich status symbol. However Jeep Grand Cherokee absolutely present a kind of personal character, it’s a symbol of recalcitrant man. SUVs are trendy because of better vision, more capacious space. On this basis, Jeep Grand Cherokee obtain better fuel economy by using new V6 engine. Increased back space make it more suitable for family, through the change of interior atmosphere let Jeep Grand Cherokee has become home up. Still powerful cross-country performance and improve highway playability let it drive up full of fun. Grand Cherokee try to attract more people to choose as family car. Hence, if you want to have fun with family in weekend, you can’t miss this car.Jeep Grand Cherokee is not offbeat no matter on speed or safety, but it can find balance in both. Jeep Grand Cherokee is a domestic car. It’s more appropriate survivors who like familiar brand and proud of owning American car even products. 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee use headline for: You’ll need to find a different excuse for being late to work. This headline really attract office worker. This press Jeep Grand Cherokee is comfortable and has fun to drive. Comfortable is the other most important reason for choose American car. Grand Cherokee shows this characteristics of the incisively and vividly. The seat not only soft and comfortable, and let any shape people drive this big car can find the most suitable for their own driving posture. Jeep own a pure cross-country blood, this SUV retains its essence and enhance the characteristics of adapting road. This advertising didn’t use celebrity charm and use model. It’s just a  picture about Grand Cherokee run in snow. This picture foil masculine, at the same time correspond subtitle: When you enhance the legendary Jeep brand capability with a Selec-Terrain system, snow doesn’t stand a chance. This advertising posted on Reader magazines whose readers have own-opinion. Overall this advertising conveys adventure emotional approach and express it’s comfortable and has fun with driving. It’s impressive and attractive advertising.

Wind energy in Kenya

Wind energy in Kenya Free Online Research Papers Harnessing the natural power of the wind is by no means a new concept. Asides from sailing, wind power has been utilised for many thousands of years, principally for agricultural purposes. Basic windmills are thought to have been used in Persia (now Iran) as early as the 7th century AD. Their ability to make use of otherwise untapped energy sources without the needs and costs of other alternatives, ensured that they remained the machines of preference in several industries throughout both agricultural and industrial revolutions. Whilst their basic concepts have remained true to the basic origins, technological advances have enabled engineers to adapt the mechanics of the mill to enable a more functional and useable source of power. In the 18th C, engineers developed spring sails, a device incorporating shutters onto the sails, to enable the mill to be run at constant speed during variable wind speeds automatically. The development of the fantail in 1745 also ensured the mills ran in the face of the wind and along with airbrakes meant that the mill could run at its most efficient at all times without the risk of doing itself damage in strong winds. Uses developed into water pumping, wood sawing, papermaking, pressing oil seeds and a variety of grinding uses. American colonists used windmills to grind wheat and corn, to pump water, and to cut wood at sawmills. As late as the 1920s, Americans used small windmills to generate electricity in rural areas without electric service. When power lines began to transport electricity to rural areas in the 1930s, local windmills were used less and less, The use of wind turbines for generating electricity was pioneered in Denmark late in the 1890s. The concept was made a reality by Poul la Cour, 1846-1908, who had originally trained as a meteorologist. He built the worlds first electricity generating wind turbine in 1891 and although his project was a success, decided the greatest problem lay in storage of the electricity. As a result he used the electricity from his turbines for electrolysis in order to produce hydrogen for the gas lighting in his school. Wind is one of the simplest gifts of nature, it is air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Since the earth’s surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun’s heat at different rates. During the day, the air above the land heats up more quickly than the air over water. The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating winds. At night, the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water. In the same way, the large atmospheric winds that circle the earth are created because the land near the earths equator is heated more by the sun than the land near the North and South Poles. Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity. Wind is called a renewable energy source because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines. In order for this to happen, windmills are used. How does it work? Like old fashioned windmills, today’s wind machines use blades to collect the wind’s kinetic energy. Windmills work because they slow down the speed of the wind. The wind flows over the airfoil shaped blades causing lift, like the effect on airplane wings, causing them to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity. With the new wind machines, there is still the problem of what to do when the wind isn’t blowing. At those times, other types of power plants must be used to make electricity. This type of energy production is done on a wind farm. Wind power plants, or wind farms as they are sometimes called, are clusters of wind machines used to produce electricity. A wind farm usually has dozens of wind machines scattered over a large area. The worlds largest wind farm, the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas, has 421 wind turbines that generate enough electricity to power 220,000 homes per year. Unlike power plants, many wind plants are not owned by public utility companies. Instead they are owned and operated by business people who sell the electricity produced on the wind farm to electric utilities. These private companies are known as Independent Power Producers. Operating a wind power plant is not as simple as just building a windmill in a windy place. Wind plant owners must carefully plan where to locate their machines. One important thing to consider is how fast and how much the wind blows. As a rule, wind speed increases with altitude and over open areas with no windbreaks. Good sites for wind plants are the tops of smooth, rounded hills, open plains or shorelines, and mountain gaps that produce wind funnelling. Wind speed varies throughout the country. It also varies from season to season. New technologies have decreased the cost of producing electricity from wind, and growth in wind power has been encouraged by tax breaks for renewable energy and green pricing programs. Many utilities around the country offer green pricing options that allow customers the choice to pay more for electricity that comes from renewable sources. Most of the wind power plants in the world are located in Europe and in the United States where government programs have helped support wind power development. The United States ranks second in the world in wind power capacity, behind Germany and ahead of Spain and India. Denmark ranks number six in the world in wind power capacity but generates 20 percent of its electricity from wind. Wind energy is an economical power resource in many areas of the country. Wind is a clean fuel, wind farms produce no air or water pollution because no fuel is burned. Growing concern about emissions from fossil fuel generation, increased government support, and higher costs for fossil fuels, especially natural gas and coal, have helped wind power capacity in the United States grow substantially over the last 10 years. This is how a wind farm is set up; 1 Study of wind regime 2 Selection of suitable sites 3 Negotiation of land rights 4 Design of generator arrays (placing within the site) 5 Building And the investments needed are; 1. Wind Turbines 2. Grid Extension 3. Modifications to control equipment of Grid controllers 4. Additional water turbines on hydro stations In Kenya wind farming may be a new advancement. According to the Energy Act of 2006 which was signed into law in 2007 the permanent secretary of the Energy ministry will have to perform several duties, wind farming being one of many. It may be the best alternative for the thousands of Kenyans that live without electricity. How many places do we have in our country side that fits the requirements of tapping wind energy? There are many hillsides that aren’t even being used. Many communities would indeed benefit if the government supported projects fully like the Lake Turkana Wind Power Consortium, located North West of Kenya near Lake Turkana, which would supply the national power grid with up to 30% of clean electricity once it commences. A wind farm consisting of 353 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 KW will be constructed. The total foreseen power generated by the initial phase of this wind farm is expected to start production in June 2011 and reach full production of 300 MW by July 2012, adding 30% or more to the total existing installed capacity available in Kenya. Wind turbine technology has seen recent rapid improvement with the development of turbines. The people of the Lake-side plains lands of Kenya live within a potential source of power more useful than an oilfield. Although they have no significant sources of water power or coal they live in what can be described as a giant natural heat engine. This is the wind circulation system caused by the difference in temperatures of the sun-baked Kano Plains and the cooler waters of the Lake. Air rises from the plains from about 11.00 a.m. as they heat up; this pulls in air from the lake and a substantial wind blows throughout the area until the land cools down and temperatures equalise at about sunset. Unlike an oilfield this will not be exhausted as long as the sun shines. However in order to start construction of such projects one major set back is the state of the roads leading to such remote areas that are suitable for wind farming. Machinery and equipments all need to be transported to various parts of the country from the port of Mombasa, in this case to North West near Lake Turkana. Many roads are a mess and bridges not strong enough to allow Lorries to access it. Another factor as to why wind power production is not so common both internationally and locally is its financial implications, turbines are expensive and in order to generate enough electricity as compared to hydro electric turbines one must invest in a large number of machinery to do so. Land is another factor that must be considered due the importance of location. Highlands are a more suitable area for harnessing wind power however research has shown that areas with vast numbers of turbines generate turbulence with in turn affects the growth of crops, according to the Science daily report. The most serious environmental drawbacks to wind machines may be their negative effect on wild bird populations and the visual impact on the landscape. To some, the glistening blades of windmills on the horizon are an eyesore; to others, they’re a beautiful alternative to conventional power plants. The noise created by wind turbines is often cited as an issue, although the noise of large turbines is far less than of smaller turbines. Of late there have been many prospective investors looking to Kenya to venture in wind power production. African Clean Energy, the British firm and Wind Flow, a local partner, will initially set up a wind farm in Marsabit to provide an alternate power source for the country. They will then sell the power they generate to KenGen for distribution into the local power grid. Currently, country mainly relies on hydroelectric power that can be disrupted by unreliable rain patterns. Wind will provide an alternative source for the country at a time when the national power distributor, Kenya Power and Lighting Company is on a recruitment drive to attract more customers to the national grid. Just eight per cent of the population has access to power, and as the Government pushes forward its promise to supply power to more citizens, alternative sources are expected to shore up supplies. Other countries have already gone for wind power as soaring oil prices and fears of climate change drive the need for less petroleum-based power sources. Wind is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world, though it remains a minor player compared to more common fossil fuels and other alternatives such as geothermal, hydro and nuclear power. Wind power uses natural air movements to drive giant windmill blades, turning turbines that convert the kinetic energy into electrical power. Wind turbine sales are projected to rise from .1 billion to almost double that amount by 2011 , according to research firm BTM Consult. In conclusion Kenya seems to be looking at more efficient and cleaner means of producing electricity. With new bills that have been passed regarding renewable energy and the introduction of new foreign investors to tap into this energy shows us that Kenya and the government are ready and willing to take a new challenge to harnessing wind power. So yes it can be done but I do think that there is still potential for more to be done, like educating people, especially those in rural areas on the benefits of wind power and how to do it. There are still many places outside Nairobi that live without electricity, Kogelo was once one of those places. Politicians need to campaign for such projects. They are the ones who could make a greater impact for the benefit of such projects. Research Papers on Wind energy in KenyaThe Spring and AutumnPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionGenetic EngineeringThe Effects of Illegal Immigration19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraOpen Architechture a white paperBringing Democracy to AfricaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

Relevant Information for Decision Making session long project 3 Essay

Relevant Information for Decision Making session long project 3 (walmart) accounting - Essay Example Here the two main questions and pieces of information that need to be considered are a) the location of the stores and the relative distance from the competitors and b) the Sales potential for the stores and the estimated revenue that the company might expect from the stores. Both these have a major impact on the overall profitability of the company. The irrelevant information for the company includes a) the sales for the US branch of the company and b) the sales forecast for Wal Mart international. Both these pieces of information do not have an impact on the company or the profitability of the company and hence can be ignored while the decision making process. Using the contribution margin for each of the stores will permit Wal Mart to accurately identify the most profitable locations. The first step to be adopted here will be to finalise the major stores, which are expected to grow and develop to achieve high market shares, following which it is essential for the company to detail the additional costs that relate to the smaller stores. Also the marginal fixed overheads can also be used to do so. The use of marginal costs of the additional stores can be obtained using the above information. Using the contribution margin method proves to be very effective and impactful on the businesses as the full cost and tradition methods of costing are not valid in the present times and hence the demand for the products is high as well. Also, this will provide information to the management which will help make more informed decisions for the additional store. Also this will allow gain a clear picture of the benefits that the additional store can provide and will also help in better estimation of the profitability of the stores as well. However, it is essential to keep in mind that although the contribution margin analysis is a simple process, the efforts to involved in finding the information for the analysis if quite tedious. Also the costs involved for the

World View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World View - Essay Example As the paper highlights hunger and starvation are other issues that plague countries considered third world. These growing problems may not be unraveled any time soon, and that is the gnawing reality that people have to deal with. This paper will examine the world’s current status, and the difference that might exist if society changed for the better. The current financial crisis that is affecting countries around the world is an issue that a handful of people may not be familiar with. This is especially people who consider themselves members of the first world countries, and who enjoy the fact that other countries have to work to pay off their debts. It is sad, but the truth is; the world may be working to feed families that run the biggest corporations in the world. There are also wars being fought that may not necessarily make sense to most people, but due to fear and mistrust, they allow the wars to go on, and even help in funding these wars. This is the situation facing some regions in the world, which have to put up with knowing that they can do or say little to run or manage their affairs. This is despite being sovereign nations. This study stresses that seeing the debts of some of the nations or countries that owe debts to the first world nations being forgiven would be a nice start. First world continents might not even need some of the money owed in the first place. Moreover, the world would be a much nicer place if bigger, more powerful nations would stop interfering in the affairs of other countries. They need to handle their affairs as best as they can, and if it is something worth handling, world organizations are in place to do that. The cessation of mindless killing would also work toward improving relations between people in the world. It may help in fostering relationships that promote togetherness and unity.