Practical report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Practical report - Essay Example The contents include fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The enzymes that break apart DNA are thereafter destroyed (Bruns 2007, 50). DNA content is then separated from other cell components. The researcher then precipitates the DNA and re-suspends it in a solution suitable for its studies. When extracting DNA from the cheek cells, saline solution used to rinse the mouth helps to prevent the cells extracted from splitting open or lysing too soon. Centrifugation separates the cheek cells from mouth wash used (Johannson 1972, 39). Spinning the mixture in a centrifuge settles the heavier cells to the bottom of the tube to form pellets. Saline solution pours away, leaving the clumped cheek cells at the bottom of the tube. Lysis buffer added to the cell clump splits open the cells to release DNA from inside the nucleus. The buffer contains soap that dissolves and breaks fatty membranes of the cells, buffer that maintains the pH of the solution and ions that increase osmotic pressure outside the cheek cell and aids in ripping open the cell membrane. Incubation in hot water helps denature cytoplasmic enzymes that break up DNA. Concentrated salt solution changes polarity of the solution under study. DNA elements dissolve in ionic solutions. This is as opposed to other components of the solution; proteins, carbohydrates and fats. ... The process is additionally useful in assessing and distinguishing the variable sizes of alleles. This discerning of allele sizes best takes place with the DNA strands placed at a single locus. Gel Electrophoresis also assesses the quantity and quality of DNA that is present in a sample (Komrakova 2006, 51). This method separates chemical molecules and compounds by charge and size. Substances that are separated are stationed in wells in the agarose gel and an electric field applied. Positively charged molecules and compounds move towards the negative terminal while the negatively charged particles and compounds move towards the positive anode. Larger and longer particles experience difficulty in moving across the mixture to the positive or negative terminal, and are suspended in the gel matrix. Smaller and shorter molecules move easily through the agarose gel matrix and take positions according to their polarity. When strained, the small sized segments form a tight band as they move at relatively the same speed. Type of medium and concentration of the gel determines the gel’s pore size and its ability to segregate same sized fragments. While polyacrylamide gels separate DNA segments differing by a base pair, agarose gels separate fragments of DNA differing by hundreds or more base pairs. Combs forming wells are placed into the gel as it solidifies and cools. The combs are then removed after the gel solidifies. Students can use gel electrophoresis in determining quality and quantity of the DNA matter they extract from their cheek cells. In day-to-day applications, the method is useful in fingerprinting or profiling, DNA sequencing and genetic

To what extent is development a political process versus a technical Essay

To what extent is development a political process versus a technical or economic one - Essay Example The evaluation of the developmental process and the aspect of economic contribution in the social change shall be studied within the context of the role of the United Nations in measuring human development. Defining Development: Before understanding the nature of the human developmental aspects such as economics and politics, it is significant to note the actual definition of development. The definition of human development introduces the debate with the help of different terms. As per the definition of development published by the United Nations, report states that development is a process to enable an environment for nation where they can live long, healthy and creative lives (Frey and Monroe, 1983). The definition allows better understanding of the fact that people can live happily if they are provided with the basic necessity. It should be noted that a human cannot live without making enough earning that will allow him to gain better lifestyle for himself and family. So this note s that the social change within a society can be brought to allow equal opportunity among members of society (Szirmai, 2005). Development among different societies is undertaken in order to provide better income rates to the members so that they are able to select the best for their lives (Rowe, 2009). The political and economic development that has gained a great deal of focus of researchers is now debated because of the political aspects (Willis, 2005). In other words, it could be said that development is a process which needs governmental authorities and economists to work together to bring better changes. The main purpose of the economic activities and cross-borders business ventures is to allow countries to develop and maximize profits (Lewis and Kallab, 1986). This profit making natures of business world allows developing countries to fight against inequality and increasing measures of poverty. As evident from the definition of development, inequality can be reduced if in case poverty’s overall measure within a society is reduced by large (Desai and Potter, 2008). The above noted relationship map of the economical and political development can also be understood in the context of poverty. The measure that most of the politicians set up would be the increased economical opportunities for the poor people. The effective strategic planning is done by politicians to ensure that the measure of inequality is reduced by large. This can be indirectly related to the economical efficiency of the society (Sen, 1999). The central idea of the development is that different institutions of a society provide quickened form of human development. It should be noted that politics and economics are two very important institutions of a society (Desai and Potter, 2008). The functions performed by different institutions of the society are able to make better changes when they are indirectly connected to each other. The need of the hour is to determine the extent to which the development process underlines the elements of political institutions or economical politician. In other words, it can be said that politicians and economists need to understand as to what aspects can surely bring a better and quick paced human development (Escobar, 1995). The political policy framework can allow business authorities to undergo deals and ventures providing majority of people to get better jobs and become stable in their daily

Electricity Energy Crisis In Pakistan

Electricity Energy Crisis In Pakistan ABSTRACT Energy Crisis in Pakistan is one of the severe challenges the country is facing today. Electricity, gas, water, fuel is essential part of our daily life and its outage has severely affected the economy and overall living of ours. Thousands have lost their jobs, businesses; our daily life has become miserable. Pakistan is currently facing up to 18 hours of electricity outage a day, is expected to face more if not dealt with in time. The purpose of this study is to analyze the nature of this crisis and to propose some short-term as well as long-term solutions to this problem. This study is exploratory in nature. I have done my best to conclude and sketch up some recommendations in the light of identified hurdles in the way of implementing the appropriate solution to our problem. My study finds some major wholes in our system if they are covered up we can not only overcome the deficiency of electricity in our systems but also we can be able to export it to our neighboring countries. The basic flaws that our study identified are related to circular debt, and the inadequate capacity of our electricity production and distribution systems. Also I emphasized on some prospective alternatives to our electricity production that are cheaper and they provide more cleanly electric energy as compared to fossil fuel run energy plants. INTRODUCTION Background Study: Pakistan has been facing an unprecedented energy crisis since the last few years. The problem becomes more severe during summers. However, this winter was no different. During the peak crisis there was a power outage of 3-4 hours everyday. Those without generators and UPS faced tremendous problems. The prices of both continued to increase due to a sharp increase in their demand. Almost two years ago the then WAPDA chairman who happens to be a caretaker minister admitted that WAPDA cannot meet the current demand for electricity. Its surprising that such a senior and experienced person took so long to find this out. On top of that the government which talked about Pakistans supposedly booming economy failed to understand the gravity of the situation. General Musharraf (R) after becoming Chief Executive used to talk about building dams especially Kalabagh Dam. This was one of the many promises he failed to keep. Even after that very few power plants have been set up to meet the demand for electricity. During the second government of Benazir some independent power plants were set up. Had they not been setup then we would have had a much bigger crisis with life almost coming to a standstill. The policy makers of Pakistan have so far failed to understand one thing. They do talk about making dams and setting up nuclear power plants but why do they not understand the importance and benefits of alternate energy sources such as solar, windmill energy etc. They are cheap and quick methods for producing electricity. Pakistan is a very blessed country because solar energy is available in most cities all year round similarly wind energy is readily available in the coastal areas. These energy sources if tapped can be of great help in reducing the current demand supply gap. Pakistan is facing power shortage, natural crisis and oil crisis. In a report it is claimed that Pakistan has faced 1000 to 2000 MW shortage of power. And it will likely face 3000MW next year. Pakistan is facing 80 millions tons of oil shortage according to its need. And is lacking behind the needs of natural gas at about 27 million ton of energy in current year and this ratio will raise in upcoming years. 1.2 Energy Crisis in Pakistan: An energy crisis is any great shortfall (or price rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy. It usually refers to the shortage of oil and additionally to electricity or other natural resources. The crisis often has effects on the rest of the economy, with many recessions being caused by an energy crisis in some form. In particular, the production costs of electricity rise, which raises manufacturing costs. For the consumer, the price of gasoline (petrol) and diesel for cars and other vehicles rises, leading to reduced consumer confidence and spending, higher transportation costs and general price rising. Energy resources have depleted! Whatever resources are available are simply too expensive to buy or already acquired by countries which had planned and acted long time ago. Delayed efforts in the exploration sector have not been able to find sufficient amounts of energy resources. Nations of the world which have their own reserves are not supplying energy resources anymor e; only the old contracts made decades ago are active. Airplanes, trains, cars, motorbikes, buses and trucks, all modes of transportation are coming to a stand still. Many industries have closed due to insufficient power supply. Price of oil has gone above the ceiling. At domestic level, alternate methods like solar, biogas and other methods are being tried for mere survival. The above is a likely scenario of Pakistan and around the globe after 25 years. A pessimistic view, but realistic enough to think about and plan for the future. But are we doing anything about it? Lets have a look at the current energy situation of Pakistan and the world. Pakistans economy is performing at a very high note with GDP growing at an exceptional rate, touching 8.35% in 2004-05.In its history of 58 years, there has been only a few golden years where the economy grew above 7%. This year official expectations are that GDP growth rate will be around 6.5 7.0%. For the coming years, the government is targeting GDP growth rate above 6%. With economy growing at such a pace, the energy requirements are likely to increase with a similar rate. For 2004-05, Pakistans energy consumption touched 55.5 MTOE (Million Tons of Oil Equivalent). The energy consumption is expected to grow at double digit if the overall economy sustains the targeted GDP growth rate of 6% by the government. Pakistans energy requirements are expected to double in the next few years, and our energy requirements by 2015 is likely to cross 120MTOE. By 2030, the nations requirement will be 7 times the current requirement reaching 361MTOE. Pakistans energy requirements are fulfilled with more than 80% of energy resources through imports. On the other hand, international oil prices have not only broken all records but are touching new highs, with every news directly or indirectly affecting the black gold industry. Moreover, speculators all around the world expect oil prices to touch $100 per barrel in medium term. With concerns over Irans nuclear program, terrorist issues in Nigeria and high economic growth in China India and their ever rising energy requirements, oil prices dont see any another way but to shoot upwards. What is the government doing to ensure a sustainable supply of energy resources for economic growth? What strategic steps are being taken to acquire energy resources in future? Is private sector willing to invest in Pakistans oil industry? What are the incentives being offered to the foreign players to continue working in the exploration sector? What hurdles are stopping other big players around the world to enter Pakistan? What is the role of gas distribution companies so far? Are the citizens of Pakistan being robbed by energy giants with ever rising utility bills? What should be the real price of petroleum, kerosene and other oil products in Pakistan? When will the nation have load shedding free electric supply? Have we been able to make long term contracts with the countries to provide uninterrupted supply of energy resources? Will the government be able to provide enough sources to the citizens for a sustainable economic growth? Have we lost the race for acquiring maximum energy resources for future surviv al? One of the major problems facing the new government, the energy crisis, is intense, costly and multi-dimensional. The infuriating electricity and gas disruptions and soaring fuel prices in turn pushing the cost of living have made life difficult for people. The even before it took office the new government was greeted with two jumps in fuel prices, accounting for a 15% rise in two weeks. Meanwhile, crude oil prices have been registering all-time-highs, shooting 40% in the past year. The undeniable reality is that that this global spike will somehow have to be accommodated in energy prices in Pakistan. There is no quick solution to electricity shortage and the trend of surging prices is irreversible. There is very little the new government can do on this in the immediate term. At best, the problem can be prevented from aggravating until a sustainable solution is struck. Tough decisions will have to be made, and executed with commitment. The starting point of any remedial efforts should be an acknowledgement of the fact that the crisis is a self-inflicted one. It cannot be denied that something has been wrong down the line that caused this crisis. The country has nearly gone energy bankrupt while a total disaster appears to be round the corner unless pragmatism is shown. It is also important that lessons be learnt from the past mistakes on part of relevant circles. The crisis is still addressable as long as there is due vision and devotion. The golden age for energy in Pakistan has been 1960s and most of the 1970s, that is when Tarbela and Mangla dams were put into operation and other dams, including Kalabagh, were actively pursued. In subsequent years, action in the field of energy has been utterly recklessness. The prevalent crisis is a consequence of imprudent energy policies over the last three decades. One of the major limitations that have hindered energy prosperity in the country is short-sightedness. There has not been a meaningful and coherent energy policy in place over this period. The approach has been project-oriented, rather than goal-oriented. Almost every regime has dealt with energy on an ad hoc basis. Long-term and sustainable planning of energy have been an alien concept. The reason is fairly simple; energy projects usually require huge investments and commitment, making them undesirable to any regime. The attitude of delaying new projects, as far as possible, has been the common practice and is in fact the recipe of the present crises. In doing so, when things start getting out of control, haphazard and quick-fix measures are sought. A typical example is the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) saga of the 1990s. In an attempt to avert an approaching energy crisis, as a result of negligible capacity addition during the 1980s and the early 1990s, the regime in 1993-94 d ecided to go for thermal generation through the IPPs. Undoubtedly, the IPPs provided a very healthy contribution at the supply end, enhancing power generation capacity by more than 5000MW. Nevertheless, this power addition cost the country a fortune apart from the controversial tariff structure, the move was against the spirit of energy sustainability and security for the country. The fact that the IPPs were set up at the terms of the investors suggest that it was a move made in panic. The last few years provide a perfect example of failure to make a timely response to the growing energy needs. A threefold increase in energy demand over the last two decades has been responded to with an ill-proportioned increment at the supply end. Consequently, with the advent of 2008 the gap between demand and supply grew to 4,500MW indicating a 40% deficit of electricity. The prevalent energy crisis has not appeared overnight the omens were evident for a number of years but the authorities failed to react in time. Senior WAPDA officials claim that in 2002 the government was officially warned about the approaching electricity crisis and was asked to take immediate measures to enhance generation capacity. The timely warning failed to receive any appreciation. The attitude of the relevant authorities has thus indirectly contributed to the growth of the dire crisis. Another example worth quoting here is that of the 969MW Neelam-Jehlum hydroelectric project. It was to be constructed in 2003 at a cost of $1.5 billion. It got abandoned until the present power crises intensified towards the end of 2007. The revised estimate is around $2.25 billion. The delay is costing the country a fortune an extra $750 million in terms of project cost, apart from enormous monetary dents inflicted by the five-year delay. It is also noteworthy that WAPDA has traditionally pursued the major projects of national interest but failed to get the due positive response from the policy- and decision- makers. Interestingly, WAPDA plays the role of a scapegoat, because the common man blames WAPDA for his sufferings. It is also important to plant relevant and qualified people at the key policy and decision making positions. Quite often, these positions are offered to utterly irrelevant, ill-qualified and incompetent people. The track record suggests that energy offices are amongst the most coveted ones in any regime, simply because they are considered to be the most lucrative ones. There are examples when undergraduate and utterly irrelevant people have been appointed to run energy offices. There are also cases when the crucial positions have been used as incentives during political bargaining. The unhealthy attitude towards sensitive energy positions is enough to explain how the field of energy has been traditionally toyed with. Another aspect of the bankrupt policies is politicisation of projects of national interest. The paramount example is that of Kalabagh Dam. It has been politicised to such an extent that its orchestration now appears to be next to impossible. Evidences suggest that the issue has been used to serve the vested interest of regimes and certain political and ethnical forces. With the emerging post-lection sense of national reconciliation on the political arena, it is expected that such projects would be looked into with cool heads. It is time to move on. The technical issues, if there be any, have to be addressed on the drawing board, rather in processions. It has to be realized that the delay in project has not only made the country suffer but also people that come from all provinces. In order to tackle the existing crisis and ensure a prosperous energy future, the backbone of the future energy policies would have to be reliance on domestic resources (hydropower, coal and solar and wind energy) and energy conservation. Decisions on energy projects should revolve around national interest rather than naÃÆ'Â ¯ve political and personal gains. Energy offices should be run by qualified, committed and deserving people equipped with due mandate. Relevant ministries and departments should also be overhauled. INFLATION AND ENERGY CRISIS IN PAKISTAN Pakistan is facing a number of constraints in the path of social economic and political development. One of them is the ever-increasing inflationary pressure on the general public. This inflationary pressure created a social instability and misconception among the messes towards the Government. General public considers the government responsible for this inflation. Government gave the blunt gift of inflation, unemployment, terrorism and energy crisis to the public. The government offended the masses. Some economists argue that such type of increase in prices was never seen before the regime of Musharaf. The prices of essential domestic commodities have touched the psychological boundaries. The fixed income employees and creditors are affected by this inflation. During five years the prices of red chilli increased by 62.7%, flour 66.2% vegetable oil 120% sugar 30.9% rice 69.9% and other essential domestic commodities like vegetables, chicken etc also showed increasing trend of prices. According to official reports the inflation rate is 7.2% and according to non-official reports like UN 8.6% World Bank 8.9% and Asian Development Bank 9.1%. This inflationary pressure has psychologically affected the employees and employers. Some renounced economists argue that the reason of this increasing inflation rate is the standard year 2001 according to which inflation rate is measured. In 2001 the foreign aid was given to Pakistan therefore low standards were made to measure the inflation rate. Although the increasing trend in the prices of fuel and other things in the international market is another factor but the standard year is also a factor. Not only these factors caused hyperinflation but also energy crisis played a vital role in this hyper change in the prices of daily use domestic and capital commodities. There are three main resources used to fulfill the energy requirements Electricity, Fuel and Gas. Despite having the treasure of natural energy resources, Pakistans energy production plants are not fulfilling the countrys requirements effectively. The present energy crisis is affecting the economy entirely. Industrial and daily life has paralyzed by this energy crisis. WAPDA is just fulfilling the countrys energy need near to 46% the remaining is fulfilled by the alternative expensive resources. The energy crisis created cost pull inflation in the country, as electricity is the key material for any production plant. There is a general observation of 5-10 hours of load shedding, but some times it hits the level of 18 hours. Even the industrial capital of Pakistan (Karachi) is suffering from the same situation. Why in the era of energy reservation Pakistan is not utilizing its energy resources? Pakistan is just relaying on the electricity production by Dams. But Pakistan has not enough dams or water to generate electricity. Although WAPDA is enjoying the monopoly but government has to pay 2 rupee/unit as incentive. Our neighbouring country India has built a number of Dams to overcome the energy crisis but Pakistan government has paid no heed on this issue. Many projects are delayed due to provincialism the glaring example is of Kala Bagh Dam. The costly machinery amounted US $9 million is now functionless due to (rust) delay in the construction of Kala Bagh Dam, Some scientists predicted that in next 10year world has to face the water shortage also. If the government fails to construct dams for the generation of electricity due to Provincialism government should have to adopt alternative options to accomplish the energy needs of the country. As Iran has large treasure of natural energy reso urces like natural gas and fuel, despite this Iran is engaged in the attainment of nuclear power generation plant. Pakistan, despite being an atomic power does not think about the nuclear electric generation plant. International community is imposing sanctions on Iran due to uranium enrichment but Iran pays no heed to them. Then why is the Pakistani government reluctant to use its nuclear plants to tackle energy crisis? Secondly, Pakistans western area especially Thar is enriched by natural coal, which is the fifth largest treasure of the world. Pakistan has signed a contract with China to generate 300 Mega watts by coal deposits in 2003, but due to some reasons it has not been completed till now. Industrialists due to high prices of electricity use alternative resources (petrol) in electric generators to fulfill their energy needs but, the fuel (petrol) prices in international market cross the psychological limits of US $110/beryl recently. The high prices of fuel and electricity created a long-term cost pull inflation (increase in the prices of raw material of one commodity cause high prices of other commodities).There are a lot of expectations with the new government as Nawaz Sharif pledged that if he came in rule he will fix the prices of domestic commodities like vegetables oil, floor, sugar and rice for two years. Now the new government should take basic steps to eradicate inflation. I think energy crisis is the real cause of this inflationary pressure. We are hopeful that new government will take some positive steps to fulfil its promises and public expectations. HYDEL ENERGY Water flowing in the rivers has kinetic energy. One they are used to drive the turbine and produce electricity the power generated as hydel energy. Power produced by the turbine depends on quantity of water flowing/minute and the head of water available. Mostly river flows by melting glaciers on High Mountain. One the water starts flowing in the valley its changes its head very rapidly. This energy can be converted into electrical energy. 3.1 Methods for Generating Hydel Energy Two methods are normally used: Dams In case of Dams the water flow is restricted by the making a huge storage device and the head of water is increased, the water then is allows to flow by means of gates and pass through the turbine, the head of reservoir level is maintained to provide uniform power and the water stored in the season additionally is used for irrigation purpose in the dry season. Run of the river projects In the run of river project the water is diverted through the tunnel and once it gain the head allowed to fall and pass through the turbine and back too river. The water in these projects is continuously flowing and not being stored. Geographical situation is paramount importance in choosing the suitable site for the hydel project and it evolves a very serious time and money consuming study. 3.2 Feasibility Study Once a site is located further detailed feasibility study is required before preceding any serious effort to start the work. The feasibility study should include following field work. 1: Detailed Mapping of the area. 2: Topographic study of the area. 3: seismic refraction study. 4: River flow data. 5: Weather data contain Temperature, Pressures, and Rain Humidity. 6: Water sampling and testing. 7: Environmental study. 8: Social impact. 9: Identification of stake holders of the area. 3.3 Pakistan Major Dams Warsak Dam The gigantic multi-purpose Warsak Dam is situated 30 kms north-west of Peshawar in the heart of tribal territory. It has a total generating capacity of 240,000 kW and will eventually serve to irrigate 110,000 acres of land. Mangla Dam Worlds third largest earth-filled dam is only 115 km south-east of Rawalpindi. One has to turn left from Dina Town and the dam on river Jhelum is about 14 km to the east. The dam is 3,353 meters long and 116 meters high above the river bed. It is designed to store 5.88 MAF water and also used for power generation. In the centre of the dam there is a Gakkhar Fort from where one can have a panoramic view of the lake. For permit to visit the dam, please contact PRO, WAPDA, and Mangla. A NOC from the Ministry of Interior is required for foreigners only. Tarbela Dam The worlds largest earth-filled dam on one of the worlds most important rivers the Indus is 103 km from Rawalpindi. The dam was completed in 1976 at a cost of Rs.18.5 billion. Over 15,000 Pakistani and 800 foreign workers and engineers worked during its construction. It is the biggest hydel power station in Pakistan having a capacity of generating 3,478 MW of electricity. Its reservoir is 97 km long with a depth of 137 meters while total area of the lake is 260 sq.km. Permits are required for visiting the Dam. Please contact Public Relations Officer (PRO), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Tarbela (Tel: 051-568941-2). A No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Interior (Shaheed-e-Millat Sectt.), Islamabad is also required for foreign visitors. 3.4 Hydel Energy and its Crisis in Pakistan The energy crisis starts from 1990 and still Pakistan is in the crisis of these all as before. The latest and perhaps the most troublesome crisis faced by the Pakistani nation these days is the shortage in supply of electricity. The country is facing a huge electric power crisis these days. Though it has been more than a year since when the country is facing this crisis, but till now no proper solution has been made to this problem neither any proper planning has come into existence since the symptoms and begging of this short supply of electricity. While rolling blackouts or load shedding as it is locally known has always been a staple of daily life in Pakistan, the problem has become acute in the last couple of years. This crisis appears insurmountable in the near or even long-term future, unless proper understanding and correct implementation is undertaken on priority basis. At present total power production capacity in the country is about 19,500 MW, out of which Hydel Power is only 6,500 MW, balance of 13,000 MW is thermal either using Natural Gas or Furnace Oil. Small capacity of 450 MW is Nuclear and only 150 MW is through coal. It is very important to understand the consequence of the prevailing situation. Current price of furnace oil is about Rs.49000 per ton, which amounts up to Rs.49/- per kg. On an average one kg of furnace oil produces 3.8 kWh of electricity. Thus, the cost of furnace oil for generating one unit of electricity is about Rs.13. On top of this the fixed cost of a thermal plant works out to be about Rs.3 per unit. Therefore, one unit (kWh) of the electricity produced by all thermal plants using furnace oil is Rs.16 per unit. According to WAPDA/IPP (Independent Power Produce rs) agreement, the private power producers will charge WAPDA the actual fuel cost for which they have a direct contract with PSO. As we all know that WAPDA tariff charged from the consumers is about Rs.5 per unit (kWh). The production cost of furnace oil electricity is Rs.16 per unit, add to it the transmission, distribution cost (including loses), the total cost of such electricity works out to approximately Rs.22 per kWh. The difference between WAPDA tariff and the furnace oil electricity is Rs.17 per kWh. It is estimated that the country consumes at least 25 billion units of electricity produced annually through furnace oil, which amounts to the total deficit of Rs.425 Billion. If WAPDA has to balance its books it would require a subsidy of Rs.425 Billion. This deficit is somewhat reduced due to cheap power produced through hydel energy and natural gas, but the deficit cannot change substantially, unless bulk of electricity is produced through hydel energy. Obviously, a deficit of Rs.300-350 Billion cannot be sustained, the government does not have resources to pay such a huge subsidy, and it is also not feasible to increase the power tariff very much. Therefore the power crisis is far greater th an what is being perceived. In the absence of extremely heavy subsidy, WAPDA is delaying payments to IPPs and also to the oil companies. The result is that IPPs are now producing much less electricity than their capacity. Thermal energy Thermal energy is the thermal type of energy, with all known history available, wood always used for heating and cooking. In 2nd world war fossils fuels entered in the form of coal to get energy. Until liquid fuels were discovered and because of their convinces of transportation they took over as major of energy source. Once the steam engines were invented then the coal or liquid fuels was burnt in the in boilers and heat producers steam which is used to drive an electrical generators, or any other mechanical devices. Rudolph diesel invention of diesel engine revolution the energy concept and today we see sine the majority of machine moving on diesel engines. Diesel engines can be 2 stroke or 4 stroke type. They can be in line or arranged in V or even W shape. They can be single acting or double acting. Another method of converting thermal energy to mechanical energy is by the gas turbines. Turbines are also used to run by steam or hot gases which are produced by igniting fuel. The choice of gensets strictly depends on the requirement of client, before ordering a power plant following points to be considered: Expected demand of the power Type of fuel required Space available for the power plant Availability of gun sets Availability of local service back up and stock of parts Price is paramount importance and hidden expenses should be locked carefully. The major manufactures and suppliers of gensets based on internal combustion engines are given below: Man Wartsila Caterpillar Jen bacher Waukesha Mitsubishi Detroit diesel Rolls Royce Internal combustion engines can obtain 30_50% thermal efficiency. It means that around 50%energy is wasted in the form of exhaust gases, cooling system and radiations. Therefore for larger plants heat recovery system are utilized. 4.1 Crisis of Thermal Energy The oil crisis facing the world is not about supply or about the increase in demand. It is about the speculators who are pumping huge amounts of money into forecasting a serious shortage ahead. Not now but in the future. And that the prices will escalate enough for them to make a killing. If one looks at the real picture, there is no shortage of oil, there has been no shutdown of any major producer, nor has there been a sudden jump in the import from any large consumer. The Chinese import for their industrialization is not more than 10 percent annually. This is certainly not enough for the huge jump in the world crude rates. This jump is matched by the phenomenal profits of the oil companies and of course the oil producing countries. The thirst for profits of the oil traders has benefited the oil producers-Iran being a major beneficiary. The US government must be wondering at the irony of this windfall benefiting a prime enemy of American and Israeli interests at the cost of millions of innocent citizens of the US and Europe, engineered by the greasy gnomes of the oil trade. There is no threat of an oil embargo, nor of a war, it is just pure speculation, funded by the huge mountains of American and European cashes at the disposal of the Sources the Oil trade. They stand to make a killing at the expense of hapless citizens of the world. As I had written in an earlier piece as far back as 2005, when an attack on Iran was imminent, that the rise in oil at 100 $ a barrel would impact on the food prices has proved prophetic with the current sky high prices of bread in Europe and America. In the meantime we poor Pakistanis are suffering with 50 percent living below the poverty line, and many more being pushed under thanks to the current oil crisis which has managed to create tsunami that is a threat worldwide, with no remedy in sight. Electricity riots are already a common sight but the frequency of breadlines breaking into riots is increasing daily, not just in Soma lia but in parts of the third world where we thought wheat was never in critical shortage. The riots in Pakistan are for two reasons. Firstly, the price a worldwide phenomenon and second a physical shortage due mainly to incompetence in the many layers of our government. 4.2 Looming Energy Crisis in Pakistan Energy costs, from where they stand now, could rise by more than 50 percent in the next few years. The cost of power on this scale would be difficult to manage by most emerging economies all oil-consuming countries, particularly the third world have suffered due to the consistently rising demand-driven cost of energy. From 2004 onwards, the price of oil started soaring in the international market, and for the first time in October 2004, oil prices crossed the benchmark of US$ 50 per barrel. It continued to fluctuate but kept moving up each year and in 2007 briefly crossed US$ 100 per barrel. For the past few days it has been hovering at US$ 103 plus per

Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine :: Biography Bio

Freedom: Not with the PMRC There are so many people that stand for something I value. I choose Tom Morello. He is the guitar player for Rage Against the Machine, a political rock band that consists of two caucasians, a Chicano, and Tom, who has a white mother and an African-American father. This is a band that has many different views and beliefs that appeal to me, but Tom appeals to me the most because of his firm belief in freedom of speech and the elimination of censorship. Tom grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, and even though he was half-white, he was seen as being an African-American in a predominately white town. Tom’s father who was Kenya’s first ambassador to the United Nations and a leader of the Mau Mau uprising, left when Tom was only one. Tom’s life in Libertyville was filled with hate, racism, and censorship. Racial slurs were thrown at him, and on a few occasions nooses were hung from trees in his yard. When he would try to express his beliefs, he was told not to write these things by his teacher because he was into Marxism which was bad by his teachers’ standards. As a result, Tom found refuge in his music and in college, where he was able to express what he felt more openly. He graduated from Harvard with honors in 1986 with a degree in Political Science. Now he plays for a platinum selling band. Through the band, Tom has been able to bring to the attention of young people the problems of censorship in music, television, and the media. One of his big adversaries is the Parent’s Musical Resource Council (PMRC), which was founded by Tipper Gore. This council promotes the censorship of albums and other products by placing parental advisory stickers on them and using television rating systems. On the other hand, Tom’s mom, Mary Morello, formed an anti-censorship organization called Parents for Rock and Rap in 1987, with the help of her son. This organization was formed to stop censorship, especially in the music industry. In 1996 Mary won the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award for work against censorship. On one occasion, Tom and Rage showed their firm stance against censorship. At the 1993 Lollapalooza stop in Philadelphia, they protested the PMRC in a way that no one there will ever forget. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine :: Biography Bio Freedom: Not with the PMRC There are so many people that stand for something I value. I choose Tom Morello. He is the guitar player for Rage Against the Machine, a political rock band that consists of two caucasians, a Chicano, and Tom, who has a white mother and an African-American father. This is a band that has many different views and beliefs that appeal to me, but Tom appeals to me the most because of his firm belief in freedom of speech and the elimination of censorship. Tom grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, and even though he was half-white, he was seen as being an African-American in a predominately white town. Tom’s father who was Kenya’s first ambassador to the United Nations and a leader of the Mau Mau uprising, left when Tom was only one. Tom’s life in Libertyville was filled with hate, racism, and censorship. Racial slurs were thrown at him, and on a few occasions nooses were hung from trees in his yard. When he would try to express his beliefs, he was told not to write these things by his teacher because he was into Marxism which was bad by his teachers’ standards. As a result, Tom found refuge in his music and in college, where he was able to express what he felt more openly. He graduated from Harvard with honors in 1986 with a degree in Political Science. Now he plays for a platinum selling band. Through the band, Tom has been able to bring to the attention of young people the problems of censorship in music, television, and the media. One of his big adversaries is the Parent’s Musical Resource Council (PMRC), which was founded by Tipper Gore. This council promotes the censorship of albums and other products by placing parental advisory stickers on them and using television rating systems. On the other hand, Tom’s mom, Mary Morello, formed an anti-censorship organization called Parents for Rock and Rap in 1987, with the help of her son. This organization was formed to stop censorship, especially in the music industry. In 1996 Mary won the Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award for work against censorship. On one occasion, Tom and Rage showed their firm stance against censorship. At the 1993 Lollapalooza stop in Philadelphia, they protested the PMRC in a way that no one there will ever forget.

Fiji Water Essay

FIJI Water has recently been accused of greenwashing. Greenwashing is a term that is used to describe companies that mislead their consumers into believing that they are an environmentally safe company. With the threat of global warming due to greenhouse gases, many people have become extremely sensitive to companies that aren’t doing their part to keep the world a great place to live for thousands of years to come. This has caused problems for FIJI Water because their business is successful only if they are able to get consumers to buy their water even though they aren’t an environmentally friendly company. Fiji, an island located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, has to ship bottled water 5,500 miles to the United States, which produces 216,000,000 pounds of greenhouse gases per trip. This has a huge impact on the environment and therefore has led to many conservationists attacks due to FIJI Water’s claim to go carbon negative. FIJI Water promised to reduce their packaging by 20 percent per year, supply at least 50 percent of the energy used at its plants with renewable energy, optimized logistics and use more carbon-efficient transportations modes, restore degraded grasslands in Fiji, and support recycling programs for plastic bottles. They claimed that this would have a net reduction of carbon in the atmosphere, and used the slogan â€Å"every drop is green† to symbolize that their company wasn’t doing any harm to the environment. While they promised this and created a website to show that they were going carbon negative, there were no numbers to prove that they actually accomplished what they intended to do. I completely agree with the conservationists that they are greenwashing because it’s hard to believe that a company exporting 90 percent of their products to places that are thousands of miles away and emit a ton of greenhouse gases would be able to be carbon negative. Some companies don’t get caught for their greenwashing, but when it’s completely obvious it’s hard to fool customers, especially conservationists.

Philips vs Matsushita

Philips vs Matsushita: A New Century, A New Round HBS 9-302-049 Discussion Questions: 1. How did Philips become the leading consumer electronics company after the Second World War and what were its key capabilities? (NOs-organizational development) Post-war situation: * (At the very beginning, Philips made only light-bulbs, this one-product focus and Gerard’s technological prowess enabled the company to create significant innovations. * The labs developed a tungsten metal filament bulb that was a great commercial success and gave Philips the financial strength to compete against its giant rivals. Philips started to export in 1899. * In 1912, Philips started building sales organizations in the US, Canada, and France. In many foreign countries Philips created local joint venture to gain market acceptance. * In 1919, Philips entered into the Principal Agreement with General Electric, giving each company the use of the other’s patents. Philips conducted a decentralized sale s organization with autofocus marketing companies in 14 European countries, China, Brazil, and Australia. * During the period, Philips broadened its product line significantly. During the late 1930s, it transferred its overseas assets to two trusts, moved most of its vital research laboratories and top management. Therefore, individual country organizations became more independent during the war. * Built post-war organization on the strengths of the national organizations. (NOs) * Their greatly increased self-sufficiency during the war had allowed most to become adept at responding to country-specific market conditions-a capacity that became a valuable asset in the post-war era. After War: * Cross-functional coordination capability. Foreign operations. * Decrease the number of products marketed, build scale by concentrating production, and increase products flows across NOs. * Close the least efficient local plants and convert the best into International Production Centres, each sup plying many NOs. * Close inefficient operations and focused on core operations. * Designed various businesses as core and non-core. * * In 1912, as the electric lamp industry began to show signs of overcapacity, Philips started building sales organizations in the US, Canada, and France. In many foreign countries Philips created local joint ventures to gain market acceptance. * Built post-war organization on the strengths of the national organizations. (NOs) Their greatly increased self-sufficiency during the war had allowed most to become adept at responding to country-specific market conditions-a capacity that became a valuable asset in the post-war era. * In the environment where consumer preferences and economic conditions varied, the independent NOs had a great advantage in being able to sense and respond to the differences. Eventually, responsiveness extended beyond adaptive marketing. * NOs had the real power, they reported directly to the management board to ensure that top management remained in contact with the highly autonomous NOs. Each NO also regularly sent envoys to Eindhoven to represent its interests. * International Concern Council to formalize-regular meetings with the heads of all major NOs. * Cross-functional coordination capability * Foreign operations Problems In the late 1960s, the creation of the European Common Market eroded trade barriers and diluted the rationale for independent country subsidiaries. New transistor-based technologies demanded larger production runs than most national plants could justify, and many of Philips’ competitors were moving production of electronics to new facilities in low-wage areas in Asia and South America. * Simultaneously, Philips’ ability to bring its innovative products to market began to falter. Too decentralized, slow responding to global market because of cooperation complexity between NOs and PDs (CEO words) * The European market tended to become more centralized due to the disappearance of trade barriers in late 1960s. Philips’s formal globalized organization (strategy) shows its weakness and prevents Philips from further development. * IPC to control NOs—tilting matrix to PD, more centralized * Lack of global cooperation, like more manufacturing in developing countries * No strategy—life style—downsize unrelated products Marketing problem 2. How was Matsushita able to overtake Philips? What were its strategic competences and how were these embedded in its organisation structure? * How: Matsushita recognized the potential mass-market of VCR and considerably expanded through increasing VCR sales and licencing the VHS format to other manufacture. However, at that time Philips’ ability to bring its innovative products to market began to fa lter. Even if it invented the most superior format V2000 videocassette, it failed to commercialized it and had to outsource a VHS product which it manufactured under license from Matsushita * Strategic competences of Matsushita: internal competition among small business spurs growth by leveraging technology to develop new products, strong control as well as support from Japan promoted total efficiency * Organisation structure: Matsushita used the divisional structure(small businesses, corporate funds, CRL & product development) and maintained strong control over their operations through two ways of reporting, directly to appropriate product division or to METC 3. How did Matsushita’s capabilities and structure later lead to disadvantages? * As Matsushita grows bigger and bigger, more materials purchasing from the local and overseas countries claims more localization, communication between subsidiaries and Japan became difficult and control from Japan deteriorates * Expansion faced b ottleneck and Matsushita needed more creativity to promote growth, but the operation localizations lack of innovative capability as they act primarily as the implementation arms of Japanese-based product divisions 4. Why do both firms find it difficult to build new capabilities and what advice would you offer them?

The Chemistry of Natural Water Essays - Water, Inorganic Solvents

The Chemistry of Natural Water Essays - Water, Inorganic Solvents The Chemistry of Natural Water INTRODUCTION The purpose of this experiment is to explore the hardness of the water on campus. Hard water has been a problem for hundreds of years. One of the earliest references to the hardness or softness of water is in Hippocrates discourse on water quality in Fifth century B.C. Hard water causes many problems in both in the household and in the industrial world. One of the largest problems with hard water is that it tends to leave a residue when it evaporates. Aside from being aesthetically unpleasing to look at, the build up of hard water residue can result in the clogging of valves, drains and piping. This build up is merely the accumulation of the minerals dissolved in natural water and is commonly called scale. Other than clogging plumbing, the build up of scale poses a large problem in the industrial world. Many things that are heated are often cooled by water running thru piping. The build up of scale in these pipes can greatly reduce the amount of heat the cooling unit can draw away from the source it is trying to heat. This poses a potentially dangerous situation. The build up of excess heat can do a lot of damage; boilers can explode, containers can melt etc. On the flip side of the coin, a build up of scale on an object being heated, a kettle for example, can greatly reduce the heat efficiency of the kettle. Because of this, it takes much more energy to heat the kettle to the necessary temperature. In the industrial world, this could amount to large sums of money being thrown into wasted heat. In addition to clogging plumbing and reducing heating efficiency, the build up of hard water also adversely affects the efficiency of many soaps and cleansers. The reason for this is because hard water contains many divalent or sometimes even polyvalent ions. These ions react with the soap and although they do not form precipitates, they prevent the soap from doing it's job. When the polyvalent ions react with the soap, they form an insoluble soap scum. This is once again quite unpleasing to look at and stains many surfaces. The sole reason for all these problems arising from hard water is because hard water tends to have higher than normal concentrations of these minerals, and hence it leaves a considerable amount more residue than normal water. The concentration of these minerals is what is known as the water's Total Dissolved Solids or TDS for short. This is merely a way of expressing how many particles are dissolved in water. The TDS vary from waters of different sources, however they are present in at least some quantity in all water, unless it has been passed through a special distillation filter. The relative TDS is easily measured by placing two drops of water, one distilled and one experimental on a hotplate and evaporating the two drops. You will notice that the experimental drop will leave a white residue. This can be compared to samples from other sources, and can be used as a crude way of measuring the relative TDS of water from a specific area. The more residue that is left behind, the more dissolved solids were present in that particular sample of water. The residue that is left, is in fact, the solids that were in the water. Another, perhaps more quantitative way of determining hardness of water is by calculating the actual concentrations of divalent ions held in solution. This can be done one of two ways. One is by serially titrating the water with increasing concentrations of indicator for Mg++ and Ca++ (we will be using EDTA). This will tell us the approximate concentration of all divalent ions. This method of serial titrations is accurate to within 10 parts per million (ppm) . Another possible method for determining the hardness of water is by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry or AA for short. AA is a method of determining the concentrations of individual metallic ions dissolved in the water. This is accomplished by sending small amounts of energy thru the water sample. This causes the electrons to assume excited states. When the electrons drop back

Future of an Illusion Essays

Future of an Illusion Essays Future of an Illusion Essay Future of an Illusion Essay Essay Topic: Rebuttal Self Reliance The Future of an Illusion Sigmund Freuds The Future of An Illusion proposes an idealistic form of human culture, one in which human relations are reorganized so that coercion and suppression of instincts are abandoned. The pivotal factor in this reorganization, he believes, is the universal abdication of religion. For the first portion of this response, the text itself will be broken down into chapter-by-chapter summaries. These summaries are written from the Freudian perspective and are not indicitive of the authors standpoint on these matters; this standpoint will be explored in the latter art of this response. Chapter-by-chapter Analysis Freud begins by philosophically examining the origin of culture, for he suggests that the less one knows of the past, the less reliable will ones Judgement of the future prove. Human culture is defined to consist of two things. Firstly, all of the knowledge and power that men have attained to master the forces of nature (Freud, 1928, p. 3) and secondly, the regulation of the relations between citizens so that the distribution of resources is attained. Culture is a human creation that Freud believes protects humanity from its own hostile nature. He then goes on to discuss an optimistic indulgence: his idealistic golden age, in which human instincts would not be suppressed. He concludes the opening chapter by introducing a concept that reappears later on; namely, that it is not in mans nature to be fond of work and as such, culture breeds internal rebellion. The second chapter describes the transition in reasoning from a material basis of culture to that of a psychological origin. : If the attainment of resources by means of labor is strongly opposed instinctually, then culture cannot be the creation of an instinctual process. For if this were the case, culture would be irreparably threatened by rebellion and would cease to exist. Therefore, Freud suggests that culture is the design of psychological motives. The process by which culture is a derivative of psychology follows three stages. To breifly summarize, any instinct that cannot be satisfied leads to frustration, which is the result of a prohibition; the condition produced by a prohibition being a privation. A prohibition primarily suppresses instinctual wishes; the class of men that express this frustration by asocial behavior are known as neurotics. Lastly, the chapter concludes that Freuds contemporary society cannot survive. The suppressed classes will develop a hatred towards culture, for which they provide the majority of labor while only sharing a small portion of its resources. A culture that leaves an entire class dissatisfied and motivated to rebel cannot be expected to survive. Freud has established that the principal task of culture is to protect humanity from the forces of nature. Religion, for Freud, is a creation of culture. It attempts to resolve the damaged self-esteem of man, and its strong urge for consolation. It demands an answer for the inevitability of death and the elplessness that permeates its existence. The answer is found in religion. According to Freud, Gods must exorcise the terrors of nature, they reconcile the cruelty of fate and make amends for the suffering imposed upon man through the communal life of culture. All good will ultlmately De rewaraea, In tnls IITe or tne next, ana all evll will be punished, which relieves the terror and fear that plagues mans consciousness. Gods remain, however, a device, a creation of culture to console the trembling, fearful mind. He then goes on to note that, despite the various differences between religions, t is a device that is held especially valuable. He argues that it is held more valuable than all of our devices for survival, or attaining resources, or preventing disease. Faith in the existence of a God discredits these fears and strips them of their power. With faith being the highest priority, once again, Freud concludes that the reason for culture must be psychological. Thus far Freud has allowed himself to theorize freely, without objection. The fourth chapter is dedicated to some potential rebuttals and is essentially a dialogue between Freud and an imagined opponent who follows my (Freuds) arguments with mistrust (Freud, 1928, p. 33). The first interjection regards the Freuds assumption that it is indeed culture that creates religious ideas and regulates the distribution of products of labor. Freud responds by mentioning that he has already attempted to show that religious ideas have formed in reaction to the same need as all other achievements of culture: from the necessity to defend itself against the crushing supremecy of nature. (Freud, 1928, p. 34). Furthermore, he explains that there is another motive for religion: the strong desire to correct the painfully felt imperfections of culture. The second argument regards what Freud escribed as mans technique of personifying nature. If the forces of nature, such as death, are similar in emotion to man then they are capable of being bribed, exorcised or appeased in order to rob them of their power over us. Frueds opposing voice suggests that man personfies nature due to his own natural disposition, which is likely to serve him well and in fact be correct. This personification of nature is what Freud describes as an infantile prototype. He uses the example of an infant and its parents. The infant learns that the best way to influence something that is supreme to oneself is to form a relationship with it. It is natural to man to personify everything he wishes to comprehend, in order to later control it. (p. 36). Here Freud begins to assess and pick apart the heavy reliance that human culture places upon religious doctrines. religion consists of certain dogmas, assertations about facts and conditions of external (or internal) reality, which tell one something that one has not oneself discovered and which claim that one should give them creedence. (Freud, 1928, p. 41). Yet these claims are not substantiated. Here, Freud uses the example of a common dogma that was sung in school: Konstanz is on the Bodensee if you dont believe it go and see. (Freud, 1928, p. 42). On visiting Konstanz, and noting that it is indeed on the Bodensee, Freud explains that this dogma was substantiated and as such he follows it. Dogmas exact belief in their contents, but not without substantiating their claim to this. If one wishes to substantiate a dogma for themselves, they should be able to do so; as Freud did by visiting Konstanz. Religion does not, as Freud would say, provide such an opportunity: it cannot be substantiated. According to Freud, there are three claims that are ade in order to exact belief in religious doctrines: firstly, because our ancestors have believed it; secondly, because we posses proofs that have been handed down from the period of antiquity; and thirdly, because it is forbidden to raise the question of their authenticity at all. This last claim arouses suspicion and can only be motlvatea Dy socletys awareness 0T tne uncertalnty 0T tnls Deller. Yurtnermore, to disregard this last claim has been met, in the past particularly, with serious penalties: often death. If society did trust the authenticity of these doctrines, then it would not feel threatened by those that question. Finally, this chapter suggests that evidence for the authenticity of religious doctrines should be easily found in the present. This point that Freud puts forth is evaded by the claim that religious doctrines, as Freud puts it, stand above reason. (Freud, 1928, p. 48). Freud concludes that the inherent strength of religious doctrines lies in psychology and are certainly independent of the acknowledgement of reason. Freud claims that religious ideas are not the residue of experience and as such he describes them as the titular illusion. He describes them as fulfillments of mans strongest wishes and it s indeed the strength of these wishes that give religion its strength in culture, not its authenticity or dependence on reason. An illusion is not defined as an error. It is, however, necessarily derived from a mans wish, and it is achieved when that man believes his wish to be fulfilled; the actual realization of this wish is not important. Here, Freud assigns religious doctrines to the category of illusion as they cannot be submitted to proof. Perhaps one of Freuds most crucial assertions is represented as such: Critics persist in calling deeply religious a person who confesses to a sense of ans insignificance and impotence in the face of the universe, although it is not this feeling that consitutes the essence of religious emotion, but rather the next step, the reaction to it, which seeks a remedy against this feeling. He who goes no further, he who humbly acquisces in the insignificant part man plays in the universe, is, on the contrary, irreligious in the truest sense of the word. (Freud, 1928, p. 6) This concept of seeking an answer to ones insignificance is the foundation of religion, according to Freud, and the method of finding this answer, faith in a higher power, is what he objects to. Once again, the text is opened up to the religious rebuttal. The seventh chapter explores the arguement that culture is built upon the foundation of religion and without it there would be chaos as man would revert back to their asoc ial instinctual behaviors. Furthemore, it is a purposeless cruelty to disprove religious doctrines as it would take away the solace that many find in their belief. In response to this, Freud begins by assuring the reader that a devout believer could not be convinced to abandon their faith simply by reading this text. Nor does he pretend that he is the first to put forth these arguments or ideas he has merely put orth a certain psychological foundation to the critique of my great predecessors. (Freud, 1928, p. 60). He goes on to admit that religion has contributed much to restraining asocial behaviors, however, he believes that it has dominated human society for thousands of years and it has been given the chance to show what it can achieve. It has failed. If the greater mass of mankind had found happiness, then there would be no need to strive for social change. As the authenticity of religious doctrines are nibbled at by critics and scientific advancements, religions influence on culture is slipping. In this eighth chapter, the reader is exposed to Freudian theory in its most demanding form. He proposes that religion is the universal obsessional neurosis of humanity. As with a child that goes through a stage of neuroses, so too does humanity. The child grows out of his neuroses and enters adulthood, in the same way, Freud believes that humanity will grow out of religion ana Tina a new cultural Tounaatlon tnat Is more Dennclal. Rellglous ooctrlnes are tne neurotic survivals of our ancestors and he suggests that through psycho-analytic therapy, they can be removed as any other neuroses can. As this text is coming to its conclusion, the Freudian contender steps in once again. He reminds Freud that the experiment of a society without religion has already been entertained, during the French Revolution: it failed. Furthermore, it was being explored at the time in Communist Russia. The contender questions whether Freud really believes that humanity can survive without religion. By this stage, it may come as no surprise that he does. He begins by conceding that A man who has for decades taken a sleeping draught is naturally unable to sleep if he is deprived of it (Freud, 1928, p. 86). Specifically, a man that has been indoctrinated by religious ideas may not be able to live without religion. However, the uninfluenced child does not need the consolation of religion to comfort its thoughts. The final chapter begins with a final interjection: Given that personality is formed within the first few years of childhood, religious teachings are the best way to instill a sense of morality into ones personality. Even if religion is an illusion your (Freuds) endeavour reduces itself to the attempt to replace a proved and affectively, valuable illusion by one that is unproved and without affective value. (Freud, 1928, p. 3). To this Freud admits that his idealistic hope for the future of culture may also be an illusion. Yet he makes an important distinction between his illusion and the religious counterpart. His illusion is not incapable of correction or improvement: You must defend the religious illusion with all your might; if it were discredited then your world would collapse, there would be nothing left for you but to despair of everything, of culture and of the future of mankind. (Freud, 1928, p. 94). The foundation of Freuds belief, however, is that it is possible for scientific work to discover something about the world that will e beneficial to mankind. Science has shown through many trials and successes that science is no illusion. But it would be an illusion to suppose that we could get anywhere else what it cannot give us. The final words of this text reveal Frueds underlying contention: the future of the illusion of religion is empty, and it must be abandoned if culture is to continue to develop. Interpretation The text is essentially a Journey from the origins of culture to the necessary denial of religion. If one is to blindly accept the validity of each step on this path, then the denial of religion would certainly follow. It is difficult to challenge the chain of logic that is presented in this text. Yet there are many aspects of it that are certainly susceptible to criticism. For if even one step in this process is flawed, then the chain itself is flawed. The following analysis of Freuds The Future of an Illusion expresses this authors personal reaction to and examination of the text. The incorporation of external resources such as similar analytical essays of the text by other authors are intentionally omitted so that this authors viewpoint is not influenced by anyone other than Freud himself. Freuds initial enquiry into culture is brief, yet it is greeable. The conclusion that culture is a device that serves to protect humanity from the supremecy of nature (Freud, 1928, p. 25) appeals to the common sense of the reader. Considering the lack of physical weapons and defences with which the human body is equipped, strength is found in numbers. The contradiction in Freuds theory lies in his concept of instinctual suppression. One should not contest the concept entlrely, Tor culture certalnly does, to some extent, suppress many aeslres that an individual may have. However, the importance that Freud attributes to this suppression is disproportionate. To suggest that every man is an enemy of culture (Freud, 1928, p. 9) as a result of this suppression is a serious inference. Furthermore, his idealistic vision of a culture without instinctual suppression is based upon the assumption that humanity will act upon rational thought. Herein lies the contradiction, for the issue of instinctual suppression is in fact a product of rational thought. Why does one suppress an instinctual desire? It is the result of a process of rational thought that prohibits acting upon it. This inconsistency is the first issue that one can find within Freuds illusion. The first problem with Freuds dialogue of religion is that it is, in actuality, a monologue. Though he must be commended for his attempt to allow for the imaginary interjections of a fictional opponent, they are still derived from his own viewpoint. To a large extent, Freud uses these interjections as a means of introducing a new point or to strengthen his own argument by discrediting the opposing view. The second issue lies in the nature of religious discussion in general. To publish a text that strongly advocates the denial of religion will be read in one of two ways: firstly, the atheist reader will strongly agree ith the logical chain that leads to the denouncement of religion; secondly, the religious reader will strongly object to the argument and may even stop reading. Neither instance describes any serious influence on behalf of the text. Freud does, however, address this. He himself regards this work as harmless and incapable of actually leading to the denial of religion that he advocates. Then, it must be asked, for what purpose did he write this? Perhaps he sought after a younger audience, one that had not already been indoctrinated by religion. Or perhaps this is simply a prediction, one which he hoped would one day be fulfilled. Irrespective of his motivation, it must be admitted that despite the strong will Freud expresses for social change within this text, it can ironically never inspire such change since the very indoctrination he refers to is already evident in his audience. If it is not, then he is not attempting to change their mind at all. This text presents the concept of an illusion in a new light. It is a definition, however, that this author finds interesting. Any dogma, or even theory, that one believes to be truth without subtantiating it for oneself is an illusion. Freud is misguided, however, in assuming that the existence of God cannot, and has not already, been substantiated. Though he limits religious doctrines authenticity to three claims, there are other means by which one might experience the presence of a God. For example, a personal experience with a God should, according to Freud, substantiate its existence. Without such an experience, though, it should be recognized that he is correct in saying that it is an illusion. Yet this illusion that he refers to seems to be presented in a negative light. There are so many things that are a mystery to humanity, and any theory that an individual entertains will always be an illusion until they can substantiate it. The only way to avoid this is to believe in nothing at all, to doubt any theory that comes ones way. This is more than simply an impractical way to live, it is an empty and purposeless life. Even if one leads a life at the whim of an illusion, it still has direction and Freud seems to disregard the importance of this essential aspect of life. One of the most striking features of this text is its strong philosophical basis. The very large maJorlty 0T It Is an expresslon 0T Freuds personal DelleTs regar01ng numanlty ana religion. Considering his strong advocation of substantiating ones dogmas, the text is mpty of research, physiological explanation or even a single case study. One cannot be so naive to demand accurate statistics on matters as broad as religion and culture in its entirety. However, considering the nature of topics that are discussed, this text cannot be considered a scientific publication. It is the speculation of a psychologist. As such, the most apparent link to the course content of Professor Barrons personality psychology course is found in Freuds description of neuroticism in children and adults. He explains that these neuroses can be removed by psycho- analytic therapy, as explored in class. However, this concept is incorrectly adapted to humanity as a whole. As Freud said, man personifies that which he does not understand. In the same way, Freud has personfied the history of humanity so that he might better describe it according to his own theories of personality development. Beyond this, The Future of an Illusion scarcely enlightens the reader on the development of personality, for that is not its purpose. It is a philosophical piece, advocating social change by means of abdicating religion. References Freud, S. (1928). The Future of an Illusion. Retrieved from https://read. amazon. comn astn=B00D119YAK

East Carolina University GPA, SAT ACT Admissions Data

East Carolina University GPA, SAT ACT Admissions Data East Carolina GPA, SAT and ACT Graph East Carolina University GPA, SAT Scores and ACT Scores for Admission. Data courtesy of Cappex. How Do You Measure Up at East Carolina University? Calculate Your Chances of Getting In  with this free tool from Cappex. Discussion of East Carolinas Admissions Standards: Roughly two-thirds of the applicants to East Carolina University are admitted. The bar for admission, however, is not overly high, and students with decent grades and test scores have a very good chance of getting in. In the graph above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. You can see that the majority of successful applicants had high school averages of B- or higher, combined SAT scores of 1000 or higher (RWM), and ACT composite scores of 19 or higher. Higher grades and test scores obviously translate into a better chance of acceptance. In the middle of the graph youll see some red dots (rejected students) and yellow dots (waitlisted students) mixed in with the green and blue. Some students with grades and test scores that were on target for East Carolina University did not win admission. At the same time, some students were accepted with test scores and grades a little bit below the norm. This is because the East Carolinas admissions process is not entirely numerical. The university evaluates the rigor of your high school curriculum, not just your grades. The admissions folks want to see that you have taken challenging courses that have prepared you for college-level work. Also, the university is committed to diversity, and students personal situations and backgrounds can play a factor in the admissions process. To learn more about East Carolina University, high school GPAs, SAT scores and ACT scores, these articles can help: East Carolina University Admissions ProfileWhats a Good SAT Score?Whats a Good ACT Score?Whats Considered a Good Academic Record?What is a Weighted GPA? Articles Featuring East Carolina University: North Carolina Colleges and UniversitiesSAT Score Comparison for North Carolina Colleges and UniversitiesThe American Athletic Conference If You Like East Carolina University, You May Also Like These Schools Wake Forest University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphDuke University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphElon University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of North Carolina - Greensboro:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphCampbell University:  Profile  North Carolina State University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWestern Carolina University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphClemson University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWingate University:  Profile  High Point University:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity  of North Carolina - Wilmington:  Profile  |  GPA-SAT-ACT Graph

Ratio Analysis of Macy's and Nordstroms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ratio Analysis of Macy's and Nordstroms - Essay Example The company has entered into credit card and debit card business as well which is operated by one of its subsidiaries. Nordstrom sells both branded and private labeled cloths which make it a favorite for not only elite class of the society but it is equally popular amongst middle class or aspiring middle class citizens. Nordstrom generates sales from following segments. Firstly, retail full line stores generate substantial earnings which are evident from its financial ratios. Secondly, a direct segment is another organ of Nordstrom Inc. This segment primarily focuses on internet based selling. Nordstrom’s website reports high traffic on it, which is a sign of high customer satisfaction. Company has always delivered its promise of quality, fashion and customer service. Thirdly, credit segment earns revenue through charges levied on their company’s own or co-branded credit cards. Macy’s Inc. is another giant of the retail industry. It is based in Cincinnati, Ohio s ince 1820 and has been crowned as one top retail stores in the United States. Company operates through its two organs namely retail stores and its website. Macy has a huge portfolio for its customers, ranging from apparels, shoes and other accessories for men, women and children. They have also entered into home furnishings and various other consumer goods. In short, Macy’s Inc. has everything which one could dream for his/her living. Macy has been focusing on forward integration lately so that it can offer premium service to its customers and consequently, increase its saving by inventory management and price optimization. Keeping a holistic view of the retail industry, it is evident by the reports published by National Retail Federation(NRF) that the retail industry will grow by 4% in the current year due to better-than expected holiday season. However, commodity prices will increase due to augmenting levels of inflation which can create setbacks for the retail industry. Re tail industry survives on volume of sales. Whoever, can provide high quality with low price wins the bid therefore, Nordstrom and Macy have been working to reduce cost through better inventory management controls and reduces their cost of goods sold to sales ratio. Nordstrom Inc. has performed well in the last couple of years. It has continued to grow and prosper which can be seen by its improving profitability ratios. The return on Equity has improved to 34.12% in 2010 as compared to 31% in 2009. Nordstrom has established a strong line up of globally recognized brands which have added substantially to its earnings. The company’s earning has made a heap of 39% in 2010 from $441M in 2009 to $613M in 2010. Analyzing its Gross profit margin notifies an increment of $587M which is about 19.9%. Gross profit margins have grown to 36.39% in 2010 from 34.1% in 2009 as the company has been able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to cost of goods sold from 68.83% to 66.27%. whic h is a reason of reducing its cost of goods sold to sales ratio. Company has integrated better mechanisms of inventory management to increase their year-end earnings. Moreover, sales have climbed up by 16.68% from $4560M in 2009 to $5321M in 2010 which is a reason for higher profitability ratios. Subsequently, net profit margins have increased from 9.67% to 11.52% in 2010. Nordstrom has performed well in terms of liquidity. This is evident from its current ratio as it has increased to 2.56 in 2010 from 2 in 2009. Looking closely at it, these figures are better than the industry averages hence the company is in a relatively safe position to pay off its current obligations. Nordstrom has performed really well in terms of managing their assets. Inventory turnover period has

Using appropriate theories and concepts, critically evaluate the value Essay

Using appropriate theories and concepts, critically evaluate the value of the notion of reflection in your own self development - Essay Example Furthermore, it is within such environments that there is a refining of values and this is often done without ensuring reflection is made an important aspect of thinking. It is important to ensure that reflective thinking is developed and made an essential part of individuals because it is the only way through which they can challenge assumptions, and make an assessment of their intuition, and learn more about themselves. It is important to note that some of the biggest barriers for many individuals in achieving their objectives is their lack of reflection (Bowden, 2008, p.4). This is especially because I have realized that many people tend to repeat the patterns and behaviours, which contribute to their failures. However, when they adopt an attitude of reflection before undertaking what they are aiming at, they come to achieve genuine results and personal growth. I find that reflection enables individuals to discover their ability to gain what they want, making it the key to success because without it, all actions are meaningless. Through my own experiences, I have discovered that reflective thinking is a matter of problem solving, which requires an individual to see things in a new way independent of the way that they normally see these problems. It is through their looking at problems differently that individuals are able to find solutions to them in ways that they did not expect (Edwards, 2010). Taking time to reflect on a problem from a different perspective other than the habitual one, especially for a leader within an organization, is extremely important because it makes the individual to have time for constructive thinking. Through thinking outside the box, following Kolb’s reflective model, a leader is able to develop a better understanding of the problem facing the organization and take necessary action to ensure that the solution he comes up with is not only relevant, but it can be applied in a manner that does not threaten organizational

Stock Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stock Analysis - Essay Example Surprisingly, the same investment could pose different influences on the over all levels of portfolio risk. Under-diversification of investments influences portfolio returns and portfolio risk in many ways. Investors in this company rend to follow in the group that refutes the standard finance theory. The theory supports the consensus of portfolios falling under proper diversification. Clearly, investors appear to focus portfolios in a small number of stocks with a maximum of three and a minimum of two stocks. The tendency dubbed ‘naive diversification’ suffers from the effect of minimum finances. Personal differences in the expected degree of risk uptake make it possible to differentiate between various degrees of risk in search of investors. Calculating the expected value of distribution helps investors to evaluate various levels of returns. Most of them use returns of expected probability distribution of portfolio. Variability around expected value involving probabili ty distribution on returns measures the risk. Standard deviation and variance remain the most accepted measures of variability. Harmonizing the choice of asset mix constituents remains another essential factor that determines portfolio return/risk as a characteristic that requires through evaluation during the construction of portfolio. The criteria applied in the choice of diversity levels of portfolio. Bonds that receive lower ratings in the ratings undertaken by official rating agencies such as Fitch are riskier investments compared to those that receive higher ratings. Bonds with lower ratings include small cap bonds while those that receive higher ratings include state treasury bonds and large cap bonds among many more.The context presents a situation where a clear difference must exist between the ability of the investor to take risk and his or her willingness to take part in the risk. Does the current risk profile

Spanish Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spanish Slavery - Essay Example Despite being a slave, he wrote between the lines of domination while being concurrent with the prevailing circumstances. He did this with the objective of creating a 19th century alternative image of Spanish Caribbean societies that needed further critical perspectives and considerations. In this essay, I will compare Manzano with the figure of the Count in The Last Supper, in holding that despite the varying positions the two characters occupied in their respective settings, religion was a dominating factor in crystallizing their respective personalities in the context of what they delivered. The argument will be made very clear by analyzing their respective approaches towards religion and how they used religion in achieving their ends. Main Body The film, The Last Supper, directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea (1976), depicts that in a rather imprudent attempt to add to the knowledge of his African slaves, the Count, who is pious as well as guilt ridden, asks twelve chosen slaves to hav e dinner with him on a Maundy Thursday during Easter, obviously with the intention of re-enacting the Last Supper with himself performing the role of Christ. As they are involved in eating and drinking, the Count feeds the slaves with a lot of religious oratory and tries to guide them about the tenets of Christianity. He proposes to give them an off the next day, which is Good Friday and pledges that he will free one amongst them. But he does not meet up with his commitment the next day and the slaves stage a revolt. Both, the Last Supper as well as Juan Francis Manzano’s autobiography relate to the lives of slaves in Cuban sugar plantations during the late eighteenth century and are real life stories. The film’s center piece is the bizarre circumstances under which the last supper is supervised by the Count. In keeping with a truly religious fervor, he starts by washing and kissing all the slaves’ feet as each one of them is intensely amused at the mad behavior . However, the film depicts that despite the occasional religious sentiments exhibited by the Count, who is the dominating character, he can be easily seen as an authority figure that is guilt ridden and immensely mysterious. It becomes evident from the film that the truth relative to human behaviors cannot be hidden and eventually surfaces with the actions of individuals. It appears the count is attempting to demonstrate to the slaves, his knowledge and adherence to Christian dogmas and beliefs. In this process, he clearly gives away his lack of clarity about Christianity when he tells the slaves that sorrow is the only thing that humans can happily give to God, adding that anyway, everything belongs to God. The slaves get confused and are absorbed at the thought of what he implies when he speaks about consuming Christ’s body and blood in the forms of bread and wine. Following the rebellion by the slaves, the film ironically depicts that the Count himself gets crucified as a n unlikely son of God for denying justice and property to the slaves. Autobiography of a Slave is a first hand account of Juan Francisco Manzano’s life, times and struggles. Monzano has narrated his story from a first person perception.

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Taxation - Essay Example his study will also perform examples of calculation to demonstrate the actual effects of the tax payments on individual and limited company, considering the aspects of Insurance, capital gains and inheritance. When Sally realizes capital gain from the investment through the exercise of the share option, the capital gain ought to form part of the taxable income. Taxation exempts many specified benefits under this condition, including insurance and the application of computer and technology. The tax system operates with exemptions of certain income elements from taxable income for individual investors, which in the case of limited company, there is minimal exemption or no exemption at all. Income sources including interest, house rent and dividends are added to the income of the spouse with the highest earned income. The personal income tax will be charged a flat rate of 15% of the income per month from the earnings gained from investment (Melville 2014, p32). If sally operates in cash, she will have two alternative decisions, either to declare the entire income from the investment, or part of it, or she may decide not to declare the income of personal income in the tax return. In the case of registering a limited company, there is no decision to make on the income to declare. All the income sources including taxable income, forms part of the taxable income. The UK system of calculating corporate taxes operates on the basis of a single tax rate applying to all the taxable incomes.  The rate is decided on by the amounts of total earnings. Registration of a limited company will enable Sally’s investment to attract smaller tax rates applied to the taxable incomes lower than the minimum limit. Investment earnings between $10000 and $37000 are exempt from taxation in the individual investment, but in the limited company, the corporate tax return must contain all income elements, charged a flat rate of 15% (Melville 2014, p27). However, the company is allowed to

Human Nature and Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Nature and Government - Essay Example Seventeen centuries later, another philosopher Thomas Hobbes invites us to his theory that decribes the society as a state of nature, a condition without government (Richard 1971). Both philosophers defend their theories in their works and prove that people might live better in the state where either they are coordinated "from above" by the government or where each decides for himself how to act, judge and live in the society. Thomas Hobbes and Plato have given us some highly acclaimed philosophical works providing us with their views on various aspects of life ranging from politics to the rights of citizens. Both writers had voiced their opinions in their works in a substantially strong and unfaltering manner. Hence it comes as no surprise that the two had and continue to have a phenomenal affect on the past and present populations. Thomas Hobbes was a master draughtsman who attempted to rearrange the political assumptions of the Renaissance. In Hobbes' vision, sovereignty was the exclusive property of the state, no meaningful distinctions existed between subject and citizen, and liberty was in no way contingent upon self-rule or participation in making the laws that bind polity and populace (Kavka 1986) Plato was a philosopher who believed that human beings possess intrinsic knowledge, which may never affect their senses unless they seek and acquire enlightenment. This is an interesting concept, which dispels the notion that educators can impart knowledge to their students. According to various philosophers, human nature is guided by superego and a relative state of morality. Plato believed that human nature is determined by reason and absolute standards of morality. Through his philosophical works of literature and philosophy, Plato explains the characteristics of good human beings serving their nation well and their respective responsibilities. Harping on the same string, the legendary figure highlights that it is of paramount importance that people of the world comprehend the need to apply wisdom and truth in deciding all vital matters of life. Plato believed that man is a rational being and because of this, reason plays the most important part in developing his nature and assisting him in discovering the highest good or finally attaining self-fulfilment. Plato held the view that man is seen as guided by reason to reach the highest good and attain self-fulfilment (Stevenson 1987). He asserted that changes in human nature are hierarchical in nature where man goes through different stages guided by reason. According to Plato reason is one of the most important components in determining human nature. Plato's deep insight on this issue was that a state consists of individuals and the conduct of these individuals depends on their character. Plato also describes his state of living in peace and harmony due to the fact of having everyone in connection with one another. Upon being asked if they would be united just by lip, as such," For example, in the use of the word 'father,' would the care of a father be implied and the filial reverence and duty and obedience to him which the law commands; and is the violator of these duties to be regarded as an impious and unrighteous person who is not

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Taxation - Essay Example his study will also perform examples of calculation to demonstrate the actual effects of the tax payments on individual and limited company, considering the aspects of Insurance, capital gains and inheritance. When Sally realizes capital gain from the investment through the exercise of the share option, the capital gain ought to form part of the taxable income. Taxation exempts many specified benefits under this condition, including insurance and the application of computer and technology. The tax system operates with exemptions of certain income elements from taxable income for individual investors, which in the case of limited company, there is minimal exemption or no exemption at all. Income sources including interest, house rent and dividends are added to the income of the spouse with the highest earned income. The personal income tax will be charged a flat rate of 15% of the income per month from the earnings gained from investment (Melville 2014, p32). If sally operates in cash, she will have two alternative decisions, either to declare the entire income from the investment, or part of it, or she may decide not to declare the income of personal income in the tax return. In the case of registering a limited company, there is no decision to make on the income to declare. All the income sources including taxable income, forms part of the taxable income. The UK system of calculating corporate taxes operates on the basis of a single tax rate applying to all the taxable incomes.  The rate is decided on by the amounts of total earnings. Registration of a limited company will enable Sally’s investment to attract smaller tax rates applied to the taxable incomes lower than the minimum limit. Investment earnings between $10000 and $37000 are exempt from taxation in the individual investment, but in the limited company, the corporate tax return must contain all income elements, charged a flat rate of 15% (Melville 2014, p27). However, the company is allowed to

Propaganda in indoctrinating Nazi ideals Essay Example for Free

Propaganda in indoctrinating Nazi ideals Essay The Nazi propaganda after the consolidation of power featured many of the common characteristics associated with totalitarian propaganda; Twisted truths, stereotypical and distorted pictures of populace groups, simple messages repeated frequently and the use of a common enemy as a scapegoat. Also the Nazi propaganda featured many new methods of indoctrination, such as the mass rally meetings and the extensive radio propaganda. But how successful where these ways in conveying and convincing people of Nazi ideals? That is the question which I plan to investigate in my essay. The propaganda campaign launched by the Nazi government was headed by the brilliant orator Joseph Goebbels which was put as Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda where he coordinated the seven different departments: administration and organization, propaganda, radio, press, films, theatre, and adult education. From the department Goebbels controlled all aspects of Nazi propaganda, and since he was such a skilful propagandist almost all parts of the propaganda campaign, especially the radio, became huge successes. Of all the medias available to Goebbels his unquestionable favourite was the radio- the peoples receiver. Goebbels wanted to ensure that every home in Germany was equipped with a Volksempfà ¤nger from which they could listen to propaganda at all times of day. Prices where slashed and in the late 1930 the Germans could boast having the cheapest radios in the world. Radios where even put up in working places and public areas to ensure a maximal amount of listeners. And due to the large effort put into the campaign it became one of the most successful, by 1940 16 million households in Germany listened to Nazi Propaganda via the radio. Another effective way of supplying propaganda to the German people, was ,in theory, by the use of the censored press. In the beginning the press remained relatively unchanged, propaganda message where inserted in some magazine and papers, but most of the press friendly towards the regime remained unchanged, at least in the beginning. Soon Nazis propaganda was found in every page in every paper and by 1945 the Nazis ran 82% of all the newspapers in print.

Market structures in practice at Unilever deviate

Market structures in practice at Unilever deviate Market structure is the manner in which a corporation experience competition during the delivery of goods and services. The structures are very dynamic and both extremes do exist depending on the market in which one is operating and the type of goods being dealt with. The theoretically existing market structures are: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. Out of these existing market structures, it is not possible to single out one to be prevailing in the Unilever products market. This so because there is no clear cut differentiating between them. However, perfect competition is a far much distinct structure from the other three structures. Unilever has a wide range of its consumer products in distribution worldwide. The corporations complexities in organizational structure coupled with an expansive portfolio of products have made the Unilever company operate in all market structures except perfect competition. Perfect competition prevails when there are many sellers and buyers present in a market. This means that no single player will bring much influence in the entire market. The presence, withdrawal or change of strategy by a distributor in this market structure has an insignificant effect in price and demand. The market forces are left to take their full swing operation. In this market, the consumers view all products to be identical thus selection of a product to be purchased is indiscriminate. However, this is not case in most household consumer products. Consumers are very sensitive in the selection of such products, especially those that affect their health and general appearance. The earlier mentioned expansive portfolio of Unilever house hold products affects the final consumers health and appearance. This effects either instant or long term are evident in its advertising slogan; adding vitality to life. By considering the corporations profile, Unilever is not the type in which it s presence in the market cannot be felt by fellow competitors as well as consumers. Therefore, saying that a perfect competition is the kind of market structure in which Unilever is operating will be a complete fallacy. Monopolistic competition prevails when there are few restrictions to the entry of the market. The presence of a corporation in the market will therefore be determined by it creativity and ability to overcome the few existing restriction. Such restrictions may not necessarily be economic but rather anything which may retard the growth and performance of a player in that particular market. The many companies operating in this kind of market structure have little to influence since they have small market share. Unilevers market share cannot be generalized as small globally but rather largely variable. It is dependent on geographical diversification characterized by expansion and venturing into emerging markets. The aspect of small market share may not be entirely dismissed but can be stated as a fairly potential scenario to occur. This is evident in the penetration in to the new markets already colonized by competitors as well as situations where others are proving too strong to eat int o the corporations market share. The products in this case are very distinct thus one can easily differentiate between products of different companies. The Unilever products can easily be identified and are available in a large sea of household products from which a consumer chooses from. The marketing strategists in Unilever must therefore apply non-price competition strategies. Advertising is the most common non-price strategy available for Unilever, where fellow market players have close substitutes of its products. Another tool in use by the corporation is the rolling out of an ambitious research and development program which has seen it deliver the most optimal innovative designs of products. All these characteristics describe a monopolistic competition which becomes one of the prevailing market structures. Oligopolistic market structure exists when a few firm dominate market and thus enjoys a majority of market revenue. This is evident in its market share which according to Fortune 500 list of large companies in Europe, it revenue was at $ 45,679 million which placed them at fifty-fourth slot in the year 2000. This commanding market share coupled with European Union stringent standardization rules makes it hard for new products to hit the market. The Monopoly on the other hand means that there is only one supplier. Therefore there is no competition expected. The sole supplier dictates the prices, supply quantities and the quality control. This hypothetical structure hardly prevails unless there are influences from regulators like governments and other authorities empowered by pacts and international agreements. There are high barriers making it totally impossible for other firms to enter the market. It is hard to experience this kind of a market structure currently. It can only be seen in specialized products distributed by the government due to their nature to influence the national security. We can therefore confidently dismiss this structure to be non-existing in Unilevers products. To sum it all, all market structures except monopoly are in practice at Unilever. However the perfect monopolistic structure carries less weight because the cumulative market share of this corporation is big enough to shake off potential high caliber competitor. Any organization interested in the manufacture and distribution of household goods can only do best by either franchising or merging with Unilever. The consolidation of European resources through European Unions elimination of trade barriers and restrictions has come up with far reaching opportunities as well as setbacks for main stream organizations. For Unilever, it is a great milestone as it is for other multinational organizations to see different regions get in to agreements of forming trading blocs. The usually complex management structure can be simplified through creation of regional offices. The basis of such regional offices is going to be the preset blocs. Relationship between market forces and Unilevers response Market forces are the demand and supply which is a reflection of all price-conscious sellers and buyers of the products available in the market. The desires of sellers and buyers are in the two extreme ends. Sellers will want the highest possible prices while buyers want to own the goods for free if possible. Since taking goods freely is not possible they are therefore asking for minimum prices possible. The price is expected to go up with an increase in demand while an excess supply will make the price to fall. Such varied desires constitute never ending market forces. It is worth to note that the market forces are only possible when there are no external interferences. The already mentioned rich portfolio of Unilever products can be put into the following categories: washing powder and detergents, beverages and butter and margarine. These products must attract many buyers as well as producers being the fast moving consumer goods demanded by buyers daily. In fact the demand is poised to rise given the ever rising populations of the world accompanied by rapid urbanization. It is the dream of every organization in business to make profit and reduce cash outflows as much as possible. Unilever being no exception has put in a lot of efforts to stay up beat so as to maintain and grow its market share both in Europe and global market. We are now exploring its response to such dynamic challenges accompanying variations in market forces, the actual effects in revenue and long term reputation of the corporation. The corporation has a deliberate effort to guard its market share. The main strength of Unilever is the expansive geographical diversification of its products. These will translate to the final returns because; the poor results of one region are likely to be cushioned by those of the other. To illustrate this, the corporation was in operation in eighty eight different countries in the year 2002. Management teams in every region were given decision making autonomy so that the products available for distribution in their respective regions are tailor made to just meet the consumer needs. This brilliant approach ensures the avoidance of obsolescence as well as delivery of the most relevant goods in the market. Paying attention to human capital offers enormous opportunity to the long term strategy of the corporation. This global organization believes that a highly motivated human capital is going to impact positively on the general outlook. It is this reason therefore that has made the company to invest on human resources development through recruitment and training of employees from varied disciplines and qualifications. To ensure that every talent in the society is utilized one can enter the companys amazing human resource through graduate trainee program or specialized skill direct entry. Another notable strategy which may look more of welfare based than economic is the formulation and implementation of a well detailed safety, health and environmental policy. This has a lasting perspective and a wide focus beyond what can be immediately seen. However, there are short term benefits of this. An employee who is always safety conscious is going to deliver better results than the other who has no attention to safety. It is also worth noting that some economic blogs like the European Union cannot accept a companys products if there is not practical move to conserve and protect the environment. The most recent example is the black tea sourcing sustainability commitment which came by through the certification by Rain Forest Alliance. Among the immediate benefits of this tea sourcing sustainably, Unilever has been able to launch its Rain Forest Alliance compliant tea in the European market. The years of poor performances globally prompted the organization to embark on an ambitious path to growth strategy in the year 2000. The strategy has specific action points to be discussed next. First of all, the ambiguity surrounding the amorphous number of brands was eliminated through the reduction of brands to the four hundred most important core products. The unsuccessful brands were successfully removed from the market which led to the increase in sales of the top brands from 75% to 93%. The corporation has been able to also tap from emerging markets by penetrating those which are already colonized by the competitors such as; Procter Gamble, Nestle and Kraft Foods. Among the major advantages of Unilever is it ability to carry out research and identify the consumer trends of needs. With this information at hand, the response is efforts to cater for them. Just to illustrate this proactive approach, the major concerns in the world of late are nutrition and weight. Majority of the people are currently shifting their focus to ways of living healthier lifestyles. So as to move in tandem with this trend Unilever acquired Slimfast, an organization offering weight management services and nutritional consultancy. The intense competition faced worldwide has necessitated the Corporations top management to make acquisitions. The top acquisitions are Ben Jerry, Slimfast and Best Foods among other twenty worldwide. This ability to make huge acquisitions and conglomerate firms hav e put itself in a position to enable itself enjoy competitive advantage. The corporation saved EUR750 in cost and operating margins rise by 15.7 per cent in the first three quarters. The Unilever is carefully working together the Competition Commission so as to achieve a balance between their profits and legitimacy. Striking a balance has been a headache for both parties bearing in mind their varied intention of promoting competition. Competition Commission will always strive to provide a fair play ground for the players in a given industry. It ensures also that no one takes unfair advantage by punishing the final consumer. To achieve this, the commission closely monitors the interaction of competitors and partners in the market. The changes in businesses set up including concentrations through mergers and takeovers are very useful so as to eliminate the competition among the players in the market. The resent proposed acquisition of United States based Sara Lees body and laundry division by the Unilever is being reviewed in line with European Union Merger Regulation. The commission seeks to establish the ultimate effects of shelf prices of these products after th e elimination of competing suppliers of a good number of household cleaning products. Through such a strategy, the corporation is able to wade off expenses that could have resulted from competition and huge advertisement. However, if this is viewed as move to club together and drive others out of business it will be totally unacceptable and the commission is going to advice the relevant bodies accordingly. Sanctions and license suspension may the worst penalties that the company can get if found guilty. But leaving alone this pessimistic approach of the role of competition Commission, there are a lot to be achieved. The corporations expansion strategy has seen it adopt an earlier mentioned path-to-growth master plan aimed at growing it market share. Its unrivalled enormous infrastructure has played a paramount role in venturing into emerging markets. The other strategy has been the focus on the internal structures of management and building of global leadership. A well oiled management machine has been achieved through internalization of the concept of growth by every member of the management team. The history of this company shows us that it is a merger of two companies based in United Kingdom and the Netherlands. With this foundation, there has been need to cluster the two head offices resulting in a simpler organizational structure. A fast decision making and improved accountability can only be achieved through the continuous improvement of organizational structure. Importance of foreign international trade, economic integration and global markets in Unilevers business International trade is the exchange of goods and services through the borders. This type of business has formed the firm foundation in the modern business world because the manufacturers and distributors attempt to gain from a wider market rather than looking at their own borders. Each and every firm intending to throw its nets wide must focus on the globalization of its marketing and distribution operations. The foreseeable constraints of venturing into international trade are deeply rooted in the standardizations and trade barriers formed through economic integrations and blocs formations. Many economies have leant that they cannot effectively compete with the do-it-alone approach. Therefore there is a rise in regional economies coming together and forming a bigger economy. This grouping and regrouping of states have a huge impact on the social, political and most important economic dimensions of organizations. There many benefits that come along side this integrations as well as d emerits. Any organization in need of these benefits and willing to take the accompanying risks will surely take these challenges and reap from the goodies of global market. Just like any other multinational firm, Unilevers presence in the global market has helped in the continuous development of new market segment. In order to benefit from the economies of scale, the corporation shakes off the saturation in the European domestic market by gathering for the needs of international buyers. International trade is also important bearing in mind the corporations portfolio resources and products. To tap from these undoubted benefits of international trade, Unilever utilizes the various available options of internationalization. The earlier stated concept of mergers and acquisitions has given the corporation a huge milestone in venturing into international trade. Among the many firms that has entered in a n international partnership with the corporation are: Pepsico which works together to market and distribute Lipton a ready-to-drink tea, Inmarko which is the leading ice cream corporation based in Russia and the imminent acquisition of Sara Lee division of body and laundry production. In a nutshell, the company has been able to secure a total of twenty acquisitions Unilever can therefore be said to be a global corporation based on the attributes described before. This is justified by its presence in many nations and the use coordinated brands in global market. It however has one centralized office in the United Kingdom which manages the entire strategy. The European Union policies which affect tariffs and free trade agreements are going to have a final trickledown effect on the revenues and operations of Unilever. The elimination of trade restrictions and barriers within the European market means that the revenues are going to rise because of easy penetration to domestic regions. The removal of all tariffs on trade is one of the major benefits enjoyed by the corporation. Economic implications emu in the United Kingdom The economic monetary union is the adoption of one currency by the European Union member countries. This move has been achieved through the development of one European Central Bank and formulation of a common monetary policy. Such adoption of single currency has elicited a series of mixed reactions due to the economic implications. Some school of thought may argue that the adoption of EMU is irrelevant because it focuses strictly on the financial services sectors. The critics of Economic Monetary Union claim that putting together economies of different sizes is going to be detrimental. This will mean that the entire Europe economy will be the least common denominator. In simpler terms this will mean that the economic muscle of the member states is going to be achieved through striking a balance between the participating economies. The poorly performing economies are going to pull down the perceived successful ones. Despite this pessimistic view of EMU, there will ultimately be a lot of attractiveness of euro financial assets due to eliminated exchange risk and improved liquidity. In addition the stability in macroeconomic environment is very instrumental in reduction of financing and investments risks. It is no doubt that the introduction of euro as the common currency in the European Union has improved prices transparency. There are no fears by someone using euro resulting from using different currency. The firms in the Unions territory are able to comfortably compare prices without worry of actual value being distorted by conventional highly volatile exchange rates. From an external point of view, the consolidated EMU area is in a position to be self sufficient and independent of the Asian or American influences. Thus partnership has a political effect. The mutual relationships between nations are going to be fostered since the bad blood is eliminated by continually partnering in the formulation and improvement framework of the common market policies. The Eur opean Union firms, in which our organization of discussion is part, are going to increase their profitability through elimination of currency exchange transaction costs. Other trade focused proponents of this worth project claim that no cent will be lost on the fluctuating exchange rates. Trading as a bloc makes Europe compete effectively with other giants in the Far East and America.