The Burgelman Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Burgelman Case Study - Essay Example Surveys and exploratory studies are examples of descriptive research designs, which are more quantitative than qualitative and have more aspects of this type of theory. Quantitative studies tend to rely on hard data and statistics that can provide generalizable results about a population, whereas qualitative studies could be more of a case example or subjective viewpoint. Bergemann's case study states having a qualitative method in place: â€Å"A qualitative method was chosen as the best way to arrive at an encompassing view of ICV project development has a ten- to twelve-yeartime horizon (Biggadike, 1979), and a truly longitudinal study was thus beyond the available resources† (Burgelmann, 2009). In terms of statistics, the single case study is not very representative. Another disadvantage in reference to flexible designs could be their lack of scientific credibility when compared to fixed designs using inferential statistics, which Burgelmann addresses explicitly as a possib le drawback. Of course, it is fitting at this level of research for authors to be forward with possible limitations of the study; however, this admission does not make the study more statistically or empirically viable, just because of this admission.   #2 Since this is a qualitative study, it tends to focus more on theory forming, rather than theory testing.

Financial circumstances Essay Example for Free

Financial circumstances Essay The company was a well growing established retailer industry in the market, how ever due to the scandal charges against Wickes. This caused a lot damage to company itself, it gave Wickes a bad status in the market and also they were black listed which meant that the company had a poor financial history so therefore in the future they will be refused on credit products and any other kind of financial circumstances. On the same day the company got black listed which was on the 25th June 1996, the announcement of the scandal was exposed to the public. The announcement of the scandal instantaneously affected the companys market value to 150 million pound and the stock was suspended from London market trading. So in order for Wickes to operate the business back to the way it was they refurbished its corporate management and also made emends with any shareholders and suppliers they had. This took the company a good two years of hard development. Bye the end of 1998 the companys profits increased by 653 million pound so therefore sales rise by 27%. They instituted three new stores and redesigned locations to include ornamental and garden commodities. The fraud scandal could have been preventable in many ways, Wickes became aware of this incident when scandal exteriors and auditors thoroughly checked the books and notice the major extensive changes. How ever this could have been notice at an early stage. Wickes could carry out monthly or yearly check ups on transactions account to notice any changes or misappropriate mistakes occurred in the business. Wickes could employee internal audit; internal audit will improve the function of the organisation and consulting action which will be intended to add value to the business, along side meeting the companys objectives. The organisations objectives will be achieved by bringing an efficient approach to evaluate and develop the efficiency of risk management, control and governance processes. Although to bring in an internal audit to check the operation of the business yearly will be expensive. In my opinion I personally think that Wickes will be able to pay for the expense of an internal audit as they are a fast established business which creates good profit. This will be beneficial for the business as a whole. Another suggestion to prevent the scandal could be to have good ethics and standards in place. The following charges which were made on the defendant were producing false statement and giving false information to the auditor (Arthur Andersen), so therefore Wickes could locate a system which contains a principle of governing morality and acceptable conduct. They could do this by producing a code of ethics which all the employees will have to fallow and can not be broken. Therefore the company will have strict rules and have control over their employees. This will help the business to be safe and prevent employee misbehaviour. An additional idea is to direct different position to different individuals; Henry Sweetbaum was the companys former chairman and chief executive. So therefore Wickes could have given two individuals them to positions instead of just giving it to one individual. If they were two individuals directed for them positions then they would have had an inter link with one another jobs and would have been aware of what each one is undertaking. So therefore I personally think that the incident of the scandal would have occurred earlier than later if the former chairman and chief executive roles were given to two individual instead of just one. In conclusion I personally think that the fraud scandal which arose in 1996 for Wickes was a huge turn around for the company and now due to this incident they will be more careful now in the future. Wickes will be more alert and aware of how to minimise the risks and the prospect which occur in a scandal. Referencing  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1996/10/17/cwick17.html

SBS Leaving the ABC Unaccountable Essay -- Media

Introduction Whether the ABC broadcasts content sufficiently diverse to meet their original intent is widely debated among modern media scholars (Alexander 173). The creation of the SBS allowed the ABC to remain unaccountable in terms of their original purpose to provide high quality, impartial and educational broadcasting for a culturally and linguistically diverse audience. It is critical to understand the original purpose of the ABC’s creation, where and how the ABC failed to fulfill this purpose and how the SBS filled the niche left by the ABC’s downfalls. An evaluation of the ABC’s broadcast schedule for the first week of May 2012 will be included to provide current evidence for whether the ABC is fulfilling their purpose. Before we can evaluate ABC’s downfalls and why are in fact downfalls we must first understand what the original intent of establishing the ABC was. The ABC’S Purpose The ABC is an independent statutory authority whose role and function is established in legislation (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1998). The legislation under which the ABC was establish is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act of 1983 also know as the ABC charter, it outlines broadcasting, programming and service requirements that as a whole aim to provide a sense of national identity through high standards of diversified content (Austrain Broadcasting Corporation, 1983). Section 6 of the ABC Charter outlines that the ABC amongst other things must: 1. â€Å"provide within Australia innovative and comprehensive broadcasting services of a high standard, 2. provide programs that contribute to a sense of national identity and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of, the Australian community, 3. prov... ...issues-bias-funding-sponsorship/is-the-abc-biased/abc-bias-verdict-from-the-government-appointed Minchin, N. (2012, April 29). Climate Change - What the ABC edited out. No Carbon Tax Climat Sceptics Blog . Munsie, J. (2012). ACMA’s Ruling on Kyle Sandilands – Toothless Tiger or the Kitten Who Roared? Addisons Commercial Lawyers, Addisons Focus Papers. Addisons Commercial Lawyers. Nova, J. (2012, April 27). ABC Biased. Scientist Matthew England, outrageous error or dishonest? Nick Minchin owed an apology. Jo Nova . Reynolds, H. (2012, Feb 14). A very British summer on your ABC. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from Inside Story : http://inside.org.au/a-very-british-summer-on-your-abc/ SBS. (2009). Annual Report 2008-2009. Annual Report, SBS, Sydney. SECRC. (2011). Inquiry into recent ABC programming decisions. Senate Environment and Communications References Committee .

Never Giving Up

It has been said that life can never be carried out and truly lived to its fullest unless there has been some sort of suffering and pain. Mistakes are to be learned from, and a hard past can only result in a stronger present. Though many might find themselves alone in their misery the truth is they are not, everyone has struggles. We all have our ups and downs, but it is how we react to them that truly matters. Life is life and no matter what, giving up on lifelong dreams and aspirations because of a few bumps in the road should never be an option. It isn't where you come from; it's where your going that counts,† stated a very wise woman by the name of Ella Fitzgerald. This may be hard to believe but even people with great success like Ella Fitzgerald, can come from a troubled background. Before her career took off, this superstar Jazz singer known as the â€Å"first lady of song† was just another troubled teen forced to cope with the early separation of her parents. Fro m there things only got worse for Ella and in 1993, her mother died from injuries she had suffered from a car accident. It was not long before tragedy struck Ella's life once again, this time she mourned the loss of her mother's boyfriend and her half sister's father. From there it was all down hill for this sixteen year old and it was not long before she found herself in trouble with the law. â€Å"You may be disappointed if you fail but your doomed if you don't try. † These words spoken by Beverly Sills had to have somehow found their way into Ella's head because no matter what came her way, she did not give up. With a little patience, Ella was on to launching one of the largest music careers in the business. Perfection is boring, if a face doesn't have a mistake it's nothing,† stated Kevyn Aucoin. Nowadays, the success of those emerging from a troubled past is greater than ever. After all, who could forget American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino's shocking past confessions in her enormously famous autobiography, â€Å"The Fantasia Barrino Story; Life is not a Fairy Tale? † Fantasi a's traumatizing childhood seemed to be weaved with stories of pain, lies, and betrayal everywhere she turned. At an early age, Fantasia was a victim of rape and divorce. She pursued a music career in her small town of North Carolina but found that she just did not tand out from among the other teens. With low self-esteem, it was not long before Fantasia fell into the wrong crowd and found herself a seventeen-year-old, pregnant, illiterate, high school drop out. Fantasia faced a lot of criticism when she was considered for America's idol, but she did not let that bother her and continued on to become an idol for those who like her have come from a hard background. Like Helen Keller once said, â€Å"No Pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an unchartered land. † Fantasia Barrino has proven that â€Å"life is not a Fairy Tale† but you can sure make it one. It is not just celebrities that can overcome a troubled past and live up to their potential it is also people just like us. Who knows, the big shot lawyer next door could have been the one bullied in school and told time and time again that he was not good enough. It is all about strength and perseverance, believe despite the odds and what others say. To find success in the outside world you must first find it in yourself. In Ella Fitzgerald's own words, â€Å"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. â€Å"

Analysis of Romeo: Christopher Boone Essay

In the book ‘the curious incident of the dog in the night time’ the author had created a very unusual teenager called Christopher Boone. The author used strange and unique techniques to create the effect Christopher brings to the readers. These techniques are; the way in which Christopher communicates, how Christopher describes himself, the way Christopher interacts with other characters and the comments of the other characters. Dialogue Christopher is the type of person who doesn’t know how to tell lies. It is not because he is a good person but because he can’t simply tell lies. â€Å"I do not tell lies. Mother used to say it is because I am a good person but it’s not because I am a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies† most people think that telling the truth is the quality of a good person. But to Christopher it is a way of life â€Å"He said, â€Å"Did you mean to hit the policeman?† â€Å"I said, yes†. This quote tells us that Christopher can’t lie even to get him out of trouble The author also teaches us that Christopher is a very precise and logical person. This is shown by the way Christopher answers to others. He can’t understand sarcasm or jokes for this same reason. Christopher likes to know every single detail, so when you tell him a joke, he would want to break it down to every possible meaning it could have. Christopher loves to give as much detail as possible. â€Å"She was wearing boots which looked like army boots and there were 5 bracelets made out of a silver-coloured metal on her wrist and they made a jingling noise.† Christopher does not shy away from detail. He notices what other people do not notice. The author may have made him act like this to give a hint that he is not a normal 15 year old teenager. Narrative The author has written the book in the 1st point of view, so every event that goes on in the book is exactly what Christopher has experienced. The author has given us information about Christopher from Christopher. He tells us exactly what he likes and what he doesn’t. We see the world from his eyes, so we get a good overview of Christopher. â€Å"My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and every prime number up to 7,507† he is telling us facts about himself and we are given facts directly not indirectly. The author must have chosen to write this way so that the reader can really engage with Christopher’s character and see how life is for him and maybe then try to compare it with their own life. If it was written in 3rd person, we would only get like a sneak peak of how Christopher is and the book wouldn’t give so much of an effect to reader. Language choice Christopher speaks in a very simple manner. The author has made Christopher speak in a very mathematical and scientific way. â€Å"Is it a long cake with a square cross-section which is divided into equally sized, alternately coloured squares?† when someone is trying to have a normal conversation with him, he would always link it to either maths or science. When recounting, Christopher says exactly what happed. He doesn’t forget any piece of detail when recounting. â€Å"let go of the f*****g dog for Christ’s sake† this quote shows that Christopher doesn’t care if a word is inappropriate, he would just write what he heard. I think the author has linked this to the way Christopher speaks because Christopher only knows things which have actual meaning. These words are not in the dictionary so if someone told Christopher this word, he wouldn’t understand because it doesn’t have a logical meaning. Interaction with others One way the author has given us the hint that Christopher is not a normal teenager is that Christopher says that he doesn’t like to be touched. He can’t even hug his own father. â€Å"sometimes father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people† this quotes points out that no matter how much his father wants a hug or how much Christopher wants to hug his father, he just can’t do it. Christopher’s strange ways led him to a life scared of things such as strangers and being touched. Sometimes Christopher goes through some emotions which he can’t handle causing him to act in an unmannered way. The author has taken his time to work out Christopher’s character which involves Christopher’s worst habit. In this case it is hitting a person who is either a stranger or someone who touches him â€Å"The policeman took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet. I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him† Christopher likes policemen, but he hits him because he hates being touched, especially in a forceful manner. Other characters comments In the book Mrs Shears is Christopher’s neighbour whose husband left her. She doesn’t seem to take any interest in Christopher whatsoever. She is more interested in his father. Christopher’s dad sometimes feels frustrated with the way Christopher behaves. â€Å"Then father banged the steering wheel with his fist and the car weaved a little bit across the dotted line in the middle of the road† Christopher’s dad is furious with Christopher. Even though the author doesn’t state it directly we can tell by his body language and by hitting the steering wheel, he is frustrated with Christopher. Siobhan is Christopher’s teacher in his special school. Christopher is very comfortable around her because she knows exactly how to deal with him and his problem. Siobhan gives him exact instruction about what he can and can’t do, she keeps Christopher balanced. In conclusion as the readers of the curious incident of the dog in the night time† we assume that Christopher is autistic because of the way he behaves. He does not behave like any normal teenager.

Essay on Code-switching an essential phenomenon of the bilingual worldEssay Writing Service

Essay on Code-switching an essential phenomenon of the bilingual worldEssay Writing Service Essay on Code-switching: an essential phenomenon of the bilingual world Essay on Code-switching: an essential phenomenon of the bilingual worldAn ability to switch codes as a way of transferring from one language to another during the conversation is considered not only a peculiarity of bilingualism, but also a method of enhancing abilities in solving different communicative tasks due to a high functional potential of this linguistic phenomenon. As a rule, the conscious process of intentional switching from one language to another is carried out with certain communicative purpose, such as emphasizing or concealing certain idea, expressing it in a more distinct way, making communication more emotional and natural or even showing one’s cultural and national features during the conversation. However, some people argue the fact that switching codes is a functional and important part of a conversation, saying that it rather shows one’s linguistic incapacity.The following research discusses the question of whether code-switching is simply a sign of language incompetence or rather a functional and useful component of the communicative process. It attempts to shed light on the purposes of code-switching to find out whether code-switching is indeed necessary and functional or whether this is simply a feature of bilingualism expressing one’s language incompetence. The research refers to a number of analysts and investigators to give evidence of certain points of view and support the main statement.Code-switching is a linguistic term that stands for an alternate use of two or more languages during a conversation or within the same utterance (Cunningham-Andersson Andersson, 1999). The problem of code-switching has been investigated for multiple years and has long become a part of a separate linguistic discipline. This is mainly connected with the fact that modern world experiences migration of nations, globalization and consequently, interconnection of languages and cultures. Thus, the phenomenon of code-switching is wide ly discussed in present days.Code-switching is considered to be a vital part of the bilingual world, in which people are used to unintentionally or intentionally switching from one language to another. It has become a norm for the societies, where people are used to using two or more languages or dialects and the process of code-switching in this case is a natural way of expressing one’s thoughts and ideas. It needs to be admitted that in this case, code-switching is not a sign of language incompetence, but rather a natural and inevitable linguistic capacity.Today, many researchers view code-switching simply as an essential ability of people to switch from one language or dialect to another during the process of communication. However, there are linguists who claim that code-switching is a direct sign of one’s language incapacity as will be discussed below. Thus, some people would say that if you live in a bilingual world, it is inevitable to use two or more languages or dialects within a single communicative process. Others claim that code-switching is clearly a sign of one’s lack of linguistic education and thus, something that should be avoided during a conversation. This question is to be discussed in detail.Wardhaugh (2006) identifies â€Å"code† as a separate system used during the communicative process between two or more people. Thus, it is a certain kind of dialect or language that one party occasionally chooses to use. Code-switching often stands for a combination of materials chosen from two or more languages and used in the same utterance or during the conversation. This phenomenon seems to be natural for those people who have grown in the bilingual environment and acquired competence in two or more languages or dialects. In this regard, code-switching cannot be perceived as one’s lack of language capacity. On the contrary, from this perspective, code-switching stands for one’s language competence as an abi lity to skillfully mix phrases or words from different languages during the conversation for different purposes that will be later discussed in this paper. Thus, the phenomenon of code-switching is natural and even essential for certain cultures and nations.From the perspective of bilingualism, code-switching can be defined as a production of discourse that represents a combination of two or even more varieties of the linguistic repertoire of a person, for whom bilingualism is an inseparable part of daily life (Myers-Scotton, 1995). As a proof of the statement that code-switching is not a sign of one’s language incapacity, it needs to be said that bilinguals are able to use two or more languages within one utterance without any interruption of the flow of speech and by doing so, they make the conversation more colorful and full of emotions (Saunders, 1988). This proves that code-switching serves as means of diversifying one’s speech, enriching the process of communicat ion and serving for a better understanding between the two parties. Thus, it should be viewed as a natural way of expressing one’s thoughts and ideas, especially in the bilingual world, where people are capable of using two or more languages or dialects and easily switch from one language to another.Nevertheless, certain scientists classify code-switching as a phenomenon of â€Å"interference†. The notion of â€Å"interference† is rather controversial being supported and disapproved at the same time. Thus, Weinreich (1953) identified interference as certain deviation from the approved norms of either language that can be observed in the speech of bilinguals who are familiar with more than one language or dialect. Some linguists disapprove this notion, while others speak in favor of it. For this reason, the notions of â€Å"interference† and â€Å"code-switching† are classified differently. It is all due to the uncertainty of researchers as for deci ding when the use of certain elements of one language cannot be called interference, but is more appropriate to be named code-switching (Auer, 1998). Code-switching is thus rejected as an example of interference due to the fact that the case of true interference is characterized by the assimilation of certain linguistic features. Code-switching takes place only when bilinguals add a totally unassimilated word or phrase from some other language into their speech, so that both languages still represent two independent entities with their own linguistic features, but belonging to the same discourse.Further investigation of code-switching requires discussing its major purposes that need to be paid special attention. Main purpose of code-switching lies in maintaining or eliminating social borders between two parties. In this regard, with the help of code-switching, it is possible to establish relationships between the representatives of different social spheres, professions or age. Code- switching is often used as a measure that prevents or mitigates some stressful situation in the process of communication between two parties. It is also often used in one’s speech in order to adapt to another person, encourage a person for action or attract his or her attention. In such a way, code-switching is used for different purposes and more often results in the successful conversation instead of causing misunderstanding between the two parties during a conversation, even though this might seem a natural outcome of its use.Code-switching is often used for the purpose of enriching or organizing one’s speech depending on the person’s communicative intentions (Adendorff, 1996). In this regard, code-switching is viewed as a communicative strategy aimed at filling a conceptual or linguistic gap in the speech of a person, thus enriching the conversation with phrases from a different language and compensating for the lack of appropriate expressions.Essay on Code- switching: an essential phenomenon of the bilingual world part 2

The Govts Taking of Private Property Essays

The Govts Taking of Private Property Essays The Govts Taking of Private Property Essay The Govts Taking of Private Property Essay The Governments Taking of Private Property The Constitution of the United States is based primarily on the ideas of the 17th Century English philosopher John Locke.Locke thought that everyone had natural rights, which included life, liberty, and property.Locke stated the great and chief end, therefore, of mens uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of property (Locke/ McClaughry 3).He thought that if any of these rights were violated that the violator should make restitution.The Takings Clause in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.When the government needs a citizens private property to build roads or buildings, they compensate the person with money roughly equal to the value of that persons land. The problem of the government taking or restricting a citizens land arises with regulation of private property. John McClaugh ry defines regulatory taking as a governmental confiscation or destruction of economic rights by regulation, without the physical occupation which would trigger just compensation to the owner (McClaughry 7).The case of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council is an example of regulatory taking. In the case of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, Lucas bought two adjacent lots on the coast of the Isle of Palms in South Carolina, only to have the land restricted by the state, which prevented his intended use of the lots.Lucas argued that the states restriction of the land constituted taking without just compensation.The South Carolina Court of Common Pleas agreed with Lucas and awarded him $1,232,387.50.The Supreme Court of South Carolina disagreed with the lower court, and saying that the restrictions were designed to prevent serious public harm so no compensation was

Substitute Folder - Creating a Teacher Packet

Substitute Folder - Creating a Teacher Packet A substitute folder is an essential resource that all teachers should have prepared and clearly labeled on their desk in case they are absent. This folder should provide the substitute with important information to help them teach your students throughout the day. What to Include in Your Substitute Packet The following list includes  general items to include in your substitute teacher packet: Class List:  Provide a class list and place a star next to the students that can be trusted to help the substitute with any questions they may have. Teacher Schedule:  Provide a schedule of any duties that the teacher may have (bus duty, hall duty). Attach a map of the school and mark the spots where theyre assigned to go. Class Schedule/Routine:  Include a copy of the daily routine. Provide information such as how attendance is taken and where it should go, how student work is collected, when students are able to use the restroom, how students are dismissed, etc. Classroom Discipline Plan:  Provide your classroom behavior plan. Inform substitutes to follow your plan and leave you a detailed note if any student has misbehaved. School Policies:  Include a copy of the school behavior plan, what to do in case of an early dismissal, playground rules, lunchroom rules, tardy procedure, computer usage, and rules, etc. Seating Chart:  Provide a copy of the class seating chart clearly labeled with each students name and any important information about each child. Emergency Procedures/Fire Drills:  Include a copy of the schools emergency procedures. Highlight escape  routes and exit doors, so that the substitute will know exactly where to take the children in case of an emergency. Important Student Information:  Provide a list of students food allergies, medical information (such as medicine) and any other special needs. Time Fillers:  Select a few five-minute activities in case the substitute has a few extra minutes to spare. Emergency Lesson Plans:  Select at least a weeks amount of emergency lessons in case you are not able to complete a lesson for them. Include spare worksheets and review sheets with enough copied for the whole class. Colleagues Contact Information:  Include a list of names and numbers of the surrounding classroom teachers and faculty. A Note from the Sub:  Provide a worksheet for the substitute to fill out at the end of the day. Title it A Note From_______ and have the substitute fill in the blanks for the following items: Date:____My day was____The following students were helpful______Some problems I had throughout the day were_____Additional Comments______ Additional Tips Use a three-ring binder with dividers and clearly label each section. Some options for organizing your binder are:Use a divider for each day of the week and place detailed lesson plans and procedure for that day.Use a divider for each essential item and place contents in the appropriate section.Use a divider and color coordinate each component and place contents in each section. Place important items in the front pocket such as office passes, hall passes, lunch tickets, attendance cards, etc.Create a Sub Tub. Place all essential items in a color-coordinated filing tub and leave on your desk each night, just in case.If you know you will be absent then write the daily routine on the front board. This will give the students and the substitute something to refer to.Lock up personal belongings; you do not want the students or substitute having access to your personal information.Clearly, mark the folder and place it on your desk or in an obvious location.

Is Violence the Only Way to Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Is Violence the Only Way to Freedom - Essay Example The essay "Is Violence the Only Way to Freedom?" discusses the Fanon's ideas regarding the ways out of colonization and a place of violence in this kind of system. Fanon suggests that violence is the only way out of colonization, which is based on the constant opposition between colonized people and colonizers. It is true that power is the main connector between colonists and colonies. This power is of violent, oppressive and humiliating character towards colonized people in order to state the victory and power of colonists. Even now the rests of the system divide each society into minorities and majorities which are often separated from one another. Fanon suggests that this â€Å"Manichean world† with the clear binary opposition can end only when colonized people collaborate and resist. He states that violent resistance with pain and blood lead people to freedom. If people have grassroots initiatives, local intellectual leaders, one program and shared vision of the future, they can steadily move to decolonization utilizing non-violent methods of opposition. Violence from colonies will be definitely interpreted as danger and threat for their metropolis. Leaders of colonists often ready to violence and human sacrifice for the sake of common freedom, as it is stated by Fanon. Violence serves as a catalyst of this conflict escalation, it attracts attention and sympathy, but it also creates a certain image of the colony, which plays against its successful chances to save their culture, identity, and dignity.

Coca Cola Code of Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coca Cola Code of Business Ethics - Essay Example This also reveals that the ethical system used by the company is based on duty, where all the stakeholders held by the code of ethics are expected to follow a specific duty. The company is guided by the Coca Cola code of business conduct, which is a set of, laid down rules for the administration of ethical and compliance matters (Coca Cola, 2011). An analysis of the Coca Cola COBC (the code) will reveal that it is applied in all levels of the company’s operations, and there is a framework for its administration. This analysis will focus on the administration of the code both within and outside the company by the employees, managers, and all other stakeholders covered by the code. This covers three main areas, integrity in operations around the world, integrity of service within the company, and integrity of service to other people (Coca Cola, 2011). The internal mechanisms for the code revolve around the expectations from the employees and managers, while the second section re volves around actions around the company. This includes actions that deal with financial matters information within the company, and the utilization of company assets. ... Coca Cola states that all employees in the company must always act with integrity, since it is one of the cornerstones of the companies operations (Coca Cola, 2011). The ethical standards set by Coca Cola indicates that all employees must act in accordance with the law and the code, and in case of any actions, the employees must always ask themselves if the action will break these two tenets. The employees are also advised to ask for guidance in case they doubt the ramifications of any of their actions. The managers of the company are also guided by the code, where the main factor is that they should promote a culture of ethics and compliance (Coca Cola, 2011). This means that the managers should always display appropriate conduct, and help their subordinates as much as they possibly can. The managers should ensure that the code is followed by all employees, which includes giving their help when needed. This is in addition to creating a conducive working environment for their employe es, and always preventing the violation of the code by any employees. The code also dictates that any actions that deem the provision of written approval should be handled by the local ethical officers present in all workplaces. The ethical conduct code promoted by the company is also focused on creating an ethical framework within the company itself, and from an analysis of the code, it is evident that this is settled. The COBC focuses on three parts in their code, dealing with company records, dealing with assets, and the use of available information (Coca Cola, 2011). The ethical code utilized by Coca Cola indicates that all stakeholders should always ensure that company records are accurate, which includes all financial information, quality reports, and all other records used by the

What is Community-based Corrections and is it Effective Essay

What is Community-based Corrections and is it Effective - Essay Example The earliest American prisons were patterned after the English gaols which served as temporary places of confinement. The English gaols began to mushroom in England as places of confinement where prostitutes and beggars were beaten as punishment. The conditions in these gaols called bridewells were such that more prisoners died of sickness than execution. In 1779, the concept of penitentiary, a place where prisoners were given the opportunity to repent, was introduced by the prison reformist John Howard (Carlson & Garrett 2007 pp 7-8). Colonist America, together with Australia, later on became a place where the English threw their convicts. After the American Revolution however, new penal systems, not patterned after the English, were introduced. In the 1600s, William Penn, for whom Pennsylvania was named after, introduced the Great Law, a penal code which abolished all forms of capital punishment except for murder and advocated incarceration, fines and hard labor instead of violent punishments. After his death however, the previous Anglican Code of violent penalties reemerged until another prison reformer in the person of Benjamin Rush surfaced in the late 1700s and advocated the reformist point of view. The first prison group, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, was created (Carlson & Garrett 2007 p 8). The first prison in the US was located in Simsbury, Connecticut and was called Newgate which emphasized punishment and labor but numerous riots and other disturbances forced it to shut down. With the advent of the prison reform movement advocated by the Quakers, the Walnut Street Jail was established. The new penal system, called the Pennsylvania system, took a humanitarian approach to punishment where reforming the convict became the purpose of incarceration. Solitary confinement to induce prisoners to contemplate and

Compare 2 Arguments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare 2 Arguments - Essay Example The internet has led to the emergence of the information society, whose mode of operation is purely based on information flow and access, (Lessig, 565-567). Technology has had a phenomenal impact on how people relate and carry themselves. This demands that information be available in a digital space or environment where it is fully accessible to all. This would make the world more innovative, (Lessig, 565-567). The idea of copyright laws has extremely restricted the used and flow of ideas. It is true that every person who comes up with a discovery should be appreciated in a way. The problem is when this appreciation goes to the extent of limiting the ingenuity. This is where the world is because of multiple copyright laws. The world is full of scientists who built on the discoveries of other scientists. People do not ask for permission from Professor Einstein or even Shakespeare before quoting their work as Lessig had used as examples. The result is that better discoveries have been made, (Cole 87-89). This means that, anyone who used that piece of work without the necessary permission does not have to be sued for it. What would happen if this was the case with every other creation or discovery? The world would be a better place. There is a growing concern that the world is becoming too commercial to nurture new and upcoming ideas. The reasoning behind copyright laws and patenting was to give the founders exclusive rights over the intellectual property. That is a bit different from trying to stifle development of intellectual property. The two contrasting opinions, must meet somewhere. The rationale behind protecting intellectual property must not exceed the need to give incentives for more discoveries. This is because advances and new creations are meant to make life better than it is or was. This is the real issue. Most copyright work comes from the derivative work, (Lessig, 565-567). Discoveries are built upon previous discoveries. According to the economics theory of property, property attracts less interest when it is freely available, (Cole 87-89). Indeed open source property does not attract a lot of attention as Julio Cole mentioned. Therefore, intellectual property laws create a situation where necessary ideas are monopolized so that they can be appreciated. That may be correct in some ways. Indeed, the introduction of intellectual property laws was meant to be a positive move to the young scientists and artists out there. However, this idea has mutated into something counter- productive altogether. According to Lawrence Lessig, the discoveries are made a very personal affair, as opposed to offering solutions. This can also be seen in newspapers and other forms of media which highlight lawsuits against people from musicians and other artists. As Cole says, free culture may not be the answer. Some people argue that ingenuity cannot be paid through money. If Einstein and Shakespeare were too concerned about intellectual property la ws, then they would have put a stop to the many upcoming scientists and writers who build on their work and ingenuity, (Lessig, 565-567). The critical question is, to what extent can copyright laws go? And are they absolute? Those who believe in a free culture push for the period of patents and copyright property to be lessened. If it is possible, then it can be done away with depending on the opinion of the innovator. Discoveries must be seen as a response to human global challenges,

Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Interview - Assignment Example Throughout the interview, she remains calm, laughing at some questions and acting surprised at some. She does not seem to be shy of people, since she answers questions in a composed manner, suggesting that she is very good at her work. The queries raised in the interview shares what public administration entails. The answers provided by the interviewee can be related to the Admission by legislators. The legislators ensured that civil service was provided to the public. This can be reflected in the interview when the interviewee answers the question on how goals are achieved. She says that her supervisor and the board set the goals. Certain powers of the civil servants and legislators were limited and this was viewed as a road to democracy. The government had the responsibility of ensuring that its policies were followed, like in the interview, those that influence the units actions are the congress, state legislature city council and the Board of Regents. Democracy back was not trusted, and civil servants bore the brunt of that. The constitution was adopted by several states. Legislators of the government employed civil servants. Legislators were tasked with ensuring that the citizens of the state were satisfied. In the interview, the interviewee says that she applied for the job, and then was employed later. The political officials set the priorities that are

Compare 2 Arguments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare 2 Arguments - Essay Example The internet has led to the emergence of the information society, whose mode of operation is purely based on information flow and access, (Lessig, 565-567). Technology has had a phenomenal impact on how people relate and carry themselves. This demands that information be available in a digital space or environment where it is fully accessible to all. This would make the world more innovative, (Lessig, 565-567). The idea of copyright laws has extremely restricted the used and flow of ideas. It is true that every person who comes up with a discovery should be appreciated in a way. The problem is when this appreciation goes to the extent of limiting the ingenuity. This is where the world is because of multiple copyright laws. The world is full of scientists who built on the discoveries of other scientists. People do not ask for permission from Professor Einstein or even Shakespeare before quoting their work as Lessig had used as examples. The result is that better discoveries have been made, (Cole 87-89). This means that, anyone who used that piece of work without the necessary permission does not have to be sued for it. What would happen if this was the case with every other creation or discovery? The world would be a better place. There is a growing concern that the world is becoming too commercial to nurture new and upcoming ideas. The reasoning behind copyright laws and patenting was to give the founders exclusive rights over the intellectual property. That is a bit different from trying to stifle development of intellectual property. The two contrasting opinions, must meet somewhere. The rationale behind protecting intellectual property must not exceed the need to give incentives for more discoveries. This is because advances and new creations are meant to make life better than it is or was. This is the real issue. Most copyright work comes from the derivative work, (Lessig, 565-567). Discoveries are built upon previous discoveries. According to the economics theory of property, property attracts less interest when it is freely available, (Cole 87-89). Indeed open source property does not attract a lot of attention as Julio Cole mentioned. Therefore, intellectual property laws create a situation where necessary ideas are monopolized so that they can be appreciated. That may be correct in some ways. Indeed, the introduction of intellectual property laws was meant to be a positive move to the young scientists and artists out there. However, this idea has mutated into something counter- productive altogether. According to Lawrence Lessig, the discoveries are made a very personal affair, as opposed to offering solutions. This can also be seen in newspapers and other forms of media which highlight lawsuits against people from musicians and other artists. As Cole says, free culture may not be the answer. Some people argue that ingenuity cannot be paid through money. If Einstein and Shakespeare were too concerned about intellectual property la ws, then they would have put a stop to the many upcoming scientists and writers who build on their work and ingenuity, (Lessig, 565-567). The critical question is, to what extent can copyright laws go? And are they absolute? Those who believe in a free culture push for the period of patents and copyright property to be lessened. If it is possible, then it can be done away with depending on the opinion of the innovator. Discoveries must be seen as a response to human global challenges,

Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Problems - Assignment Example Since the producers are producing Q3, their revenue will rise substantially since all their produce is sold off. On the other hand, consumers would only consume Q2; implying that they are in the same position as before. The loss experienced by taxpayers result from the fact that they are the one financing the purchase of the surplus cheese through payment of higher taxes (David, 2003). b) When the price floor is at $10, new market price will be 10 dollars. This is because the price floor is binding. Taking into consideration that the quantity demanded of Frisbees are only 2 million at a price floor of 10 dollars, 2 million is the quantity demanded. The imposition of tax drives a wedge of 2 dollars between the supply and demand. Consumers pay price P2 whereas producers pay P-$2. Due to increase in price, the quantity of beer sold decreases to Q2 (David, 2003). b) The demand curve for typewriters, substitute goods, will shift to the left as a result of decrease in the computer price (David, 2003). Thus increase in the supply of computers will decrease the demand of typewriters. Hence typewriters producers should be sad. Both quantity supplied and price will decrease. d) Yes, the analysis do explain why software producer Bill Gates is one of the richest men. With advancement in technology, cheaper computers are made making people want more user-friendly software and operating systems. Thus Bill Gates who produce most popular operating systems and software make a lot of money from

Difficult position Essay Example for Free

Difficult position Essay The play the crucible was written by Arthur Miller .The play was based on a hurricane of mass hysteria .The crucible has been adapted from true life events .The play shows the cry of witchery evolve and grow out of hand .Written by Arthur Miller based on personal problems which have effected his life .The McCarthy trials in which he found himself in an very difficult position, but also very similar to those of Massachusetts in Salem in the 17th Century. Miller used this play to show opposition to McCarthyism in which it was seen as Un- American to be a communist. Anti-communism was strongly encouraged .Thousands of Americans were accused and they were aggressively investigated and if you wanted to prevent yourself from paying a heavy fine you had to point the finger at someone else, he described this as Quite crazy. He was really interested by the strong correlation with Communism and the Salem witch hunt . And even went to Salem Massachusetts to research the witch trials. Arthur Miller in the play shows the significance of ones name and the value within it.  Abigail Williams a small girl created madness falsely accusing innocent people to seek revenge .She felt once Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctors wife was dead she will have him all to herself she believes that John Proctor and her havent finished yet, from their previous affair .Accusing John Proctor of Putting knowledge in her heart. Accusing him of destroying her innocence by taking her virginity .So for a time when the church is suppose to be a big part in everybodys life he knows it wont look good on his behalf .She has malicious intentions, initially intending to get Elizabeth killed .It started as dancing in the woods and drinking blood which was a supposed ritual. She had a real plan for everything to go haywire. John Proctors guilt over affair with Abigail makes his position uneasy because he is guilty of the very hypocrisy he scorns in others. It silences his voice to speak out. This adds tension because hes craving to testify against Abigail. But initially doesnt this also adds dramatic irony.  Giles Corey is very fearful and died due to this; a lot of tension was caused by this. Tension is caused by him not confessing or accusing someone else of witchery consequently encountering a slow and painful death. Forced to plead guilty by pressing heavy stones on his chest he died by being crushed under the weight of these many stones .A slow painful death made it aching to read about and curious to find out what was going to happen next. Stage direction enabled us to visualise what was going on, on the stage. As it amplified the scenes and tension was added because the bigger and better the stage direction meant the scene was more detailed.  Act 4 began with the isolation of a jail in Salem the stage direction tells us that Sarah Good and Tituba both in rags tells us they have been ill treated. There in darkness and light only seeps through the bars creating a depressing, sorrowful and gloomy atmosphere. Making the unavoidable more daunting .The iron bars symbolises that they are prisoners locked away from their basic human rights and the world. Dramatic tension is caused by the setting of the scene because their probably yearning to see the outside world. Instant pity is felt for them they have had to suffer the excruciating pain of being locked up for a long period of time. For a crime they did not commit.  Parris is fearful of the situation he finds a dagger outside the door. This adds suspense and tension it left the audience wandering for his future existence. It could have been done simply but it was really dramatic because the audience are clueless about who put it their and why. It could have been done simply. But the dagger in the door made it more dramatic and the scene was dark which made it more spooky it was a clear threat and meant his life was at stake. Abigails unexpected disappearance because of her unachievable goal puts more pressure on Parris. As he is also feeling gradually more isolated in the village. His congregation has also dropped in size .This heightens the tension because if Abigails disappeared without a trace her doings and the doings of the other girls who cried witchcraft will be questioned. Abigail does not want her name to be soiled its so important to her she is seen as a good girl My name is good in the village I will now have my name soiled. So she might have her doubts about everyone finding out the whole thing was a lie so the best thing to do was to runaway. Parris is also worried that he stole all his money  To change Proctors mind to confessing to witchcraft in order to save his life Elizabeth is required. She is heavily pregnant but she agrees but makes no promises Hale asks her to make him confess to witchcraft.

Marketing Analysis Of Virgin Media Marketing Essay

Marketing Analysis Of Virgin Media Marketing Essay Services marketing are a form of marketing which focuses on selling services. Services can be tricky to sell and the marketing approach for them is much different than the approach for products. Some companies offer both products and services and must use a mixture of styles; for example, a store which sells phone also tends to offer services such as helping people select phone as contract and providing broadband service and phone repair. Such a store must market both its products and the supporting services it offers to appeal to customers. Virgin Media is an innovative new media company that was formed as a result of a merger between NTL and Telewest and then a re-branding as Virgin Media. Its main strength lies in the branding and the innovation that the name Virgin offers. Internally, Virgin Media is the only company in the United Kingdom that offers all four of the main media services, i.e. digital television, broadband, fixed line telephone and mobile phone packages. The ability to offer these products all together in one bundle is the unique selling point of Virgin Media and clearly sets the company apart from its competitors. Swot analysis is the most important and first stage of planning. It is a feedback mechanism to make new strategies for any organisation. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are the four components of a swot analysis. Weaknesses and Strengths are correlated and examine the internal part of the business analysis whereas Opportunities and Threats deal with the external environment of business operation. Weaknesses and strengths refer to aspect of marketing, finance, manufacturing or organisational structure. Swot analysis helps clarifies the objectives of the organisation Strengths In offering these combined services, the company has substantial economies of scale as it is able to combine many of its generic roles such as administration and finance, thus allowing the company to price more competitively for the benefit of its customers. Due to its perceived leading brand name in the media, Virgin Media has managed to secure an ongoing contract with Sky, extending further still its inclusive offering to its customers. Technical ability and infrastructure are also two of the key internal strengths of the company, which have been exploited to produce a market leading position. Weaknesses Despite this, the company does have some internal weaknesses that need to be managed. The merger between NTL and Telewest is still relatively new and there are cultural clashes between the two styles and the emerging Virgin style. In recent years, there have been several redundancies and outsourcing of customer services, in an attempt to bring down costs. This has resulted in a degree of unsettled behaviour and lack of loyalty from staff. Due to the size and complexity of the growing organisation, there are likely to be ongoing conflicts which will need to be managed if this cultural shift is not to impact on the customer experience. Opportunities and Threats Externally, the opportunities and threats facing Virgin Media are ever changing. The media sector is developing an exceptionally fast pace, resulting in both opportunities and threats for companies such as Virgin Media. Opportunities are widely available for Virgin Media, predominantly in offering value added services such as online gaming or more reliable broadband connections. Bundling these media services together, as Virgin Media has already done offers yet further opportunities within the media sector, in terms of grasping greater market share. Consumers like simple, one-stop shopping when it comes to the media options available; this is something that Virgin Media can continue to exploit, particularly now that it has signed an agreement with Sky. Threats to Virgin Media come from other similar media companies such as Orange or BT who remain as large players in the market. In particular, Virgin Media is rumoured to have difficulties with its infrastructure reliability, which could potentially allow competitors such as BT to increase market share. The media sector as a whole is extremely fast moving; therefore, the main threat is that Virgin Media may fail to keep pace, thus losing its customer base to another more innovative company. The flower of service Facilitating elements(services) Information: Customers often require information about how to obtain and use a product and services. They may also need remainders and documentation. Example, Of virgin broadband information services are: Direction to service site and using instruction, warning and insurance, terms and condition of services. Order taking: Many goods and services must be ordered or reserved in advance. Customer needs to know what available and may want to secure commitment to delivery Billing:How much do I owe you? .Customers deserve clear, accurate and intelligible bills and statements. Payment: Customer may pay faster and more cheerfully if Virgin makes transactions simple and convenient for them. 2) Enhancing services: Consultation: Value can be added to goods and services by offering advice and consultation. Safe keeping: Customers prefer not to worry about looking after the personal possessions that they bring with them to a service site. Exceptions: Customers appreciate some flexibility in a business when they make special request. They expect it when not everything goes according to plan. Hospitality: Customers who invest time and effort in visiting a business and using its services deserve to be treated as welcome guests. User Preparation When implementing new system, it is important that personnel, employees, managers and others in the organization are prepared for it. This process is also called process of readying the decision makers, managers, employees, and stakeholders for a new system. In this regard, user training becomes very essential, because without it the success of the system cannot be guaranteed. This process of user preparation is planned and executed properly and involved a lot of arrangement, and consideration (Stair Reynolds, 2008). Virgin Media, the UKs leading fibre-optic broadband provider currently has almost 60,000 SME and public sector broadband clients, but has announced that it is looking to grow this significantly. Virgin Media has unveiled plans to target the small and medium business customers of its rival broadband giant BT. The move comes soon after BTs commitment to undercut Virgin Medias residential super-fast broadband prices, with its new fibre-optic broadband service which BT is rolling out this year. There is a very big market up for grabs, as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) spend about  £18bn a year on IT and telecoms. Virgin Media currently have revenues of about  £600m pa from business broadband customers and this is forecast to rise to about  £1bn pa in three to five years. Virgin Media chief operating officer Andrew Barron said: This is another step forwards. Weve been working in the business division for 18 months on getting the business processes to the right level. Weve improved it dramatically. We can use the fibre-optic network to differentiate ourselves. Marketing communication Mix: The marketing mix is the set of controllable tacticle marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the Response it wants in the target market (Melewar. T.C., Saunders.J, 2000) Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers directly or indirectly about the products and brands that they sell. A company s total marketing communication mix also called promotion mix (Kotler, 2005) consists of specific blending of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing tools that are used by company to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives. The marketing communication activities which contribute to the marketing of any new or existing product: by creating awareness of the brand; linking the right associations to the products image in the consumers memory, facilitating stronger consumer-product connection etc. Current extended marketing mix marketing mix. People People is one of the elements of service marketing mix. People define a service.. In case of service marketing, people can make or break an organization. Thus virgin media nowadays are involved into specially getting their staff trained in interpersonal skills and customer service with a focus towards customer satisfaction. In fact many companies have to undergo accreditation to show that their staffs are better than the rest. Definitely a USP in case of services. Process Service process is the way in which a service is delivered to the end customer. The process of a service company such as virgin media in delivering its product is of utmost importance. It is also a critical component in the service blueprint, wherein before establishing the service, the company defines exactly what should be the process of the service product reaching the end customer. Physical Evidence The last element in the service marketing mix is a very important element. As said before, services are intangible in nature. However, to create a better customer experience tangible elements are also delivered with the service. Physical evidence is used as a differentiator in service marketing. This is the service marketing mix (7p) which is also known as the extended marketing mix Position Positioning in different areas is not always easy (I can say it is too difficult). Virgin Group was aware of the difficulties so they had to think about the Virgin brand name. They have never entered in a business before doing solid researches and analysis. They have reviewed the industry and tried to look from customers eyes. They were aware of the trade-offs they had to think before entering a new business venture and they have never underestimated the risks behind new entrance. Advertising Virgin Media launched to much fanfare in February 2007, with a public relations event and an expensive advertising campaign which covered major UK television channels, newspapers and billboards. In an effort to increase awareness of the group and its services, Virgin Medias campaign used bright red colours to portray its brand image. Recent[update] television advertising featured actress Uma Thurman and comedienne Ruby Wax, and currently[update] features actor Samuel L Jackson, whilst the print advertising features bold typography. Virgin Media also sponsored the Channel 4 reality TV show Big Brother until the end of the ninth series. Virgin Media Business/ On Thursday 11 February 2010, Virgin Media announced that its business division would be rebranded as Virgin Media Business with immediate effect. The company, which had been operating as ntl:Telewest Business, is now the largest B2B brand in the Virgin Group. This marked the end of the NTL and Telewest being used by the company. Virgin Media Business is the UKs only telco with a national fibre optic Next Generation Network. Organisations working with Virgin Media Business include London City Airport, Arqiva, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership and South West Water. Consumer behaviours Understanding how consumer behaviour is changing will be an important requirement of Virgin Medias upcoming music offering and, should they become law, the Governments legislative proposals will also require measurement of the level of copyright infringement on ISPs networks. Deticas CViewà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ technology potentially offers a non-intrusive solution which enhances our understanding of aggregate customer behaviour without identifying or storing individual customers data. Consumer Segment We face intense competition from a variety of entertainment and communications service providers, which offer comparable broadband internet, television, fixed line telephony and mobile telephony services. In addition, technological advances and product innovations have increased, and will likely continue to increase, the number of alternatives available to our customers from other providers and intensify the competitive environment. See Risk Factors-We operate in highly competitive markets. However, we believe that we have a competitive advantage in the U.K. residential market due to the superior technical capabilities of our cable network over the network of the incumbent BT, which many of our competitors rely on to provide their services. We also face intense competition in the mobile telephony market, primarily driven by increased pricing pressure from both established and new service providers, evolving customer needs and technological developments. We offer most of our products on a stand-alone basis or as part of bundled packages designed to encourage customers to subscribe to multiple services. We offer broadband internet, fixed line telephony and mobile telephony and data services throughout the U.K., and currently offer television services exclusively in areas served by our cable network Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning (STP) Before start think about marketing (4P), you must understand what is STP. Terms of STP include : market strategy; target markets; positioning; market segmentation and target markets; market segmentation and demographics Segmentation Segmentation : Identifying all segments for the product/service. Many of the resources listed in module 3 will be helpful to you when you develop segments. To be useful, segments should be: Measurable Accessible (can you reach them) Profitable Distinct from one another the objective of segmentation is to find attractive markets. Strategies include Break market into components Regroup into market segments Select which segment to target Targeting Virgin Media is currently number two in the home broadband market in the UK, but it obviously doesnt want to be left behind when it comes to broadband on the move. The company has its own-brand mobile phone service, so its wasnt that much of a leap for it to add mobile broadband into the mix. Virgin is offering mobile broadband via a number of different deals. For example, if youre already a Virgin customer using its XL (20Mb) or L (10Mb) cable broadband packages or its ADSL Bundle 1 offering, you can get mobile broadband with a 1GB usage allowance for an additional fiver a month. If youre on one of the lower-end home broadband deals you can get the same package for a tenner a month. However, for this review were looking at the standard retail pack which targets people who dont already have a Virgin service. This deal costs  £15 a month on an 18-month contract for a 3GB monthly download allowance and a free USB modem Positioning. Positioning is an essential component and skill in good marketing. Perceptual maps are used to determine the position of a product, firm, person, service or idea. Positioning maps or perceptual maps can be simple, yet very effective marketing tools. One definition of Positioning Theory is: the science of perceptual strategy. It is based on a theory that strategy can only be planned in the mind of the consumer, not the marketplace*. It is important to understand the levels of competition because positioning applies at all levels of competition. For example: Product Level Corporate Level Industry Level The STP Process The growing use of the STP process has occurred as a direct result of the prevalence of mature markets, the greater diversity in customer needs, and the ability to reach specialized or niche segments. As such marketers are increasingly segmenting markets and identifying attractive segments (i.e. who to focus on and why?), in order to identify new product opportunities, develop suitable positioning and communications strategies (i.e. what message to communicate), and effectively allocate resources to key marketing activities (i.e. how much should we spend and where?). Organizations will often commission segmentation research when they want to re-scope their marketing strategy, investigate a declining brand, launch a new product, or restructure their pricing policy. Organizations operating in highly dynamic environments seek to conduct segmentation research at regular intervals, to keep in touch with changes in the marketplace. STP refers to the three activities segmentation, targeting, and positioning SOURCES 1. Virgin Media, fourth quarter 2007 results presentation, February 2008. 2. Carphone Warehouse Plc fourth quarter trading update, April 2008. 3. Domestic Competitive Market Review, 2004, Ofgem.

My Favorite Horse Show Essays -- Personal Narrative, descriptive essay

As the first rays of the sun peak over the horizon, penetrating the dark, soft light illuminates the mist rising up from the ground, forming an eerie, almost surreal landscape. The ground sparkles, wet with dew, and while walking from the truck to the barn, my riding boots soak it in. The crickets still chirp, only slower now. They know that daytime fast approaches. Sounds, the soft rustling of hooves, a snort, and from far down the aisle a sharp whinny that begs for breakfast, inform me that the crickets are not the only ones preparing for the day. Sliding the barn doors open, I step into a warm, comforting environment. Musty straw mingles with the sharp aroma of pine shavings, complementing each other. A warm glow from sporadically placed incandescent lightbulbs richens the leather tack, all cleaned and hanging ready for the day's use. From it wafts the smell of a new pair of shoes. The fruity essence of "Show Sheen", applied after yesterday's baths, still lingers in the air. Even the harsh stinging scent of urine and manure is welcome at this early morning hour. Breaking open a bale of hay, I sense the sweetness of the dried timothy as it engulfs my olfactory system, making me wish my queasy stomach had not made me skip breakfast. I am nervous, as are many others. I know that the day ahead will bring excitement, dread, triumph, and defeat. The unpredictable nature of horse shows causes frenzied questions, like salmon spawning, to run constantly though my mind. Will the judge like my own particular style? What if t he red flowers bordering the first jump spook my horse? What if a piece of paper on the ground blows into the ring? Will this horse show be a success? The outcome depends not just on me; but a... ... to the barn, friends and family echo "congratulations" and "good for you". The feeling of accomplishment as I dismount amidst all of Hartwood's magic erases any doubts of earlier. Now we must pack. Our gear slowly fills the trucks, until finally, only the tack trunks remain. As I hold my ribbons, my gaze shifts to the showgrounds, almost deserted now, a forgotten battlefield with only the last stragglers searching for forgotten treasures, until I close my eyes and all of Hartwood's splendor flashes before me. Silently I say good bye. Laying my ribbons gingerly into my tack trunk, I straighten every wrinkle, smoothing them with my fingertips, almost caressing. Lowering the lid, I see their bright colors fade into the deep black darkness. Blues, reds, greens, soak in the smell of the neighboring leather, all tucked in, prepared for the long ride home.

My Favourite Place

MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN MY CITY I am in love with a place in my origin city. It is a special spot for me. It is called El Cejo. My father discovered it to me. He is keen on walking and I have inherited his hobby. Since I have been a child he has taken me to spend the afternoon hiking. This place is located quite near my house but with some steps you have the feeling you are not in Lorca. My region is extremely dry but this place is like an oasis in the desert. To gain access to El Cejo you need to go up a sandy hill. Arriving to the hill the first thing you can find is an imposing castle.Its two towers have been policing the city for many centuries. It dates from the Muslim period when the city played a significant role. It was in the frontier of two important kingdoms in medieval times. In one side of the castle there is a hidden path. This narrow path takes you to my paradise. The ground is red limestone with tiny pebbles. At the start you can glimpse the chain of mountains of the va lley, several reservoirs and farmers working in the countryside. The range of colours of the crops spread over the landscape. Sometimes you can even smell distant bonfires.There are abrupt slopes with cliffs joint by stone cement bridges. The bridges are secured with steel banisters, seeing as the height is considerable. You can find caves carved by the nature and decorated by prehistoric inhabitants with red and ochre drawings. Lizards and birds singing form the inhabitants of this wood. Nobody escapes the eye of the eagles that fly over their home. The pines stand in line like schoolchildren and drop their needles leaves when they are not green any more. The bushes accompany the trees, leaving pleasant fragrances like the rosemary.At the same time, the silence fills the place; sometimes it is interrupted by the barking of the dogs accompanying their owners in a relaxing walking. The paths are sculpted by the footprints of bicycles and hikers. Moreover, there are streams of fresh w ater where you can drink. Steep stairs and uneven ground can be found in some parts of the path. In some parts the way is narrow because of enormous rocks. The vegetation breaks into them. The ground is plastered with roots of trees that quietly have seen the time passing. The sun is always smiling.In winter days the wind whistles around the trunks. In summer days it can be hot as hell. All the plants are resistant to long periods of droughts. The rain is hardly ever present. Halfway there are several viewpoints where hikers sit on rotten wood benches eating snacks to recover from the walking and admiring the turquoise blue sky with clouds like sponges. They can see the valley with its empty river. However, sometimes this river cause fear when it wakes up in rainy periods threatening the city with floods. At the end of the path you can find the reason of the name of the place.Cejo in Spanish is a vertical deep cut in the mountain. At the bottom of it there is a fountain with water a s cold as ice. A legend says that a Muslim princess and a Christian soldier fell in love and as their love was impossible, they committed suicide throwing themselves over the cliff. After that, a source appeared and the people named it after the lovers (enamorados). The people who know this place are like a family. Maybe they have never seen you before but they greet everybody who enjoys the wonders of the place.Walking through this forest it is a pleasure for your senses. You can smell pure air from the nature. Nevertheless, everything is not perfect. You can find rubbish and dogs’ faeces thanks to thoughtless people. People jogging leave the sweat aroma. Normally there are not many people but in September the city holds a sport festival and there is an organized walking to this forest from city centre. Every year the wood meets new people that feel surprised by this heaven. Children walk holding their parents’ hands and adults chat while they enjoy the scenery.I like to take my dogs with me and leave them loose. Therefore, for them El Cejo has a special meaning. It is where they can run freely. Their big ears move like ears of rabbits. They love to speed and stop to smell the scented wildflowers. The path boasts being well-known among nature lovers who can use signs to avoid getting lost during its eight kilometres. It is by far one of my favourite places in my city. Maybe this place is not great thing but for me it is unique. I can relax and forget all my problems.

Literature, Business, and Social Change

Literature offers wide variety of genre depending on the context and expression. It gives fictional and non-fictional attack to its audience that magnifies the society. We use literature to inform the public in whatever objective and intention it may be. According to some literature scholars and professors, literature is the mirror of the society. It gives voice to those who are voiceless, it gives life to the lifeless, and it gives hope to the hopeless. Literature is mostly about the goodness of the society, of the earth.However, because literature is the mirror of the society, some writer attempted to write or describe the flaws of life and weaknesses of humanity to justify both sides of mortal and immortal life. Different kinds of literature vary from different shapes and sizes. All aspects of living are literature – any kind of communication is literature, graffiti is literature, gossip is literature, writing is literature. Therefore, â€Å"almost† everything is par t of literature. Different societal factors used literature to broaden the knowledge of public towards their institution.Other reason is that using literature can be a form of social change. It may not manifest today, there is hope that it will change the future negative situation and strengthen the positive situation of the institutions. Because of the wide variety of literature, different bodies of society used literature and its branches to acknowledge their importance and virtues for the reason that literature brings life to past, present, and future – business culture is one of those. Several books and articles have been written on the intersection between literature and business and/or business ethics.Still, it is one thing to claim that literature can contribute to our understanding of business conduct, but yet another to claim that literature can contribute to the related goal of improving moral conduct in business. (Michaelson, 2005) Past and Present Situation Busine ss through Literature Like any other institutions, the world of business also uses literature to attract customers. The business culture also has its business literature that is used to inform their customers about their products and service. Some of the business literatures are brochures and newsletters.However, questions may be asked about the connection of core literature to the culture of business. Does literature show the history of business? There are different kinds of literature about business like the Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, The Pit by Norris Frank, Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy, and the most familiar literature about business is the Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The Death of a Salesman is a play in 1949 that described the life of having â€Å"American Dream†. The story of this play substantiates the life of being successful in the world of business along with different conflicts and dilemmas.The main character’s perception towa rds his dream triggers his life to an end. It implies that there is no problem in believing and reaching your goals but you must take the course of problems and pains. In the case of the main character, he takes the course of success in a complex situation that put his life into the grave. This kind of literature in the past show that business will always be business, some win while some lose. However, does this kind of attack in creating a story about business is still necessary in this present times?Many fictional short stories depict business culture and tradition in different aspects. Fables about greed and envy also manifests in the business culture. One example of fable on business is, â€Å"The Dog and The Bone†. A dog held a juicy bone in his jaws as he crossed a bridge over a brook. When he looked down into the water, he saw another dog below with what appeared to be a bigger juicier bone. He jumped into the brook to snatch the bigger bone, letting go his own bone, H e quickly learned of course that the bigger bone was just a reflection, and so he ended up with nothing. (Phillips, n.d. ) This example shows that greed, envy, selfishness, and being self-centered still exist from the past until today. Even if it does not deliberate or used human to describe the situation, it insists that the actions of the dog can be obtained by human in their workplace. However, literature helps us define the changes of business from the past, the present, and the future. It can be seen through the details and collaborations of different stories and essays about business. Past writings about business stated the dream and aim of a person or group of people in the world of business.Present writings show the situation, life, and dilemmas in the workplace. Future writings will soon cover the examples of great businesspersons who monopolized and conquered the business world. One instrumental function of literature is to imitate life, thereby expanding our vision beyond our parochial interests; to see literature merely as a didactic instrument to serve business interests misses the point that literature should expand understanding, our sense of what in addition to business is interesting and valuable.(Michaelson, 359) Business somehow depends on the factor of literature because here is where the culture of business relies – its history, flaws, weaknesses, and strength that might help to overcome the future circumstances. That is why even companies need a story to survive. Genre Specificities in Literature of Business As according to the examples above, genres vary on the context of each scenario or case in the workplace. There are sites like businessballs.com who share their stories, fables, and analogies on business using both human and non-human to be their characters in order to both entertain and acknowledge the potentials and characteristics of the employees as well as the owners when it comes to their career. According to one of the a rticles of New York Times entitled â€Å"The Media Business: Revenge of the Underlings Becomes a Literary Genre†, different forms of literary genres was used in different forms of writings about business.However, the best literary genre that suits the culture of business is realistic fiction as what the play â€Å"The Death of Salesman† implies because through this kind of genre, people can relate to the literary piece and could acquire those lessons to their workplace. Through this, social change within the workplace will be more necessary and trivial for the reason that there are people became dependent towards literature especially during these modern times where a wide variety of literature are available in the market, which brings sociological impact not only to the doer but also to the people around him or her.Literature as a Form of Change in Business Culture In every form of reading, it is the audiences’ responsibility to take action towards what they re ad whether it is for the better of their individuality or not. In business culture, literary pieces played a big role to help business perceive the history, the present and the future of their institution. However, because literature is the mirror of the society and it caters a wide range of genres and context, it should be said that not only good things are shown while negativities of this societal body was hidden.Literature is transparent in everyway; it gives what the public needs to know in order to be informed as one of the purpose of literature. Business literatures are often used to negotiate and close the deals between companies and clients. In this aspect, literature did a great job in participating to the business culture as seeking information and justifications on its products and services. Through this, changes in the business world from its employees up to its owners will manifests in a positive way wherein they could provide much services and accurate details to their customers.Literature and Business Audience When business leaders or even employers and employees read the story of â€Å"The Trench-Digger†, they would realize that despite of circumstances and struggle, a person would do all things just to get a job. Most of the time, we put ourselves in the shoes of other people especially when we are reading a story or watching a movie. When the story ended as what we expect, we will mold ourselves according to the story and will soon act as the main character in order to survive the circumstances that are related to the tale.Through these manifestations, change will occur based on the result of interpretation and observation of the situation of the text. For example, when you read the â€Å"The Trench-Digger†, you will realize that in every work or job, a person should be worth it in a way that he or she must have his or her capabilities from his or her previous jobs. Because experience is one of the most important when finding a job, even a hard task will be done if the person is willing to learn and have an optimistic point of view towards success.As the reader took his of herself to the story, he or she also made a decision for change. Once he or she believed in a certain narrative or writings, it means that he or she is willing to do some actions in his or her workplace. However, it is hard to make a change alone, that is why people who read a story, essay, or anything about change and optimism, they will make their friends or officemates to be enlightened by reading the same text. In this case, change will come from a group of individuals who wanted clarity and sensibility to their workplace.Literature and the Main Purpose of Business We all know that business is a business. It was established to have profit. The main purpose of business is to motivate its people to have income in a way of establishing different strategies and ideas. These issues are already accepted by the society – it cannot be changed. Meanwhile, literature is an implication of transformation. Therefore, these issues of business opposed the essence of literature. We all know that the main purpose of literature is to inform the public about the situation in the society, it also gives data and evidence of history.In this case, literature also implicates negativities and affirmative construction towards the bodies of society. Business’s main purpose was being attacked by literature if it implies teachings that are below the belt like envy, greed, and self-centered perspectives just because they want to earn profit. Literature understands the goal of business as it is but the people or actions behind this body could not be hidden from the mirror of the society. Aside from this, change will be depending on the readers alone because literature held its stand in whatever struggle it may be.Literature, Business, and Social Change Each author has their own perspective on what they write. They also deal wit h the problems of their writings as it conquers the visions of its audience. In the case of business culture, author used ideas that are relevant to the issue that will give information to the public on its essence, importance, as well as its weaknesses. Through this, the desire of the author to change the social environment of the business audience will still depend on its attack and impact to the readers.Authors lay their stand and evidences towards the issues; it is the responsibility of the readers to take the solution as a threat or enlightenment. This paper tells from the beginning up to its end that literature is a way of informing and applying its perspectives to its audience. It brings great social change in business culture because business relies on the ideas and creativity of literature in order to build relationship between the company and its clients. Literature teaches its business audience to deal with the sociological standards of life.It brings sociological impact if the reader will make its life as what the text stated but literature will be senseless if the reader could not do some necessary changes to its workplace because she is afraid to do it or treat literature as insignificant fictional entity of the society. As a whole, literature and business are interrelated factors that mould the society in different level or perspective. We assumed that business is one of the biggest factor to maintain our economic growth, and from this paper, we knew that literature contributed to its evolution and development.In this case, business would be paralyzed in some aspects of expansion without the help of literature. Aside from this, social change in workplace were introduced because of literature as it reveals the situation, cases, and issues of business culture from the past, present, until the future. Therefore, it can be said that business, literature, and social change are interconnected that have certain process of attachment to conduct greater sense of knowledge and responsibility not only in the business culture but also in society as well.References Business Literature. (n. d. ). Encyclopedia of Small Business. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from Answers. com Web site: http://www. answers. com/topic/business-literature Chapman, Allan. (1995). Stories and analogies: Illustrations and analogies for motivation, inspiration, learning and training. Businessballs. com. Retrieved on October 19, 2007 from http://www. businessballs. com/stories. htm#dog_and_the_bone_story Columbo, R. (n. d. ).The trench-digger story (initiative, self-development, making things happen, career advancement, how to get a job requiring experience when you have none). Businessballs. com. Retrieved on October 19, 2007 from http://www. businessballs. com/stories. htm#dog_and_the_bone_story Michaelson, C. (2005). Dealing with Swindlers and Devils: Literature and Business thics. Journal of Business Ethics. Retrieved on October 19, 2007 from http://www. sprin gerlink. com/content/x1041j786u456g18/ Miller, A. (1976).Death of Salesman. Penguin Paperbacks Philips, J. (n. d. ) The dog and the bone story (be content with what you have, greed and envy seldom pay). Businessballs. com. Retrieved on October 19, 2007 from http://www. businessballs. com/stories. htm#dog_and_the_bone_story Stanley, A. (2002). The Media Business: Revenge of the Underlings Becomes a Literary Genre. New York Times. Retrieved on October 19, 2007 from http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9504E6DF163CF931A25755C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything

Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. After the Chernobyl disaster of April 26th, 1986, it was often said that the nuclear industry no longer had the resilience to survive another major nuclear accident. The industry hoped that the sentiment behind the Chernobyl accident could be eased on the basis that it was the consequence of a flaw in design that was unique to the Soviet Union’s reactors and that they had been operated in such a way that would not have been acceptable in the West.Then, Fukushima changed everything. That, at least, was the popular view adopted in the aftermath of March 11, 2011, by the press, media and across the Internet blogging community. A nuclear accident in such a densely populated and well-developed country would transform the way nuclear energy is perceived, as well as, determine the way it would be used, or not used, in the years to come. This analysis attempts to overview its causes, evaluate its impact, and understand its consequences on future nuclear development. CausesOn October 30th, 2011, the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) was enacted, creating an independent commission whose sole purpose was to investigate the Fukushima accident with the authority to request documentation and evidence required from whomever they saw fit. This independent commission was the first in the history of Japan’s constitutional government. Their main mandate was to investigate the direct and indirect causes of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima nuclear power plant accident that occurred on March 11, 2011 in conjunction with the Great East Japan Earthquake.This event triggered an extremely severe nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Power Plant, owned and operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). It was declared Level 7 (â€Å"Severe Accident†) by the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). At the moment the earthquake struck, nuclear reactor u nits 1 to 3 were functioning under normal operating parameters and units 4 to 6 were undergoing periodic inspection. Emergency shutdown occurred right after seismic activity was identified. The seismic tremors damaged the electricity transmission facilities between the TEPCO Shinfukushima Transformer SubstationsNuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 2 and the Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Power Plant. This resulted in a total loss of off-site electricity. The back-up transmission line that was hooked up to nearby Tohoku Electric Power Company failed to feed reactor 1 due to mismatched sockets. The first of 3 tsunami waves was more than twice the height of the seawall which TEPCO had failed to replace after recommendations had been made by a group of government scientists back in 2009. TEPCO later stated that this recommendation was in the process of review at the time the tsunami hit.The seawater began flooding the building floor breaking walls and scattering debris. As the w ater rose, emergency diesel generators broke down, along with the seawater cooling pumps, electric wiring system and DC power supply for units 1, 2, 3 and 4. This resulted in a complete loss of power. Unit 5 lost all AC power and unit 6 stayed online due to a working air cooled emergency diesel generator. The loss of electricity resulted in the shutdown of monitoring equipment, lighting and communication devices. Decisions had to be made on the spot without the proper tools or manuals, making it difficult to cool down the reactors in an efficient way.The cooling reactors which were dependent on electricity for high-pressure water injection, depressurizing the reactors low pressure water injection cooling, depressurizing the reactor containers, and removal of decay, failed. Lack of access to these key locations due to debris pile up led to the inability of the personnel to react appropriately. In June, 2011, four months after the accident, the country’s Nuclear Emergency Respo nse Headquarters confirmed the complete meltdown of reactors 1, 2, 3, and spent fuel pond of reactor 4.The conclusions held by the NAIIC stated that the direct causes of the accident were all foreseeable prior to March 11, 2011. The plants design was incapable of withstanding an earthquake and tsunami of that magnitude. In addition, operators (TEPCO), regulatory bodies (NISA and NSC) and the government body promoting the nuclear power industry (METI) all failed to ensure basic safety requirements, such as assessing the probability of damage, preparation for containing collateral damage and developing evacuation plans for the public in the case of a serious radiation release. Dr.Kurokawa of the Nuclear Safety Commission reserved his most damning language for his criticism of a culture in Japan that suppresses dissent and outside opinion, which he said might have prompted changes to the country’s lax nuclear controls. Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 3 Impacts on Health & Environment The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident resulted in the release of fission products to the environment, including the contamination of air, water, soil, animals, fish, milk and crops. In addition, it generated radiation levels that caused the necessary evacuation of people within a 20 to 30 km range of the facility.A study on the effects of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown on the environment and public safety by Dr. med. Alex Rosen of the University of Dusseldorf came up with a series findings. The atmospheric emissions of more than 30 radioactive isotopes occurred through the explosions in reactors 1 to 3, the spent fuel pond of reactor 4 and the venting of reactors to relieve pressure and enable cool down. The total emission of iodine 131 was estimated to be 20% of the quantity emitted in the Chernobyl accident and 40% to 60% of cesium-137 emissions.Although, these are both naturally occurring elements, both of these radioactive isotopes are found to have dang erous impacts to human health under high doses. A dozen other radioactive substances including strontium-90, xenon-133 and plutonium-139 were spread throughout the region as radioactive fallout following the incident. Geography Radioactive fallout occurred mainly in the Northern Pacific (79%) and about 19% of the fallout contaminated the Honshu island, which includes the densely populated Tokyo metropolitan area. Overall, it was determined hat 1000 km2 were highly contaminated with radioactive isotopes. This led to the evacuation of an estimated 200,000 people in the immediately impacted zone in a radius of 20 km2 to 30 km2. Furthermore, an estimated 70,000 people are said to have stayed within 870 km2 radius of the plant’s highly contaminated land outside of the evacuation zone. These people were exposed to 100 times the natural background radiation expected within a year following the accident. Health Risks The risk of developing cancer and other radiation-induced diseases increased proportionally to the amount of radioactive exposure.According to Dr. Rosen, even the smallest amounts of Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 4 radioactivity can cause tissue damage and genetic mutations. Children have been found to be the demographic class with the highest risk in relation to radioactive exposure due to a greater level of sensitivity. Soil Contamination Following the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl 25 years ago, the Soviet government chose long-term evacuation over extensive decontamination. As a result, the area is non habitable and remains severely contaminated by radioactive fallout.In Japan, large areas of farmland and forests were contaminated following the accident. Lacking land for resettlement and facing public outrage, the Japanese government chose to embark on a decontamination effort of unprecedented scale. Japanese workers, power-sprayed buildings, scraped soil off fields, and removed fallen leaves and undergrowth from the woods ne ar houses, in an attempt to make Fukushima livable again. The Japanese Ministry of Environment estimated that Fukushima would have to dispose of 15 to 31 million cubic meters of contaminated soil and debris by the end of the econtamination process, with costs exceeding one trillion yen. The decontamination efforts were focused mostly on the radionuclides caesium-134 and caesium-137, with half-lives of 2 and 30 years, respectively. Although other radionuclides have been found in Japan, these two pose the greatest long term threat to human health through ingestion and external exposure. Radiocaesium has been found in all of Japan’s prefectures, but most highly concentrated within a 50 kilometer area northwest of the plant, and to a lesser extent throughout eastern and central Fukushima Prefecture.Marine & Groundwater Back flow and deliberate discharge of radioactive wastewater were released from the plant. Approximately 15 to 27 PBq (petabecquerel) of radioactive marine dischar ge resulted in the worst radioactive contamination of the Japanese coast in recorded history. The effect of dilution of the radioactive marine discharge may substantially reduce the impact radioactive fallout, but will inevitably to a greater area being contaminated at a lower concentration. Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences of the U. S. A. ublished major findings on the detection of Fukushima-derived cesium-134 and cesium-137 throughout waters 30–600 km offshore, with Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 5 the highest radioactivity associated with near-shore eddies and the Kuroshio Current acting as a southern boundary for radioactive transport. Researchers concluded that even though cesium isotopes are elevated 10 to 1000 times over prior levels in waters off Japan, radiation risks due to these radionuclides are below those generally considered harmful to marine animals and human consumers, and even below those from naturally occurring radionucl ides.Food & Vegetation Radioactive contamination was found in fruits and vegetables grown in the affected region. Meat products originating from animals grazing on contaminated soil and destined to human consumption was found to be contaminated. Contamination was also detected in milk and tea, as well as, tap water in the Tokyo metropolitan area (the world’s largest city in terms of population). It has been determined that eating 500g of contaminated vegetables can cause internal exposure of 100 times the normal amount of radioactive food content for adults and more than 200 times for children.Fish and seafood caught in the North Pacific region was contaminated and showed clear accumulation of radioactivity in sea life higher up in the food chain within the months following the accident. Washout and bioaccumulation will continue to cause the radioactive contamination of marine animals for years to come due to the extended half life of certain radioactive elements. Although it is quite clear that this accident has had significant impacts on human health, soil, food, animal and marine life, it is still too early to accurately determine the full extent of the accident’s environmental impacts and the proper approach to remediation.Impacts on Nuclear Energy Development Nuclear power provides global carbon-free dispatchable base load generation and its continued growth is a major component in many forecasts for future greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions. Nuclear energy accounts for 13. 5% of global electricity production as of 2012. This GHG reduction potential is one of the reasons for the much discussed â€Å"renaissance of Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 6 nuclear power†.It has been acknowledged that nuclear power represents a potential source for large quantities of carbon-free electricity production from plants that do not share the intermittency issues of solar and wind energy production. Two potential forces could adversely affect nuclear production projections postFukushima accident. Foremost, the accident may affect safety criteria and procedures for existing and new nuclear generating units. These changes could lead to increased associated costs. Second, the accident may have adverse affects on public opinion and potential political support for nuclear power.Hence, some countries could ultimately move away from nuclear energy on a political basis, making relicensing of new plants more difficult, leading to tighter safety criteria and delays in regulatory decisions. Determining what the long run responses will be globally and how they will affect the economics of nuclear power generation, as well as the politics associated with acceptance of nuclear power in different countries will remain uncertain for years to come. Prior to the Fukushima accident, it appeared that there was growing political acceptance of nuclear energy.In the world’s 3 largest nuclear economies (U. S. , France, J apan), extensions to licensing were in progress and associated operating lines of most existing plants were proceeding without much political opposition. In particular, Unit #1 of the Fukushima Daichii plant had just received a 10 year extension on its operating license months before the incident. As for new construction, major nuclear vendors were heavily promoting the latest generation 3 design as being safer and more economical than previous generations.Construction was beginning on new nuclear units in Finland and France, and commitments were being made to build new units in the U. K. China had also just made a major commitment to increase its production from 1% to 6% by 2020. India was also in the midst of piercing into the nuclear market, with the help of the U. S. , France and Russia. Additional construction was anticipated in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. A number of developing countries were also beginning to show interest in integrating nuclear energy as a part of their e nergy portfolios.These countries included Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Chile, Venezuela and Vietnam amongst others. A number of considerations were driving this interest. Policies to promote low to zero carbon emitting energy sources and the intent of reaching C02 emissions reduction targets by Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 7 2020 and 2050 were having a positive effect on political decision making. In addition, significant improvements in the performance of nuclear plants in were enabling countries such as the U. S. to reach up to 90% capacity factors.Furthermore, the rise in fossil fuels and new generation reactors were promising higher safety ratings and lower construction costs. The reconsideration of Italy, Spain and Sweden on the use of nuclear power use and the growing interest in emerging countries to rapidly respond to increase in demand for electricity were also leading factors. All these reasons led experts into the optimistic belief that the world was on the verge of a new wave of investment in the nuclear energy sector. Since the Fukushima accident, detrimental impacts on expert optimism have been observed.Japan has permanently closed units 1-4 of the Fukushima Daichii plant and the status of units 5-6 remain uncertain. In addition, only 10 out of Japan’s 50 previously operational units are now operating, and there has been significant local opposition to returning them to service. Public support for Japan’s current nuclear power program is under considerable stress. Following the accident, most countries with major nuclear programs have moved quickly to perform short-term safety assessments of existing plants and have opted to launch longer term assessments of regulatory procedures and safety criteria.The situation in Japan remains uncertain. As the third largest nuclear program worldwide, a decision to move away from nuclear energy with Germany would have a definite material effect on f uture development trends. Any tightening of safety requirements resulting from the accident will only make the economic status of nuclear power less attractive. However, it has been observed that the Fukushima accident has had little effect on plans for unit construction in countries where significant nuclear programs were being planned prior to Fukushima.Some countries such as Taiwan, Chile, Israel and Venezuela have decided to not enter or re-enter the nuclear expansion business. On the other hand, current non-nuclear countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Abu Dhabi have recommitted to start building nuclear power plants. As for China, it is believed that its willingness to sacrifice on economics to meet energy security and environmental goals is still present. The setback is that China can not fail to meet safety requirements and this may constrain the rate at which its nuclear program can proceed. Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. The Fukushima Daich ii nuclear accident will contribute to a reduction in future trends on the expansion of nuclear energy, but at this time these effects appear to be quite modest at the global level. For countries such as Germany, Switzerland and Japan, the effects are significant, but for most other countries, changes have not been currently made in their support for nuclear power. Due to significant loss of trust in reactor safety, the International Atomic Energy Agency reduced, in Juin 2011, the 2030 projection on the worldwide contribution of nuclear power by about 10%.Nuclear power has been the source of fear and excitement for decades, and what the Fukushima Daichii nuclear accident caused, first and foremost, was irreparable damage to the local communities of Japan and their surrounding environment. It is now clear that the international community may have dodged the bullet once again, however it seems as though they might not be getting a second chance. The potential for clean energy producti on with nuclear energy is undeniable, perhaps advancements in technology such as the development of Generation IV reactors will put nuclear energy back on the forefront of global energy production.Whether or not potential energy output outweighs the risks associated with future accidents differs based on personal perspective. The Gen IV International Forum will evaluate lessons learnt and integrate them in the design and safety criteria of the reactors under development, which are expected to be ready by mid-century. Inherent reactor safety features will become far more important as a result of the Fukushima accident. Furthermore, modular and smaller reactors, due to their lower in-core energy density, will probably gain in popularity.As we move forward, a dedicated and permanent effort is needed to regain trust by open, transparent and honest dialogue with the public on the risks and benefits of nuclear energy. Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 9 References Lincoln L. Davies. â€Å"Beyond Fukushima: Disasters, Nuclear Energy, and Energy Law. † Brigham Young University Law Review. (2011): 1937-1990. The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. â€Å"The National Diet of Japan. † (2012): 1-15. Dr. med. Alex Rosen. â€Å"Effects of the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns on environment and health. † (2012): 1-18. Paul L. Joskow & John E. Parsons. The Future of Nuclear Power After Fukushima†. MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. (2012): 1-30. Roland Schenkel. â€Å"Nuclear Energy Acceptance and Potential Role to Meet Future Energy Demand. Which Technical/Scientific Achievements Are Needed? †. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements. (2012): 356-364. Winifred Bird. â€Å"As Fukushima Cleanup Begins, Long-term Impacts are Weighed†. Yale Environment 360. (2012): 1. Karl K. Turekian et al. â€Å" Fukushima-derived radionuclides in the ocean and biota off Japan†. PNAS. (2012): 1-5. Nuclear Energy: How Fukushima Changed Everything. 10