Logic Model and Performance Managements Assignment

Logic Model and Performance Managements - Assignment Example The program is further meant to provide better health care services to the LGBT community without any discrimination on the basis of gender, age, race and cultural background. Additionally, the program is geared towards the provision of specialised treatments to the LGBT community. The program further is aimed to provide security to the LGBT community and avoid any kind of ill-treatment or any other kind of discrimination. The program is also meant to undertake serious public awareness initiatives in order to recognize and treat the LGBT community with due respect and also value them as other human beings. Failure to honour the heath care needs of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender lead to trauma, societal discrimination and worse health risks by the affected subjects. Increase in psychological and mental disorders especially in lesbian, gays, bisexuals and transgender is associated to societal discrimination. This aspect makes most of the people in the group to engage on drug and substance abuse, homophobia, suicidal activities among others (Ortiz-Hernà ¡ndez, 2015). With proper implementation of the program, the LGBT community will be fully incorporated in the society and their contributions to the societal growth will be upheld. Home needs services will ensure that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender are fully incorporated in the communities or societies they live and hence accorded due respect. The success of the program is dependent on the effectiveness of the various awareness campaigns and initiation of the better policies to overcome any kind of discrimination (Price 2011). Training medical practitioners on various issues related to LGBT community and provision of specific medical attention has made the LGBT Community Program to be a success. Through the abolishment of societal discrimination, the LGBT community is engaged in day-to-day running

Introduction to Property Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Introduction to Property Assignment 2 - Essay Example The inspection process largely depended on the information provided by the real estate agency on its website. The key inspection criteria included general features, type of the property, number of bedrooms, building materials, physical location and building size among other features. Having used the map to trace the property’s physical location, I took its photo and used for further inspection. This property was first found by research from the internet on the list of properties that have been sold in Melbourne recently. A lot of information regarding this property was found in several sites including those owned by real estate agents. The process of inspection involved checking of the basement, heating system, air-conditioning, plumbing, roof and electrical system among other aspects of the property. Other important issues that I assessed included maintenance and fire and safety aspects. For additional examination, I used the location map to visit the property and took a photo. This photo was used to examine the physical features of the property. Through the inspection I found that the house was sold on 10th January 2013 for $298, 500. This property was initially found on the websites of realestate.com.au, whereby the preliminary examination was done. At this state, features such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, indoor features, wardrobe features, courtyard, fencing, and evaporative cooling were inspected. Also, the address and the location map were obtained from the website. Next, additional information regarding the factors that could have influenced pricing and salability of the property was obtained from a local agent, and augmented with internet research on factors that influence similar transactions. I finally visited the property’s physical location, took a photo and a used it for further

Ford motors and counterfeiting in the chinese automotive industry

Ford motors and counterfeiting in the chinese automotive industry Ford Motor Company (Ford) is an auto company that manufactures and sells autos and parts globally. Similar to many other corporations, Ford has invested manufacturing efforts in China, because China is now the worlds largest auto manufacturer and auto market. Given this huge opportunity, there are numerous companies looking to reap financial profits by producing counterfeit parts. The global counterfeit auto parts market was estimated at $16 billion in 2008  [i]  . For Ford, counterfeiting not only represents lost financial sales but also brand degradation and product liability risks. While robust growth in auto sales may be fueling the fake components market, the battle against manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit auto parts, specifically Ford auto parts is not new. Ford has been waging an ongoing aggressive campaign against counterfeiters since the early 1980s. Despite its efforts, there continues to be a battle as according to the automaker, counterfeit and pirated auto parts remains a problem that is putting the publics safety at risk and costing about $1 billion US annually. Since joining the WTO, the Chinese government has been placing increasing emphasis on intellectual property rights (IPR) to help encourage foreign investment in the country. However the strength of these IP laws and enforcement has not been robust as penalties are weak and do not deter counterfeiters. As Ford continues to invest and grow within China, we propose the following recommendations to address the counterfeiting issue. First, Ford should refine its internal firm strategies through security packaging innovations and a certification process, increasing education to consumers, aligning employee incentives through benefits and penalties, and continuing with the inspections. Next, Ford needs to pursue external political and legal strategies with key stakeholders, such as the industry coalition, insurance partners, the Chinese government, and the WTO. These strategies should focus on aligning incentives to develop more robust policies around counterfeiting penalties and enforcement. 2 Overview of the Counterfeit Automotive Industry in China For decades, piracy and counterfeiting problems have affected the economy. The global market for counterfeit car parts is estimated to be worth approximately $16 billion USD in 2008 (which accounts for roughly 3.2% of the global counterfeit market) and is growing roughly 9-11% per year.  [ii]  As the counterfeiting and piracy market is becoming more and more attractive to organized crime (it offers similar profits with a significantly lower probability of prosecution and penalties), criminals are making significant investments in counterfeiting. Counterfeiting and piracy activities have flourished in developing economies and gradually diminish as emerging markets achieve higher levels of prosperity and global integration. Today, industrial counterfeiting and piracy run rampant throughout emerging markets such as China. It is in fact, the worlds largest offender of IP theft and industrial piracy. According to MEMA, China is responsible for the exportation of 80% of the counterfeit goods seized at U.S. borders.  [iii]  The E.U. also estimates that 5-10% of all replacement auto parts in circulation are counterfeit.  [iv]  Furthermore, a recent study by the Commercial Times found that 56% of auto users in China have found counterfeit parts on their vehicles. Several unique characteristics make the Chinese market distinct from other counterfeiting regions. With Chinas sheer size and growing integration into the global supply chain, counterfeiting and piracy issues originating from this region have become a global problem (affecting not only local Chinese companies but also multi-nationals). Given significant socioeconomic disparities among different regions within China, the progression and convergence towards a middle income will likely be slower, fostering an environment in which counterfeiting and piracy will thrive for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, Chinas customs and traditions have historically accepted industrial piracy further stimulating growth. As the counterfeit market in China grows, increased investment has allowed counterfeiters to strengthen the sophistication of their operation. Counterfeiters now have inside information on new vehicles and specification changes before the new car is even on the market. Counterfeiters can produce exact copies of products, packaging and documentation and sell it under a competing brand name. In 2004, General Motors (GM) filed a lawsuit against Chinas Chery Automobile Company for the alleged piracy of its Spark vehicle to create a replica branded Cherys QQ. GM showed that the two vehicles were nearly identical with respect to exterior body, interior design and key components. (See Exhibit 1). In a study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition against Counterfeiting and Piracy, counterfeit part sales are costing Ford about $1 billion per year. However, it is the physical dangers and risks associated with using or installing counterfeit parts that may be the most costly. Counterfeit auto parts are a huge consumer safety problem with serious potential to injure auto technicians and end-consumers. In addition to severe financial and safety implications, counterfeiting destroys the brand reputation of legitimate companies. Legitimate companies are often blamed or brought to court to take responsibility for the negative repercussions of counterfeit products. With China surpassing the U.S. to become the worlds largest auto market (achieving sales growth of 46% to 13.6 million), it will be difficult for auto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to ignore the Chinese market particularly since by entering the Chinese market, significant advantages may be leveraged (e.g. inexpensive labor, rapidly growing emerging market).  [v]  Currently, roughly 800 foreign auto parts suppliers operate in China, including most of the top 50 multi-nationals. And as the Chinese auto market continues to grow, instances of IP theft are likely to increase as well. It will become even more important for large multi-nationals such as Ford to take action and to protect itself from IP risks. 3 Impact of Counterfeiting and Piracy on Ford Motor Company in China A Background on Ford Motor Company in China Ford began manufacturing autos in the early 20th century. With $146.3 billion in revenues in 2008, Ford is now one of the worlds largest makers of cars and trucks. Its brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury and Ford receives more than half of its sales outside of North America.  [vi]   In the Asia-Pacific region, Ford operates under several investment holding companies including Ford Motor (China) Co., Ltd., Ford Motor Research Engineering (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., Ford Automotive Finance (China) Co., Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co., Company and Jiangling Motor (Stock) Co., Ltd. Roughly 9% of 2008 global sales may be attributed to the Asia-Pacific region which includes China. Ford sold slightly more than 300,000 units in China in 2008 and 2009 sales exceeded 440,000 vehicles (annual growth of 32%).  [vii]  In China, Ford has several joint ventures including joint ventures with Jiangling Motors Corp and Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. These joint ventures provide it with three shared production platforms in China and also share factories in Nanjing and Chongqing. With China overtaking the U.S. as the worlds largest auto market last year, Chinese auto factories are running at full capacity. According to Ford, the two facilities it has with Changan Automobile Co. will not be able to accommodate expected future demand based on current growth expectations. Accordingly, it plans to open a $490 million factory in Chongqing in 2012, producing up to 150,000 vehicles per year and increasing total capacity to 600,000.  [viii]   B Detailed Assessment of the Political and Legal Issues Relating to the Counterfeit Auto Industry I Overview of the Political Landscape in China Although China has moved from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one, the Communist Party of China (CPC) still maintains political power. Having a one-party system makes the CPC susceptible to civil unrest that could threaten its power and, as a result, the CPC has been hesitant to take action that threatens local economies for fear of unrest. But as an emerging country with the worlds third largest economy on the frontier, China is struggling to balance the need to support local economies with a growing need to protect IP rights for both multinationals and domestic firms. Yet despite a reputation for considerable corruption, demonstrated by its 2009 corruption perception index score of 3.6, and a ruling CPC that often ignores counterfeiting since it supports many local economies, China still manages to attract multinationals such as Ford due to its potential for new customers and windfall profits.  [ix]   China and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Admitted to the WTO in 2001, China agreed to implement various measures that would liberalize its trade regime. Among these measures was the WTOs Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement). This agreement guards against counterfeit products by addressing minimum standards of IPRs protection, domestic procedures and remedies for enforcement of these rights, and dispute settlement procedures among WTO members.  [x]  However, despite these IPR protections, counterfeiting still represents about 8% of Chinas $10 trillion economy.  [xi]   To address this growing problem, in 2007 the U.S. asked the WTO to intervene, claiming that Chinas enforcement of IPR laws was so weak that it failed to limit the production of counterfeit products. Specifically, the U.S. argued that weak penalties for infringers and Chinas practice of allowing counterfeiters to sell goods seized by Chinese customs officials, provided that the fake labels were removed, provided little financial incentive for counterfeiters to cease production.  [xii]  In 2009 the WTO ruled that China breached trade rules by ignoring piracy and counterfeiting, yet it upheld Chinas criminal law on IPR; without strengthening Chinas criminal law and enforcement of IPR, it is likely that counterfeiting will continue to be problematic.  [xiii]   Conflicting Incentives for the Chinese Government Despite Chinas laws that aim to protect IPR, the Chinese government faces opposing incentives in cracking down on counterfeiters. Specifically, China must balance the economic benefits local economies enjoy from counterfeit products with the growing need to protect the IPR of foreign and domestic companies.  [xiv]  Because counterfeiting supports many local economies and millions of people, any crackdown on counterfeiting could result in serious economic losses. As this action would not be well-received, Chinese politicians are even less apt to prosecute counterfeiters or focus on strengthening enforcement of IPR laws. On the other hand, China must strengthen these laws and enforcement mechanisms if it hopes to continue attracting multinationals.  [xv]  However, many multinationals are so intent on entering the Chinese market, given its sheer size and potential profitability, that they are willing to operate in an environment with little IPR protection. As a result, the Chine se government has very little incentive to crack down on counterfeiters or greatly strengthen enforcement of IPR laws. Fords Risks in China and its Current Strategies Given this political landscape, Ford faces considerable risk in China. With three assembly plants in China, Ford has already encountered problems with counterfeit parts, claiming that counterfeiting costs the company $2 billion a year in sales.  [xvi]  Exhibit 2 Despite some multinationals willingness to live with Chinas lax IP protection, Ford has taken steps to protect against the growing problem of counterfeit auto parts and vehicles. Specifically, Ford has been using undercover intelligence to identify counterfeit producers and raid Chinese factories.  [xvii]  While these raids have prevented thousands of counterfeit products from entering the market, penalties still remain weak; the few offenders sentenced to prison can reduce their terms for $30 a day.  [xviii]  Despite Fords efforts and commitment to protecting its brand, this weak enforcement discourages any meaningful lawsuits and provides little deterrence to counterfeiters. Ford must develop strategies to work with the U.S. and Chinese governments to better protect against counterfeit products. II Overview of Intellectual Property Rights in China Chinas Current IP Environment Since joining the WTO, the Chinese government has been placing increasing emphasis on IPR to help encourage foreign investment in the country. Most recently, the Chinese State Council established a task force known as the Intellectual Property Executive Conference to look into IP-related issues. Chinas new auto policy released this year stresses the need to protect the intellectual rights of auto companies and bans the sale of auto products that violate these protections. China is also a party to many international agreements to protect IP (including the World Intellectual Property Organization and Paris Convention, among others). For example, China joined the Madrid Protocol in 1995, which requires reciprocal trademark registration for member countries, which now include the United States.  [xix]   The Chinese government has also established special IP courts to handle cases of IPR infringement more efficiently. In addition to having these specialized courts in some cities and provinces, Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin have also established IP courts within the Intermediate Peoples Court. In 1992, the Supreme Peoples Court established an IP division as well. This increase in the legal systems capacity to handle alleged IP theft has been used to facilitate highly publicized campaigns, including activities such as raids and educational programs. Enforceability of IP Laws China has made significant progress on the legal and regulatory front, but despite stronger statutory protections, IP theft remains a major problem, as evidenced by the widespread existence of counterfeit products.  [xx]  In reality, IP laws are rarely enforced, and it is even rarer that those who are caught stealing, cheating, counterfeiting and pirating go to jail. Because China is a large country with some political decentralization, enforcing IP laws and regulations in China is a major challenge.  [xxi]   Several institutional factors undermine the enforcement of IP laws, including Chinas reliance on administrative instead of criminal measures to combat IPR violations, corruption, local protectionism, limited resources and training available to enforcement officials, and lack of public education regarding the economic and social impact of counterfeiting and piracy. At the most basic level, without adequate education with regard to IPR, there is little awareness that infringement is a crime. Furthermore, the fragmented nature of political authority in China and, more specifically, decentralized corruption exacerbates the lack of enforcement. For example, when counterfeiters have connections with local government or law enforcement officials, this may provide an easy cover for their counterfeiting activity. Local officials may create obstacles during investigations and assist local counterfeiters by letting them hide their production lines in safe places. Chinas fragmented legal system contributes to the problem as well. Protection of IP in China follows a two-track system. The first and most prevalent is the administrative track, whereby an IPR holder files a complaint at the local administrative office. The second is the judicial track, whereby complaints are filed through the court system. However, determining which IP agency has jurisdiction over an act of infringement can be confusing. Jurisdiction of IP protection is diffused throughout a number of government agencies and offices, with each typically responsible for the protection afforded by one statute or one specific area of IP-related law. There may be geographical limits or conflicts posed by one administrative agency taking a case, involving piracy or counterfeiting that also occurs in another region. Chinas courts also have rules regarding the scope of potential orders. In most cases, administrative agencies cannot award compensation to a rights holder. They can, however, fine the infringer, seize goods or equipment used in manufacturing products, and/or obtain information about the source of goods being distributed. China was also required to provide IP remedies through criminal enforcement for commercial scale piracy and counterfeiting, under the enforcement provisions of TRIPs. Chinas laws and regulations stipulate that IP administrative authorities and Customs may transfer egregious IP infringement cases to police and prosecutors for initiating criminal investigation. However, despite these criminal provisions, most IP cases continued to be handled through the administrative system. Foreign rights holders have considerably less success in encouraging criminal prosecution of IPR violations. When jail sentences are handed down, Ford officials in Taiwan say that those few offenders sentenced to prison can reduce their terms for $30 per day. Lawsuits are also often a waste of time, due to local protectionism. In 2003, Toyota lost a closely watched case in China against the countrys biggest private carmaker whose brand logo was nearly identical to Toyotas.  [xxii]  In the end, although interna tional pressure may have succeeded in getting Beijing to establish IPR laws and regulations, the enforcement of IP, as with most policy in China, falls within the domain of Chinas complex bureaucracies and local government officials. Outsourcing vs. Ford manufacturing To operate in China, Ford had to form a joint venture with a quasi-governmental partner: Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. in China.  [xxiii]  Fords other partner in China, Jiangling Motors Corp., makes commercial vehicles, including the popular Ford Transit van.  [xxiv]  These joint ventures are one of the biggest risks automakers face as they expand in China due to the danger of IPRs violations. The Chinese made no secret that part of their strategy in forming joint ventures was to begin to learn about the auto industry and how they can produce cars. Ford produces all of their vehicles in their own three plants in the country. However, they now source many of their component parts, which increases the risk of counterfeiting since the company has transferred production of certain parts from their own plants to third-party operations in China and India.  [xxv]  There are other issues that come with operating in a rapidly developing country. In China, factories are at risk of unscheduled shutdowns because of power shortages. Ford also faces political risk. Although the danger of nationalization or outright confiscation of Fords assets may not be high, China may not always have the best interests of foreign multinationals at heart. Despite these concerns, Ford is not shying away from the fast-growing Chinese auto market. Ford currently operates two plants in China, and it broke ground for a $490 million plant in September of 2009. The factory will make the next-generation Focus compact car, which Ford plans to sell globally. Its current plant in Chongqing makes the Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo and Ford S-MAX. Its plant in Nanjing, in eastern China, makes the Ford Fiesta.  [xxvi]   In order to set up operations in China, Ford was also required to establish research and development facilities alongside its manufacturing operations to help build the countrys technical know-how. Ford has taken steps to boost their Chinese design capabilities, which also benefits domestic Chinese companies. For example, Fords China design team is putting its own spin on the upcoming Ford Fiesta (tailored for the Chinese market). Fords Current Strategies Fighting counterfeiters is a key priority at Ford, and it has stepped up countermeasures worldwide. Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler formed a global industry network in 2001 to work with law enforcement agencies and governments to strengthen patent and trademark protection laws and impose criminal penalties to prevent counterfeiting.  [xxvii]  The problem is especially acute in the Middle East, where many counterfeit Ford parts made in China are shipped and sold alongside genuine parts.  [xxviii]   Ford admits it was late in its efforts to protect its IPR abroad. However, the company is now very active and has even established its own brand protection team. The unit has led a number of raids, which have led to prosecutions. Ford recently raided a Chinese factory and turned up 7,000 sets of counterfeit brake pads destined for Egypt, each stamped with a replica of Fords blue oval. A legitimate set of pads would cost the equivalent of $47 in Egypt; the phony ones might cost $30.  [xxix]   Furthermore, as a brand Ford is trying to make everything as sophisticated as possible. It has security features in the parts packaging itself and spends time on brand awareness and training exercises so people can better identify fakes. The company says this is critical to long term public awareness and stopping sales of counterfeit products.  [xxx]   III Overview of Product Liability Product Liability All auto manufacturers, including Ford, are exposed to product liability lawsuits related to the sale of autos or parts to the public, especially in litigious countries. Ford has the most exposure in the U.S. given the extremely litigious environment and its large sales. According to the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability a user or bystander in the U.S. can sue for injuries related to a defect or malfunction of the product, and, in some instances, a defective design or a failure to warn. Even though Ford does not manufacture and sell the counterfeit Ford parts it increases its exposure if the parts are believed to be manufactured by Ford and then cause accidents and injuries. Ford could be sued and incur substantial attorneys fees and possibly even settlement costs. Ford would then have to prove that the product was not manufactured or sold by them, and even if Ford is successful it will still face attorneys fees, damage to its brand, and wasted corporate resources. Product Liability History and Severity Product liability lawsuits can take years to defend, result in millions of dollars of fees and settlements, and severely damage a brand. Ford has faced product liability lawsuits in the past such as the Ford Pinto case in the 1970s that cost it millions and the Ford Explorer rollover related lawsuits in the 2000s. Ford manufactured the Pinto throughout the 70s and due to a faulty gas tank the cars often caught fire during rear-end collisions. The most notable Ford Pinto case (versus Grimshaw) cost Ford $6.5 million in 1981.  [xxxi]  Ford has faced many other product liability lawsuits throughout its history. Fords Current Strategies Ford recognizes its exposure to insurable risks including product liability related to the manufacture and sale of autos and parts. Given the critical nature of risk management Ford maintains a Global Risk Management Committee (GRMC) that makes risk related decisions and is headed by the Chief Financial Officer. Ford chooses to manage and protect against product liability risks through a combination of self-insurance and product liability insurance.  [xxxii]  The self-insurance is typically in the form of a calculated monetary fund setup to may attorneys and claims. The product liability insurance would provide Ford with attorney support and claims/settlement payments in the event of an insurable claim. Ford also has a Sustainability, Environment Safety Engineering (SESE) Team that works to prevent faulty products from being sold and to ensure Ford complies with safety and environmental regulations. They also provide technical analysis to corporate counsel on product liability lawsuits when needed.  [xxxiii]   Finally, Ford has created a Global Brand Protection group to protect consumers from counterfeit products threatening user safety. This group is tasked with: preventing the distribution of and removing counterfeit parts from the marketplace, ensuring that the companys trademarks are used appropriately, and maintaining the integrity of the sale and distribution of original equipment parts.  [xxxiv]   4 Recommendations China has quickly become the worlds largest auto maker, surpassing the US in 2009  [xxxv]  . Due to its immense scale and rapid growth rates, China is an important strategic market for Ford from a production and sales perspective. Despite the political and legal issues and risks Ford faces in China, the company cannot simply withdraw its operations from China. Ford must engage in market and non-market strategies to help manage the counterfeit problem in this market. Recommendation 1: Refine Internal Firm Strategies As mentioned previously Ford has started to invest in internal strategies, such as raids and setting up the Brand Protection Group, to help address counterfeiting. We recommend that Ford continue to refine these strategies as well as incorporate additional internal firm tactics. From a product perspective, Ford has noted that there are security features in the packaging of the auto parts and that consumers should use reputable dealers and repairers, inspect parts and packaging closely in case they spot something and if they are concerned to ask that only original parts are used or call the auto maker.  [xxxvi]  We recommend that Ford continue to invest in its packaging to help dealers, repair shops, and consumers detect fake products. The company could consider implementing a certification program where only legitimate Ford plants and OEMs are able to put a Pre-Approved by Ford label on its products. Additionally Ford needs to employ efforts to minimize spare factory capacity in these production facilities and to increase monitoring from U.S. Ford managers. In conjunction with product-related tactics, Ford needs to educate its customers (e.g. dealers, auto-body shops) and end-consumers and bring this issue to light. Because counterfeiting auto and auto parts drastically affects consumer safety, Fords customers and consumers should have a strong commitment to help prevent counterfeiting once they are aware of the issue. These educational efforts can be spearheaded by the Global Branding Team and be implemented in various public relations and marketing efforts. Most consumers may not be aware that counterfeit autos and auto parts exist and are responsible for associated safety risks. One campaign can highlight how counterfeit auto parts can lead to injuries and fatalities. The campaign can then empower consumers to ask for Ford parts only when having their autos repaired. This will encourage customers to seek out Fords legitimate replacement parts and be wary of counterfeit products. Ford also should implement tactics to educate and incent their employees, critical stakeholders. In conjunction with educating consumers, the Global Branding Team can utilize the same resources to educate its employees. This knowledge can help increase employees commitment to prevent counterfeiting and can also create a culture of pride related to high quality production and safety. Ford ca

Climate of Egypt Essay -- Cairo Egypt Africa Environment Essays Papers

Climate of Egypt Cairo, Egypt, located in Northern Africa between Libya and the Gaza Strip, is on the eastern bank of the Nile River. Egypt, which is comprised of 97% desert, experiences mild winters and hot summers, with an average temperature of 71.1 degrees Fahrenheit (21.7 degrees Celsius), and receives only 1inch of rainfall a year. With only 5% of the land occupied, Egypt has a population of approximately 69,536,644 inhabitants. Cairo, the largest city in Africa, as well as the capital of Egypt, is home to over 15 million people. Its overpopulation has led to many changes within the country which have had a great effect on the society and environment of Egypt. The desert climate region has experienced many changes throughout history, and there is a drying trend in the climate. Because the Egyptians were among the first to record data, Cairo has a well documented history of its society, and in particular, of the Nile River. Historically, Nile River played a large role in Egypt. The Nile has served, both historically and still at the present time, as a method of transportation and has dictated the agriculture and water supply. However, with global warming, the drying trend of the climate, and a boom of industrialization, the nature of the Nile and the Nile Valley has changed dramatically. Using Chad as an example, Lamb notes the drying changes in the Sahara Desert, and the evidence of there once being a population of animals: This assemblage of artistic evidence clearly implies that there were enough moist places in the Sahara in those times to sustain life, so that animals and men could roam about, and cross, what is now the world’s largest desert. This conclusion is supported by evidence of the dated forme... ...a history of environmental legislation, the past few years has brought a wave of new policies. In 1994, Law 4, for the preservation of the environment, was passed. Most importantly, from Law 4 two new programs dedicated to improving Egyptian environment were created: the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) works to institute plans for environmental management and regulate environmental standards; and the Environmental Protection Fund, which grants funs to solve solid waste management issues. The greatest environmental concerns facing Egypt today are air pollution, carbon emissions, energy consumption, and the preservation of the coastal regions. In order to combat these problems, Egypt is working, in conjunction with legislation, to educate its inhabitants on the environmental concerns, and the individuals’ responsibility to preserving natural resources.

Paleozoic Era in the geology of Indiana Essay

Paleozoic Era means â€Å"time of ancient life†. It is estimated to have occurred somewhere around 544 and 245 million years ago. During this time period, the Paleozoic era, there was a great increase in variety and development of life. Animal fauna were abundant during the Paleozoic era. It is a time when different types and forms of plants and animals flourished and became diverse and plentiful. Many with hard shells and exoskeletons appeared. As a result more organisms formed into fossils which left trail of history behind for scientists to study. This era is very important in that is entails an explosion of animal growth in which nearly all living animals appeared and then at the end of the Paleozoic era, during the Permian sub era, suddenly a mass extinction wiped out nearly 90% of all living matter. Much research continues into the reasons why these two extreme situations occurred. (Palmer and Geismann Nov 2002) Subdivisions of the Paleozoic era are; in order of time period most recent to oldest, Permian is also referred to as the age of dinosaurs and Pangea. Pangea was the name when the earth was considered a supercontinent. The majority of the plates had massed together and had just one ocean. The land was relatively dry and had few glaciers. Next came the sub-era, Carboniferous Pennsylvanian (high carboniferous) and Mississippian (lower carboniferous) depicted mostly by the large coal deposits in the area of modern day Pennsylvania with many coal swamps which then spread towards the Mississippi river and became more limestone. The stratigraphy (the study of strata or layers) of the two areas is quite different as a result. This area today called Indiana is in the upper Mississippi River valley. It was mostly made up of Limestone and since sea covered much of the continent at this time, there was a large marine population. Many remnants left over were lime marked by green algae and calcium carbonate which has been eroded and formed by waves and sea water. Then came the Devonian sub era, in which small plants began to appear in the beginning and by the end large trees emerged. Also, tetra pods (considered the first vertebrates to exist on earth) or vertebrates began to inhabit the land. Arthropods (an invertebrate having an exoskeleton, segmented body and jointed appendages), insects and arachnids (eight legged and jointed invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata) also came about during the Devonian time period. Echinoderms (creature with a limited nervous system) and a wide variety of fish also became plentiful. The Silurian era was marked by great changes in the physical makeup of the earth. The basic climates over the earth stabilized and glaciers and their formations melted and the seas levels rose. As a result, the fish population grew by leaps and bounds. Corals reefs developed and marine life continued to thrive. Freshwater varieties and fish with jaws occurred for the first time. The Ordovician sub era was a period during the Paleozoic era when much of the northern hemisphere as mostly underwater and a large land mass was in the south called Gondwana. The land was moist and had migrated close to the South Pole. It is known for its marine invertebrates and limited plants on land. Glaciers ultimately formed and much of the land froze and formed glaciers. This ended with mass extinction of 60% of marine life. The Cambrian era was considered the explosion where a grand diversity of life on earth boomed all of a sudden. Various types of rock were formed during the Paleozoic era. The earth was six large land masses at this time. Modern day continents were relocated and divided later on. Therefore different rocks and formations existed. Limestone and coal are two examples of rock formed during the Paleozoic era. Sedimentary and Cambrian rock and fossils dating back to the Paleozoic era can be found in the state of Indiana. It was close to the equator during the Pangea and lay in a shallow sea of water. Later as the land changed, sand from the Acadian Mountains washed over the rocks and land in the sea. Mollusks, Crinoids, bryozoans, brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, which are two half shelled filter-feeders, gastropods (snails) and trace fossils can be found as remnants of that time period in the state. Much of the large amounts of plants from the delta are where the large amount of coal originated from. Plants included ferns, seed ferns, moss and many types of swamp plants which also contributed to the large deposits of coal. Plant fossils from the late Paleozoic era include Lepidodendron, Sigillaria, Calamites, Pecopteris, Annularia and Asterphyllities. (Polly, David 2007) Currently, Indiana is rich in limestone, aggregates (crushed limestone dolomite, sand and gravel), aglime (agricultural lime) and other minerals and rock forms. It also has siliciclastic (made from broken pieces of silica rocks) and carbonate rocks (sedimentary rocks made up of mostly carbonate minerals) and coal. These rocks have all evolved from the Paleozoic era through the rock cycle of erosion, deposition, temperature and pressure. Older rocks are altered and become slightly different and newer younger versions. Lingulella  © 2003 Milwaukee Public Museum Works Cited Collins, Allen (1994) last updated in 1999 The Paleozoic Era Web Geological Time Machine Accessed on May 31, 2010 Polly, David (2007) Historical Geology Paleozoic Fossils II Accessed on May 31, 2010 Freebee, M. J. (2002) Paleobiology: The Early Paleozoic Accessed on June1, 2010 UCMP The Paleontology Portal Indiana, U. S. Accessed on May 31, 2010

Psychosexual theory Essay

Sigmund Freud was born 1856 in Moravian town of Freiburg, and was the oldest of 8 children. Freud was a bright child who had planned to study law, instead attending the medical faculty at University of Vienna. He went on to study and find a cure for troubled adults, where the patient talked through their problems of childhood. The goal of this was to realise emotions that had been trapped in the unconscious mind of the adult. Freud believed that sexual life and early childhood development was a factor in troubled adults in adulthood. This research leads to Freud’s psychosexual theory. ( Thurschwell, 2000). Freud composed the concept that there are three parts that make up personality in the brain. These three parts of personality are Id, Ego and super ego. The Id is the largest portion of the mind and is the only part of personality that is present from birth. ( Berk, 2009). The function of the Id is to satisfy the basic wants and needs. Example, eating, sleeping, drinking. This component is essential in infants to ensure their needs and wants are met. A baby will continuously cry until the demands of the Id are met. However the wants and demands of the Id are not realistic or needed, this is where the Ego takes force. The Ego develops in early infancy and its job is to control and satisfy the Ids impulses so they are realistic in the real world. Between the ages of 3-6 years, the Superego develops. The superego holds what’s right and wrong in, morals and rules that have been learnt from parents and society. To have a good personality structure one most have a good balance between the Id, ego and superego. Id, ego and superego become integrated into Freud’s theory of psychosexual theory. (Louw, 2002). Freud constructed his theory called â€Å"Psychosexual theory, which emphasizes that how parents manage their child’s sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development.† ( Berk, 2009, pg. 16). Psychosexual theory consisted of 5 stages of development. Oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Oral stage occurs between birth- 1 year in this stage the focus is on the mouth and sucking activities. If the oral needs for sucking are not meet in this stage it could lead to later problems in life, such as thumb sucking, smoking and over eating. Anal stage 1-3 years, toilet training takes place between parent and child. This stage is where children first have an encounter with rules. If to many or to few demands in this stage are made it could lead to orderliness, messiness and disorders in later life. Phallic stage 3- 6 years, focus moves to the genital area. Children start to have desires for the opposite sex parent and move away from the same sex parent. Children then have to learn to suppress these feelings and adopt the same sex parent’s characteristics. If these feelings are not suppressed it could lead to confusion of sexual identity. The superego kicks in, in the phallic stage. Latiency 6-11 years, Children’s sexual instincts aren’t so strong and lean to playing and interacting with same sex. Superego has developed more, morals and social rules are learnt from parents and society. Last stage of development is the Genital stage, which occurs in adolescence, puberty starts to occur and sexual impulses appear again. If a child has developed properly through previous stages it will lead to, marriage, sex and birth. (Louw, 2002). Freud’s psychosexual theory was one of the first theories to research into the relationship between parent and child in early years. Eventually more researchers researched into Freud’s theory, discovering that all Freud’s research was not accurate. Freud’s work has been criticized for, not taking other cultures into consideration, not studying children directly and over use of sexual feelings in development. Like Piagets theory it is hard to use their ideas in learning and development today in New Zealand, as there is a lot of criticism around their work. Research into child development has expanded over the years and information is more accurate and useful. ( Newman & Newman, 2007). Freud and Piaget influenced future theorists into more in-depth research in child development. Both Freud and Piaget used the idea of children’s development being discontinuous and in stages. Piaget focused on sexual drive in young children, Piaget focused on children develop as they adapt to their environment. Both theorists have had criticism surrounded their work which makes it hard to relate their theory’s to learning and development in New Zealand today. (Berk, 2009). Reference List Berk, L. (2009). Child development ( 8th ed). United States, Pearsons Publishing.  Dennis, C., & Mitterer, O.J. (2006) Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behaviour. United States, Wadsworth Publishing:  http://www.sparknotes.com

Nuclear Weapons And Defense Essays - Missile Defense, Free Essays

Nuclear Weapons And Defense Essays - Missile Defense, Free Essays Nuclear Weapons and Defense A third world country is producing nuclear weapons. The country is the same that has given the United States trouble in the past. It is Iraq. Shortly after the U.S finds this out, we are being attacked by a nuclear strike from Iraq. U.S. cities are being destroyed one by one. We declare a full scale nuclear retaliation against Iraq. Huge devastation occurs throughout the world as allies join into the war. Nuclear winter starts to develop. Over half of the world?s population has been eliminated. Water and food is contaminated from the radiation. The few survivors of the nuclear war are eating dead animals and people. There are no hospitals available for the sick, no electricity, no hot water, and no warm clothing. The land is barren and covered with ruble in the areas that were once called cities. The sky is painted with dark gray clouds. Lack of sunlight causes the temperature to drop by 50 degrees. The wind picks up and is seldom below 15 miles per hour. The ! survivors' offspring, if they are not mutated in some way, will have no schools to attend. They will grow up like primitive people. The world is forever changed. The Strategic Initiative would benefit the U.S. because it would deter nuclear attacks on the U.S. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) is a research and development program designed to create an effective space-based defense against nuclear missile attack, and may provoke other nations to put the same system into space above their own skies. The media labeled the system "Star Wars" because of the high-tech space aspect of the system. Once nuclear missiles are launched, there is no way to stop them once they are airborne. The system would be a layered weapon shield that could intercept large numbers of oncoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and their warhead projectiles in any phase of flight. The idea of stopping ballistic missiles enroute is not new. The United States and the USSR have deployed Antiballistic Missiles (ABMs) in limited numbers. It is known, however, that such missiles can be overwhelmed by thousands of warheads coming from many directions at once. In a nationally televised address in March 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan called for the long term development of a space- based defense system that would render nuclear missiles "impotent and obsolete.'' The result of his appeal was SDI, with a planned spending level of $30 billion over five years. One reason for this was because it would only take 30 minutes for a nuclear warhead to reach the U.S. after it was launched. Once the stuff of science fiction, sophisticated missile defense systems employing satellite or ground based laser weapons, particle beam accelerators, "smart" interceptor projectiles, and other computer integrated space technologies may represent the next era in strategic milita! ry doctrine and the U.S. Soviet arms competition. As currently envisioned, the system uses a "layered" defense in which enemy missiles would come under continuous attack from the time they are launched to just before they reach their targets, a total of about 30 minutes. Surveillance satellites would register the heat given off by the rising missiles; satellite or ground-based lasers would strike at the missiles during the boost phase, before they disgorge their many warheads. X-ray or particle beam weapons would attack surviving missiles in space. A scientist working on the project stated that "A single X-ray laser module the size of an school desk which applied this technology could potentially shoot down the entire Soviet land based missile force, if it were to be launched into the modules field of view." The system could be managed only by super computers whose infinitely complex programs would have to be written by other computers. Most decisions would be taken out of human hands. Since 1983, space tests of many experimental SDI devices have been made. Nevertheless, intensive studies by such organizations as the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) are pessimistic about the possibility of developing reliable SDI weapons. They also question whether the Pentagon has fully understood the possible range of countermeasures that the Soviets might take. These groups and

Premarital Sex Essay Example

Premarital Sex Essay Example Premarital Sex Essay Premarital Sex Essay There is no social issue more difficult to address than premarital sex. Even in the 21st century, after decades of convincing the world that truth can be subjective, modern man still could not get rid off that uneasy feeling when confronted with the accusation that he or she is engaging in sex outside the bounds of marriage. This feeling is arguably more intense with teenagers than with adults but nevertheless most would rather hide the truth than openly acknowledge that they are practicing premarital sex. This paper will show the dangers of premarital sex. This can be done without having to resort to overly simplistic rhetoric. For instance when someone opposed to the idea of sex before marriage is interviewed about his opinion about premarital sex; the common reply is that such behavior is unacceptable without being able to fully explain rationally why it is forbidden. Background Before going into details it is important to get an overview of this social problem. Those who practice premarital sex can be broadly categorized into three major groups. The first one is composed of couples who were already engaged and set to marry soon. The emotional depth of their relationship is evident and the kind of premarital sex practiced can be also called engagement sex (Luker, p. 89). The second group is composed of adults who are not yet married, not engaged, no plans of marrying their current sexual partners, and yet engaging in sexual intercourse. Those belonging to this group can be strongly attracted to their sexual partner but there is no immediate desire to bring the relationship a notch higher by becoming engaged. Kung akin ang mundo, Ang lahat ng itoy iaalay ko sayo Kung ako ang hari ng puso Lagi kitang pababantay kay kupido, Hindi na luluha ang yong mga mata, Mananatiling may ngiti sa Yong lab, Para sayo, para sayo, REPEAT CHORUS Geode morgen iedereen Edgar Allan Poe He was born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the second child of actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe, Jr. He had an elder brother, William Henry Leonard Poe, and a younger sister, Rosalie Poe. Edgar may have been named after a character in William Shakespeares King Lear, a play the ouple was performing in 1809. His father abandoned their family in 1810, and his mother died a year later from consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis). Poe was then taken into the home of John Allan, a successful Scottish merchant in Richmond, Virginia, who dealt in a variety of goods including tobacco, cloth, wheat, tombstones, and slaves. The Allans served as a foster family and gave him the name Edgar Allan Poe, though they never formally adopted him. l Said to Love By: Thomas Hardy I said to Love, It is not now as in old days When men adored thee and thy ways All else above; Named thee the Boy, the Bright, the One Who spread a heaven beneath the sun, I said to Love. I said to him, We now know more of thee than then; We were but weak in Judgment when, With hearts abrim, We clamoured thee that thou wouldst please Inflict on us thine agonies, I said to him. Thou art not young, thou art not fair, No faery darts, no cherub air, Nor swan, nor dove Are thine; but features pitiless, And iron daggers of distress, Depart then, Love! .. Mans race shall end, dost threaten thou? The age to come the man of now Know nothing of? We fear not such a threat from thee; We are too old in apathy! Mankind shall cease. So let it be, O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman . 0 CAPTAIN! my Captain, our fearful trip is done, The ship has weatherd every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! ise up and hear the bells; Rise upfor you the flag is flungfor you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ibbond wreathsfor you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! The arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck, Youve fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, The ship is anchord safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult O shores and ring O bells! But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen Cold and Dead My name is Alyssa Marie P. Suarez. I am 14 years old. I was born on March 6,1999 in Bacolod City. I am currently living at Canlaon View Subd. Murcia, Negros Occidental. I am currently studying at Bacolod City National High School. I live with my mom, May; and my dad, Arthur. I have two siblings namely Alliah Nicole P. Suarez and Art Joseph P. Suarez. Life to me means friends and family who you can trust and who trusts you. I am pretty much on the happy side of life, but like all teens I do I have my days of. That means I do have some sad days or depressed days. I have a few friends here that sort of look out for me and when I am having a bad day, I have someone here at school to talk to. I make my school days go by thinking of either the next hour or what I will do when I get home or on the weekend. My hobbies are singing, dancing and playing badminton. I am good in dancing, quite in singing. Friends are l ike sisters to me. They are always there in good times and in bad times. They are always being there every step of the way. I can share my secrets to them and as well as my problems. I am lucky to have them.

Being Lazy Means You’re Intelligentâ€According to Science

Being Lazy Means You’re Intelligent- According to Science According to a new study, brainy people tend to spend more time being chill than their less-intelligent, but more active counterparts- mostly because they have a higher IQ, get bored less and are thus more likely to be comfortable getting lost in thought. Active people, on the other hand, need constant activity to keep themselves stimulated, as they are more easily bored. Florida Gulf University gave a test to a group of students, asking them to rate how strongly they agreed with statements about engagement with tasks and problems, and from this, were able to select 30 â€Å"thinkers† and 30 â€Å"non-thinkers† from their pool.The 60 subjects then wore a movement/activity tracking device on their wrists for the next week, giving researchers a constant stream of data about their physical habits. Their findings, described as â€Å"highly significant† and â€Å"robust† in statistical terms, showed that the â€Å"thinkers† were far less active during th e week than their â€Å"non-thinker† counterparts. The weekends, strangely, were about the same.It may actually be beneficial, then, to spend an extra hour or two in bed thinking through tasks and schedules, revisiting and reimagining your goals. Your daydreaming might be twice as generative as a non-thinker’s doing.There’s a danger, of course, to less active people- no matter how brainy- and that is the danger of the sedentary lifestyle. So if you think you might be a â€Å"thinker,† and relishing those quiet moments lost in thought, you might also want to make a point of exercising enough. Just to make sure you stay healthy and nourish your body- not just your brain.In addition to this, you should also consider finding a job that is compatible with your personality. The sooner you find a job that you enjoy, the happier you will be, regardless of how intelligent or lazy you are.

Investment Analysis of Tesco, and Marks And Spencer Research Paper

Investment Analysis of Tesco, and Marks And Spencer - Research Paper Example (Penman, 2003). In other situation, investors make investment decisions following his or her instinct or based on the information provided by the market. Here, Penman (2003) referred to Investors who make investment decisions following their instinct as intuitive investors, while those who make investment decisions following market data are passive investors (Penman, 2003). This study is aimed at carrying out a comparative analysis of two United Kingdom based retail companies with particular focus on its financial performance and share valuation for the two periods under review, to enable the researcher gain a reasonable basis for providing recommendations to investors on which company's stock they should buy, sell, keep or hold. The remaining part of the paper looks at the two company under review. Like macroeconomic analysis the analysis of the industry is important because it enables the analysts to make abnormal profits arising from information asymmetry between the proper analyst and competitors who fail to carry out a proper analysis. Just as it is difficult for a firm to do well in a poor macroeconomic environment, so too is it difficult for a firm to perform well in a troubled industry. (Bodie et al, 2002). Similarly, as performance can vary across countries, so too does it varies across industries. (Bodie et al, 2002). 2.1 Tesco Plc Tesco PLC is an international retailer. The principal activity of the Company is food retailing with over 2,000 stores in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and China. It activities include, simple travel insurance, Tesco personal finance, telecom and retail outlets. Financial Ratio Analysis for Tesco Plc. a) Profitability Ratios for Tesco Plc Ratio Formula1 2006 2005 Profit margin Return on Capital Employed Return on Equity Return on Investment The profitability ratios show that the company is doing quite well. In 2006 for example the was an improvements in all the profitability ratios when compared to 2005. Compared with the ratios for the other firm (Mark & Spencer) we see that Tesco performed better than the industry average, and better than M&S. However, Marks and Spencer also proves to be a profitable company. b) Liquidity Ratios for Tesco Plc Ratio Formula2 2006 2005 Current Ratio Quick Ratio Cash Ratio Tesco current ratios have also witnessed improvements in 2006. The current ratio and quick ratio show that Tesco has enough current assets to cover its short-term liabilities without facing business risk that is the risk that it might not meet its short-term commitments. However, the cash ratio shows that Tesco could only cover 50% of its short-term liabilities in 2005 and 90% in 2006. It is again doing better in this domain than its M&S. c) ) Long-Term Solvency Ratios Solvency Stock Measures From above, it can be observed that the company uses more debt than equity in financing its activities. This is evidenced by the debt-to-equity ratio of 1.4. There is

Importance of an entrepreneurial leader Assignment

Importance of an entrepreneurial leader - Assignment Example Entrepreneurial leaders have the drive to be successful and their flexibility leads to adaptability. Entrepreneurial leaders are result-oriented and have high levels of enthusiasm that ensures full commitment to the goals and objectives of the organization. The role of an entrepreneurial leader is different from other leader roles since they are take personal responsibility of the growth of the organization. Their roles are different from other leader roles since they continuously search for new opportunities that will lead to innovative products and ideas rather than ensuring the success of the already established products and ideas. The entrepreneurial leader will assemble and coordinate resources towards attainment of organizational goals and will take personal responsibility for the failures of the team and utilize such challenges in ensuring the organization attains its objective. Unlike other leader roles, an entrepreneurial leader plays the role of a risk-taker through investi ng in new and innovative ideas that will enhance the growth potential of the organization. An entrepreneurial leader role is different from other leaders since an entrepreneur is a change catalyst and champions creative. An entrepreneurial leader is important in an organization since he continuously searches for new opportunities and ensures creativity that ultimately leads to new and innovative products and ideas. The entrepreneurial leader roles are different from other leader roles since he or she is a risk-taker and acts as a change champion.

Building block assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Building block - Assignment Example A weakness of Starbucks Cafà © is that its product is a luxury item that performs poorly during bad economic times. Another weakness of Starbucks Cafà © is high raw material costs. Starbuck Cafà © uses only fair trade coffee at its stores which is more than twice as expensive as regular coffee. Starbucks Cafà © is a company that has expanded its operations oversees. The company has further opportunities for expansion into foreign markets. The firm must expand internationally because the U.S market has become saturated. Another opportunity for Starbucks Cafà © is the potential to grow its sales in the retail marketplace by selling unprepared pounds of Starbucks coffee at supermarkets and other establishments. A threat that Starbucks Cafà © must be aware of is substitute products. In terms of competition in the coffee marketplace a major threat to the company is the continued expansion of McCafà ©. McDonald’s has over 34,000 establishments worldwide and its McCafà © operation sells quality coffee at lower prices than Starbucks

Cover Letter & Resume Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cover Letter & Resume - Assignment Example Additionally, I have participated in exchange programs in the years 2012 and 2007 in Miami-Dade College and Delegate of Nanjing Foreign Language School in Nanjing respectively. This means that am capable of co-ordinating several clients and sponsors despite their language. To add on, I worked as a marketing representative at Chu’s Chinese Restaurant from September 2011 to September 2012. I was also a mathematics Tutor from September 2012toDecember 2012. I worked as a sales vice president at Jiangsu GPRO Group Company from 2009 to 2010. Lastly, I was a full time intern at Bank of China New York branch. With the above experience I am able to design and conduct surveys, make marketing plans, solve company’s problems, create sales plans, market new products and make translations to foreign languages. Since the above duties are the general functions of a human resource manager, it means that I am qualified for the job (Beatty, 2004, 35). I will be liable to the customer’s plans and marketing plans. I will be the general overseer of the company’s proceedings. Thus my experience makes it easy for me to be a Human Resource Manager at your

Business Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Taxation - Essay Example However, before understanding this type of relief, it is needed to understand what exactly double taxation is. Double taxation is defined as a situation in which a company may need to pay two or more taxes for the same asset, financial transaction or its income. Generally the situation of double taxation arises due to the overlapping of tax laws and jurisdiction between different countries when there is a company or individual residing in one country while doing business in another country. The double taxation relief helps in allowing a company or the individual to get the tax reduction from any one of its linked country, may be it is the residing country or the profit gaining country. A group loss relief helps in allowing one company to surrender its current trading losses, excess management charges, and excess income charges to another company in the group. Here, the profits of the recipient company are set against the tax loss so that the surrendering company can get a payment on the basis of the tax saved. Again, it is common practice that a company or an individual residing in one country might want to make a taxable gain in terms or earnings and profits in another country. However, there is possibility that he need to pay tax on that gain locally as an obligation to the domestic, while at the same time, me may again need to pay tax in the country where he has made the gain. To provide companies and individuals relief from such types of bindings, many countries involved in bilateral double taxation agreements among themselves. These agreements are mainly of two types. In the first type, tax is needed to be paid by the individual or the company in its resident country only while exempting tax in the country where the gain arises. In the second case, the country in which the business gains receives the tax from the company, while the company in turn, receives a compensating tax credit in the residing country

Role Of A Lawyer In Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Role Of A Lawyer In Business - Essay Example Provision of ideas to the client- The lawyer may provide the necessary ideas and the advice to the client. However, the nature and the type of advice may differ depending upon the type of the client. In certain areas, the client may be extremely knowledgeable exhibiting complete mastery over the particular issue. In those cases, the advice may be limited to certain trivial and core operational areas. On the other hand, there are certain businesses where the lawyer assumes a much larger role when compared to the current role. As for example, in the areas where the business is dependent on the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights), the legality of the case become increasingly important. Thus, in cases like this, the lawyer basically plays the role of a business advisor. Other areas that can be included in the following gamut are the businesses that run out of multiple countries or sell products in multiple countries. Implementation of the determined business objectives- The successful operation of any business is dependent on the achievement of the stipulated business objectives. The attainment of those business objectives is a function of proper business decisions in the relevant areas. The lawyer has to get a fair idea about the long term goals, the mission, the vision and the objectives of the business. This may help in the determination of proper steps towards the outcome. The financial implication can also be better understood if the lawyer devises the proper strategy and the roadmap for the same. This will help the businesses to determine what is important, what is relevant and what could be used to achieve those objectives. The lawyer should help in demarcating the business issues from the legal issue so that the necessary steps could be taken without any problem. The lawyer could also look into the possible alternatives for running any business. Thereby, all the stop gap arrangements coul d be done to ensure that the business keeps on running. Protection of the interests of the client- The first and the foremost responsibility of all the lawyers is to protect the interest of the clients. The interests of the clients are varied and different. Therefore, the necessary areas of the contention are also different. The lawyer must always ensure that the proper directions are given to the client. Limitation of risk to the client- One of the most important activities of the lawyer is to ensure that the risk to the business is mitigated at all costs. All the measures should be taken by the lawyer to see that at any point of time, the business does not suffer any kind of loss. The lawyer and the business head must be able to develop a consensus on the business needs. This includes two steps, looking at the ability to diminish the effects of the quantitative risk and the effects of the risk on the business. Therefore, this complete procedure ensures that the clients and the ind ividuals are on the same page in terms of the proliferation of business.

Business Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Taxation - Essay Example However, before understanding this type of relief, it is needed to understand what exactly double taxation is. Double taxation is defined as a situation in which a company may need to pay two or more taxes for the same asset, financial transaction or its income. Generally the situation of double taxation arises due to the overlapping of tax laws and jurisdiction between different countries when there is a company or individual residing in one country while doing business in another country. The double taxation relief helps in allowing a company or the individual to get the tax reduction from any one of its linked country, may be it is the residing country or the profit gaining country. A group loss relief helps in allowing one company to surrender its current trading losses, excess management charges, and excess income charges to another company in the group. Here, the profits of the recipient company are set against the tax loss so that the surrendering company can get a payment on the basis of the tax saved. Again, it is common practice that a company or an individual residing in one country might want to make a taxable gain in terms or earnings and profits in another country. However, there is possibility that he need to pay tax on that gain locally as an obligation to the domestic, while at the same time, me may again need to pay tax in the country where he has made the gain. To provide companies and individuals relief from such types of bindings, many countries involved in bilateral double taxation agreements among themselves. These agreements are mainly of two types. In the first type, tax is needed to be paid by the individual or the company in its resident country only while exempting tax in the country where the gain arises. In the second case, the country in which the business gains receives the tax from the company, while the company in turn, receives a compensating tax credit in the residing country

Easy to Learn Essay Example for Free

Easy to Learn Essay Here are some interesting stories for all the god’s fan†¦. 1.Sachin was given a pair of pads by his cricket hero Sunil Gavaskar when he was a schoolboy – and he made his Test debut for India against Pakistan aged just 16-years old in 1989 wearing those very pads†¦.. 2.Like loads of other cricketers, Sachin is pretty superstitious – he’ll always put on his left pad before his right whenever he’s getting padded up†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3.â€Å"He hasn’t spent Diwali at home since we got married. But it really doesn’t matter that it’s Diwali†¦ any time he spends at home is great!† – Anjali, his wife, told once†¦ Once in a BBC interview when asked about his dream women, Sachin answered ‘my wife’ without batting an eyelid. 4.†He scored a fantastic 148 in Shane Warne’s debut Test in Sydney and then followed it up with another century at Perth, one of the toughest pitches in the world, where Indians have traditionally struggled. The value of his hundred increased because all the other Indian batsmen struggled. His weakness is the fact that he is so talented. His adrenaline pumps strongly when he walks out to bat with the noise of the crowds. You can’t hear yourself think with that noise. I would pay $1000 to watch Sachin bat. To score a 148 at Sydney – and that too when you are 18 — was out of the ordinary though the wicket was a lot like the ones you encounter in India, flat with lots of runs for the taking†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.† The above facts are told by Allan Border. 5.The entire cricket world is convinced of one thing : Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the world’s best batsman. Not just for his extraordinary skill, not just for his ability to tear even the most formidable of bowling attacks to shreds; but also for a rare never-say-die spirit, an insatiable hunger for runs and victory, a desire to dominate the opponent ; commitment, dedication †¦ These are what the little champion has built his reputation on. .. 6.Tendulkar was a person who would never show any disrespect to the national flag..He respects the national flag most and had even sought permission to use the tricolour on his helmet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ It’s not the riches or the records but the love for the game that keeps the world’s richest cricketer going day after day. It is his hard work, determination, temperament dedication for the country that keeps him charged†¦. 7.Tendulkar, now in his eighteenth year in international cricket says, †I still play†¦ because I still love the game.† †I would like to clarify this. It’s not about records. It’s all about loving the game and enjoying being out there in the middle. That is extremely special to me and far bigger than breaking records or creating new ones.† †Creating records happens after you’ve gone on the cricket field, but you’ve got to find a reason to go on the cricket field, and for me the reason is very clear.† †From the age of three I’ve loved this sport and I’ve never thought about scoring the most number of centuries or runs in international cricket. Everyone enjoys breaking records, I’m enjoying it too, but that is not the reason for playing cricket.† â€Å"Whatever level you reach, getting better never stops†-Sachin. Tendulkar said †When I started playing, I always wanted to be regarded as one of the best and the idea was that when I stopped playing, people would remember my name. Being regarded as one of the best players is always a good feeling, and that drives you, it refuels you completely. You want to be on top of your game all the time and push yourself harder and harder. There’s a huge responsibility and it is a great challenge. I love that,† he added†¦.. 8.Some quotes by GOD himself†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ My big sister gave it to me after returning from a trip to Kashmir, which is known for its high-quality willows. It wasn’t the best bat, but it was like a piece of gold to me. I used to imagine myself batting for India, hitting fours and sixes, the people cheering. I used that bat until it broke .. I was the only one supporting John McEnroe — everyone used to call me â€Å"Mac† because I styled myself on him. I made my father buy me the same headbands and sweatbands and even grew my hair long. You wouldn’t believe the pictures of me from that time. I was also extremely naughty. Very, very difficult to handle. †¦I had a nanny who used to run after me virtually 24 hours a day, because I never wanted to go home My father, who died in 1999, was never a cricket fan, not at all. He was a writer and a poet: he taught Marathi, my mother tongue, at the local university. But he understood exactly how to get the best out of me. He always encouraged me and told my mother that he had full faith in me. It was probably reverse psychology, but as I got older I felt like I could not misuse that trust. He warned me against taking short cuts and told me to just keep playing, despite the ups and downs. My parents taught me that it is important to live every day of your life with grace and honour.When it came to choosing between cricket and going to university, he said: â€Å"You can play cricket, I know that is your first love, so go for it.† Of course, my parents were extremely happy when I became the youngest player to play for India, at 16. .. Cricket is something very, very special to me. It has never been about owning this or that car and the other things that come with this life.. An obsession with money or worldly matters was always thumbed down. My only dream was to wear the Indian cap and the Indian colours. In that respect, my childhood dreams have come true†¦.. Having children brings back all my old childhood memories, wonderful years. Now, every minute is measured and calculated. I still dream — without dreams, life is flat, you stagnate. I don’t go to the temple every morning, but I do pray. I thank God for everything he has given me, because life has been very good to me. 9.Chappell should remember how Tendulkar has achieved his greatness and carried the weight of expectations of a billion people since the age of 16, Jadeja said. He added â€Å"When tendulkar enters the field, the crowd says-SACHIN! SACHIN! This is something what every cricketer wants†.. Sachin Tendulkar, the brightest star in the world of cricket has achieved his greatest prices with his intellectual and skilful cricketing brains.. SACHIN dreamt a world of superstars and great triumph and he achieved it.. At the age of 10 he walked to the field at 6 am with a cricket bag bigger than him for the practice. At the age of 11 he moved with his paternal uncle to get trained in cricket by the most renowned coach Ramakanth Achrekar. .. 10.Billions of hearts weep†¦..on the day when Sachin (GOD) retire. Indians wish that day never comes. It would be one of the most disappointing days of our life. Ever since Indians started watching cricket, it was Sachin, Sachin only Sachin who made them feel cricket so special. Sachin is only responsible for making cricket a religion in India. They haven’t experienced watching cricket without Sachin. Whether he was injured/rested, there was always a ray of hope that he comes back to team soon. But after retirement, he will never be backing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..If anyone wants to achieve anything in life, Sachin is the best example for them. I feel most people find it hard to digest that Sachin will no more be a part of Indian cricket†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.on that day, isn’t it? JUST imagine that day, when Sachin plays his last game. He comes to bat for the last time, and everybody in the stadium claps the chants of SACHIN!!! came for the last time after he gets out, while walking back to the pavilion, the entire crowd gives him a stand awaition. Many of them will be in tears, millions of eyes wet watching their hero play for the last time. An era ends. The end of a legend came†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..The bond between every generation breaks. Would you miss Sachin a lot? I think most of people would say â€Å"YES†. The saddest day of Indian cricket- when genius retires†¦LOVE YOU SACHIN!!! 11.From the early 90s to the early years of the new millennium represented the decade of Brian Lara, Richardson, Martin Crowe, Steve and Mark Waugh, Mathew Hayden, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Gary Kirsten and Rahul Dravid. But there can be any doubt that the No.1 batsman in the world for a decade now has been Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar. . But figures, however important they may be, are something that Tendulkar’s achievement should not be measured by. He should be judged by the manner of his batting that is what Bradman did. Symbolized by Sir Bradman naming him in his dream team of all time. The team in which Tendulkar is the only Indian player. He has scored runs on slow pitches of the subcontinent, fast tracks of West Indies, bouncy wickets in Australia and South Africa and in whirling conditions in New Zealand and England. The thought of having Tendulkar as an opponent gives bowlers bad dreams. No batsman has inflicted such psychological damage to bowlers at any time in the world like Tendulkar did to Shane Warne!!!(Warne said Tendulkar is my nightmare). His technique is so well organized that he is able to encounter any delivery with ease and comfort, giving the impression of having all the time in the world to play the stroke, the hallmark of the greatest of batsmen.

Jesus Is Really Present In The Eucharist Religion Essay

Jesus Is Really Present In The Eucharist Religion Essay We can argue that the Eucharist is a mystery. But what is the source of the Churchs teaching about the Holy Eucharist. We cannot see any sign of Jesus presence in the Holy Eucharist with our external eyes. Furthermore, the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not something that can be discerned by scientific or physical examination. Instead it can only be realized through the eyes of faith. Here I am going to decipher more on the divine revelation as found in the sixth chapter of St. Johns Gospel. In John 6:55-56, Jesus clearly stated that, For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. It was very specific on the explanatory the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist as St. John stated it in his Gospel. The Catholic Church has always taken Jesus at His word, which is why the Holy Eucharist is defined as the real body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Thus, Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist and is the core of the life of the Church. One can say that the breaking of the bread tradition has undergone changes through centuries, but the faith behind this has not been changed because we strongly believe the Real Present of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus is present in the Eucharist so that the people may experience that God loves them. Barton argues that God the Father sent Jesus Christ the spiritual food so that we may enjoy the love of God and when we view him as giving his flesh to eat, it is by the precious bounty of his own love towards us.  [1]  The USCCB also confirm the same teaching that the Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment because he loves.  [2]  Furthermore, the Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy also explains the Real Present of Christ in the Holy Eucharist as Christ is present in the Church. Particularly Christ is present when the Church prays and performs the work of mercy. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist enlightens our hope and strength by its mysterious power and our faith. It is the sign of His grace for us. He revealed himself in the Holy Eucharist so that we may share the banquet with God. When the priests celebrate the Eucharist, we remember the Real Presence of Christ in our midst. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that, The command of Jesus to repeat his actions and words until he comes does not only ask us to remember Jesus and what he did. It is directed at the liturgical celebration, by the apostles and their successors, of the memorial of Christ, of his life, of his death, of his Resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the Father (1341). In a pastoral response: the fact is that Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist avails much. If there is no avail, then the Son of God incarnated for no reason, He died for no reason, and He rose from the dead for no reason. The presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist profits us more than anyone thing else in the world. It gives us the meaning to our Christian life. In short, the mystery of the Holy Eucharist leads us to the intimate relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. And finally, the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist enlightens our hope and faith in our Christian life. With this, our faith becomes stronger and stronger every day. In how many ways is Jesus really present in the liturgy? The Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy stated that there are six ways Jesus really present in the liturgy: there is also a real presence of Christ in the ministry of the word, there is a real presence of Christ in the liturgical assembly, there is a real presence of Christ in the priest in liturgical service, there is a real presence of Christ in the souls of the just, there is a real presence of Christ in the sacraments, and finally, there is a real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  [3]   There is the proclamation of the word of God that is a source of communion and it proclaims the arrival of Gods reign. That is to say, the real presence of Christ is in the ministry of the word. It is the daily experience of the church whenever she proclaims the presence of the Lord by adoration publicly and privately. As Lash says, He is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church.  [4]   Christ is amidst when there are two or three assembled in His name (Matthew 18:20). In this communion, the congregation gives thanks and praise for the wonderful works of God and all the blessings and graces that Christ has for us. The communion calls all the people to share a life that is divine as well as God invites all the people to share the divine life of His Son. We come to make present and to remember the memory of Christ our Lord in our midst.  [5]  We come to acknowledge the genuine presence of Christ, fully human and divine, in this communion. In addition, we are also called to recognize his presence, not only in the communion, but also in the just soul. By the sacramental consecration, the priest is configured to Jesus Christ as head and shepherd of the church. He is endowed with a spiritual power which is shared in the authority with Jesus Christ. In his Encyclical letter on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul writes regarding the identification of the priest to Christ, the ministerial priest acting in the person of Christ brings about the Eucharist Sacrifice.  [6]  Therefore, the church accepts that the ministerial priesthood is apostolic and empowered by Jesus Christ to go out into the world and to sanctify all. During the liturgy, there is also the presence of Christ in other sacraments. In short, the presence of Christ is in all seven sacraments: Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Order, and the Sacrament of Penance. For this reason, Christ instituted and entrusted this sacraments to the Church. Finally, there is a real presence of Christ in the form of bread and wine. In the Eucharist, Christ is present in the fullness of His being. The USCCB says, the whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine-the glorified Christ who rose from the dead after dying for our sins.  [7]  The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist comes about through transubstantiation. The bread and wine remain as it is, but the substance changes. In short, Christ will to be present in the bread and wine. It is a work of God that make the bread and wine become His own food. Criteria for Assessment Regarding to my answers, I believe that I accurately and appropriately explained my answers. In this paper, I also included pastoral and theological responses in a responsible way. Most of all, I used different sources to support my answers as much as possible. I strongly believe that with the assessment requirements I have fulfilled in answering all the need. GOD BLESS AND HAVE A GOOD DAY!

The History of Buckman Company Essay -- Laboratories Water Treatment P

The History of Buckman Company Founded in 1945 by Dr. Stanley Buckman Buckman started the company in Memphis, Tennessee, with five employees in a small building located on land that was once a lumberyard. Offices and laboratories were located on the first floor of the building, and a 50-gallon black iron chemical reactor and a steam boiler were placed in the basement. The 50-gallon black iron chemical reactor was sufficient to supply the initial order for 20 gallons of a microbicide, trade name BSM-11, to the company’s first customer – Whiting Paper Company. Three years later, BSM-11 and its derivatives had become the industry standard for microorganism control. Soon a new production facility was built next door and Buckman Laboratories of Canada was formed. During the 1950s, the company’s customer base expanded to include the leather, paint, sugar processing, agriculture, paint, coatings and plastics industries. During the 1960s, new manufacturing and sales companies were formed in Mexico and Belgium. The expansion during the 1970s followed with the opening of sales and manufacturing companies in South Africa and Brazil and a sales company in Australia. New products were introduced for water treatment, ranging from swimming pools to fresh water, and a new international headquarters housing all corporate activities, including Research and Development, were built in Memphis. In 1978, Dr. Stanley Buckman died of a heart attack in his office His son, Robert (Bob), became the new chairman and CEO. In 1945, Buckman Laboratories started with one product, a 50-gallon process vessel and four employees in a small house in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, Buckman is a global business producing over 500 different products and employing over 1,300 people in over 70 countries. The company was originally founded on its unique ability to create and manufacture innovative solutions for controlling the growth of microorganisms. Ever since its inception, Buckman believes that a specialty chemical supplier should listen to and anticipate customer needs and then respond with innovative and unique solutions. Buckman will continue in the future as it has in the past providing value-added services and products to improve the efficiencies and products. 2. PROVIDE A SHORT DISCUSSION OF THE KEY MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY. DIS... ...y for all customer information and forums should be developed to include customers. Buckman’s idea was to bring knowledge to the learner rather than bring the learner to the knowledge. Since Buckman employees or â€Å"learners† speak nearly a dozen languages, the frontier issue of instantaneous translation is immanent. The idea of when someone posts a note in English, people in Japan will be able to read it and respond in Japanese, which in turn people can read and respond in Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, French, etc. Therefore, creating a â€Å"universal† culture within the organization will ensure employee buy-in into the K’Netix system. In the end, the system’s success rests on the people and not the tools. It is 90 percent culture change and 10 percent technology. Driving these changes solely based on technology and technology budgets will not be successful. The employees are who bring about the change. Therefore, by implementing focus groups that include different levels of employees will bring about the change in a successful manner. Additionally, by revamping the mission statement to reflect the culture of the company will give the employees and management a sense of direction.

Essay example --

I do always believe in the fact that the more knowledge you gain, the more professional you become. This made me an obvious choice to pursue graduate studies to meet the pinnacle of professional excellence. Presently I am pursuing my final semester of undergraduate study in Computer Science and Engineering I feel it is the right time to take a decision regarding my Masters that contributes for better molding of my future career in the field. The philosophy which I strongly believe in my life is â€Å"A person may not put in his complete efforts in doing a work that he is intended to do but, he will surely give his 100% if the work he does is of his interest†. In my entire journey from my schooling to undergraduate study, I was always fascinated by the tremendous advancements in technology that made many troublesome tasks convenient to the mankind. The computer technology has ushered in a revolution that is unprecedented in its sweep. Its effect on the everyday lives of ordinary people has been phenomenal. Right from the super satellite control stations to the grocer’s humble shop, the efficient office and the busy kitchen in the home this technology is all pervasive, all consuming. This is what makes it one of the most challenging fields as it not only meets needs but has the power to create new needs, rules and total environments of its own. In this pursuit of doing masters in my areas of interest, I was happy to go through coursework for Computer Science and am really interested to do my MS in CS at your esteemed university. I prefer a reputed university in US for its gamut of opportunities and good scope for research in my field of interest. It’s a great privilege t... ... punctuality for which I am physically and mentally equipped. The main aim in opting for an American standard of education is very high competence Particularly in the field of Computer Science. Being a hard working and committed student, I am certain that I will be able to cope with the rigors of an International curriculum with ease. My determination to succeed and do well will enable me to be among the better students of your college. I sincerely request you to consider my application for admission into your reputed university. I would be grateful to you if I am accorded the opportunity to pursue my higher studies and given the opportunity, I am sure that I will be able to achieve my goals keeping in touch with the expectations of the university. Looking forward to be a part of your Master’s Degree Program. Thanks for your time

Socio Economic Profile of Househohold Consumers in Mizoram: India

The Socio economic Characteristics of Household Customers in Mizoram 2. 1 Introduction Consumer Behaviour, being the psychological dimension of marketing management, is based on various factors. Since all of us are consumers, what we buy, how we buy, where and when we buy, in how much quantity we buy depends on our perception, self concept, social and cultural background and our age and family cycle, our attitudes, beliefs, values, motivation, personality, social class and many other factors that are both internal and external to us (Mark ES and Armen T, 1985). This is very evident in India, the second most populous nation in the world and the number one contributor to the world’s population growth of potential customers (Population Reference Bureau, 2000). Traditionally, marketers have often relied on intuition and demographic information such as age, sex, income level and occupation for identifying potential areas (Dash PK and Sarangi M, 2008). According to Sproles and Kendall (1986, p. 67), identification of these characteristics among the consumers helps to profile (individual) consumer style, educate consumers about their specific decision-making characteristics, and counsel families on financial management. Again, many research studies show that consumer profiles are crucial as it deals with the mental orientation of consumers in making decisions (Wells, 1975; Lastovicka, 1982; Westbrook and Black, 1985; Sproles and Sproles, 1990; Stone, 1954; Darden and Moschis, 1976). The important effects of demographic, socioeconomic and regional factor have been demonstrated by various studies in consumers’ choice of foreign and domestic products, or rather ethnocentrism too (Sharma, 1995; Klien, 1998 and Elliot 2003). In the present chapter, it is intended to highlight who the Mizoram household consumers are on the basis of their demographic and socioeconomic profile. 2. 2 Profile of the household customers Taking household customers as sample units, the households are sampled from urban and rural areas. All the eight (8) functioning districts are taken into consideration for the study. For the research, all the district headquarters, namely, Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib, Lawngtlai, Lunglei, Mamit, Saiha and Serchhip are taken as urban samples. The rural samples are taken from the following villages/towns – Saitual and Aibawk from Aizawl district, Khawbung and Khawzawl from Champhai district, Bilkhawthlir and Vairengte from Kolasib district, Chawngte and Diltlang from Lawngtlai district, Hnahthial and Zobawk from Lunglei district, Rawpuichhip and Kawrthah from Mamit district, Tuipang and Sangau from Saiha district and N. Vanlaiphai and Thenzawl from Serchhip District. 0 households are sampled from the district headquarters for the urban sample and 20 households from each of the villages/towns mentioned for the rural population sample, making it 40 rural households for every district. In all, 640 households i. e. 80 households from each districts, 40 from urban areas and 40 from rural areas are sampled to cover the whole State. The profiling of households is done , with suitable modifications and necessary adjustments in accordance to Splores and Kendall’s Consumer Styles Inventory model (Splores and Kendall, 1986). Following Leon GS and Leslie LK’s demographic segmentation, the sample is studied on the basis of the education level, main occupation, family size, composition of the households in terms of number of adults, children, male and female members, range of income, number of earning members in a household and lastly, the type of durable products owned by household customers. Analysis is done using F-Test and Pearson Correlation to find out the relationship between rural and urban population for each of the demographic variables. F-Test analysis tests to see whether two population variances equal each other. Essentially, the analysis compares the ratio of two variances. The assumption is that if the variance is equal, the ratio of the variances should be equal to 1. Variance may be defined as the square of standard deviation, standard deviation being the dispersion about the data set’s mean (Stephen L. Nelson, 2007). Standard deviation is calculated using the formula: ? = v? fd2x/N – [? fdx/N]2 and variance will be ? 2 (Mohan Singhal, 1999) Pearson Correlation is used to determine the relationship between the two set of data ‘x’ and ‘y’ viz. rban and rural population. The formula for finding out the correlation ‘r’ can be noted using the formula: rxy = N? fxy-? fx.? fy/v[N? fx2-(? fx)2][N? fy2-(? fy)2] The output will be between -1 to +1. Positive value signifies positive correlation i. e. both the data sets move in same direction while negative value signifies negative correlation i. e. the two data sets move in different direction (L okesh Koul, 2009). The purpose of using F Test is to determine the homogeneity of the two sets i. e. rural and urban household customers. Correlation Analysis is sed to find out the nature and degree of relationship between the rural and urban household customers for each of the socio economic variables. 2. 2. 1Education According to Harold H. Kassarjian (1971), education, like other personal qualities including sex, income, family cycle and so on, play an important role in influencing the buying behaviour. The respondents who represented their households were broadly classified into illiterates, literates, Below Class 10, Class 10, college drop-outs, graduates and post graduates on the basis of their education level and are represented in Exhibit 1. Exhibit 1: Educational profile of household respondents Table 1: Education level of rural and urban respondents Number of household customers Education LevelRuralUrban Illiterates5 (1. 56)4 (1. 25) Literates70 (21. 88)21 (6. 56) Below class 1071 (22. 19)41 (12. 81) Class 1080 (25. 00)61 (19. 06) College drop outs30 (9. 38)32 (10. 00) Graduates51 (15. 94)105 (32. 81) Post graduates13 (4. 06)56 (17. 50) Total320320 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages. Taking into account the responses of rural and urban respondents as shown in Table 1, the outcome F-test value tallied to 0. 840913. This shows a high degree of similarity in the variances of the two sets, indicating homogeneity in composition between the two sets of respondents. The Pearsonian Correlation gave an output of 0. 287853, a positive relationship between rural and urban. Even though there is a high degree of homogeneity between the two sets of samples, the relationship between the same set is not very strong when introducing Correlation Analysis. According to Census India 2001, Mizoram stood as one of the leaders in the field of literacy. With 88. 48% rate of literacy, Mizoram came in second next to Kerala. This rationale is reflected in the study as Table 1 indicated that only 1. 41% of the household respondents are illiterates. Even though there is not much difference between rural and urban respondents in respect of illiterates, the rural sample shows that majority of the rural households have passed class 10 i. e. 25% of the 320 rural households, while the majority of the urban households are graduates with 32. 81% of the 320 urban households. Although there is a rather significant gap in the level of education between rural and urban samples, it is interesting to note that rural households do have access to higher education. . 38% are college drop outs, 15. 94% are graduates and 4. 06% of the rural households hold post graduate degrees. That makes 29. 38% of the rural households have exposure to collegiate environment and thus, to urban lifestyle as all of the 22 colleges including Law Colleges are established in urban areas i. e. district headquarters (Statistical Handbook, 2008). 2. 2. 2 Occupation According to the Statistical Handbook (2008) published by the Government of Mizoram, agriculture and its allied sectors have a declining figures in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the past years from 2005-06 till 2007-08. Further decline is expected from the quick estimate made by the Department. One factor so stated in the Handbook being the mautam famine. This may also result in change of occupation from agriculture to other sectors to ensure livelihood. On the other hand, the State saw the incubation of private corporates in the form of insurance companies, banking companies and other private societies. Various private banking companies like Axis Bank, Syndicate, Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, IDBI, have started their branch offices in Mizoram bringing about employment opportunities for educated youths (see Table 7. , Statistical Handbook 2008). At the same time, private insurance companies mushroomed in Mizoram from the past five years. According to the Taxation Department , companies like Birla Sunlife, Tata-AIG, Bajaj-Alliance, Reliance etc. have started their ventures in Mizoram, again opening employment for the sons-of-the-soil. With the fast advent of mobile-tele com industry in Mizoram since mid-2003, companies like Airtel, Reliance, Aircel, Tata-Indicom, Vodafone began employing mizo youths as their operational staffs. Even then, the largest employing organization is the State Government. According to the 5th Economic Census 2005 , the State Government accounted for 85% of employment in the State with 40,603 posts under its umbrella. In fact, the up-gradation data as on 2006 showed 51,070 employees including muster-rolls and work-charges. Purchase involvement and consumer behaviour is greatly influenced by the occupation of the household consumers (Harold H. Kassarjian, 1971). Therefore, the study categorise the sample households as Agriculture, Carpentry and Skilled Workers, Daily Wage Earner, Government Employed, Private Company Employed and Business or Own Enterprise. Exhibit 2 shows the profile of occupations of the respondents. Exhibit 2: Occupation profile of household respondents Table 2: Occupation of rural and urban respondents Number of household customers OccupationRuralUrban Agriculture81 (25. 31)3 (0. 94) Carpentry and Skilled Workers31 (9. 69)9 (2. 81) Daily wage earner40 (12. 50)32 (10) Government Employed99 (30. 94)223 (69. 69) Private Company employed3 (0. 94)19 (5. 94) Business66 (20. 63)34 (10. 63) Total320320 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages Applying F-test, the relationship of rural and urban sample variances is calculated as 0. 79742, a low degree of homogeneity in terms of their variance ratio. Table 2 shows that rural households are more evenly distributed in terms of different occupations than their urban counterparts. But then, the correlation degree gave a rather high positive correlation of 0. 69526. This may be due to the fact that the highest frequencies of both rural and urban households are government emplo yed. Agriculture is still an important occupation for the rural households, claiming more than 1/4th of the whole rural households while agriculture is quite negligible for the urban population as an occupation. One indication that private companies are yet to penetrate the rural areas is the negligible employment by private companies in rural areas. Rural savings and insurance can yet still be tapped by private company players. Since 2005, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act/ Scheme began enhancing the purchasing power of the rural households. Moreover, this particular wage employment scheme encourages savings and personal insurance for the rural households . Rs. 39,500 crores will be pumped into the rural areas nation-wide in the year 2009-10 under this scheme. This can be an opportunity as the rural consumers constitute more than 75% of the Indian population and out of the 1. 61 lakhs household in Mizoram, rural areas account for almost half of the whole population of the State (The Marketing Whitebook, 2005). Own enterprise or business constitute a significant proportion of households in the rural sample, again an indication of good business opportunity for rural banking. The overall tabulation shows that 50% of the whole sample population are government employed, signifying a large business pool with secured incomes for marketers. . 2. 3 Family size As the primary consumer decision making unit, the family has been the subject of intense examination for a number of years (Lakshmi PV and Murugan MS, 2008). Family may be regarded as one of the strongest source of influence on consumer behaviour, its size being the significant determinant (Matin Khan, 2006). As the core unit of defining culture, family has a very prominent effect on attitude formation in various facets of marketing (Burke, 2002; Wood, 2002). It may be held true that the family size matters in household consumer behaviour. The larger the family, the larger its consumption needs and wants. Product preferences also depend a lot on the household size (Srivastava KK and Sujata K, 2008). Exhibit 3 gives the overview family size of the household respondents. Exhibit 3: Family size profile of the household respondents Table 3: Family size of the rural and urban respondents Number of household customers Number of family membersRuralUrban Upto 211 (3. 44)22 (6. 88) 3 – 5152 (47. 50)154 (48. 13) 6 – 8133 (41. 56)138 (43. 13) 9 and above24 (7. 50)6 (1. 88) Total320320 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages Exhibit 3 shows that about 47% of households are bigger families with 6 or more members and Table 3 indicated that the number of families with membership of 9 and above is four times more in rural areas than in urban areas. According to the 2001 Census, the average size of scheduled tribe households in the rural areas was 5. 2 members while in urban areas it was 4. 9 members. It should be noted that the two family sizes viz. 3 to 5 members and 6 to 8 members together accounted for 89. 06% of the rural respondents and 91. 26% of their urban counterparts. Taking the family sizes 3 to 5 and 6 to 8, the median size lies between 5 and 6 member-households. This indicates the similarity of the households studied with that of the Census 2001 figures . The F-Test shows a very high degree of 0. 932141, indicating high homogeneity between the rural and urban respondents. Further application of Correlation Analysis gave the value of 0. 987285, demonstrating a very high level of relationship between the rural and urban customer households. Hence, both the tests show that there is not much difference between the rural and urban households in respect to family size. India, for several decades, have been involved in defining family size, in fact, one of the earliest nation to be concerned with the issue . Decadal studies show that there has been a marginal decrease in family size from 5. 5 in 1980s to 5. 3 in 2001 even though there is a very significant increase in population during 1980 and 2001 from 493,757 to 888,573 . This is an indication of growing nuclearization of families in the Indian society as stated in Census India Report and an indication of mass education and media awareness of the general population demonstrated in the decrease of family size, an after-effect of family planning. . 2. 4 Age Product needs and interests vary with the age of the customers (Srivastava KK and Sujata K, 2008). Obviously then, different age groups present different marketing challenges and opportunities. Marketers thus have found age to be a particularly useful demographic variable for distinguishing segments (Elliot et al, 2003). Table 4 shows the number of adults in both rural and urban households. Table 4: Number of adults Number of household customers Number of adultsRuralUrbanTotal Upto 2102 (31. 88)104 (32. 50)206 (32. 19) 3 – 5146 (45. 63)171 (53. 44)317 (49. 53) 6 – 871 (22. 19)41 (12. 81)112 (17. 50) 9 and above1 0. 31)4 (1. 25)5 0. 78) Total320320640 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages The output value of F Test gave a significantly high 0. 768617 showing the similarity between the rural and urban household customers in respect of the adult population. A correlation degree of positive . 959861 also indicates that there is a very high positive relationship between the two samples. Almost 50% of the households have 3 to 5 adult members. About 22% of the households in rural Mizoram have the adult population of 6 to 8 members, whereas only 13% of the households in urban Mizoram have the same number of adult population. It is already demonstrated in Table 3 that the median household size of the samples is between 5 to 6 members. Therefore, it can be stated that the majority of households are adult-dominated. As for the children population, the rural and urban households are studied of its child members, categorizing them in 2 subsets, below 14 years of age and between 14 to 18 years of age. Table 5: Number of children below 14 years Number of household customers Number of children below 14 yearsRuralUrbanTotal Upto 2112 (35)94 (29. 38)206 (32. 19) 3 – 566 (20. 63)78 (24. 38)144 (22. ) 6 – 820 (6. 25)16 (5)36 (5. 63) 9 and above01 (0. 31)1 (0. 16) Total198189387 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages Of the 320 rural households, 198 households have family members below 14 years and out of 320 urban households, 189 households have family members between 14 to 18 years of age. Table 6: Number of children between 14 to 18 years Number of household consumers Number of children between 14 to 18 yearsRuralUrbanTotal Less than 255 (10. 94)76 (23. 75)131 (20. 47) 3 – 559 (18. 44)42 (13. 13)101 (15. 78) 6 – 88 (2. 5)12 (3. 75)20 (3. 13) More than 90 (0. 31)1 (0. 16) Total122131253 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages Out of the 320 rural households, 122 households have family members between 14 to 18 years of age. Out of the 320 urban households, 131 households have family members between 14 to 18 years of age. The distinction of the children population into the 2 subsets is to segment the consumption needs and wants (Srivastava KK and Sujata K, 2008) Analysis of the rural and urban respondents with children below 14 years gave F-test value of 0. 884167 and a correlation coefficient of . 970224. These results showed the close relationship between the two samples. Again, rural households and urban households with children between 14 to 18 years gave an F-test output of 0. 888851 and a correlation coefficient of . 886998, showing a positive relationship between the samples. This again shows that there is not much difference between the rural and urban household customers. A significant finding from the two subset tables is that most of the households in both rural and urban areas have the highest frequency in the least number of children in its family members i. . not more than 2 in the household, followed by 3 to 5 children in a household. While most of the households have 3 to 5 adults, most of the households have less than 2 members classified as children. This clearly demonstrated that most of the households are in the family stages known as Full Nest II and III . 2. 2. 5 Income Income is, perhaps the single factor which significantly define the consumer behaviour of house holds. In fact, much of the other demographic characteristics like education, family size, and culture depend largely on the income of the households. Even the economic environment depends on the household’s income and as Philip Kotler (2006) stated, â€Å"In the economic arena, marketers need to focus on income distribution†. Income is one of the important determinants which have a strong positive influence on the ownership of durables (Bijaya KP and Siba PP, 2008) and even preference pattern of consumable products largely depend upon the income distribution of the households (Prashanta KD and Minaketan S, 2008). Several studies show that income, as a demographic factor, has a significant effect on purchasing styles even on the internet (Marakas GM, Yi MY and Johnson RD, 2002; Ratchford et al, 2001; Wood, 2002). The income range of the household respondents is illustrated in Exhibit 4. Exhibit 4: Income profile of household respondents Table 7: Income range of the rural and urban respondents Number of household customers Income RangeRuralUrban 2000019 (5. 94)87 (27. 19) Total320320 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages Taking the values given in Table 7, F-Test Analysis for the rural and urban households gave an output 0. 5093 while the Correlation Analysis gave a low positive relation degree of 0. 06. This shows that the income range distribution between rural and urban are rather loosely related, compared to other socio-economic factors already studied. In the rural sample, households with monthly income of Rs. 10,001 to 15,000 has the largest percentage, while the urban sample showe d that households with more than 20,000 has the highest percentage. This may be due to the fact that the main occupation of the urban households is government jobs. Even though the largest percentage of the rural households is government employed, a very significant portion of the rural households are engaging in agriculture (see Table 2). Another factor may be the fact that higher paying government jobs are mostly within the urban areas. According to Lalit Kumar Jha (1997), the overall average household income of Mizoram State is Rs. 10,026 per month. This income range is reflected in the total household samples with 21. 09% as the highest percentage, showing the whole household sample is the sub-set of the State population. 2. 2. 6 Earning Members The phenomenon of ‘double income’ has been identified as a sociologically relevant variable which may affect lifestyles of households (Srivastava KK and Sujata K, 2008). Michman R (1980) identified the multiplicity of income sources of households as an important market sub-segmentation as the purchasing capacity and involvement is much more dynamic. Recently, new segment has been identified and targeted as DINK or Double Income No Kids. An interesting survey by the Associated Chamber of Commerce & Industry of India (2008) on â€Å"Changing Consumption Patterns of Delhi† shows that DINKs are high spenders . The survey states that households DINKS spend more of their resources on luxurious lifestyles while their counterparts, double income-with kids’ households spend most of their incomes on child education, healthcare, insurance and home making, making the study of income source pattern a crucial issue for marketers. The number of earning members per households is presented in Exhibit 5 Exhibit 5: Earning members profile of household respondents Table 8: Number of earning members in rural and urban households Number of household consumers No. of Earning Member(s)RuralUrban 1248 (77. 5)141 (44. 06) 263 (19. 69)137 (42. 81) 39 2. 81)42 (13. 13) Total320320 Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages Table 9 depicts a rather unrelated distribution of number of households for rural and urban areas. Even though F-test Analysis gave a rather low homogeneity between rural and urban households with a degree of 0. 33318, Correlation Analysis gave a significant positive relationship of 0. 700723. This shows that even though there is a rather large disparity between the means of rural and urban households, their relationship cannot be ignored. The study shows that most of the rural households have only one earning member in its households, claiming 77. 0% of the whole sample while the urban households have a very prominent proportion of two earning member households claiming 42. 81% of the urban sample, a close second to households with only one earning member. The number of earning members of rural and urban households can be co-related with the income ranges of rural and urban households. Table 7 showed that the average income range of urban households is relatively higher than rural households and Table 8 indicated that households with two earning members are quite higher in urban samples. . 2. 7 Durable products owned ORG-Gfk Year-End Reviews (2004) states that the Indian consumer durable industry is estimated at around Rs. 200 billion and growing. The healthy gr owth of durables market can be an offset of various factors like fragmentation of households into double-income nuclear families to the presence of easier finance options; expansion of dealer networks and after-sales services (Marketer Whitebook, 2005). In fact, durable products account for 6. 6% of yearly purchases of Indian households (Arvind Singhal, 2001). According to the information given in The Marketer Whitebook (2005) 42% of all households owned radios, 20. 4% owned television, 14. 1% owned telephone, 3. 1% owned bicycle, 6. 2% owned motorized 2-wheelers, 3. 4% owned cars and 50. 9% owned unspecified durables in Mizoram. The profile of durable products owned by the households determine various dimensions of consumer behaviour, namely, purchase preference, product penetration, support purchase for already owned durables, marketing opportunities and so on. Exhibit 6 gives an overview to the ownership of durable products by the household respondents. Exhibit 6: Durable products profile of the household respondents Number of households Table 10: Durable products owned by rural and respondents Number of household customers RuralUrban Radio205 (64. 06)182 (56. 87) LPG209 (65. 31)315 (98. 43) Music system107 (33. 43)179 (55. 93) Television218 (68. 13)308 (96. 25) Fridge189 (59. 06)306 (95. 63) Oven15 (4. 68)65 (20. 31) Washing machine125 (39. 06)210 (65. 62) Telephone135 (42. 18)289 (90. 31) Mobile233 (72. 81)300 (93. 75) Computer48 (15)187 (58. 43) Scooter42 (13. 12)18 (5. 62) Bike31 (9. 68)112 (35) Car19 (5. 93)119 (37. 18) Note: Figures in parenthesis are percentages From Table 9, the most owned durables by rural and urban household respondents can be ranked and represented in Table 10. Table 10: Ranking of most owned durable products Ranks 12345 RuralMobileTelevisionLPGRadioFridge UrbanLPGTelevisionFridgeMobileTelephone OverallLPGMobileTelevisionFridgeTelephone Durable products are independent to factors like access to electricity, availability of LPG suppliers and petrol pumps. According to the Statistical Handbook (2008), there are 24 LPG authorised dealers, each district having at least one dealer. There are 18 petrol pumps all over the State and every district except Mamit district has at least one recognised petrol pump. As for electrification, 570 villages have already been electrified, accounting for around 70% of the State accessing to electricity, 44. 1% of the rural households and 94. 4% of the urban households reported as electrified. According to the Taxation Department Report, mobile phone came in use only from 2003 that too started only with BSNL giving out 500 subscriptions. Till October 2008, there is a total of 2,85,287 subscribers with BSNL, Airtel, Reliance and Aircel. This information does not take into consideration the entry of Tata-Indicom and Vodaphone service providers. Out of the 320 respondents from rural households, 233 households (i. e. 72. 81%) own mobile phones. Various factors can come into play here, the competitive and aggressive participation of mobile service providers in the rapid and widespread penetration of both rural and urban areas being one of the major factors, competing and overtaking at some places in the once monopoly of the state-owned BSNL. About 29 recognised cable TV operators operating in urban and semi-urban areas gave monthly subscription to consumers since 1991 . Apart from these operators, private dish antennas are made available by Zee Group (Dish Tv) at affordable prices below Rs. 2,000 . This may be one of the main reasons that television is very popular in both the rural and urban areas, claiming 68. 13% of rural households and 96. 25% of urban households owned television set. It is interesting to see that even some unelectrified villages have solar powered television with dish antennas besides the thatched huts . LPG is considered household necessity for the urban households with 98. 43% of urban samples having access to LPG. Yet, it came as the third most owned durable product in the rural areas. A prominent factor may be the easy accessibility to the LPG dealers. Aizawl has 11 LPG agents within its district, Lunglei with 4 agencies, Kolasib with 3 agencies, Champhai with 2 agencies and Lawngtlai, Mamit, Serchhip and Saiha with 1 agency each. Other factors may be the price of LPG cylinders and uncertainty of supply even at the agencies. Even though radio continues to be the most extensive network covering the entire State , its popularity is confined mostly to the rural areas, accounting for 64. 06% of rural households and 56. 7% of urban households of the sample. Advance of other electronic media, like cable television network and Doordarshan, maybe one of the main reasons. Fridge ownership accounted for 59. 06% of rural households and 95. 63% of urban households. As large number of rural households are agrarian based, they can be assumed to have easy access to fresh vegetables as compared to the urban households. The main utility of fridge being storing of food, thus is more popular in the urban areas. As for telephone, 90. 31% of the urban households have telephone connection while 42. 18% of rural households accounted for telephone connection.