Global warming †a serious warning Essay

I have a dream, that in a near future, the people of this world will come together as one. We could all come together as one and leave all our differences of color, religion, and political views behind us, to stand together to face what Bill McKibben calls the greatest challenge and threat mankind has ever faced: global warming. In 2007 Bill McKibben, an author, educator, and environmentalist, wrote the article, â€Å"Global Warning: Get Up! Stand Up!† to persuade people that we, the people on earth, have caused, and are still causing, the climate changes that have been taking place over the past decades. More than that, however, McKibben explains that something still needs to be done about it. McKibben uses extreme, yet reasonable, examples and methods to convey this message effectively. Global warming is the result of the greenhouse effect, which has increased since the human race started to burn fossil fuels in order to extract energy. When fossil fuels are being burnt, greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, set free into the atmosphere. The accumulative pollution causes the atmosphere to reflect heat radiation back towards the earth, instead of letting the gasses disappear into space, because the ozone layer gets thicker. However, without the greenhouse effect, our planet â€Å"would be 33 degrees Celsius coolerâ€Å" (â€Å"McKibben† 4). Since the carbon dioxide has already increased by one third in the atmosphere since the nineteenth century, the effect will be stronger and therefore more heat will be kept inside the atmosphere than before. This phenomenon, called global warming, leads to a hotter climate; as a matter of fact, the earth is today hotter than it has been in over 2000 years (â€Å"McKibben† 5-9). Warming – that word almost sounds inviting, like we all might live in a world twenty years from, that could be a tropical paradise where the extent of our problems would be pondering what Spf sunscreen to use. That is not the case, though. Thousands and thousands of climate scientists agree that  global warming is not only the most threatening environmental problem, but one of the greatest challenges facing all of humanity throughout humanity’s entire history (McKibben 595). To maintain the average temperature we need here on earth, the glaciers and the North Pole ice are a big factor because when the exact amount of ice melts, it evens out the ocean’s temperature and therefore stabilizes all the different ecosystems. All ecosystems are dependent on whether the temperature is just where it should be or not. In addition, some experts and people argue that it is not us, the people who have caused the climate changes; they claim global warming is a natural occurring phenomenon which has nothing to do with the actions of humans. They say there is not enough of proof to say that the human race is 100% responsible for the changes now taking place. They claim that events like these have been taking place regularly throughout the long history of earth, and there is nothing we can do about this (â€Å"The Galileo† 591-593). â€Å"A 54-year-old oceanographer [†¦] discovered that temperatures a thousand years ago, during the so-called medieval climate optimum, were two degrees Celsius warmer than today’s [average] and that the average temperature over the last three millennia was slightly warmer than today’s† (â€Å"The Galileo† 591-592). As a pretty active environmental activist from Brazil, a country advocating a change of living to reduce global warming, I can relate to many of McKibben’s attacks and aspects expressed in his article. According to McKibben, the most urgent thing right now is to recognize that there is a mix of solutions that can be implemented worldwide and instead of focusing on arguing about what is needed to be done, we need to take action. In other words, the most important thing is not what we do about it, but that we do something about it. All the people in the world have to start living under the â€Å"same roof†; we need to do what it is good for the world. To me, stopping global warming is so much more than just â€Å"saving electricity† or â€Å"walking instead use a car’’. Stopping global warming is about taking responsibility, not just for ourselves and our own actions, but for our friends and family, as well as our nation and the world that we live in — Earth. Stopping global warming is about the most honorable thing a man can  do — saving lives. Works Cited â€Å"About Bill McKibben.†Bill McKibben. N.p., 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. â€Å"The Galileo of Global Warming.† Perspectives on Contemporary Issues. Ed. Katherine McKibben, Bill. â€Å"Global Warning: Get Up! Stand Up!† Perspectives on Contemporary

A Brand I like

In this fast changing world, consumerism is a predominant aspect in human life. The path that most individuals take in life follows a certain pattern. This pattern points toward the direction of the culture of capitalist creating differences in human values. The modern world is a ground for people to set standards on certain products allowing them to have a unique position in the society.The so called product â€Å"brands† became a medium that actually let people possess things that would somehow set them apart from other individuals in the society. As such, most of the consumers today are more conscious on the products that they purchase.They care more about branded products compared to the unbranded counterparts because most people believe that branded products are far more dependable than the unbranded ones (Hasan, 2008). In addition to this, numerous people have unwavering affection for beautiful things. Some are particular for the brands quality and history (cited in Mah, 2007).According to Elissa Moses (2000), certain brands serve different purposes for different people. It could define an individual's identity while being able to bring satisfaction to the individual at the same time. Brands serve as passes to success and global culture. It is a reflection of all the good things in life and a promise for better opportunities.Also, brands are reinforcements that can assure a solid and ongoing lifestyle in such a way that they serve as a refuge for those people who are seeking reliable pleasure. Moreover, brands serve as status symbols that can reflect the position of an individual and his or her family   economically. In the United States â€Å"branded† products are easily available because most of the stores and supermarkets are piled up with these products yet, they come in affordable prices.However, in different countries like Asia and Latin America, brands are considered as scorecards indicating how a person could follow the latest tren d and how they are well depicted within the society. Generally, branded products are well recognized by people because it identifies who a person really is.Recent researches showed that nowadays, consumers have a strong connection with the brands that they purchase. Whenever an individual tends to buy certain product such as cars, technological devices and items that will comply for their daily needs, the brandnames greatly affect the product purchasing decisions of the consumers (Hasan, 2008).This is pretty interesting because like any other individuals I take note of the brand before I purchase a certain product. As a sports enthusiast, I always see to it that I use sports equipments and athletic shoes that would compliment my passion for the said activity. This is why I am very particular with Nike products most especially the Nike air max shoes.I do believe that only few people do not recognize the Nike logo which is known as â€Å"Swoosh.† I was able to say so because fo r one, Nike has been endorsed by well known athletes such as Michael Jordan, Venus and Serena Williams, LeBron James, Andre Agassi and other superstars. The Nike swoosh logo is a representation of the wing of the Greek goddess of victory known as Nike.According to researches, Nike served as the inspiration for the greatest and courageous Greek warriors. Legends told that Greeks would utter â€Å"When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike.† Originally called as the strip, the Swoosh logo is described only in three words: simple, fast and fluid. Since it was first created by Carolyn Davidson in 1971, Nike became one of the worlds most trusted and recognized brands.Although one would say that the logo is very simple, it connotes positivity which well complimented its mission towards â€Å"bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world† (Nike logo,† 2008).Aside from the fact that Nike is really popular, the logo alongside with its slogan †Å"Just do it† relates very much with my purchase decision because it communicates a very strong and positive outlook in life. As a sport person I take this brand as something that reinforces me to go on with my passion for sport because I believe that Nike   was able to deliver the benefit that it promised which is deeply reflected within its mission.And unlike any other brands, Nike for me is an embodiment of all the good things that sports life has to offer. In addition to this, I think that the advertisers in charge for the promotion of Nike did an effective and efficient use of their money because from a consumer's perspective, the brand created a radical change in the sportswear industry that never failed to please its consumers.Also, I noticed that the usage of this brand is not limited to sports enthusiast. I saw other people who are not deeply engaged in sports using different Nike products, which is a testimony that Nike was able to broaden its reach in every nook o f the world.This is an indication that there is an increase in the demand for the products that have the Nike brand and that the company is exerting more effort in promoting brand awareness for the products they create. Somehow, there is a link with the brand, the company that produces the products and the consumers. This type of relationship is beneficial for the three key players who are dependent with each other. A Brand I like In this fast changing world, consumerism is a predominant aspect in human life. The path that most individuals take in life follows a certain pattern. This pattern points toward the direction of the culture of capitalist creating differences in human values. The modern world is a ground for people to set standards on certain products allowing them to have a unique position in the society.The so called product â€Å"brands† became a medium that actually let people possess things that would somehow set them apart from other individuals in the society. As such, most of the consumers today are more conscious on the products that they purchase.They care more about branded products compared to the unbranded counterparts because most people believe that branded products are far more dependable than the unbranded ones (Hasan, 2008). In addition to this, numerous people have unwavering affection for beautiful things. Some are particular for the brands quality and history (cited in Mah, 2007).According to Elissa Moses (2000), certain brands serve different purposes for different people. It could define an individual's identity while being able to bring satisfaction to the individual at the same time. Brands serve as passes to success and global culture.It is a reflection of all the good things in life and a promise for better opportunities. Also, brands are reinforcements that can assure a solid and ongoing lifestyle in such a way that they serve as a refuge for those people who are seeking reliable pleasure.Moreover, brands serve as status symbols that can reflect the position of an individual and his or her family   economically. In the United States â€Å"branded† products are easily available because most of the stores and supermarkets are piled up with these products yet, they come in affordable prices.However, in different countries like Asia and Latin America, brands are considered as scorecards indicating how a person could follow the latest trend and how they are well depicted within the society. Generally, branded products are well recognized by people because it identifies who a person really is.Recent researches showed that nowadays, consumers have a strong connection with the brands that they purchase. Whenever an individual tends to buy certain product such as cars, technological devices and items that will comply for their daily needs, the brandnames greatly affect the product purchasing decisions of the consumers (Hasan, 2008).This is pretty interesting because like any other individuals I take note of the brand before I purchase a certain product. As a sports enthusiast, I always see to it that I use sports equipments and athletic shoes that would compliment my passion for the said activity. This is why I am very particular with Nike products most especially the Nike air max shoes.I do believe that only few people do not recognize the Nike logo which is known as â€Å"Swoosh.† I was able to say so because for one, Nike has been endorsed by well known athletes such as Michael Jordan, Venus and Serena Williams, LeBron James, Andre Agassi and other superstars. The Nike swoosh logo is a representation of the wing of the Greek goddess of victory known as Nike. According to researches, Nike served as the inspiration for the greatest and courageous Greek warriors.Legends told that Greeks would utter â€Å"When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike.† Originally called as the strip, the Swoosh logo is described only in three words: simple, fast and fluid.Since it was first created by Carolyn Davidson in 1971, Nike became one of the worlds most trusted and recognized brands. Although one would say that the logo is very simple, it connotes positivity which well complimented its mission towards â€Å"bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world† (Nike logo,† 2008).Aside from the fact that Nike is really popular, the logo alongside with its slogan  "Just do it† relates very much with my purchase decision because it communicates a very strong and positive outlook in life. As a sport person I take this brand as something that reinforces me to go on with my passion for sport because I believe that Nike   was able to deliver the benefit that it promised which is deeply reflected within its mission.And unlike any other brands, Nike for me is an embodiment of all the good things that sports life has to offer. In addition to this, I think that the advertisers in charge for the promotion of Nike did an effective and efficient use of their money because from a consumer's perspective, the brand created a radical change in the sportswear industry that never failed to please its consumers.Also, I noticed that the usage of this brand is not limited to sports enthusiast. I saw other people who are not deeply engaged in sports using different Nike products, which is a testimony that Nike was able to broaden its reach in every nook of the world.This is an indication that there is an increase in the demand for the products that have the Nike brand and that the company is exerting more effort in promoting brand awareness for the products they create. Somehow, there is a link with the brand, the company that produces the products and the consumers. This type of relationship is beneficial for the three key players who are dependent with each other.Based from the ideas that were presented, it is apparent that brands affect the decision making of the consumers. There are some people who are deeply attached to a specific brand,   which in the long run, are the very same people who will invest on products that contain the   preferred brand because it was able to meet the needs of the consumer (Hassan, 2008).Moreover, the study was able to address the statement â€Å"what others say about your brand is much more powerful than what you say about yourself† in a sense that the images portrayed by the brands refle ct an individual's outlook in life. They are powerful tools that can serve as an expression of who you are and what you have.ReferencesHasan, T. (2008, April 28). Influence of brand name on consumer decision. (Undergraduate dissertation, Umeà ¥ University, 2008) Umea univesitet. Retrieved August 6, 2008 from http://www.diva-portal.org/umu/abstract.xsql?dbid=1623

Financial Re-Engineering with Respect to Funding of New Projects of Al Essay

Financial Re-Engineering with Respect to Funding of New Projects of Al Masaken - Essay Example Being a subsidiary and a group company of Aerated Concrete Industries Company K S C C (ACICO), Al Masaken Real Estate Company has created for itself a remarkable position in the booming real estate sector in the Gulf region.The company has so far executed various prestigious construction projects worth close to $ 300 million with a construction area extending up to 291,143 Square meters. Backed up by a good design and engineering team the company has crossed over the initial struggles and has reached the position to take up construction projects of high rise buildings on its own financial strength. As a strategic financial initiative, it was suggested that Al Masaken is promoted as an independent business entity and raise the additional funds required for its proposed high rise construction projects following the IPO route supported by the group image of ACICO. This case study details the circumstances which led to such a decision of providing the individual status to Al Masaken and the various other factors which contributed to the proposal.Specialized in Housing/Villa projects, Al Masaken was established in 1998 as a part of ACICO group with a 25% ownership from ACICO. Having sailed through the initial hiccups the company specialized in the new wave construction of vertical housing by the year 2003. Being one of the subsidiaries of the ACICO, the financial strategy was to obtain short-term loans to finance the purchase of the real estate properties and for the process of construction activity and repay the loan within a maximum period of one and a half years. Financing Strategy at the Holding company: ACICO adopted a financial policy of long-term borrowing for its other manufacturing activities and short-term borrowing for the construction activity.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act - Essay Example This refers to the involvement of the federal government’s computers or prescribed financial bodies in instances where the committed crime is of an interstate nature. To clarify the provisions of the original Act further, trafficking in passwords, rebuffing service attacks and malicious distribution of codes was also criminalized by the CFAA. The Act also underwent several amendments in a bid to eliminate overlaps and fill loopholes between 1989 and 2008. With examples, this paper will question the legitimate effect of the CFAA: Has it been a success or failure in preventing computer fraud and abuse? This question is driven by the vagueness of the law, which has the potential of exposing it to flaws and prosecutorial abuse. By its definition, the Act can be perceived from two angles in terms of the computers it covers (Granville, 2003). The covered computers are referred to as protected computers, and in this sense, theoretically, a protected computer is defined as one meant f or exclusive use by the government of the United States or by a financial institution. It also refers to any other computer which uses the government or financial institution is injuriously affected by conduct that constitutes an offense. This includes computers not within the United States, which affect foreign or interstate communication and commerce of the United States. ... Since Congress did not describe clearly what was meant by that, it raises questions as to whether prosecutors will be of the opinion that a violator of terms of service of a website deserves time in jail or not (Jarrett & Bailie, 2010). Would such an opinion be reasonable or excessively harsh? Further, does the law need to separate the way it treats criminal intentions on the Internet that result in grave harm to the security of social, civic, and financial institutions from what is considered everyday Internet activity? In the light of the current scramble for the Internet, lawmakers need to quantify the effectiveness of the CFAA and decide on how to respond to various stakeholders and interested parties. For instance, some foreign countries are seeking control over the Internet; powerful individuals and corporate organizations want it shaped in ways beneficial to them while undermining national interests; military regimes are spying, attacking and oppressing both private and public institutions; and intelligence and law enforcing agencies are seeking to monitor and mine it (Jarrett & Bailie, 2010). An analysis of these areas will enable lawmakers to determine the success or failure of the CFAA so far, and whether or not reforms are required. In the widespread example of the Aaron law, it is open to argument whether Aaron Swartz committed a federal crime by downloading content from JSTOR, a well-known archive for academic documents, on which he had an account. After JSTOR administrators became aware of the downloads in 2011, they blocked them and did not pursue criminal charges.  

Television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Television - Essay Example ITV is an umbrella phrase that covers the convergence of digital media with television technologies. The phrases enhanced television (eTV) and interactive television (iTV) are employed interchangeably. This paper will use the phrase interactive television, or iTV. Notwithstanding the technological advancement witnessed in bandwidth capabilities and the growing accessibility of digital technologies, progress towards extensive acceptance of iTV programming in many countries remains slow (Bolter & Grusin, 2006). According to O’Driscoll, (2008), television is gradually shifting from a passive, broadcast, entertainment, linear viewing experience. It is growing towards becoming a demand driven, infotainment, non- linear, participatory, advertising focused, broadband, two-way communication platform. Television viewers are becoming familiarized with the active (lean forward) model of viewing as an alternative to the conventional passive (lean back) model. The viewers are also developing the practice of processing added information simultaneously through the use of mobile devices or computers while they watch television. Television viewers are beginning to achieve as well as demand increased control over television viewing experiences. Figure 1 presents an overview of the shifting models as television viewers’ move from conventional to interactive television. According to Swann, (2009), enthusiasm in the industry has expanded and diminished with each market test and scientific advancement in the last decade. The Census Bureau in the U.S noted in 2001, that 98.2% of all households in the U.S had at least one television set. The bureau also noted that the average number of television sets per household as 2.4. The A.C. Nielsen Company noted that average Americans watch approximately four hours of television per day. In 2004, the projections revealed that average adults would watch an approximate seventy days or 1,669 hours of television.

Process Analysis Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Process Analysis - Research Paper Example Process thinking alerts managers to the pathway to be used in decision making. The inappropriate pathway may cause losses due to lack of understanding processing and informational biases. It helps to optimize the whole organization as it is seen as an entire rather than departments. For instance, the expedient pathway, which relies on, the manager’s level expertise without the benefit of information while the global perspective pathway assumes that available information influences an individual’s perception (Rodgers, 2006). Managers use process thinking as an aid in strategic thinking and organizational design resulting in flexibility in response to both internal and external changes. Ability to adapt to changes gives an organization a competitive edge against its competitors (Goetsch & Davis, 2009). For example, changes that happen outside the organization will require management to rely on a path that focuses more information not to be caught off guard. It is an accep table method to empower employees as well as hone their creative skills in decision making. As the organization embraces process thinking, it allows employees to take the initiative in the interest of the organization’s objectives (Goetsch & Davis, 2009). ... This implies that incase of problems, blame is directed at the process rather than the person. Process thinking, therefore, focuses on optimizing systems and fostering cooperative problem solving and decision making. For instance, it allows managers to examine the fitness of a pathway to organizations needs when a problem occurs as a result of following a laid down process (Goetsch & Davis, 2009). It allows sifting through information for relevance and where to begin because people are bombarded with information from different media coupled with limited processing ability. Quality Management Tools Quality management tools are used to improve activities as well as the decision making process and these tools can be used at all stages of production (Goetsch & Davis, 2009). Two of the tools that facilitate proper decision making are the Pareto chart and Cause and effect diagram. This is because they are clear visual representation of problems and their causes. The Pareto chart is used to focus on analysis process and solution finding. It positions problems and their causes in reference to their frequency and occurrences. It points out opportunities and their priorities for improvement and shows where to concentrate efforts and the biggest causes to the problem. It creates a common view, as success in quality management depends on sharing common views of problems and actions to be taken. Another advantage is that it used in comparison of the before and after situations after improvement action. Therefore, it is an effective tool in determining progress and effectiveness of action taken (Goetsch & Davis, 2009). For example it will show the president the necessary information without dwelling on the non issues saving time and resources

The Current Economic Climate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Current Economic Climate - Essay Example There are some challenges and biggest opportunities facing with new managers entering an industry. The global environment has continuously become a challenge to emerging managers. This reminds them of a very important thing and that is for them to acquire useful skills in order to reach a high level of competitive advantage. For instance, in the age of information technology (IT), it is no longer reliable and enough to rely on traditional management system. Modern managers must be able to have important knowledge on how to integrate his or her leadership skills in the midst of substantial breakthroughs in areas of IT. This is a great challenge among those managers who were trained without prior exposure to a high level of advancement in IT. Very few companies offered IT programs in the onset of online communication, technological innovation in information management system and so on. In fact, many managers nowadays are not that adept in using various features in IT in leading their p ersonnel especially in companies that require constant communication and interaction on a daily basis. However, this is an advantage among those emerging managers who are mostly adept and have substantial background in IT. They can all integrate their knowledge in IT in their leadership and in fact, this would make them highly competitive in today’s prevailing economic climate. It is the current global trending that for a company or organisation to stay on top and be a cut above the other, various management modifications are necessary and application of IT is just among of them. Management on the other hand is such a complicated process because it deals personally with the human resource with also complex behaviours and needs. Thus, all managers are faced with substantial challenges especially on motivating and applying their skills in the work place, but above all they all are tested with their commitment (Hawell, 2009). All of these are essential factors in achieving goals of the company. Thus, those managers who are committed are more willing to seek for more information on how to improve performance of their personnel and one of the basic approaches is motivating them. To motivate the entire human resource is another great challenge. In times of downward spiraling economy for instance, the managers must be able to apply substantial moves especially among those employees who are asking for more financially from the economic stand point. It requires not just constant communication, but ample opportunities in motivating them even without the need to use monetary equivalence. In other words, the managers must be able to apply their skills and full potential in creating more innovative approaches in motivating the human resource to function effectively most especially in both promising and challenging economic times. This is both a challenge and opportunity for emerging managers as they would substantially focus on innovation, and apply modern approach in management. Another point, every business is faced with competition and this is how it is for the rest of almost all organisations around the world. Competition simply is everywhere. Thus, every manager therefore must be geared with substantial knowledge on this issue. A facilitative style of leadership might be required and that would ensure substantial use of communication process (Hartwig, 2008). In this approach, emerging managers have the full advantage as they

Business Law exam 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law exam 1 - Essay Example Various studies have shown that most people do not have sufficient knowledge about employment law; as a result they are disadvantaged in the employment environment especially in an event of dispute (Moran 13). Also, most people in the workforce do not understand their rights and in most cases act against their own self interest based on insufficient information. Jill Johansen’s scenario is one of many others that demonstrate how employees may be short-changed or disadvantaged in an event of dispute between the employers and employees. The scenario presented aptly shows that Johansen was short- changed and it is imperative that she seek damages and remedies. In search of remedies and damages, Johansen must prove labor and employment laws relating to her situation. This is crucial because US state and federal labor and employment laws provides for employee’s rights and how employer and employee should relate, as well as the appropriate manner of terminating their relationship and remedies and damages involved. Besides, Johansen must prove some elements of proof relating to her situation. It is advisable that the plaintiff must prove elements of proof so as to win suits (Moran 55). Since Johansen seeks to be awarded remedies and damages she must prove the following elements: the defendant (employer) did not originally or subsequently divulge the full description of the job; the defendant, in a calculative manner included client escort service as part of her job after two months of the plaintiff contract; the additional job requirement is told to her without seeking her approval regarding that job requirement. Each of these elements raises concerns on the veering off from the fundamental elements of the written contract between Johansen and her employer, a situation that seems to act against the interest of Johansen but

Banyan Tree Research Essay Example for Free

Banyan Tree Research Essay 1. Growth and development of Banyan Tree. Banyan Tree Holdings Limited is a leading, international hospitality brand that manages and develops premium resorts, hotels and spas. From a single boutique resort in Phuket in 1994, Banyan Tree has grown into a multi-business operator globally. Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange since 2006, the group currently consists of 30 hotels and resorts, over 60 spas 80 retail galleries and two golf courses in 27 countries, with aggressive expansion plans for the future. Below shows the milestone of Banyan Tree Resort: Banyan Tree Group garnered some 117 international awards and accolades in 2010, bringing the total number of awards it has received close to 640 since the first Banyan Tree property opened in Phuket in 1994. In 2010, Banyan Tree Phuket and its Spa continue to be recognised by industry experts, having won 14 prestigious awards and accolades The Banyan Tree organization has seen very dynamic and expansive growth in the last few years. Banyan Tree attributes is success as a company to their strong brand recognition, command pricing, and superb management. Revenues increased from $187.3 (million) in 2005 to 335.3 (million) in 2006, which is an increase of 79%. In 2007, Revenue increased another 26% to $429, 859 (million). 2. Success factors of Banyan Tree Banyan Tree Capital has its own dedicated construction, project management and cost management capabilities, enabling it to fulfill the role of a developer and assume full ownership of any projects. * Brand Building Branding has started right from the locations of the Banyan Tree resorts and has been consistent through the designs, the facilities offered, and the ambience created in each of the resorts. In line with the â€Å"romantic escape for couples† theme, Banyan Tree has placed a strong emphasis on the locations as a key element of the brand identity. The company has chosen exotic locations with exclusive access to sun-bathed beaches, exciting environment around and a good transportation infrastructure to connect the resorts to the main destination highlights. * Company Growth and Health The Banyan Tree is a rapidly growing company with lots of investment all across the globe. Their expanding nature, coupled with a positive stock price, solid financial earnings, and continual success at all resort locations, is exceptional in the competitive hotel and resort industry. Not many hotel companies can brag about recent success like the Banyan Tree. * Good Brand communications Banyan Tree promotes their product through mass international media. They invite travel editors and writers who could potentially increase editorial coverage on Banyan Tree to use the service. This can make â€Å"Banyan Tree Experiences† distribute to people by word of mouth and it is more effective. It is also make brand awareness and brand value that generated largely through public relations and global marketing programs. * Being a socially responsible and environmentally sensitive organization Banyan Tree Exercise caution with respect to the environmental impacts of their operations, and taking an active role in the protection and remediation of our global ecosystem. * Creating a good culture By combining the Asian culture and heritage with world-class service and luxury, Banyan Tree has been able to build a brand that has appealed to people across countries in Asia and beyond, and successfully been capitalizing on the pan-Asian sentiment. 3. Marketing Strategies * Collaboration with marketing agencies Banyan Tree Holdings appointed a few key wholesalers in each targeted market and worked closely with them to promote sales. Rather than selling through wholesale and retail agents that catered to the general market, they chose to work only with agents specializing in exclusive luxury holidays targeted at wealthy customers. Global exposure was also achieved through Banyan Tree’s membership in the Small Luxury Hotels and Leading Hotels of the World. Targeting high-end consumers, they represent various independent exclusive hotels and have sales offices in major cities around the world. * Winning awards Banyan Tree resort management believe that to publicize their properties, word of mouth is more important than advertisement. Therefore, one of the marketing strategies they adopting is to win awards. Banyan Tree sought recognition in service, innovation and, more importantly, its environmental efforts. To date, it has won more than 570 awards, with two given last week for its excellence in social and environmental responsibility. * Expanding Brand portfolio Banyan Tree to come out with a brand extension in the form of Angsana Resorts (launched in 2000), targeted towards young families and at different price points – typically 20-30% lower than Banyan Tree resorts themselves. It also operates stand-alone Angsana Spas. These measures not only allow Banyan Tree to increase its awareness in new markets and gain international momentum, but also create a strong platform for a portfolio of sub-brands that can be a source of long-term revenue generation. * Online marketing Banyan Tree sets up company website to conveniently update latest information and offers for customers. In additional, the online website allows customers to do bookings for their holidays. Online bookings rapidly increase over the year and it definitely generated more revenue. 4. Future Challenges * Competition There is only one other resort that is comparable to the Banyan Tree: Amanpulo. Amanpulo is situated on a private island in Palawan. The island boasts white sand, crystal clear water and tropical vegetation. They, too, respond to a leisurely lifestyle for the affluent and rich worldwide. In addition, Amanpulo is just as concerned as we are in building environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing resorts. * Copycats The market is crowded with many entrants running similar branded resorts in the upper-end. Particularly in Asia Pacific, where Banyan Tree has its stronghold and traditional base, new entrants are facing only small barriers-of-entry other than huge capital requirements and availability of good locations. A new entrant can always try to copy the â€Å"romance-intimacy-rejuvenation† theme and replicate the serene locations with beautiful villas providing it at lower prices to gain foothold in the market. * Natural Hazards The Philippines sits astride the typhoon belt, which means it’s prone to be struck by dangerous storms. In addition, the country is known to be home of active volcanoes. Other natural hazards known to occur are landslides, earthquakes and tsunamis. * Environmental Issues Existing issues that the Philippines are dealing with, and trying to combat, are uncontrolled deforestation, soil erosion, air and water pollution, coral reef degradation and increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps.

The Sick Child & Art Essay Example for Free

The Sick Child Art Essay I would choose to work in expressionism, a style in which the inclination is to forego the objective representation of reality, by rejecting any pretense of verisimilitude. Instead, the artist distorts reality for an emotional effect. Granted, all art is expressionist to some extent: The whole point of the artistic endeavor is to manipulate perceptions to achieve an emotional effect. However, expressionism leans towards emphasizing the plasticity of the visual form, by distorting it on levels far removed from conventional ideals of realism, to the extent that beholding it can be rather unsettling to those who are used to the dreamy look of impressionism or the idealization of form exemplified by romantic arts. Expressionism should not be confused with Abstract art, which foregoes representation in favor of the use color and form in non-representational ways. Abstract and expressionist art are similar in so far as they opt out of objective reality. However the crucial difference is that abstract art rejects objectivity completely. In effect, abstract art favors form over content, while expressionism favors artistic license in the representation of content. One good example of expressionism is The Scream. It depicts a lone figure in a rather disturbing pose that seems to be in the grip of anxiety to the point of having his psyche shattered. The Scream was painted by Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch, who is reputed to have been inspired by the qualities of African tribal art. Munch tended to focus on extreme degrees of emotions. In Puberty, Munch articulates some of the intense fear and discomfort experienced by young girls as they transition into womanhood. The melancholy of a mother’s imminent loss is expressed in The Sick Child, while The Dance of Life presents in one space, the anxiety of constant change in a woman’s life as she moves from innocence to sexuality to old age. In all these pieces, Munch makes use of figures distorted by sickly linework, emphasizing his commitment to tense emotional discontent.

Downstream Linkages in the Zambian Copper Industry

Downstream Linkages in the Zambian Copper Industry Resource extraction is often regarded by governments and people of resource-rich countries as a solution to poverty alleviation, ranging from tax revenues, technology transfer, and employment creation, export enhancement to upstream and downstream linkages. Downstream linkage industries do promise the widening of employment opportunities and high foreign earnings as a result of value-addition. Western resource intensive economies such as Australia, Canada, US and the like are examples of well-managed, resource-rich economies in which the mineral sectors spurred knowledge-intensive processes, created jobs and foreign exchange earnings and resulted in spill-overs into new industrial and service sectors. The scope of downstream linkages is often considered an important determinant of the extent to which a mineral-rich nation stands to gain additional economic benefits that come with it. This explains the continuous pressure that is always mounted on mining companies by host governments to engage further in downstream activities. However, downstream activities irrespective of their location are influenced by global market dynamics and competitive elements. Therefore, in an attempt to grasp the benefits that come with downstream activities, it is extremely imperative to examine the opportunities, risks and possible ways of striking a balance taking cognizance of the global demand and supply interplay to ensure that the highest possible net positive benefits are achieved and sustained. In focus is Zambia which has been an active copper mining country since 1900s though performed poorly along the line but revamped barely in the last decade. In 1968, Zambia held an important position as a copper producer, with peak output at 815,000 ton and a 15% share of world output, but the abysmal performance of its state-owned enterprises that took over after the 1969 nationalisation resulted in a drop of output to a trough of 250,000 tonnes in 2000 (Radetzki, 2009p.182). Nevertheless, the copper industry has been revitalised with the privatization of the mining sector which occurred between mid-1990s and early 2000s. In the period 2000-2005, copper exports contributed to around half of total foreign exchange earnings, but from 2006 onwards, this share increased to 73.5% 83.2% ( Fessehaie, 2012 p.3). Copper also provided 10% of formal employment and its contribution to GDP in the last decade increased on a yearly basis, reaching 9.1% in 2009. Copper mining has and continues to be one of the largest economic activities in Zambia, comprising approximately 10 percent of GDP and more than 60 percent of exports (Wilson, 2012pp798-799). The paper therefore examined downstream or for ward linkages to copper production in Zambia by first exploring the scope of downstream linkages and examined the risks, opportunities and risks mitigation measures in the downstream sector of Zambias copper industry. The rest of the paper is structured as follows; section two introduces the background and established the theoretical framework. Section three examined the scope of downstream activities, the risks, opportunities and possible measures for risks mitigation and section four concludes with recommendation. 2.0 BACKGROUND 2.1 A Brief Overview of Global Copper Production and Consumption The global cumulative annual growth in global mine output of copper has gone through significant changes over the period 1750 to 2007. It stood at 0.8% in 1750-1800, rose to 2.6% in 1800-1850 and from 1850 and until 1900, the annual growth of copper production accelerated to 4.5%. Output expansion subsequently reduced to an average of 3.3% between 1900 and 1950, and remained at this level until 2007 (Radetzki, 2009p.182). In 2011, global copper production reached an output level of 16100 metric tonnes from 15900 metric tonnes in 2010 with a total reserves value of 690000 metric tonnes (USDSp. 49) (2012). On the other hand, growth rates in global copper consumption fell from 4.48% in the period 150-1973 to 0.65 covering 1973-1983 largely explained by the oil price shocks of the 1970s and 80s and picked up again, reaching 2.51% for period 1983-2003 (Nishiyama, 2005p..132). The period following 1990 saw a significant increase of Asia, especially Chinas share of global copper consumption , currently about 40% (ICSG) which gradual spurred up copper prices in the mid-2000s. The interplay of Chinas demand growth and appropriate timing of additions to production capacity speaks a lot about the future global trends in both production and consumption. 2.2 Overview of Copper Mining in Zambia Copper mining in Zambia dates back to the 1900s under the control of two mining companies, Rhodesia Selection Trust and Anglo-American Corporation (AAC)( Fessehaie, 2011p.16) .The industry came to be nationalized in the late 1960 and was operated under state ownership and control, a typical characteristic of mining operations in mineral exporting countries in the decades following the Second World War. The government, following years of significant losses, privatized its copper mines, which were later consolidated into the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), majority-owned by Government (60.3%), with a minority share owned by AAC (27.3%)( Fessehaie, 2011p.16). For instance, Kansanshi mine, the largest copper project in Africa is 80% owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd and 20% by the state run ZCCM Investments Holdings which replaced ZCCM (ARB, 2012). The mining sector is regulated primarily by Act No. 7 of 2008 (the Mines and Mineral Development Act of 2008). The Zambian copper industry is not insulated from the acquisitions and mergers characteristic of the global mining industry. In 2011, Barrick Gold Corp. of Canada acquired Equinox Minerals Ltd. of Canada (USp43.1). Newshelf 1124 (Proprietary) Ltd. of South Africa, an indirect subsidiary of the Jinchuan Group Ltd. of China acquired Metorex Ltd. of South Africa and its underground Chibuluma copper mine (Metorex Ltd., 2011, p. 8). Konnoco Zambia Ltd., a joint venture of African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. of South Africa and Vale, continues with the development of the Konkola North underground copper mine (African Rainbow Minerals Ltd., 2012, p. 70). Mining companies equally undertake joint ventures in explorative activities in Zambia. Argonaut Resources NL of Australias subsidiary Lumwana West Resources Ltd. in a joint venture with Mwombezhi Resources Ltd. of Zambia set to explore in Northwestern Province (Argonaut Resources NL, 2012, p. 2). Zambias economy is heavily reliant on mining, particularly its copper and cobalt, and the mining sector makes significant contribution to Zambia exports and economic growth. Copper output rose dramatically following the copper price rise in the mid-2000s with annual copper production increased from 335,000 metric tonnes in 2002 to over 569,000 metric tonnes in 2008 (Wilson, 2012) . From 2007, copper exports contributed 73.7-80.5 per cent of total foreign exchange earnings, 10 per cent of formal employment, and in 2010 Zambia was the largest copper producer in Africa and the 7th largest in the world ( Fessehaie, 2012). Copper exports jumped from $474 million in 2000 to almost $4 billion in 2008. In 2010, the mining and quarrying sector accounted for 9.9% of Zambias real gross domestic product (at constant 1994 prices) compared with a revised 9.3% in 2009. Copper exports earnings increased by 15.5% to US $6,660.2 million from US $5,767.9 million in 2010 (Bank of Zambia, 2012, p. 23,) a nd in 2011, copper exports were valued at $6.9 billion (Mobbs, 2012 p.43.1). 2.3 Theoretical Framework The concept of linkage development in the academic discourse has its root from early works of Leontief (1936) who applied an input-output analysis to static quantity modeling (Lenzen, 2003 p.1), modified by Rasmussen (1956) for inter-industrial analysis as setting the basis for structural interdependence. In determining the key sectors of an economy, Hirschman (1958) argued that above-average linkages are pre-requisites for economic development and structural changes within an economy or a region (p1-2). Contrary to this argument, Bharadwaj (1966), Panchamukhi (1975) and McGilvray (1977) highlighted that international comparative advantages, technical and skill endowment, final demand structure are among the driving forces of economic growth and concluded that linkage interconnectedness is a weak rod to rationalising a development policy(1-2) According to Hirschman as cited in Morris et al (2012), there are three main types of linkages in the commodity sector thus, fiscal, consumption and production linkages. In his view, fiscal linkage encompasses royalties and taxes which together form mineral rents; consumption linkage entails the consumption demands of workers of the commodity sector, whereas the production linkage encapsulates both backward and forward linkages. Authors such as Sonis and Hewings (1989, 1999) and Sonis et al. (2000) in their works on the dynamics of backward and forward linkages, and economic landscapes of multiplier product matrices pushed further the arguments of Hirschman and Rasmussen (Lenzen, 2003 p. 2). The linkage thesis has been applied in a number of studies in attempts to examine the impact of mining on economies. Lenzen (2003) utilised the input-output application in his analysis of the key environmentally important factors of production, linkages and key sectors in the Australian economy and concluded without a factual basis that strong forward linkages are characteristic of primary industries like grazing and mining whereas strong backward industries characterized secondary industries (p.29). Similarly, Cristobal and Biezma (2006 p1,5) analysed the forward and backward linkages of mining and quarrying in ten EU countries to determine whether the industry constitute a key sector and came to a conclusion that the mining and quarrying industry has a strong backward link to regional economys production more than other sectors and otherwise holds for forward linkages. Though not a metal mineral, the Southern Louisiana offshores oil fields is the most apparent successful linkage ca pture identified throughout the 20th century. The ability to sustain pre-existing competition and the availability of the commodity in large quantities were largely responsible for the successful linkage capture (Freudenburg and Gramling (1998p 575-576). Moreover, Aroca (2001p 131) employed the input-output Leontief matrix to determine the impact of the mining sector on the Chilean II region and analysed the driving forces to the extent of the impact. With regards to the volume of production, his analysis indicates that the mining sector is very important but loses its importance in developing forward and backward linkages in the economy. Lydall (2009 p.2, 119) investigated backward linkage capture of South Africa platinum group metals and found different categories of supplier firms, ranging from base, medium to large able to satisfy the needs of the various PGM mines, concentrator plants, smelters and refineries. She however cautioned the existence of market-related and firm-speci fic factors militating against the growth and expansion of such linkages. Morris et al (2012 p 1-2,14) examined the underlying factors to linkage capture in the commodity sectors in low income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with much attention on backward linkage capture and recommended for strategies to be mapped to propel industrial sector upgrading especially in commodity exporting countries. Also, Fessehaie (2012p 2,7) examined the determinants of upstream linkages to copper production in Zambia. She noted that backward linkage was growing and copper mining presents opportunities and recommended that in order to broaden backward linkage to utilize such opportunities there is the need to eliminate barriers to upgrading through an industrial policy which takes care of supplier competitiveness constraints. From the preceding literature reviewed, much attention on linkage capture studies has been directed at the backward linkage capture. The few works on linkage development in Zambia copper (Fessehaie, 2011 and 2012; Morris, 2012), the emphasis has been on the backward linkage. Therefore, the existence of paucity of studies that investigate forward linkages in the mineral sector particularly the copper industry in Zambia exposes a gap which the study aims to contribute to. 3.0 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 The Scope of Downstream Activities Forward linkages encompass the establishment of downstream activities, at least processing and refining of copper ore and concentrates into primary metal, the fabrication of primary metal into semi-fabricated products and possibly, induced industrialisation. For the purpose of this study, mining ends with primary metal production and downstream activities begins with semi-products fabrication and beyond. Zambian copper industry has long history of existence but became more active and copper mine production of ore, anode and cathode increased following the privatization of the mining industry through the 1990s to early 2000s. The majority of copper ore mined in Zambia is smelted locally before being exported to foreign markets (Fraser and Lungu, 2007 Wilson). Fig 3.1 confirms that though greater share of mine output is refined locally, very less of it is used in the country. The graph covered a short period due to lack of access to up-to-date quality data. Zambias copper is mainly exported as cathode or blister, the standard forms of the internationally-traded commodity. Zambia uses less than 5 percent of its copper output to make fabricated products (World Bank, 2011 p ii). However, finished goods containing copper are mainly imported into the country. Zambia has developed a small copper fabrication industry that produces a narrow range of products for domestic use and for export to regional markets, largely informed by proximity to customers guided by profitability. However, these markets are small, and yet the industry competes with larger and more developed industries especially that of South African copper fabrication industry. Zambias fabrication industry is growing rapidly, but from a small base, led by Metal Fabricators of Zambia Ltd (ZAMEFA), a subsidiary of the US-based General Cable Corporation followed by others such as the Cast Product Foundry Non Ferrous Metals, Kavino and Central African Recycling in the scrap metal busi ness (World Bank, 2011p ii). ZAMEFA which has a domestic, regional and international market orientation produces wire rod, wire, cable, and a few other products. Its product portfolio is growing. Kavino, wire and cable manufacturer has a domestic market orientation whereas Central African Recycling is well positioned to utilized opportunities as they arise. Total number of employees falls below 1000. In 2008, Zambian mine, smelter and refined copper output in tonnes stood at 546 600, 232,000 and 416,900 respectively. The fabricated metals production sector contribution to GDP grew at an annual average of 0.2 percent for the period 2002 to 2008.(World Bank, pp 18). 3.2 Risks Associated with Downstream Activities The resource-based industrialiation that characterized the development process of resource-rich developed economies is often quoted to back resource-rich developing countries quest for resource-driven industrialisation which in their view masterminded the in dustrialiation process of some mature economies. However, the growth strategy of the Nordic countries, United States and Canada for instance did not based entirely on mineral extraction but span from a low-technology based on low-cost labour to highly sophisticated knowledge-intensive activities (Walker and Jourdan, 2003. P.30.). Nevertheless, risks, largely economic, abound alongside the potentials of further downstream activities. Downstream activities beyond primary processing are capital intensive and require less skilled labour. Guided by profit motive, firms seriously consider capital cost in securing capital to finance assets. Backed by the electronic revolution, market efficiency sets the ground for capital and skills to be deployed to most productive locations (Walker and Jourdan, 2003p 30) and countries without traditional comparative advantages like Zambia are less strategic in competing for foreign direct investment. Again, the capital intensive nature of further processing of copper questions the employment multiplier and rather breed associated risks of either expanding or contracting employment opportunities. Moreover, the fabrication industry uses 37 percent of copper that is derived from scrap metal which is limited in the country (World Bank, 2011p.iii). Therefore, importing other raw materials including scrap for fabrication may not make any comparative advantage sense in the short to medium t erm and highlights the risk associated with an uncompetitive and injudicious allocation of the nations scarce economic resources. The ability to compete and access adequate market, both regional and global to justify downstream activities on any significant scale comes with a risk. Committing resources into fabrication without any competitive market edge exposes the copper mining sector to possible collapse and the entire economy to possible shocks. This is because upon the small size of the sub-regional market (less than 1 percent) of the global total for fabricated copper products (World Bank, 2011p ii) better established firms in South Africa have captured a greater portion of the regional market. Internal demand for fabricated products is woefully inadequate and therefore, the promised job expansion, high foreign earnings and associated growth potential are easily erodible, if even attained. Walker and Jourdan, 2003p 33 noted that domestic demand was instrumental in Swedens initial resource-oriented industrialisation. Closely linked is tariff escalation that discourages exports of higher value-added products from Low Income Countries (LICs) (IMF, 2011p.16). Tariff escalation and high physical transport cost jointly further accentuate the risks to Zambian copper downstream activities. Consuming countries of copper metal and semi-fabricated products especially the newly industrializing countries and roaring developing countries of China and India, in their industrialization drive, have in one way or the other resort to restrictions in the form of differential tariffs (varies directly with the value already added) on raw materials imports for their industries. Dimaranan et al, (2006 p. 13) note that Indian policy measures in this regard include more effective duty exemptions for intermediates used in the production of manufactured exports. The high transport cost and tariffs imposed on value-added products together can cancel completely if not negate the often expectant high profits and associated em ployment multipliers. The prices for both the primary and fabricated products of the mining industry are characterized by troughs and peaks. However, the existence of terminal markets such as London Metal Exchange (LME), the Commodity Exchange Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX/NYMEX) and the Shanghai Metal Exchange (SHME)(ICSGP.33factbook) provides mitigation to the risk on primary metal resulting from price volatilities. On the other hand, high-value added downstream products are more prone to price shocks as there exist no such terminal markets in that sub-sector of the industry. Therefore, the often envisaged employment multipliers and high foreign earnings that motivate pressure for further downstream processing places the entire economy at risk in the event of weak prices without any competitive edge. Mainstream fabricated metal products are largely low margin items. However, high level of capacity utilization and throughput is required to generate sufficient margins which are currently in non-existence in Zambian copper industry. This is largely informed by the uncompetitive and comparative disadvantages to the downstream sector of Zambian copper industry. The situation exposes the downstream copper fabrication industry to the risk of at best earning low margins. In 2008 for example, First Quantum Ltd, a leading European copper rod producer made profits of 12.2% and 49.6% from large Cap Cast Copper Rotors (CCR) rod mill and Oxygen-free High Conductivity (OFHC) rod fabrications respectively (World Bank, 2011p.13) but earned a profit of 85.4% from primary cathode production. Such low margins in fabrication gives the signals that even internationally competitive manufacturers of range of specialist copper products rather earn high margins in primary metal production. 3.3 Opportunities in Downstream Value-addition The existence of copper deposits in substantial quantities is a basic requirement for mining in the first place and possibly, further downstream processing (Freudenburg and Gramling, 1998). The existing domestic and regional market does not incentivise further copper fabricating on any significant scale, but some localised small-scale opportunities may emerge. In this regard, there may be a scope for some gradual scaling-up of existing output and/or product diversification by existing operations especially ZAMEFA and for some small-scale artisanal processing, probably based on scrap metal. Sectorial opportunities could be enhanced if the basic and mainly infrastructural bottlenecks are remedied. One of such opportunities is the World Bank support to revamp Zescos existing distribution networks in selected areas to reduce losses and improve supply quality (World Bank, 2011p.33,34). Depending on the roll-out of electrification extensions, there may be some demand for low and medium vol tage. Moreover, the global copper industry has identified a potential market which could exploit the known biocidal properties of copper in combating Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA,) spread by its use in touch surfaces and all fixtures and fittings in hospitals and clinics. The international competitive nature of the downstream activities of fabrication limit these opportunities as well established firms are ever ready and prepared to cease any market opportunities as they arise and compete out less competitive ones. Chinas dominance in the recent global copper consumption forecloses in comparative and competitive terms, any opportunities of developing an internationally competitive further copper processing in Zambia at least, for the short to medium term. For instance, Chinese refined copper consumption expanded by an annual 15.3% in the 1998-2007 period and by 2007, Chinas share of global copper usage rose from 10.5% to 26.9% (Radetzki , 2009. P. 177) in a decade. Though very important, the geological potential does not itself guarantee comparative and competitive advantage in any appreciable further downstream processing. For instance, Chile, the worlds largest copper producer, accounting 34 percent of world mined copper output and 17 percent of wor ld refined copper output, yet its use of refined copper is less than 1 percent of the world total (World Bank, 2011.8) 3.4 Mitigating Downstream Activities-Associated Risks and the Way Forward Value-addition is critical to ensuring greater benefits and competitiveness for countries incorporated in the global economy (Mtegha and Minnitt, 2006 p. 236) hence further downstream processing should be encouraged and driven by state incentives taking cognizance of the external environment. A strong manufacturing base has to be developed if any significant expansion of copper value-addition activities is to grow. In order to grow and sustain a downstream fabrication sector and even beyond, new sources of accessing competitive foreign direct investment and the continual adaptation and innovation of technology which is critical to maintaining technological competitive edge globally are ideal prerequisites. Moreover, demand is indispensable in industrial development and therefore any effort in that regard must first address the market end of the value chain ranging from local, regional to global levels. The ability to create a clear niche advantage is required if the copper downstream activities are to undergo substantial growth. Ideally, attaining global competitiveness is the single most important driver in mitigating risks ranging from further downstream processing or fabrication. While this may possibly be a long term growth and development goal in the downstream sector, the provision of adequate energy, communication and other infrastructure coupled with the effective and judicious use of economic returns from copper mining for diversification in new comparative advantage industries would in the papers view set the foundation for any competitive industrialisation in the long run. From table 1 below, South Africa is better positioned to cease any downstream copper fabrication and market opportunities at regional level and at the global level, China. 4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION The study explored the scope of downstream linkages in the Zambian copper industry and examined the risks of engaging in downstream fabrication as well as the opportunities and suggested ways for mitigating the risks. The study reveals a small and modest fabrication activity producing a narrow range of products for domestic use and for export to regional markets, largely informed by proximity to customers guided by profitability. The decision in going downstream beyond primary metal processing encapsulates political and economic dimensions hence, requires striking a balance between both dimensions. Shaping a competitive mining industry alongside conscious efforts to diversify into other industries which gradually grow to shake off the initial copper-based dependence is a policy option and at the same time revitalizing the national science, technology and innovation policy to provide the foundation for long term skills and knowledge development. Chile, having built a competitive minin g industry, diversified its economy into other competitive sectors which propelled its growth. In the short to medium term, developing a competitive copper mining industry is plausible and more realistic in comparative advantage terms while mapping out strategies to attain competitiveness from national, regional to global scales which will mitigate further copper processing or fabrication risks.

Bilingual Ed Essay -- essays papers

Bilingual Ed BILINGUAL EDUCATION IS BENEFICIAL TO STUDENTS ABILITIES TO ASSIMILATE IN THE MAINSTREAM CULTURE English only--sink or swim? Yeah right! Instead of English Only Advocates worrying about bilingual education cost in our school system, why not take advantage of the skills our ethnic minorities possess to move our economy forward? They are obviously not thinking clearly, because the benefit of bilinguals, significantly outweigh the bad. To deny our youth the opportunity for upward mobility and skill to become more marketable in a worldwide capacity is inhumane. They believe bilinguals threaten to sap our sense of national identity and divide us along ethnic lines. They also fear that any government recognition of minority languages à ¬sends the wrong messageà ® to immigrants, encouraging them to believe they can live in the U.S.A. without learning English or conforming to à ¬The Americanà ® way. That is an overt, racist, and paranoid view, donà ­t you think? The most significant issues that support bilingual education for students ability to assimilate in the mainstream cultur e are, the development of students linguistic resources and preserve their cultural heritage, contributions to the American economy, and diversity. The development of a students language and preservation of their culture is essential for the upward mobility of todayà ­s youth. There always have been some immigrants who viewed themselves explicitly as the preserver and savior of their languages and heritages. Since the late 1800s, ethnic minorities in America have been consistently characterized as culturally inferior. Their language right has consistently been the subject of political review. Politicians do not have (PCC(SW) Taylor/16603/M... ... IV a. Preservation of culture/language b. Ethnic minorities culturally inferior c. Language subject to political review. d. Encourage bilingualism e. Students face difficulty in school f. Educational failure V a. American economy b. English one language c. Information Techmnology. d. 4 year study. e. WEB pages. VI a. We discussed the development of students linguistic resources b. As Equal Opportunity Advisors c. Assimilate ethnic minority personnel into the mainstream of society d. No matter what the theoretical conclusions e. They should be afforded the opportunity to judge for themselves Bibliography: James Crawford Homepage, RethinkingSchools à ± Bilingual Education Summer 1999 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage/jwcrawford. James Crawford Homepage, MAY 1987 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage/jwcrawford

Essay --

1.0 Analysis on Ford Motor Company Financial Condition Based on question 1, the table in appendix 1 indicates the financial statement of Ford Motor Company from the year 2008 to 2012. According to the table, the balance sheet has shown that, there were a positive figure in Ford’s operating income from the year 2012 to 2012. Meanwhile, there were slight decrement in the balance sheet from the year 2008 to 2009, whereby has designates negative value in the operating income. A convergence in factors produced in December 2007 to June 2009, was Great Recession due to bad bank loans, improper credit ratings, lax regulatory policies and misguided government incentives that encouraged reckless borrowing and lending (Lutterell et al., 2011). Besides that, this crisis also had drastic effects towards oil price because in 2008, the oil price has increases up to 18 % from 13% per year because of the crunch. It has resulted loss of trust towards U.S government and its capitalist economic system. According to Fraser Institute Index of Economic freedom has indicated that, from the second rank of global ranking, U.S has drop to 18th in 2012 (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2012) The increasing of economic challenges and crunch in 2008 has impacted badly on the annual reports of companies, in both terms of cash flow and operating losses. In the earlier year it is predictable weak, up to 15% drop in annual operational cash flows. Following the declines in automobile sales throughout 2008 has affected the other car maker in U.S, such as, General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor Company. In this case, the automobiles industry has requested for emergency loans in order to encounter upcoming cash shortages (Brent and Glass, 2009). Finally, with the resolv... ...7 compare to Ford which is 1.01 and GM 0.985 and as the average of the year the quick ratio is in positive form which is 0.981. In the past 5 years the total average of quick ratio which is been stated in the financial statement for Toyota is 0.9726 and Ford is 0.86 where else, GM has a low average 0.821 compare to Ford and Toyota. Finally, Ford and GM managed to step away from the low quick ratio issues and went up steadily due to their dedication in maintaining their current liabilities and inventories which Toyota failed to balance which resulted the decreased growth in the year 2012. To be concluded that Ford is the leading force in the automotive industry because of the expert staff, quality products and services. This company is the perfect investment opportunity; paying close attention to the risks and regulations and protecting their investors’ interests.

Michael Vick Case

On April 25, 2007, agents raided the Surry County, Virginia home owned by Michael Vick, NFL’s Atlanta Falcons quarterback. The authorities reportedly discovered 66 dogs, 55 of them being pit bulls, blood stained carpet, a dog fighting pit, and equipment which is commonly used in dog fighting rings such as dog treadmills and scales, a pry bar used to open a dog's mouth and an instrument used for breeding. At the time of the raid, Vick was not present at his home but denied having knowledge of dog fighting taking place on his property.On July 17, 2007, a federal jury indicted Vick as well as three other men, Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips, and Tony Taylor on charges of competitive dog fighting, procuring and training pits to fight, operating an unlawful interstate dog fighting business by the name of Bad Newz Kennels. The four codefendants each face $350,000 in fines and six years in prison if convicted of the federal charges. According to reports, Michael Vick had been staging dog fights since his rookie year with the Falcons in 2001.The dogs found on the property were treated in a horrific manner. Losing dogs were either killed in the arena during the fight or at times they were later hung, electrocuted, shot or drowned. As part of their training to get them ready for fights the dogs were sometimes starved to make them hungry for the fight. On August 24, 2007 Vick entered a plea deal where he pled guilty to â€Å"conspiracy in a dog fighting ring and agreeing that the enterprise included killing pit bulls and gambling. He denied making side bets on the fights, but admitted to bankrolling them. (ESPN) He also admitted to sharing the proceeds from the dog fights with his Peace, Phillips, and Taylor but states that he never placed any bets or collected prize money for the fights. Vick was the last of his counterparts to enter into a plea deal with the prosecution. On December 10, 2007 Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison and three yearsâ€℠¢ probation at U. S. District Court in Richmond by Judge E. Henry Hudson for running a dog fighting operation. He will serve a longer sentence than two of his codefendants because he lied about his involvement upon ntering his plea agreement when he was supposed to be admitting to his wrong doing and accepting responsibility for his actions. According to his codefendants, Vick was more involved in the dog fights than he admitted to being. On November 30, Peace and Phillips were sentenced by Judge Hudson to 18 and 21 months in federal prison. Their punishments also included three years of supervised probation following their release from prison. On December 14, 2007, Tony Taylor, who was the first of the four men to plead guilty, received a lesser sentence of 60 days in jail because he agreed to testify against Vick.Michael Vick was released from prison on July 20, 2009. After his release from prison, Michael Vick is to start his three year probation term. As part of his probation, V ick was equipped with an electronic monitor and had to perform $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company. Michael Vick is currently still on probation but he is now able to play football again and no longer has to work the construction job. Works Cited http://sports. espn. go. com/nfl/news/story? id=2989824 http://articles. cnn. com/2007-07-17/us/vick_1_bad-newz-kennels-dogfighting-investigation-quanis-phillips? _s=PM:US

Logic in the East and the West

The article written by Nisbett in Chapter 7 of the book (please indicate the title of the whole book here) presents a clear idea of how logic exists differently in the East and the West. The discussion of the author presented various studies and various terms that have been used to support and weave together the different ideas. The author’s terms are worth defining for these will clarify some portions of the study. First, there are French words included in the title and one should translate this into English terms to get a better picture of the article. Ce n’est pas logique translated to English would be â€Å"it is not logical.† Weaving it back to the title, it would then be â€Å"’It is not logical’ or ‘You’ve got a point there’?† It is quite unsaid as to why the author used the language of French for the title. Second, the Latin phrase modus ponens also deserves some attention. In English, the term modes ponens is the method of affirming (â€Å"modus ponens and modus tollens†). Third, the word atypical would also be encountered and this is defined as â€Å"not conforming to the usual type or expected pattern† (â€Å"atypical†). It means the opposite of the typical argument. Going back to the topic of logic in the east and the west, the author posed several studies conducted before to support the current hypothesis that there is a difference in the existence of logic in the two regions. A study that was cited by the author was that of Ara Norenzayan, Edward E. Smith, Beom Jun Kim, and Nisbett, the author himself, showed that the insignificant interest for the study of logic in the East may be attributed to the â€Å"distrust of decontextualization†¦as well as a distaste for making inferences on the basis of underlying abstract propositions alone† (Nisbett 168). This was not proven by only one study made by the same authors but actually two studies they did. To further support the results of the study, the authors administered survey methods to respondents who are Korean, European American, and Asian American.   In addition to this, Ara Norenzayan and Beom Jun Kim made a presumption â€Å"that East Asians would be less likely to have their beliefs moved in an unpleasant direction by pondering information that implied some desired outcomes† (Nisbett 172). To do this, they administered questionnaires to Korean and American respondents containing propositions. The result was that the Americans continued towards the negative ones and the Koreans avoided this (Nisbett 173). The author used propositions and discussed it according to the logic that may be applied to it. For example, the deductive arguments â€Å"All birds have ulnar arteries, therefore all eagles have ulnar arteries† and â€Å"All birds have ulnar arteries, therefore all penguins have ulnar arteries† which the author used to show the persuasiveness of typical and atypical arguments for the different respondents (Nisbett 168-9). It was stated by the author that there is a difference on how convinced the Koreans are to typical arguments than atypical arguments compared to the European American and Asian American. The atypical argument for the previous deductive argument is the latter for penguins are not typically seen as birds. Works Cited â€Å"atypical.† Encarta Dictionaries. DVD. Redmond, WA: Microsoft, 2006. â€Å"modus ponens and modus tollens.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online. 23 Mar. 2008   . Nisbett, Richard. The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently†¦and Why. New York: The Free Press, 2003.

Network Security Analysis Essay

This article is concerned about network security. It mentions about the present situation of network security and an analysis of the reason that lead to unsafe network environment. Then the article introduces two frequently used protocols in network security: HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) and HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer), then compare them and give a brief conclusion. On the other side, the article introduces how firewall protects network security in hardware aspects. Keywords: Network; Security; Analysis; Countermeasures 1. Introduction As technology develops, network is getting more and more mature. It is known to all that security is the second step after that a successful network has been deployed. 1.1 Situation of Computer Network Security With the rapid development of the Internet and the widespread application, the number of computer viruses, Trojan horses is explosive growth. According to Jinshan drug gangsters â€Å"cloud security† center monitoring statistics show that in 2008, Jinshan drug gangsters were intercepted more and more new viruses, Trojans, which grew up 40% compared with 2007. The center statistics also show that 90% of the virus infected users, this attachment web pages that humans are enjoying the network information with the great wealth and convenient at the same time, also be the severe beset by problems of network information security. The lure of wealth that hackers attack is no longer a kind of personal interest, but more and more become an organized, interest driven career crime. Its main means has: online professor viruses, Trojan horses production technology and various network attack technology; Online exchange, trafficking and rental viruses, Trojan horses, zombie network; Online customized viruses, Trojan horses; Internet theft behavior (account Numbers game, bank accounts, QQ number, etc.), sell the trumpets; Internet fraud and extortion; Through the network business platform money laundering profit, etc. Attackers need technical level gradually decrease, means more flexible, joint attacks increase rapidly. Trojan viruses, Trojan virus writers, professional hack personnel, sales channels, professional players have been formed complete gray industrial chain. 1.2 Threats to Computer Network Security The threat to computer network security includes attacks by hackers and computer virus. It mostly presents in the following aspects. Firstly, send fake E-mails to users. It is a common way to cheat the account and password by posing as legitimate websites. Secondly, damage caused by viruses is also a common phenomenon. For e.g. when virus gets into computer, it will cover our hard disk with useless data. Thirdly, it’s about unauthorized accessing. This mainly refers to the normal use or oversteps their authority to use the network equipment and information resources. Fourthly, damage the integrity of the database. Fifthly, interfere with the normal running of the systems. Finally, communication lines are tapped and people are not familiar about safety of network security. The first situation doesn’t occur in common. However, awareness of maintain computer network security is really important. In the article, it mainly analyzes several common situations and introduces what the threat is and how it works. 1.3 Countermeasures of Network Security As network security has a lot of loopholes, people create a lot of methods to protect network. On the side of hardware, people begin to use firewall to protect network. On the side of software, a lot of tools and technologies have been used in this area, such as router filtering. The article introduces how firewall works and two similar protocols: HTTP and HTTPS. By comparing these two protocols, we will find the development of technology. 1.4 Importance of the Study of Network Security It’s important for securing ones computer, keeping important data and profile information protected. Careful web surfing habits may keep you from being a victim of virus attacks and malware, however this is an intensely risky activity and very often people may end up with an infected computer. Some good anti-virus programs will help to keep your computer protected and safe, but users must remember to keep this updated regularly for better protection over new viruses. 2. Related Work 2.1 Network Security Network security consists of the provisions and policies adopted by a network administrator to prevent and monitor unauthorized access, misuse, modification, or denial of a computer network and network-accessible resources. Network security involves the authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator. Users choose or are assigned an ID and password or other authenticating information that allows them access to information and programs within their authority. Network security covers a variety of computer networks, both public and private, that are used in everyday jobs conducting transactions and communications among businesses, government agencies and individuals. Networks can be private, such as within a company, and others which might be open to public access. Network security is involved in organizations, enterprises, and other types of institutions. It does as its title explains: It secures the network, as well as protecting and over seeing operations being done. The most common and simple way of protecting a network resource is by assigning it a unique name and a corresponding password. 2.2 ISO/OSI model The International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model defines seven layers of communications types, and the interfaces among them. (See Figure 1.) Each layer depends on the services provided by the layer below it, all the way down to the physical network hardware, such as the computer’s network interface card, and the wires that connect the cards together. People develop a lot of protocols to each layer. Such as PPTP/L2TP to linked layer, IPSEC to network layer, TLS/SSL to transfer layer. Each protocol includes security information that helps network transfer safer and safer. 2.3 IPV4 protocol The protocol contains a couple aspects which caused problems with its use. These problems do not all relate to security. They are mentioned to gain a comprehensive understanding of the internet protocol and its shortcomings. The causes of problems with the protocol are: 1. Address Space 2. Routing 3. Configuration 4. Security 5. Quality of Service The lack of embedded security within the IPv4 protocol has led to the many attacks seen today. Mechanisms to secure IPv4 do exist, but there are no requirements for their use. IPsec is a specific mechanism used to secure the protocol. IPsec secures the packet payloads by means of cryptography. IPsec provides the services of confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. This form of protection does not account for the skilled hacker who may be able to break the encryption method and obtain the key. 2.4 Types and Sources of Network Threats Denial-of-Service, unauthorized access, executing commands illicitly, confidentiality breaches and destructive behavior are common type of threats to network security. The sources of network threats include 3 aspects. Firstly, the invasion of bad information and pollution. Network is open, even borderless space information network of people in the rich cultural life, but also to the illegal dissemination of information or indecent information provided soil British Middlebury Seck Griffith University, Professor Di Mulai study found that in non-academic information on the Internet, 47% of pornography on These content without restriction for people feel free to browse, not only seriously jeopardize the health of young people, and poison the social atmosphere and hinder the building of a harmonious society in China. In addition, the network’s openness and freedom are often some criminals use, or dissemination of endangering national security, to subvert the government, disrupting social order and security of information, or information network organizing rallies and other anti-social activities. Secondly, Internet ‘hackers’ and computer crime. Hacker wanton rampage information networks, technology and the consequences of its invasion of escalating their use of technical means, or attacks on government sites or military organization’s Web site and endanger national security interests, undermine government image; or steal business, financial institutions, business information to profit illegally, endangering the economic order; or steal personal confidential information, violation of privacy or stolen cash. These acts seriously impede the normal operation of information networks. In addition to outside hackers the use of the Internet, the rampant crime and tort. The use of computer information network system to implement theft, fraud or corruption, embezzlement and other crimes than the traditional criminal methods and tools more subtle complexity, and violation of trade secrets with the network, electronic communications freedoms, civil Privacy and damage the reputation of others and other events are also frequent. Online pyramid schemes, online fraud, etc. These crimes have been on the network posed a serious threat to network security. Thirdly, the existence of their own network security vulnerabilities and risks. Freedom to share and open spirit of the Internet, but also the charm of the Internet The Internet is based on TCP / IP protocol, network devices, operating systems with networking capabilities and openness about the existence inherent vulnerability In addition, the software in the design, it is inevitable there are some defects or flaws, which has become a prime target for hackers, while software programmers deliberately left the ‘back door’ has become a major network security risks network These weaknesses of their own existence, to bring the work of anti-hacker considerable difficulty: on the one hand difficult for scientists to develop a common and effective network security for the protection of technical means on the other hand the lack of implementation of these measures sufficient to protect the social environment. 3. Methods 3.1 Analysis of Network Security System and network technology is a key technology for a wide variety of applications. Security is crucial to networks and applications. Although, network security is a critical requirement in emerging networks, there is a significant lack of security methods that can be easily implemented. There exists a â€Å"communication gap† between the developers of security technology and developers of networks. Network design is a well-developed process that is based on the Open Systems Interface (OSI) model. The OSI model has several advantages when designing networks. It offers modularity, flexibility, ease-of-use, and standardization of protocols. The protocols of different layers can be easily combined to create stacks which allow modular development. The implementation of individual layers can be changed later without making other adjustments, allowing flexibility in development. In contrast to network design, secure network design is not a well-developed process. There isn’t a methodology to manage the complexity of security requirements. Secure network design does not contain the same advantages as network design. When considering network security, it must be emphasized that the whole network is secure. Network security does not only concern the security in the computers at each end of the communication chain. When transmitting data the communication channel should not be vulnerable to attack. A possible hacker could target the communication channel, obtain the data, decrypt it and re-insert a false message. Securing the network is just as important as securing the computers and encrypting the message. When developing a secure network, the following need to be considered: 1. Access – authorized users are provided the means to communicate to and from a particular network. 2. Confidentiality – Information in the network remains private. 3. Authentication – Ensure the users of the network are who they say they are 4. Integrity – Ensure the message has not been modified in transit 5. Non-repudiation – Ensure the user does not refute that he used the network Here we mainly discuss fake websites. Fake websites means phishing. Phishing is attempting to acquire information (and sometimes, indirectly, money) such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures. Once a victim visits the phishing website, the deception is not over. Some phishing scams use JavaScript commands in order to alter the address bar. This is done either by placing a picture of a legitimate URL over the address bar, or by closing the original address bar and opening a new one with the legitimate URL. An attacker can even use flaws in a trusted website’s own scripts against the victim. These types of attacks (known as cross-site scripting) are particularly problematic, because they direct the user to sign in at their bank or service’s own web page, where everything from the web address to the security certificates appears correct. In reality, the link to the website is crafted to carry out the attack, making it very difficult to spot without specialist knowledge. Just such a flaw was used in 2006 against PayPal. A Universal Man-in-the-middle (MITM) Phishing Kit, discovered in 2007, provides a simple-to-use interface that allows a phisher to convincingly reproduce websites and capture log-in details entered at the fake site. To avoid anti-phishing techniques that scan websites for phishing-related text, phishers have begun to use Flash-based websites. These look much like the real website, but hide the text in a multimedia object. 3.2 Firewall’s Protection A firewall can either be software-based or hardware-based and is used to help keep a network secure. Its primary objective is to control the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analyzing the data packets and determining whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set. A network’s firewall builds a brigade between an internal network that is assumed to be secure and trusted, and another network, usually an external (inter)network, such as the Internet, that is not assumed to be secure and trusted. In general, some functions that can be done by the firewall are: 1. Doing a packet filter firewall can make the decision whether to accept or reject the incoming data packets. 2. Hiding Network Address (NAT) IP addresses can be used on the internet is a public IP. So to create a client that uses private IP can be translated into public IP. These functions are performed by a firewall, known as NAT. 3. Monitoring and Logging to improve network security and logging on the terms monitoring by a firewall. 3.3 Protocols of Network Security Network security protocols are used to protect computer data and communication in transit. The primary tool used to protect information as it travels across a network is cryptography. Cryptography uses algorithms to encrypt data so that it is not readable by unauthorized users. Generally, cryptography works with a set of procedures or protocols that manage the exchange of data between devices and networks. Together, these cryptographic protocols enhance secure data transfer. Without cryptographic network security protocols, Internet functions such as e-commerce would not be possible. Secure communication is necessary because attackers try to eavesdrop on communications, modify messages in transit, and hijack exchanges between systems. Some of the tasks networks security protocols are commonly used to protect are file transfers, Web communication, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN). The most common method of transferring files is using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). A problem with FTP is that the files are sent in clear text, meaning that they are sent unencrypted and therefore able to be compromised. For example, many webmasters update their sites using FTP; an attacker using a packet sniffer and the website’s IP address can intercept all communications between the webmaster and the site’s server. Here we mainly discuss two similar protocols: HTTP and HTTPS. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web. Hypertext is a multi-linear set of objects, building a network by using logical links (the so called hyperlinks) between the nodes (e.g. text or words). HTTP is the protocol to exchange or transfer hypertext. The standards development of HTTP was coordinated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), culminating in the publication of a series of Requests for Comments (RFCs), most notably RFC 2616 (June 1999), which defines HTTP/1.1, the version of HTTP in common use. Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with the SSL/TLS protocol. It provides encrypted communication to prevent eavesdropping and to securely identify the web server with which you are actually communicating. Historically, HTTPS connections were primarily used for payment transactions on the World Wide Web, e-mail and for sensitive transactions in corporate information systems. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, HTTPS began to see widespread use for protecting page authenticity on all types of websites, securing accounts and keeping user communications, identity and browsing history private.

Florence Nightingale Essay

The Polar Area Diagrams of Florence Nightingale If you read the article on Florence Nightingale in â€Å"The Children’s Book of Famous Lives†1 you will not learn that she had to battle with her parents to be allowed to study Mathematics. If you read the Ladybird book â€Å"Florence Nightingale†2 you will not discover that she was the first woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. In looking around for an area of research I was intrigued to discover that Florence Nightingale, who I always thought of as the â€Å"lady with the lamp†, was a competent Mathematician who created her own type of statistical diagram which she used to save thousands of soldiers from needless death. Florence Nightingale headed a group of 38 nurses who went to clean up the hospitals for the British soldiers in the Crimea in 1854. She found that most of the deaths were due to diseases which could be prevented by basic hygiene, such as typhus and cholera. Her improvements were simple but they had an enormous effect: â€Å"She and her nurses washed and bathed the soldiers, laundered their linens, gave them clean beds to lie in, and fed them†3. When she returned to Britain she made a detailed report to the Government setting out what conditions were like and what needed to be done to reduce deaths in the hospitals. Nothing was done, so she tried again, making another statistical report and included in it three new statistical diagrams to make data collated by William Farr more accessible to people who could not get their minds around tables of figures. These were her polar area diagrams or rose diagrams, sometimes also known as ‘coxcombs’. The first showed how many men had died over the two years 1854-5, the second showed what proportions of men had died from wounds in battle, from disease and from other causes, the third showed how the number of deaths had decreased once â€Å"sanitary improvements†4 had been introduced. I decided I would try to recreate the second of these diagrams which is the most complicated and the most shocking. It is called â€Å"Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the east†. A copy of it is below: Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 1 Example 6: Student work Figure 1 The basic ideas are very simple. The blue area represents deaths due to disease, the red area represents death due to wounds in battle and the black area represents death due to other causes. I tried to find a copy of the data which this diagram represented, but I had no luck, so I decided to make sure I understood exactly how the diagram was made and to make my own version of some data which I did have to hand. Once I tried to understand the diagram in detail I found there were some problems. The First Problem I wasn’t sure whether the black area in a shape such as this: was supposed to be this area or this area Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 2 Example 6: Student work In other words, were the colours separate, or overlapping? The articles I read didn’t make it clear. O’Connor says that â€Å"The area of each coloured wedge, measured from the centre as a common point, is in proportion to the statistic it represents†5, which makes it seem that all colours are wedged shaped, or sectors, so the colours overlap. However, Lienhard commented that in the November 1854 section â€Å"battle deaths take up a very small portion of each slice†6, which makes it sound as though the slice has three separate portions, and Brasseur says that â€Å"she also divided the areas within each of the wedges to show which portion of the mortality data for that month could be allotted to each cause of death†4. I decided to construct polar area diagrams for a set of data with the colours separate and with the colours overlapping to see if putting theory into practice would make it clearer to me. The data I used was taken from the IB grade distribution statistics for the past 15 years at my own institution. I used the numbers taking Higher Mathematics, Standard Mathematics and Mathematical Studies to be represented by my three colours. I took the old Mathematical Methods course to be the same as Standard Mathematics. To fit 15 sectors into the circle I needed each arc to subtend an angle of 2Ï€ radians at 15 1 2Ï€ Ï€ the centre. The area of each sector would then be A = r 2 = 2 where r is the r Ãâ€" 2 15 15 radius of the sector. Since the area needs to be proportional to the statistic, I needed to 15A and just used a scale which would allow me to draw find the radius, so I used r = a reasonable sized diagram. To create a polar area diagram with overlapping sectors I just used this formula on each of the numbers of students taking the various options. Numbers taking Mathematics year on year Numbers (A) Higher Studies Standard 1995 1 24 0 1996 4 15 0 1997 8 10 0 1998 6 31 0 1999 9 17 0 2000 10 20 0 2001 4 31 1 2002 5 21 2 2003 4 15 4 2004 5 29 5 2005 1 28 0 2006 3 16 2 2007 8 13 0 2008 11 29 14 2009 10 23 15 Radius ( r ) Higher Studies Standard 2.2 10.7 0.0 4.4 8.5 0.0 6.2 6.9 0.0 5.4 12.2 0.0 6.6 9.0 0.0 6.9 9.8 0.0 4.4 12.2 2.2 4.9 10.0 3.1 4.4 8.5 4.4 4.9 11.8 4.9 2.2 11.6 0.0 3.8 8.7 3.1 6.2 7.9 0.0 7.2 11.8 8.2 6.9 10.5 8.5 Ï€ Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 3 Example 6: Student work I then used a geometric program (GeoGebra) to draw the sectors all with a common 2Ï€ centre, each with an angle of radians, and with the radii as given in the table. I drew 15 the Higher sectors first with the Studies on top of these, and the Standard on top of these. This was the result: Figure 2 Polar area diagram to show students taking Mathematics at one school (colours overlapping) Blue represents the number of students taking Higher Maths. Brown represents the number of students taking Mathematical Studies. Green represents the number of students taking Standard Maths. The colours are not solid, so where colours overlap there is a different colour. The blue overlapping the brown makes a pink here, and the green overlapping the blue makes a darker green. In 2003 and in 2004 there were an equal number of students taking Higher and Standard so three separate colours cannot be seen on the diagram. Next I worked out the radii needed if the colours were not to overlap. For this I used cumulative areas to work out the radii. R1 = R3 = 15 ( A1 + A2 + A3) 15 A1 15 ( A1 + A2 ) Ï€ , R2 = Ï€ and Ï€ . Radii R2 10.9 9.5 9.3 13.3 11.1 12.0 12.9 11.1 9.5 12.7 11.8 9.5 10.0 13.8 12.6 Numbers taking Mathematics year on year Numbers (A) Higher (A1) Studies (A2) Standard (A3) 1995 1 24 0 1996 4 15 0 1997 8 10 0 1998 6 31 0 1999 9 17 0 2000 10 20 0 2001 4 31 1 2002 5 21 2 2003 4 15 4 2004 5 29 5 2005 1 28 0 2006 3 16 2 2007 8 13 0 2008 11 29 14 2009 10 23 15 R1 2.2 4.4 6.2 5.4 6.6 6.9 4.4 4.9 4.4 4.9 2.2 3.8 6.2 7.2 6.9 R3 10.9 9.5 9.3 13.3 11.1 12.0 13.1 11.6 10.5 13.6 11.8 10.0 10.0 16.1 15.1 Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 4 Example 6: Student work This gave a diagram with Higher numbers at the centre and Standard numbers at the edge, like this: Figure 3 Polar area diagram to show students taking Mathematics at one school (colours separate) Blue represents the number of students taking Higher Maths. Brown represents the number of students taking Mathematical Studies. Green represents the number of students taking Standard Maths. This diagram is incomplete in that it has not got the dates on it, but I was interested in the basic shape it would make rather than seeing it as a finished article to represent the data. I decided to do the same thing but with Studies in the middle and Higher at the edge to see how different it would look. Figure 4 Polar area diagram to show students taking Mathematics at one school (colours separate) Blue represents the number of students taking Higher Maths. Brown represents the number of students taking Mathematical Studies. Green represents the number of students taking Standard Maths. This feels very different. The blue section actually looks less significant, to my eye, being put at the edges. This made me think of something else I had read in Brasseur’s article, â€Å"Nightingale arranged these colored areas so that the main cause of death (and the largest sections)—deaths by disease—would be at the end of the wedges and would be more easily noticed.†4 I am sure that Brasseur thought that the colours were separate, and not overlapped. However, comparing my diagrams to Nightingale’s original in Figure 1, I Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 5 Example 6: Student work became sure that she did mean them to be overlapped. I noticed that in the lefthand rose in figure 1 (representing the second year) there is a wedge with blue at the edge followed by a wedge with blue at the edge: Figure 5 A zoom in of part of figure 1 This can happen in a diagram like my figure 2 of overlapping colours, but would be impossible if the colours are separate as in figures 3 and 4. From this I deduced that the colours on the diagram must be overlapping. The Second Problem My diagrams were unlike Nightingale’s ones in that the total area of the sectors in figure 2 represented the total number of students taking the IB at this school over the 15 years. Nightingale’s statistics were rates of mortality. Basically they can be thought of as percentages of soldiers who died, but, as before, when I read through the articles again, I was unsure what they were percentages of. Gill and Gill have table (Table 2) in their article with headings â€Å"No. of soldiers admitted to the hospital† and â€Å"No. (%) of soldiers who died†3. This might suggest that Nightingale was working with percentages of soldiers who were admitted into hospital. Lewi is more definite and refers to the actual statistic of one wedge of the third of Nightingale’s polar area diagrams as follows: â€Å"The mortality during the first period was 192 per 1,000 hospitalized soldiers (on a yearly basis)†9. However, Brasseur refers to the statistic in a wedge of Nightingale’s first diagram as being â€Å"the ratio of mortality for every 1,000 soldiers per annum in the field†4, in other words a percentage of the army actually on duty. I decided to create a polar area diagram to act as an analogy to the possible situations as follows: Nightingale’s data My data Number of soldiers in the army in a month Number of students taking the IB in a year Number of soldiers taken to hospital Number of students taking Maths Studies Number of soldiers dying of wounds Number of students gaining grade 7 Number of soldiers dyin g of disease Number of students gaining grade 6 Number of soldiers dying for other reasons Number of students gaining grade 5 My analogy of drawing a diagram showing the numbers of soldiers dying as a percentage of those admitted to hospital would then be the number of students gaining a grade above 4 as a percentage of those taking Mathematical Studies. I decided to do this one by hand, partly to prove I could, and partly to see if it would throw any extra light on the construction of the diagrams. Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 6 Example 6: Student work I gathered the data, found the percentages and used the percentages as A in the usual 15A to find the radii needed to construct the diagram. The data is here: formula r = Ï€ Numbers gaining top three grades in Mathematical Studies As percentage of those taking Studies Radius required for each Taking Total Grade 7 Grade 6 Grade 5 Studies in year % grade 7 % grade 6 % grade 5 R7 R6 R5 1995 7 10 4 24 25 29.16667 41.66667 16.66667 11.80 14.10 8.92 1996 2 9 3 15 19 13.33333 60.00000 20.00000 7.98 16.93 9.77 1997 1 4 2 10 18 10.00000 40.00000 20.00000 6.91 13.82 9.77 1998 5 12 11 31 37 16.12903 38.70968 35.48387 8.78 13.60 13.02 1999 2 6 7 17 26 11.76471 35.29412 41.17647 7.49 12.98 14.02 2000 3 4 7 20 30 15.00000 20.00000 35.00000 8.46 9.77 12.93 2001 3 8 8 31 36 9.67742 25.80645 25.80645 6.80 11.10 11.10 2002 1 8 4 21 28 4.76190 38.09524 19.04762 4.77 13.49 9.54 2003 0 1 8 15 23 0.00000 6.66667 53.33333 0.00 5.64 15.96 2004 3 9 7 29 34 10.34483 31.03448 24.13793 7.03 12.17 10.74 2005 1 11 9 28 29 3.57143 39.28571 32.14286 4.13 13.70 12.39 2006 2 4 5 16 21 12.50000 25.00000 31.25000 7.73 10.93 12.22 2007 1 8 3 13 22 7.69231 61.53846 23.07692 6.06 17.14 10.50 2008 0 3 17 29 54 0.00000 10.34483 58.62069 0.00 7.03 16.73 2009 0 5 5 23 48 0.00000 21.73913 21.73913 0.00 10.19 10.19 And the diagram came out like this: Figure 6 Polar area diagram to show percentages of students taking Mathematical Studies who gained grades above 4 Red represents the number of students gaining grade 7. Blue represents the number of students gaining grade 6. Green represents the number of students gaining grade 5. The purple areas represent coinciding numbers of students gaining grade 5 and 6. Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 7 Example 6: Student work One thing which I learnt from this exercise is that you have to be very careful about your scale and think through every move before you start if you don’t want to fall off the edge of the paper! It is a far more tense experience drawing a diagram by hand because you know that one slip will make the whole diagram flawed. A computer slip can be corrected before you print out the result. My admiration for Florence Nightingale’s draftsmanship was heightened by doing this. The other thing which drawing by hand brought out was that, if you draw the arcs in in the appropriate colours, the colouring of the sectors sorts itself out. You colour from the arc inwards until you come to another arc or the centre. The only problem came when two arcs of different colours came in exactly the same place. I got around this problem by colouring these areas in a totally different colour and saying so at the side. At this point in my research someone suggested some more possible websites to me, and following these up I found a copy of Nightingale’s second diagram which was clear enough for me to read her notes, and a copy of the original data she used. The first of these was in a letter by Henry Woodbury suggesting that Nightingale got her calculations wrong and the radii represented the statistics rather than the area.7 The letter had a comment posted by Ian Short which led me to an article by him8 giving the data for the second diagram and explaining how it was created. The very clear reproduction of Nightingale’s second diagram in Woodbury’s letter7 shows that Miss Nightingale wrote beside it: â€Å"The areas of the blue, red and black wedges are each measured from the centre as the common vertex†. This makes it quite clear that the colours are overlapped and so solves my first problem. She also wrote â€Å"In October 1854 & April 1855 the black area coincides with the red†. She coloured the first of these in red and the second in black, but just commented on it beside the diagram to make it clear. The article by Short8 was a joy to read, although I could only work out the mathematical equations, which were written out in a way which is strange to me ( for example â€Å"$$ ext{Area of sector B} = frac{pi r_B^2}{3}=3$$†8 ) because I already knew what they were (The example had a sector B in a diagram which I could see had 1 2Ï€ 2 Ï€ 2 = = areaB rB rB ). The two things I found exciting from this article were the 2 3 3 table of data which Nightingale used to create the second diagram, and an explanation of what rates of mortality she used. She described these as follows; â€Å"The ratios of deaths and admissions to Force per 1000 per annum are calculated from the monthly ratios given in Dr. Smith’s Table B†4 and I had not been able to understand the meaning of this from the other articles. (Brasseur adds that â€Å"Dr. Smith was the late director-general of the army.†4). Using Short’s article I was able to work out what it meant. I will use an example of data taken from the table in Short’s article, which is in turn taken from â€Å"A contribution to the sanitary history of the British army during the late war with Russia† by Florence Nightingale of 18598. In February 1855 the average size of the army was 30919. Of these 2120 died of ‘zymotic diseases’, 42 died of ‘wounds & injuries’ and 361 died of ‘all other causes’. This gives a total of 2120 + 42 + 361 = deaths. 2523 2523 Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 8 Example 6: Student work 2523 81.6003 men died per 1000 men in the army in Ãâ€"1000 = 30919 that month. If the size of the army had stayed at 30919, with no more men being shipped in or out, and the death rate had continued at 81.6 deaths per 1000 men per month over 12 months, the number of deaths per annum would have been 81.6003 Ãâ€"12 = 979.2 per 1000 men in the army. In other words 979.2 deaths per 1000 per annum. out of 30919 means that This understanding of the units used allowed me to finally understand why O’Connor says of the death rate in January 1855, â€Å"if this rate had continued, and troops had not been replaced frequently, then disease alone would have killed the entire British army in the Crimea.†5 The number of deaths due to disease in January 1855 was 2761 and the 2761 average size of the army was 32393. This gives a rate of 1022.8 Ãâ€"1000 Ãâ€"12 = 32393 deaths from disease per 1000 per annum. Another way of looking at it is that if 2761 had dies each month from disease, 2761Ãâ€"12 = 33132 would have died in 12 months, but there were only 32393 in the army! As an aside, I noticed that O’Connor quoted the mortality rate for January 1855 as â€Å"1,023 per 10,000 being from zymotic diseases†5. Another example that we should not trust everything we see in print. Having sorted this out I was ready to attempt my recreation of figure 1. I decided to do the right hand rose only, covering April 1854 to March 1855. The following table shows the data taken from Short’s article in blue and my calculations in black: Average Wounds size of Zymotic & Z/S*1000*12 Radius W/S*1000*12 Radius O/S*1000*12 Radius (Az) (Aw) (Ao) for army diseases injuries Other for for Month (S) (Z) (W) (O) (1 d.p.) Zymtotic (1 d.p.) Wounds (1 d.p.) Other Apr-54 8571 1 0 5 1.4 2.3 0.0 0.0 7.0 5.2 May-54 23333 12 0 9 6.2 4.9 0.0 0.0 4.6 4.2 Jun-54 28333 11 0 6 4.7 4.2 0.0 0.0 2.5 3.1 Jul-54 28722 359 0 23 150.0 23.9 0.0 0.0 9.6 6.1 Aug-54 30246 828 1 30 328.5 35.4 0.4 1.2 11.9 6.7 Sep-54 30290 788 81 70 312.2 34.5 32.1 11.1 27.7 10.3 Oct-54 30643 503 132 128 197.0 27.4 51.7 14.1 50.1 13.8 Nov-54 29736 844 287 106 340.6 36.1 115.8 21.0 42.8 12.8 Dec-54 32779 1725 114 131 631.5 49.1 41.7 12.6 48.0 13.5 Jan-55 32393 2761 83 324 1022.8 62.5 30.7 10.8 120.0 21.4 Feb-55 30919 2120 42 361 822.8 56.1 16.3 7.9 140.1 23.1 Mar-55 30107 1205 32 172 480.3 42.8 12.8 7.0 68.6 16.2 Az is the death rate per 1000 per annum from disease, Aw is the death rate per 1000 per annum from wounds and Ao is the death rate per 1000 per annum from other causes. For 2Ï€ Ï€ this diagram there are 12 divisions so each sector has an angle of = and an area of 12 6 12A 1Ï€ 2 Ï€ 2 . r = r . So for each radius r = Ï€ 26 12 Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 9 Example 6: Student work I will show my final polar area diagram side by side with Nightingale’s original version: Figure 7. Nightingale’s original â€Å"Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the east† and my recreation. I have to admit that I felt rather proud once I had done this! However, looking at the September 1854 wedge I realised that the two diagrams didn’t correspond. In Nightingale’s original diagram I can see that there are more deaths from other causes than from wounds. In my version there are fewer deaths from other causes than from wounds. All other versions of the original in other articles I looked at ( Gill and Gill3, Brasseur4, O’Connor5, Woodbury7, Riddle10, Small11, Lienhard6) are as the original, but the table in Short definitely shows fewer deaths from other causes than from wounds8. Conclusion I started out to try to lean how to recreate the polar area diagram which Florence Nightingale made to communicate to other people just how bad the situation was in army hospitals. This diagram shouts a need for reform. Look at it. The blue represents deaths which could be avoided with a bit of organisation and care. The red represents deaths due to the actual battles. Florence Nightingale had copies of her report containing her diagrams published at her own expense and sent them to doctors, army officers, members of parliament and the Queen. Following her persistent lobbying a commission was set up to improve military barracks and hospitals, sanitary codes were established and procedures were put in place for more organised collection of medical statistics4. It is a very shocking picture with a huge snowball of social change behind it. It has been an exciting adventure to drill down to a real understanding of its construction. Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 10 Example 6: Student work However, the biggest lesson I have learnt from this research is that you can’t trust what you read. As I have argued in the main text, I am moderately sure that Brasseur thought the colours of the second diagram did not overlap4, I think O’Connor got his death rates wrong for January 18555, and I think Short may have transcribed the data incorrectly for September 18548. According to Brasseur, Florence Nightingale cross checked her data and was systematic about addressing objections to her analysis4. Everyone can make mistakes, and errors can propagate if we just quote what someone else says without looking for corroboration. I have been left with a desire to find out more about this tenacious woman who wouldn’t let society mould her into a genteel wife. Also, if I ever get the chance, I would like to get a look at one of the 2000 copies of â€Å"Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Effiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army. Founded Chiefly on th e Experience of the Late War† which Florence Nightingale had published in 1858, to see the actual table of data and check the numbers for September 1854. Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material 11 Example 6: Student work References/Bibliography 1.Duthie, Eric ed. The Children’s Book of Famous Lives.Odhams Press Ltd, London 1957 2. Du Garde Peach, L. Florence Nightingale. Wills & Hepworth Ltd, Loughborough, 1959 3. Gill, Christopher J. and Gill, Gillian C. Nightingale in Scutari: Her Legacy Reexamined Center for Internatinal Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, viewed 26th July 2009 4. Brasseur, Lee, Florence Nightingale’s Visual Rhetoric in the Rose Diagrams. Technical Communication Quarterly, 14(2), 161-182, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, 2005, viewed 26th July 2009 5. O’Connor, J.J. and Robertson, E.F., Florence Nightingale. viewed 26 July 2009 6. Lienhard, John H., Nightingale’s Graph, The Engines of Our Ingenuity. 2002 viewed 26th July 2009 7. Woodbury, Henry, Nightingale’s Rose. American Physical SocietyLaunches Dynamic Diagrams Redesign of Physical Review Letters, January 9, 2008, 4:05 pm, filed under Information Design, Visual Explanation View ed 30 July 2009 8. Short, Ian, Mathematics of the Coxcombs. November 5th, 2008 viewed 30th July 2009 9. Lewi, Paul J. Florence Nightingale and Polar Area Diagrams, Speaking of Graphics. 2006 < www.datascope.be/sog/SOG-Chapter5.pdf> viewed 26th July 2009 10. Riddle, Larry, Polar-Area Diagram. 2006 , viewed 26th July 2009 11. Small, Hugh, Florence Nightingale’s statistical diagrams. Presentation to Research Conference organized by the Florence Nightingale Museum St. Thomas’s Hospital, 18th March 1998 viewed 26th July 2009 Mathematics SL and HL teacher support material