Issue Report on Captive Breeding and Reintroduction

Wildwood Trust is a project situated on the edge of the Forest of Blean, in Kent. Wildwood's aim is to use the facilities in the woodland and animal collection to ‘support practical conservation projects in the wild.' There are over three hundred animals, many of which are endangered, taking part in conservation projects, and living in semi natural enclosures. The woodland is managed by coppice rotation, a process that takes place every 20 years where trees such as silver birch and sweet chestnut are cut to ground level and then shoots allowed to regrow. This is an essential habitat for the hazel dormouse. The wood is a centre for captive breeding and reintroduction for native endangered species such as hazel dormice and this example will be used in this report to explain these issues. The Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) The Hazel Dormouse is native to the countryside of Britain, predominantly southern England (see figure 2), living in woodland areas and environments rich in coppice. The mice are an arboreal species; spending the majority of their life in trees or bushes and only living on ground level during winter hibernation. The mice are considered a ‘flagship species' chosen to represent an environmental cause and raise support subsequently benefitting other species contained in the ecosystem. The populations of dormice were shown to have disappeared from seven counties in England by The UK Mammal Society Dormouse Survey in 1984. The decline has been caused by human destruction of their woodland habitat through development, climate change and pressure from other species. Grey squirrels were introduced into England and ate the nuts that the dormice fed on whilst they hibernated. Climatic change caused warmer winters resulting in the early awakening of the dormice from hibernation, before the ripening of their food, and wetter summers stopped the dormice from foraging. Dormice are listed on The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and are protected by law, under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. This act prevents the killing, injuring, disturbing or trapping of the dormouse. It also makes it illegal to possess or control the animal, damage its shelter and sell or buy the dormice without a licence. Captive breeding Captive breeding is the reproduction of animals in confinement under controlled conditions to be released into the wild. This is important for conservation of threatened species and is an example of ex situ (out of the natural habitat) conservation, but it raises implications. Captive breeding has taken place at Wildwood for dormice as part of the national dormouse captive breeding and reintroduction programme. The dormice are housed in an enclosure made of a wooden frame and mesh covering. Unlike other rodents theirs is a short breeding season having 1-2 small litters of 4-7 offspring. The young stay with the mother for 6-8 weeks, making it unlikely for more than one litter a year. In each enclosure the nest boxes are kept 1.5m off the ground with protection from water and predators, water and food are hung on the side of the cage and the floor is covered with leaves and soil. After hibernation the enclosure is filled with branches of vegetation to provide 3D space for the animals to use. This provides the ideal conditions for breeding with no stressful food finding. One enclosure can hold up to three individuals either two females and one male or one breeding pair and their offspring, under one year of age, and will be kept in the same groupings over winter. Adult males must be placed separately as they are territorial and will fight. Where do the breeding mice come from? In November nest boxes are checked and, if permission is granted from Natural England, wild dormice weighing less than 15g can be taken. As these mice are underweight they have less chance of surviving winter hibernation and can be kept indoors during this period in heated nest boxes. Other dormice are orphaned or given into rescue centres and vets. The Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group (CDCBG) chooses which individuals breed and how many are bred annually, which also helps to prevent inbreeding. The Paignton zoo studbook keeper gives each captive born dormouse a stud book number, and their breeder will allocate each mouse a local ID number. Genetics When animals reproduce genes are passed from parents to offspring. Genetic variation is the natural differences of individuals, across a population. A characteristic that will give dormice a disadvantage, for example short teeth, could prevent them from opening nuts, so if food was in short supply these mice would die and longer teethed mice would thrive. This would cause the gene for longer teeth to become more common, which is the basis of natural selection. Natural selection, was a theory of Charles Darwin, in which better adapted animals would have more chance of survival, so becoming more predominant. Wildwood would like to preserve biodiversity which is the huge variation found within and between species and ecosystems on Earth. Offspring that are created from the same sets of genes will have similar genes to each other. Inbreeding is the breeding of animals that share more genes than the average population, they are related in some way. If inbreeding takes place the genes of their young will come from a very selective gene pool, making particular genes more predominant within a species. Inbreeding can lead to deformities and mutations as well as problems with immune systems and an increase in genetic diseases. ‘Inbreeding tends to reduce the number of alleles in a population', from source 1. A studbook for dormice was created in 2006 to keep track of mice kept by members of the CDCBG. The studbook limits inbreeding and keeps breeding to first generation or wild caught animals. Breeders can use the studbook to selectively breed, mixing mice from different collections and different families. This will stop related mice from dominating the gene pool creating healthier mice and preserving genetic diversity. Future developments could include implantation of embryos and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) of the dormice. Selective breeding could be improved and gradually undesirable characteristics or weaknesses bred out. Cloning could be developed. Captive breeding raises many ethical, environmental, social and economic issues. Ethical issues. * There are various ethical issues that need consideration with regard to captive breeding. Animals have to be removed from their natural environment and put into captivity virtually locking them up and many people feel that there should not be any interference with nature in this way even to avoid extinction. It could be the case that genetic diversity has already declined to the point where it is irreversible. * There could be a case for protection to encourage breeding in the wild, by in situ methods of conservation, within the environment. However, captive breeding is used to retain species and improve numbers and is easier to manage. * Selective breeding increases genetic variation and produces healthier populations also preventing inbreeding. This reduces deformities and mutations but should humans interfere with natural reproduction? Inbreeding would sometimes naturally occur and if the population was kept large enough this would not often happen. Economical Visitors pay an entrance fee at Wildwood and this money goes towards the captive breeding scheme. However, they do not see the programme taking place as they would disturb the dormice and interfere with hibernation and reproduction. It could be that unless the programme continues indefinitely a lot of investment may be lost if the numbers continue to decline. Environment Using dormice from different collections to breed may spread diseases to other populations of dormice. Reintroduction Reintroduction is releasing captive born animals into a particular environment to which they were once native and where they will be free from human supervision. Normally these populations experienced decline due to human intervention and will only succeed if the cause of the decline has been overcome. The reintroduction is considered successful if the animal has fully integrated into the local population and survived with no further aid or interaction from humans. Reintroduction projects must follow guidelines set out by the IUCN and Wildwood has released dormice back into their natural habitats. They use a soft release program, gradually using less human intervention. Seven weeks before release the litters are health screened at the Zoological Society and released if they pass the tests. Reintroduction is limited to once a year as criteria for suitable sites are extensive and complicated. The population densities are less than 10 adults per hectare in their best environments. What does the health screening test for? The health screening takes place to check the animals do not have any disease that could be passed onto wild populations. Scientists test for: * pathogenic bacteria * Tapeworms (cestodes) * Roundworms (strongyles) * Tubercolosis * Parasites The condition of the dormice's coat, skin, face, genitals, feet and incisor teeth are checked and their weight should be between 18-24g for summer re-introduction. 8mm Pet-ID microchips are fitted in the dormice under anaesthetic for identification in the future. Where is a dormouse released? An ideal site for the dormice†¦ would†¦ would not†¦ be an old wood with different layers of vegetation, already have a dormouse community (males may kill new dormice) have lots of undergrowth, have less than 100 nest boxes in the woodland. have deciduous trees, Place males less than 100m apart, as they are territorial. have coppicing taking place regularly, Have related dormice close by to stop inbreeding have fruiting hazel, Be at least 20 hectares, have a site management plan. Figure 4: Table showing an ideal site for dormouse reintroduction. How Wildwood release their dormice 1. Natural England is informed. 2. Pre-release cages made of wire are attached to a group of hazel trees. 3. 2-3 nest boxes placed in each cage, with a male and two females so there is more of a chance of the animals staying together. 4.Dormice then live in these whilst they acclimatise to the surroundings. 5. For 2-3 weeks humans supply fresh food everyday, during the day so the dormice are not disturbed. Also leafy branches are placed above pens to provide shade and protection from predators. 6. One week to 10 days into the three week period, a hole, less than 3cm2 is made in the top corner of the cage. The mice can then explore the area and there cage can not be invaded by birds or squirrels. 7. The frequency of feeding is reduced gradually until mid-September, when the animals should have found their own food supplies. 8. The nest boxes are checked until October, where weights and number of offspring are recorded. 9. Dormice are left to hibernate. 10. Monitoring begins in May. Figure 5: Stages of reintroduction What is monitored and when does it take place? A long term monitoring plan should be made before any reintroduction, so that the species will successfully survive in a wild environment. After release nest boxes are checked by trained and licensed volunteers, who record numbers, sex, weight, breeding condition and offspring. The volunteers monitor the nest once a month from April to October, between the 15th and 25th of each month. Data should be collected before midday so torpid dormice can be seen, and a National Dormouse Monitoring Programme Record From must be completed. Conditions of release * Winter cleaning of empty boxes. * Dormice are released in June to prepare for hibernation. Ethical There is an ethical duty for reintroduction because humans destroyed the dormice's natural habitat and caused the population decline so they should restore the population. However, should animals be returned to the wild when there are still outstanding issues that led to the original decline? Microchips are put into the necks of the released dormice which are approximately a tenth of their body length. Anaesthetic is risky for small animals and interferes with their natural state. The chips are considered important for monitoring the dormice to help with the programme. They could be eaten by a predator in the food chain and the microchip would be affecting natural processes. If the reintroduction is not successful and the mice die this could be due to human error and animals may have suffered as a result of this. Economical The scheme is expensive as the release is labour intensive, with staff needed to survey the area before and after release. This diverts resources from much more cost-effective ecosystem and habitat conservation measures. The health screening is expensive and microchips costs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8 per mouse on top of anaesthetic and vetinary bills. Environmental The nest boxes and cages used can intrude on the natural woodland, with the possibility of dormice causing a shortage of food for the other animals in the ecosystem. Social Some behaviour in genetically inherited but some is learnt from adults and experience. Captive bred animals do not gain this knowledge and are at a disadvantage when reintroduced. The mice might lose their ability to create their own nests. The reintroduced dormice could cause a problem to the local residents.

Massively multiplayer online game Essay

Before computer games flourished through the past eras, patintero, sungka, tumbang-preso, tumba-lata, tagu-taguan and sipa were one of the most anticipated outdoor games inside our country. Experiencing these kinds of games imprints almost our half life and we can’t have a complete childhood experience without getting tapped hard on the back, been hit by a flying slipper for it missed the target, playing with shells, screaming and cheering over your teammates, jumping over a person and avoiding getting hit its body part, and hiding and camouflage in a place to prevent from being the ‘it’ of the game. Try asking a child what was his favourite childhood experience, and would tell either scratched his knee from running away from his opponent or been scolded by mother because of going home late due to exceeding allotted time of playing outdoor games. And try asking a child from the present century what he has been doing lately, and might get an answer playing tekken with PSP, or Super Mario or Pacman with Nintendo or Xbox. Difference spotted? When a child is in the climax of playing and been taking the game seriously, he doesn’t want to be disturbed for in some instance might loose on his opponent and can’t advance to the next upgrades. A common reaction received by parents when they call their children to gather around while their kids were busy pressing on joysticks and keyboards and faces were just centimetres away from the screen would be â€Å"Mom! Can’t you wait because I’m already on my way to take down Bowser! † And two probabilities might happen after: either the parents would start screaming and repeat on telling to set aside their loving gadgets or the children would get irritated on the booming loud voices and start stomping away and lock themselves in a room where they could continue praising themselves for they have defeated the ‘boss’ in the game. With the help of advanced technological innovation that has spread around the globe, the beginning of 3D and multi-player online gaming (MMORPG) have surfaced and hooked children the most. Children fell into the gaming world, spending more time in virtual rather than in real, which sooner turns to be their life. Like, children must have a deviant childhood like these; playing computers during their free time and having fun with his co-gamers. They feel like they can play anytime any of the newest released games go on without ending, they continue forever, and they can pick up any character they wanted on the virtual world. If a child started to feel in contact more with gaming, he will spend more time in solitary seclusion. It is difficult for some adolescents (particularly male adolescents) who are vulnerable to the area of prone to video game addiction since it might be transparent to say how popular gaming is in children of all ages, which results to mostly negative results. A report like found in Elyria, Ohio, where a seventeen year-old boy named Daniel Petric shot his parents in the head after they confiscated his copy of ‘Halo 3. ‘ His mother was killed and his father wounded due to the gunshots, and the troubled teen fled the murder scene with solely one item in his possession: the ‘Halo 3’ game (Ridgefield, 2009). A similar report flashed on television says that a child has accidentally killed his playmate, stabbed with a knife after playmate got a higher score on the game Flabby Bird and now been sent under the care of DSWD. Several reports similar to this have rang the ears of the mass since the effect of gaming has become more serious. It all started from playing innocently, never knew slowly by slowly they are being eaten with intoxication of gaming and now swallowed of gaming addiction. Results like killing have been a serious warning to those who are sensationally indulged in playing, but often just ignored. The video games are common to be blamed, which we neglect the fact that some might have done crimes since they are often being neglected by parents. Coming from a single-parent family isn’t a factor, but how a parent sees after his child while growing. Far from my knowledge, it is the duty of the parents to look after their kids when engaged into different aspects of real and virtual life. But most children dare to say that they’ve been controlled over their life, treated like human robots; like told to eat properly, sleep on time, do school assignments and how to spend their time practically. But nobody commands them when they got the chance to get hold of gaming materials, because in there, they call themselves the â€Å"Thug Lords of Gaming†. Fond to their name, with raging adrenaline rush cannot escape the virtual life. Restricting kids from playing won’t help to drive the addiction either, for playing is part of our childhood. The more we drag them away, the more they rebel and really determined into getting along with playing. Personally speaking, life with no play is never fun. Who wouldn’t like to experience playing sipa, tumbang preso, luksong-baka and patintero? Who wouldn’t like to meet a childhood friend? None right? Those might not be similar to the games inside the computer world, but those are the basic foundation of gaming not until the late centuries where video games were invented. With increasing percentage of latter sides of gaming, some parents are over-protective over their kids to the extent that they lock their offsprings into a jail afar from their supposed fun childhood. They never had the chance to have ‘real’ playmates. In some instance, a child who has this experience growing up gathering medals for their parents is the only thing instilled in their minds. On contrary, a child who spent more time in playing grows up quitting almost 70% of his social life. This might lead into several serious effects like having a psychological disorder due to excessive malfunction of the brain. And here’s the tricky and dangerous part: they are the ‘unhappy teenagers’ which later have a growing percentage in the globe. They have lost their confidence in communicating and lowered their self-esteem. They’ve spent all of their time interacting in a virtual world and are extremely uncomfortable when dealing with real people in real time. In order to retrieve the part of them which just got lost, they seek attention from others. Or a probability that they would drive all away from himself and just have a life with the unreal, which might lead to serious killing crimes like what we’ve been fearing to happen. Being a gamer isn’t dangerous. It is having a hard time kicking the habit who’s the real enemy. It is not a dissatisfaction to play computer games, but be careful of getting addicted. Think twice before engaging wholly, for everything that is excessive can cause vicious effects, double the harm we think it would cause to us. We, as being the most users of techno-gaming, are the ones in charge of what might happen when we are drowned in the pool of virtual scenes. And as a gamer, too, playing has just been part of my life. It is just how we balance our time between real and virtual space. Even up to this extent, I would be happy if given a rest time and spending it playing with my favourite computer games and would even dare to challenge my siblings into a multi-player game once again. But my playtime has limits too, and I’m the one who limits myself from the red line before stepping into it. References: Ridgefield, A. (2009). Video Game Addiction. Teen Ink. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www. teenink. com/opinion/movies_music_tv/article/82305/Video-Game-Addiction/.

9’Ms of Quality Essay

Different meaning could be attached to the word quality under different circumstances. The word quality does not mean the quality of manufactured product only. It may refer to the quality of the process (i.e., men, material, and machines) and even that of management. Where the quality manufactured product referred as or defined as â€Å"Quality of product as the degree in which it fulfills the requirement of the customer. It is not absolute but it judged or realized by comparing it with some standards†. Quality begins with the design of a product in accordance with the customer specification further it involved the established measurement standards, the use of proper material, selection of suitable manufacturing process etc., quality is a relative term and it is generally used with reference to the end use of the product. Crosby defined as â€Å"Quality is conformance to requirement or specifications†. Juran defined as â€Å"Quality is fitness for use†. â€Å"The Quality of a product or service is the fitness of that product or service for meeting or exceeding its intended use as required by the customer.† Fundamental Factors Affecting Quality The nine fundamental factors (9 M’s), which are affecting the quality of products and services, are: markets, money, management, men, motivation, materials, machines and mechanization. Modern information methods and mounting product requirements. 1.Market: Because of technology advancement, we could see many new products to satisfy customer wants. At the same time, the customer wants are also changing dynamically. So, it is the role of companies to identify needs and then meet it with existing technologies or by developing new technologies. 2.Money: The increased global competition necessitates huge outlays for new equipments and process. This should be rewarded by improved productivity. This is possible by minimizing quality costs associated with the maintenance and improvements of quality level. 3.Management: Because of the increased complex structure of business organization, the quality related responsibilities lie with persons at different levels in the organization. 4.Men: The rapid growth in technical knowledge leads to development of human resource with different specialization. This necessitates some groups like, system engineering group to integrate the idea of full specialization. 5.Motivation: If we fix the responsibility of achieving quality with each individual in the organization with proper motivation techniques, there will not be any problem in producing the designed quality products. 6.Materials: Selection of proper materials to meet the desired tolerance limit is also an important consideration. Quality attributes like, surface finish, strength, diameter etc., can be obtained by proper selection of material. 7.Machines and mechanization: In order to have quality products which will lead to higher productivity of any organization, we need to use advanced machines and mechanize various operations. 8.Modern information methods: The modern information methods help in storing and retrieving needed data for manufacturing, marketing and servicing. 9.Mounting product requirements: Product diversification to meet customers taste leads to intricacy in design, manufacturing and quality standards. Hence, companies should plan adequate system to tackle all these requirements.

Interactions of hazardous materials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Interactions of hazardous materials - Essay Example Total dose of rem determines how much the radiation can harm a person. A 25 rem dosage of radiation causes changes that can be detected in the blood while doses around 100 rems normally don’t have immediate effects. Radiation of 50 rems causes nausea, 55 rem fatigue, 70 rem vomiting, 75 hair loss, 90 diarrheas, 100 hemorrhage and 400 can possibly cause death within a period of 2 months. 1,000 rems cause destruction of intestinal lining and death within two weeks while rem of 2,000 damages the central nerve system and causes death within minutes (Walker, 2006). In Three Mile Island incident, the radiation that was released was minimal, far below the levels associated with health effects resulting from radiation exposure. In the incident, 2.4 million curies of radioactive noble gases and 16 curies of radioiodines were released (Mac Kinney & Schoch, 2003). The resulted average radiation dose to people living in that area was 1.4 mrem. In chest X-ray, a patient receives 3.2 mrem this is twice more than the radiation released during the incident. In the Chernobyl incident in the Soviet Union, the radiation level in some areas was about 20,000 roentgens per hour and this cause death to some workers. Average radiation dose for the people who was affected most was 120 mSv; this was mainly those who were assisting in the recovery operation and a dosage of 30 mSv for the evacuated

Discuss how structural and institutional factors in Britain and Essay

Discuss how structural and institutional factors in Britain and America may have limited the scope for improving corporate perfo - Essay Example Secondly, soft laws, which are encouraged by the highly influential Cadbury commission of institutional investors in the United Kingdom, which gets into contracts with portfolio companies. Thirdly, attention to issues of Corporate Social Responsibility, which is encouraged by â€Å"the Institutional Shareholders Committee, which represents over 80% of institutional investment in the UK† (Malhotra, 2009, p. 246). Institutional factors have a lot of influence on the performance of organizations. Limitations or possibilities for how and how quickly organizations can change depend on institutional factors. These â€Å"include factors such as to what degree policies-and the laws that formalize policies –are really driving actions of senior executives , civil servants and front line service providers† (Fowler, Acquaye-Baddoo, and Ubels, 2010, p.150), and how far a nation’s budget process is driven by interests of influential people or by policies. Presence or la ck of a positive relation between corporate governance and corporate financial performance has been used to test whether reforms in corporate governance have a positive impact on industries in Britain. According to Prasad â€Å"corporate governance refers to the relationship that exists between the different participants, and defining the direction and performance of a corporate firm† (2006, p.1). Corporate governance is vital in international business. Poor financial performance by corporate can be attributed to bad corporate governance. This can be seen in the case of the United States where â€Å"companies with weaker corporate governance structures (indicated by substantial agency problems) perform less well than companies with better corporate governance structures† (Solomon, 2010, n.p.). This can be clearly seen in the case of the United States where there is poor performance by companies with poor corporate governance structures, while those with good corporate governance structures perform well. Structural reforms in nations have had a number of benefits. Structural factors are important determinants of competitive business and growth prospects. Since the late 1970s, structural reforms have attracted a lot of attention by policy makers. In Britain, structural reforms began when the government â€Å"was under Mrs. Thatcher, it adopted a series of structural reforms to result in successfully reviving the British economy. The US government under President Regan followed Mrs. Thatcher’s policy by pursuing structural reforms and successfully rejuvenated the US economy† (OECD, 2005, p.24). In recent years, developed and developing countries have recognized the beneficial effects of structural reforms, and have therefore adopted them. Among these nations, some have successfully attained economic growth, while others haven’t been successful. From this it is clear that structural and institutional reforms can have positive or negative impacts on corporate performance in nations, which is among the factors that determine economic progress. Structural and Institutional Reforms in Britain and America

Powerlessness in Amongst Nurses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Powerlessness in Amongst Nurses - Research Paper Example Managers have a tendency to overlook the internal conflicts that exist amongst the staff. Nurses experience intense conflicts amongst each other, and they require an arbitrative party to resolve the rivalry (Manojlovich, 2007). When the conflicts are highly persistent, the nurses develop a negative attitude towards the workplace. They feel that situations will remain conflicting. Consequently, the nurses do not anticipate changes and harmony within the workplace. The negative attitude amounts to a feeling of powerlessness in the workplace. Powerless staff will relieve their negative feelings amongst each other (Carpenito-Moyet, 2007). This is according to the oppression theory. Evidently, conflict and powerlessness have a direct affiliation in the workplace. Lateral violence is also a key attribution to powerlessness within the unit. This vice amounts to bullying. Most of the minority nurses experience much adversity from majors within the unit. In this case, the majors oppress colle agues with demeaning tasks (Russell, 2012). Consequently, the patient care is significantly deprived due to the impaired relationships that exist within the staff. Powerful groups extremely humiliate and exploit the powerless groups. Nurses invest in lateral violence in the quest for power. Consequently, they render their colleagues powerless within the workplace. ... Nursing proficiency is a source of power within the unit. Expertise has a definite positive impact to the nurses’ self-esteem. With the advancement of expertise, nurses attain a sense of authority (Manojlovich, 2007). Expertise and proficiency are attainable resources within the confines of the unit. Nurses encounter diverse challenges and experiences that enhance nurse expertise. Attainment of knowledge and skills within the unit accredits the nurse with professional influence to other workmates. In this case, the nurse with expertise will mentor and train newly recruited staff. They are in a capacity to provide a mentorship affiliation with the incoming workforce (Porter-O'Grady, 2009). Consequently, the experienced nurses gain power to induce skills to the recruited nurses. Expertise power amounts to healing supremacy. It transforms the lives of the patients significantly towards healing and recovery. Therefore, expertise elevates the power to care for the patients. Ethics and expertise are evident sources of power within the unit. Question 1c Nancy has an obligation to encourage the nurses towards empowerment. She also has an obligation to resolve the unwanted behaviors within the unit. Nancy ought to spell the impacts of negative relationships. This would involve specific and relevant examples within the nursing unit (Carpenito-Moyet, 2007). Therefore, Nancy should illustrate the ramifications of abusive relationships amongst the nurses. For example, Nancy would outline the impacts of the negative relationships to the patients. She would achieve this by showing the high mortality rate and deprived care towards the patients. Through this illustration, the nurses would be encouraged towards healthy

The growth of Gulliver's madness in Part IV of Gulliver's Travels Essay

The growth of Gulliver's madness in Part IV of Gulliver's Travels - Essay Example He descends further into madness because he cannot (and does not want to) think clearly. Indeed, Gulliver’s madness is a result of pride that is founded in disception. Gulliver refuses to accept the truth about his race because it means accepting the truth about who he is. He would rather live a liar and in deception. Discussion Gulliver’s madness started when he becomes unable to control events. His madness started slowly and with his interaction with the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos. In a sense, his madness is the result of his inability to accept and discern what he has encountered. He knows what is happening but he cannot make real sense of it other than wants he wants. Gulliver’s madness becomes evident when he begins to think of his own â€Å"kind† as less than acceptable. His interaction with the Houyhnhnms makes Gulliver to admire them greatly. He tells us that their ideas and viewpoints â€Å"opened my eyes and enlarged my understanding, that I bega n to view the actions and passions of man in a very different light† (250). He admires the Houyhnhnms and, as a result, begins to despise anything else, including those of his own race. The fact that Gulliver wants to be accepted as a Houyhnhnm is also an indication that he is slipping into insanity. Gulliver believes, â€Å"the Yahoos . . . were observed to be the most unteachable of all brutes† (227). Indeed, Gulliver belittles himself when he belittles the Yahoos. Gulliver knows what he is but believes that he can change because of the Yahoos repulsive nature. Gulliver is an example of what can happen to us when we allow our minds to become clouded and refuse to think for ourselves. Gulliver loves the Houyhnhnms and essentially begins to hero-worship them. For example, as he continues to stay with them, he begins to think of his friends, family, and the â€Å"human race in general† (272), as â€Å"Yahoos in shape and disposition† (272). It should come a s no surprise then, when Gulliver’s master tells him that he is considered to be a Yahoo that his mind snaps. His master has no choice but to â€Å"employ† (273) Gulliver like the â€Å"rest of his species† (273) and orders him to â€Å"swim back† (273) to the place from which he came. Because Gulliver has already disassociated himself from the Yahoos and his own race, this news is unacceptable and too much to live with. Gulliver has already gone too far in his appreciation of the Houyhnhnms and cannot go back to the way things were. Gulliver thinks too much of himself to consider life as a Yahoo. Further evidence of Gulliver’s madness can be seen in his thoughts regarding Don Pedro of whom he considered â€Å"like an animal which had some little portion of reason† (281). Gulliver does not want to return home to those that he considered Yahoos. When he does return home, he brings himself to â€Å"tolerate the sight of yahoos† (284). H ere we see how Gulliver’s has taken him over because he does not consider himself a Yahoo but better than them and the ultimate sign of his diseased mind is when he considered that fact that by mating with one of the Yahoos and fathering more of them causes him the â€Å"utmost shame, confusion, and horror† (284). He does want to touch the Yahoos and admits that he cannot â€Å"endure my wife or children in my presence; the very smell of them was intolerable†

Rooms Division Operations Management Assignment - 2

Rooms Division Operations Management - Assignment Example The Five Seasons Hotel is a five-star hotel which is located in Hampshire, England near Winchester. This strategic location has made it possible for the hotel to enjoy a favorable base for sporting and concert events, especially during holidays and weekends. The hotel offers a combination of contemporary and traditional style to a diverse market. The hotel has air-conditioned lavish rooms which are designed and decorated with state of the art technology. The guests in the hotel as treated to a wireless internet connectivity, gym in a fitness center, sauna, and spa treatment. The hotel has a very nice impression because it has comfortable beds which are large enough for comfort. The staff is very hospitable and welcoming whose charm motivates their guests to visit them again and again. The regular refurbishment is done in order to keep the facilities up to date with the changing trends in the industry (Kasavana, & Richard. 2005). Rules and regulations are set by the government in this industry in order to govern the operations of the business and also regulate the treatment of the guests, employees, food, beverages and the environment. With regards to room division, the following legislation and regulatory requirements apply. The Disability Discrimination Act was established in 1995 as a civil right of disabled people to enjoy the hotel services without discrimination on the basis of their disability. This act was replaced in 2010 by The Equality Act. This allows for the hotels to install facilities and services which cater for disabled persons in terms of hearing, mental, learning or dyslexia illness. The Five Seasons Hotel complies with this regulation by treating disabled persons as other able persons.

How does poverty effect disabled children living in a single parent Dissertation

How does poverty effect disabled children living in a single parent family - Dissertation Example In reference to the paper, it has been proved that, disabled children exhibit higher chances of growing in poverty in comparison to their developing peers. The correlation between child disability and poverty is of great concern as it gives a clue that disabled children are prawn to conditions that impede their development, education adjustment and attainment. Moreover, the conditions increases exposure of the disabled children to poor health risks, social exclusion and additional impairment. Similarly the connection between child disability and poverty represents a significant challenge to formulated social policies that aims at improving the disabled individual life chances and also addressing the discrimination and the disadvantage faced by individuals with disability. Child disability socio-economic factors prevalence has been documented repeatedly. However, little is known about the factors that trigger the socio-economic impacts. Empirical evidence shows that there exist three factors that impact on socio-economic gradients. As a matter of fact, families taking care of a disabled child have higher chances of getting into poverty; moreover, chances of them avoiding poverty are very limited. This is because of the indirect and direct causes that come with raising a disabled child. Indirect costs are such as the financial effects of declined maternal employment rates among families with disabled children. ... 2004). In reference to the paper, it has been proved that, disabled children exhibit higher chances of growing in poverty in comparison to their developing peers (Emerson & Hatton 2007, Fujura & Yamaki 2000). The correlation between child disability and poverty is of great concern as it gives a clue that disabled children are prawn to conditions that impede their development, education adjustment and attainment. Moreover, the conditions increases exposure of the disabled children to poor health risks, social exclusion and additional impairment. Similarly the connection between child disability and poverty represents a significant challenge to formulated social policies that aims at improving the disabled individual life chances and also addressing the discrimination and the disadvantage faced by individuals with disability (Cabinet Office 2005, Department for Education and Skills 2003, United Nations 2006, Department of Health and Human Services 2005). Child disability socio-economic factors prevalence has been documented repeatedly. However, little is known about the factors that trigger the socio-economic impacts. Empirical evidence shows that there exist three factors that impact on socio-economic gradients (Emerson & Hatton 2009, P.120). As a matter of fact, families taking care of a disabled child have higher chances of getting into poverty; moreover, chances of them avoiding poverty are very limited. This is because of the indirect and direct causes that come with raising a disabled child (Dobson et al. 2001, Leonard et al. 1992, Tibble 2005). Indirect costs are such as the financial effects of declined maternal employment rates among families with disabled children (Loprest &

Mobile Technology in Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mobile Technology in Education - Research Paper Example This research paper will focus on the use of mobile technology in the region of United States, its acceptability as well as its pros and cons on the population of United States. Mobile devices or technology used in educational settings is regarded as instructional technology which is used to facilitate the process of learning and helping in the improvement of performance of students and educators (Reiser, 2012). Mobile technology is not only being used within the setting of classrooms, it is even being used outside the classrooms for learning and development. A study was conducted by Bangert in which the author identified that a total of 249 students at an American university named Montana State University were using Smartphone in order to continue learning outside their classrooms (Bangert, 2014). There are various mobile devices being used for learning and development by the students belonging to different fields in the United States. For example: students belonging to the field of medicine are using tablet computers which are a form of mobile devices and these devices have been quite useful in preclinical education (Robinson, 2013). There are various benefits that can be attained through the use of mobile technology in classrooms. These technologies help in making different educational processes effective and efficient. One of the major benefits of using mobile technologies in classroom is that it can assist in submission of work. A study was conducted by Lindquist in which the researcher identified various methods through which students could submit various forms of assignments and tasks with the use of a mobile phone (Lindquist, 2007). The researcher identified that students can submit answers in text based form to their teachers by text messaging the answers to the teachers. The researcher even identified that students can post or send picture based

Factor Analysis And Confirmatory Factor Analysis Essay Example for Free

Factor Analysis And Confirmatory Factor Analysis Essay Factor analysis is an arithmetical technique used to describe variability regarding observed variables with regard to lower number of unobserved variables. Factor analysis looks for such joint variations in response to unobserved hidden variables. The observed variables are molded as linear combinations of potential factors including the error terms. Information attained regarding interdependence between observed factors can later be utilized to reduce the set of variables within a dataset. Factor analysis originated in psychometrics and is applied in behavioral sciences operations research and applied sciences which deal with large quantities of data. In psychology, factor analysis is in most cases associated with intelligence search. Factor analysis has been used to search for factors within a broad range of spheres such as character, beliefs and attitudes. Factor analysis isolates the underlying variables that make clear the data. There are two types of factor analysis; principal factor analysis and common factor analysis. The factors generated by principal factor analysis are theoretical as being as liner combinations of variables whereas those generated by common factor analysis are theoretical latent variables. Computationally, the main difference is that the diagonal relationship matrix is substituted with common variables in common factor analysis. Factor analysis is performed through examining the pattern of connection between the observed variables. Variables which are highly related have a likelihood of being influenced by factors such as those which are moderately unrelated and have a more likelihood of being influenced by different factors. Principal component analysis is the most widespread factor analysis. Principal factor analysis seeks for a linear combination of measures in such a way that the maximum difference is extracted form the measures. It then removes the difference and search for a second liner a combination that explains the maximum proportion of the remaining variance. Conducting a Confirmatory Factor Analysis The main purpose of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis is to establish the ability of a prearranged variable model to fit within an observed set of data. Among the normal uses of Confirmatory Factor Analysis include; establishing the weight of a single factor representation compares the ability of two differing models to account for the same set of data, test the significance of particular factor loading, test the connection between two or more factor loadings and also to evaluate the convergent and discriminate strength of a set of measures. Conducting a Confirmatory Factor Analysis The six stages involved include; Describing the factor model which is the first thing required to be done accurately to define the model one wants to test. This involves choosing the number of factors and defining the nature of loadings between measures and factors. The loading can be fixed at zero or any other constant number or allowed to vary within specified constraints. Collect the measurements through measurement of variables on same experimental units. Obtain a correlation matrix by getting the correlation between each of the variables. Fit the model into data by selecting a method to obtain the estimates of factor loadings which were free to vary. The normal model-fitting method is the Maximum likelihood estimation that needs to be used unless the measures serious lack multivariate normality. In such a case one can use Asymptotically distribution free estimation. Evaluation of model adequacy s done when the factor model is fit the data, the factor loading are selected to minimize the difference between the correlation matrix implied by the model and the actual observed matrix. The amount of difference after the best parameters have been selected can be used as a measure as to how reliable the reproduction is with the data. The commonly used assessment of model adequacy is the X2 goodness of fit test. Null hypothesis for this test holds that the model sufficiency for the data, while the other is that there a significant level f differences. Regrettably, this test is highly sensitive to sample size since, tests used in testing large samples generally lead to a rejection of null hypothesis, even when factor model is suitable. Other statistics like the Tucker-Lewis index, compare the fitness of planned model to a null representation.   These statistics show less sensitivity to sample size. By comparing these two models with other model one can is able observe the difference between their X 2 statistics which is almost equal to X2 distribution. About al individual factor loading tests can be compared to reduced and full factor models.   In situations where there is no comparison of full and reduced models, use of Root mean square error of approximation is recommended which is n estimation of discrepancy per degree of freedom within the model. References DeCoster, J. (1998). Overview of Factor Analysis. Retrieved on August, 16, 2010 from http://www.stat-help.co/notes.html

Review of Bill by Vern Myers Essay Example for Free

Review of Bill by Vern Myers Essay To start, I would like you to know that I am writing this book review on an old fashioned manual typewriter, an Olympia Model 9 in fact, that I purchased at a consignment antique store. I think this machine dates back to the early 1970s. It makes a nostalgic clack-clack-clack sound. [1] I am not writing this book review in solidarity with author Vern Myers (who refuses to use a computer and composes his work on a 1968 Underwood-Miller, and before that a 1909 Corona 3, the same Ernest Hemingway employed for his early works[2]), no; I am afraid my reason is pedestrian in nature: my girlfriend, Michele, deep-sixed my Sony Vaio laptop into the back end of the toilet, where the water rises after you flush, after what one would call â€Å"a heated argument. †She locked herself in the shitter[3] (which she hates me to call the commode), after having grabbed my laptop, stating that I loved my machine more than her; that she was jealous of the attention I gave to my novel-in-progress. Needless to say, my laptop will not start up. A friend told me to let it dry out. I will probably have to take it to a shop and pray that they can recover my data—most importantly: my unfinished novel, which I have been laboring at for three years now. It’s an opus, this novel of mine, 850 pages and three-fourths done, so I would say it will be 1,000 manuscript pages when finished, or around 250,000 words. It began as a short story, and then I thought it would be a novella, 80 pages at best, but the thing took on a life of its own. I hear that is what happened to Vern Myers’ 23,000-word masterpiece, Bill. Talking grapes around the New York literati have it that Myers worked on the project for nearly five years and had 600 pages of rambling text, some typewritten, some hand-written, and his editor, Stanley Flint, pulled a Max Perkins (to Myers’ Thomas Wolfe) or Gordon Lish (Raymond Carver) and hacked away, jumbled and tossed like the proverbial salad of sentences, and came up with this current 102 page book. I read Bill in one sitting, or a single bath soak, an hour and a half’s worth of water: after Michele destroyed my computer and possibly my novel (which, by the way, is titled Lunch on the Grass), I drew a hot bath (I own a claw foot tub, talk about antediluvian delights! ) to calm my nerves, opened a bottle of cognac, and slipped into the water with the ARC of Bill that I had received in the mail from the book editor of the newspaper you are reading this review in. For Vern Myers, 102 pages (23,000 words, the margins generous) is War and Peace. Myers, the past decade, has been known as King of 3,000 Words or Less. Your typical Myers story is 1,500 to 2,000 words, each with the epic impact of a Shakespearian tragedy and the emotional complexities of a Chekovian triptych of 5-act plays. Some say it is his life-long friend and editor, Flint, who has fine-tuned the 5,000 words of new story Myers sends in to a magnificent 3,000 word slice of American Literature; Flint published many of these in Dapper Magazine, a slick where he was fiction editor for a decade. [4] Critics are certain to debate over this decades after Myers is gone. Myers was often asked, at readings and lectures and interviews (the few he has granted): â€Å"Are you ever going to write a novel? † and his jovial answer was (with a stiff Long Island Iced Tea in hand): â€Å"I’m working on said novel now, something I call Bill: A Life, but the real question is: Will I ever finish it? The second real question being: Will I ever publish it? † (I know this because I attended a reading of his at the UCSD campus four years ago where such QA took place. ) I read Bill: A Novella (what happened to a life? ) with delight in the clawfoot tub, sipping my cognac, trying to forget what Michele did to my Sony Vaio and my novel-in-progress (which I once considered calling Zombie Cheerleaders from Jupiter Attack!), and when I was done, I closed my eyes and considered the life of Bill, quite the epic one, and the moral/social/political/sexual implications of the story and character. I fell asleep; I did not mean to; napping is not a criticism of Myers’ fine novella; I was simply exhausted from the emotional outrage caused by Michele’s action, her not only leaving me, saying she never wanted to see me again unless I was in a casket at a funeral parlor and even then she would spit on my embalmed body, but destroying my life: for my life, the past few years, is contained on the hard drive (350 gigabytes) of that sunk laptop. My magnum opus, my Great American Novel, which I think I will change the title from Lunch on the Grass to Gargantuan. I see I have exceeded the 600 words the book editor asked for. Hopefully there will be room among the ads to fit in this complete text; hopefully my words will not be pared to the bone the way some say Stanley Flint has been doing to Vern Myers for years. Bill is about a Hollywood doctor named Bill and his adventures with various movie stars, porn starlets, studio moguls and drug dealers. He hops from bed to bed, romance to romance, leaving disaster behind him like the Tasmanian Devil in the Warner Brothers cartoons[5], or the Cat in the Hat paying a visit to unsuspecting latchkey children. Over the course of five years, Bill lives large, has experiences most of us cab only fantasize about; he crams ten lives into those five years and after each event, becomes wiser and older, yet maintains a youthful hop in his feet, always ready to bed the next pretty lady who crosses his path. Sounds like a soap opera, you say? A scalawag doctor from a trashy romance novel you shriek? Hardly! Bill is the literary event of the year and I expect prize Pulitzer, I demand a Book Critics Circle Award, I foresee the boys in the U. K. foregoing the Booker requirements and claiming Vern Myers a loyal subject to the Queen’s Crown (at heart). There is little doubt that the day will come when Vern Myers receives the Nobel Pri I thought I heard Michele coming in. No, that was the neighbor. The walls are too thin around here and I am sure the neighbors heard us fighting, the accusations Michele made. She thinks I am sleeping with a doctor, in fact, a vet who saved my cat, Poe, three months ago. Guess how it all started? I noticed a tattered copy of Vern Myers’ first collection of short stories on her desk, Can You Speak the Hell Up and Pass the Sugar, Please? and commented on it; she said she had discovered Myers in college, her roommate was taking his writing class and she happened to read his stuff and became a fan. I told her I too was a writer of fiction and the occasional essay and memoir (and dozens of book reviews) and, well, one thing lead to another†¦ And so Michele is right. I have been seeing said doctor and it is serious. I would have eventually broken up with Michele, told her the truth, but she beat me to it, and it is always the shits when you are the dumpee, not the dumper. It’s an ego thing, a guy thing, and it makes me think of something Bill says in Bill: â€Å"It’s better to end a romance first to avoid a pain in the brain. † Love ‘em and leave ‘em, Bill, that’s the ticket†¦only, I think I will ask the doc to marry me. I am serious here. I have never felt this way about any woman†¦ It’s five hours later since I wrote the above sentence. I had dinner with the doctor and guess what? She broke up with me, says she is getting back together with her ex-husband. I would be very depressed but my laptop has dried and boots up just fine and now I can get back to my novel. Will it be as fantastic as Vern Myers’ Bill? I could only hope so, but only Vern Myers can be Vern Myers, there can be no other. Michele has been calling, she wants to come back; she says she is sorry and loves me and will never let me go. I’ll take her back. I’ll get my life back on track and finish this book and maybe I can get the literati attention that Myers does. I will tell Michele that there was never anything real with the doctor, it was just a passing thing, no need to get into all that â€Å"pain in the brain† stuff. Editor’s Note: A day before going to press with this review, The Village Voice published an interview with a former student, and lover, of Vern Myers, wherein she claims she actually wrote the text for BILL because Myers was too drunk or high to get any writing done. This accusation comes on the heels of BILL garnering a nomination for the Transamerican Book Award (which reviewer Gerald Bass failed to mention in his rambling[6]); should these accusations be truthful, a fruitful literary scandal of the decade is certain to birth, like a dead baby whale oozing from the foul-smelling womb of a beached momma whale on a sandy, bloody cove near the shores of contemporary American letters. How do you like them apples, eh? Viz! To wit! To arms! [7] [1] I hear you can get that sound to come out of your laptop keyboard. The virtual clack-clack-clack, methinks, would be rather annoying and just damn rude. Everything has to be a simulacra these days. [2] Hemingway said of the Corona 3: â€Å"It is the only psychiatrist I would ever submit to. † I once had a t-shirt with that quote on it and a picture of a harried Hemingway. He wrote his second novel, A Farewell to Arms, on the Corona 3. He probably would have done the same with The Sun Also Rises but he sent that one out to a typist to create the manuscript sent to F. Scott Fitzgerald editor Max Perkins at Charles Scribner’s Sons. [3] She once said, joking, â€Å"The loo is the only psychiatrist I would drop all my emotional crap on. † [4] Myers’ first publications were in regional and small literary journals, then moved on to The Kenyon Review, Mid-American Review, and The Paris Review. After he graced the pages of Dapper, and after Flint left the magazine because new ownership wanted to cut the fiction section (â€Å"do people actually sit down and read this stuff? †), Myers started to appear in Playboy, Harper’s, The New Yorker and Granta, getting top dollar and top recognition. All the places that only sent me form rejection slips! It is easy to not only admire, but also envy the professional career of Vern Myers. As for his personal life, from what I know of all his disastrous relationships and problems with vodka and LSD, there is no room for desiring that. [5] Have you ever seen some of the antiquarian classic cartoons, uncensored, often used as war propaganda to show between double features at movie theaters in the 1930s and 40s? Bugs Bunny, the transvestite rabbit, foiling bucktooth Japanese soldiers and suicidal Nazis? A prototype of Bugs Bunny—same situations, same voice—was Private Snafu, which you can locate on Youtube for a blast from the past. I always seem to be drawn to cartoons and comic books whenever I have great stress in my life; it’s a way of escaping the hell. Kids do it, adults do it. Some escape into the fantasy of online porn but I tend to switch on animated superhero TV shows and movies, like Batman and the Justice League, which also happen to be owned by Warner Brothers. In Bill, Bill has a sexual encounter with an actress on the Warner Brothers lot, doing her in the trailer while gong over her lines, and then doing lines of cocaine off her naked ass. I would like to see that animated. I would like to see Michele’s psychotic tirade animated, then I could really say that my life is like a cartoon. [6] It was not a â€Å"failure† on my part; I just happen to have a long history with the members of this so-called organization and happen to know, FOR A FACT, it is all a ruse, embedded in the beds of supreme nepotism; given the â€Å"quality† of the books this award has been handed to in the last five years, the obvious should be, well, obvious. Oh the stories I could relay! The lays, the drugs, the mouths to genitals and feet shackled to bedposts and whips applied to tender, eager flesh! But that’s for another in a different context.

A critical analysis of Liquidity, Profitability and Efficiency

A critical analysis of Liquidity, Profitability and Efficiency the industry average of current ratio is 2.2:1.company A is showing better current ratio of 2.63 as compared to industry average of 2.2 which mean that the company A bears a greater ability to paid its bills . Company B and C have less current ratio as compared to the industry average which means that the performance of these companies are not up to standard however company Cs current ratio is slightly greater than the industry average which shows that the performance of company C is satisfactory. The industry average of quick ratio is 1.5 whiles the average quick ratios of companies A B and C are 1.99, 1.54 and 1.71 respectively which shows that the said companies posses a greater ability to pay their bills however only the company D quick ratio is slightly less than the industry average ratio which is 1.48 which mean the company needs to review its liquidity plans . PROFITABILITY The industrys average of ROCE is 15% and the average ROCE of companies A Is 19.3%, company B is 21.26%, company C is 28.24% and company D is 31.13 which means that the companies are earning a good return on their capital employed. Company C and D gross profit ratios are 53.14% and 56% which are comparatively better than the industrys average of 48% however company B gross profit ratio is 48% which equals the industrys average but company A GP ratio is 43.75% which is less than the industrys average. It is suggested that the company A should reduce its cost of sale or increase its sales revenue. The industrys average of operating profit ratio is 40% unfortunately company A and B both have low operating profit ratio which are 33.75% and 38.28% respectively which indicates that both companies A and B has low control in their operating expenses on the other hand companies C and D have better operating profit ratios which are 46.63% and 48.73 showing that the management of both companies bears a good control on their expenses. EFFICIENCY Companies A B and C have high stock turn over which are 63.88, 75.43 and 71.22 all three companies exceeds the industrys average of 35 days which means that there could be a problem in their demand and supply due to which companies inventory is not easily converted into finish goods hence there are not able to effectively sale their products. Note: Company D stock turn over ratio cannot be calculated because of unavailability of required data. The industrys average of total turnover ratio is 0.9 time and in this regard all the four companies have good total turnover ratio which are 0.95, 0.93, 1.01 and 1.06 showing the good return on their assets. INVESTMENT There is no such parameter by which one can compare the earning per share with the industrys standards. However we can compare EPS among the four companies that EPS of companies C and D are 0.98 and 0.88 is comparatively good than the companies A and B of 0.54 and 0.56 respectively. As far as the position of best company is concerned company D is said to be the best company because of better ROCE 31.13 which means the company is earning highest profitability, EPS 0.88 indicated earning per share is very good and dividend cover 3.68 the shareholders of the company receiving handsome dividend. ANSWER 1 (B) Company D shows a good charm for the shareholders because its earning per share is higher is 0.88 as compare to other companies like A and B but slightly less to company C which EPS is 0.98 however company D also have better dividend cover of 3.68 which depicts that it is paying its shareholder more than any other said company pay however company C once again a big rival in payment of dividend has a dividend cover of 3.38. On the other hand management of company D plays a remarkable role in utilising the shareholders funds hence reducing the long-term liabilities option because of less long term liabilities company D also has to pay less amount of interest on these loans as compare to other companies. Therefore it is suggested to invest in company D from shareholder perspective. ANSWER 2(a) ANSWER 2 (A) CRITICAL ANALYSIS The net present value is a discounted cash flow approach to capital budgeting. The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposals net cash flow less the proposals initial cash outflow. If an investment projects net present value is zero or more, the project is accepted, if not, it is rejected. In this case of Tridad ltd the NPV is -6384.24 which means the value is less than zero therefore the project is not viable for the company. ANSWER 2(B) The internal rate of return is 13% ANSWER 2(C) If a refinancing option (overseas loan) were to be taken then there are many risks that the company might face like FINANCIAL RISKS: forex risk hedges overseas government policies WAYS TO DEAL : There are couple of ways which can be use to deal with the said financial risks Loan with fixed interest rate Buy futures which will give the company assurity of the expected future cash outflow- Reduces uncertainty and any cash problems that could be used due to this. ANSWER 3(A) Proposed profit 91,552 Proposed profit 78,832 Break-even hours 1,393 Break-even hours 1,574 Break-even Sales 208,955 Break-even Sales 340,000 ANSWER 3 (B) Boris Plc has an operating profit of 91552 in scenario 1 and 78832 in scenario 2 at the sale turnover of 345600 and 497664 in scenario 1 and 2 respectively. For achieving the break-even at least 1393 hours in scenario 1 and 1574 hours in scenario 2 have to be sold out so that variable cost can be observed. Break-even techniques are based on marginal costing therefore fixed cost plays a significant role companys operating results and performance. In the long haul fixed cost needs to be fully observed hence absorption costing approach is critical to be planned in the long term decision making plan.

Pentagon Papers :: essays research papers

Pentagon Papers; The Truth to War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On June 31, 1971, President Nixon picked up a copy of his New York Times newspaper and found the 1st story on the Pentagon Papers. The Pentagon Papers was a hidden government document that had information on the Vietnam War. It was also a government study in Southeast Asia. Daniel Ellsberg knew that the government was hiding something. Daniel Ellsberg was a political activist. He was the one who leaked the information to the New York Times. Daniel Ellsberg was morally correct, but what he did was illegal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daniel Ellsberg saved a lot of lives sort of speak. He knew that the government was hiding something and discovered it. At first, he was a strong supporter of the Vietnam War; but then became a strong opponent. The Department of Defense continued to lie to the people about the hype about the war. The government continued to say that the war was under control. The Pentagon Papers already had statistics on the Vietnam War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As soon as Nixon saw the paper, he went to his Attorney General right away to stop the printing of the New York Times newspaper. Daniel Ellsberg knew that he would get arrested for making copies of the papers. He knew that it was illegal. Nixon had to do something to put Ellsberg in jail. Nixon authorized aids to go through Ellsberg’s psychiatry files to discredit him. Since the government had enough information, they put Ellsberg in jail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During Ellsberg’s trial, Nixon knew he had the case won. But, somebody leaked the Watergate information to the judge. Since it is also illegal to go through private property, the case was dismissed. Ellsberg was set free. In 2002, he published a book called Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers.

The Theme of Love Essay -- Love Poetry Literature Essays

The Theme of Love â€Å"Romantic love, physical love, unrequited love, obsessive love.† Compare the ways the poets have written about the theme of love, bringing out different aspects of it. In the six poems I have studied, I see a wide range of different types of love mentioned. I will be looking at 3 poems in depth. These are: â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover†, written by Robert Browning, â€Å"My Last Duchess†, written by the Duke of Ferrara and â€Å"To His Coy Mistress†, written by Andrew Marvell. When it comes to romantic love, â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† contains some elements of it. â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† also includes aspects of physical love. When it comes to unrequited love, â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† and â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† hold a large scale in them. â€Å"My Last Duchess† also includes shades of unrequited love. â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† and â€Å"My Last Duchess† contain features of obsessive love. In my essay, I would like to pay particular attention to unrequited love because it shows how the women in the poems are seen as a possession, which the men must rightfully have. I will also look at aspects of obsessive love. â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† is not generally positioned in this type of love as the poem does not really contain obsessive love, but in my opinion it can be placed in the category as the speaker is pressuring the girl into having sex with him and he wants her to sleep with him now. He is being seen as obsessive and wanting things his way, immediately. This can be seen when he says: â€Å"HAD we but world enough, and time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that time is short and wasting away. This quote is important as it is a powerful opening, stressing the impact of time upon them. I will first compare â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† and â€Å"My Last Duchess... ...it just for pleasure? The narrator is transparent in what he wants. He only wants his mistress for sex and pleasure. The poem starts with the pronoun â€Å"we† but as the poem progresses, it starts to separate into individuals: â€Å"I† and â€Å"thou†. At the end, it turns back to â€Å"us†. The first stanza of the poem makes the reader think that it is a love poem, when really it is a lust poem. The narrator uses the images of fear and lost opportunity and time as a threat to the woman. The writers, in the poems that I have compared, bring out love in different ways. There are different tactics involved, which is what I think make all these poems unique and interesting to read. Each poem brings about different types of love. The poems all try to get the women they think they rightfully deserve, except for â€Å"My Last Duchess† where he is obsessive about his woman.

Whitewater vs. Watergate :: American America History

Whitewater vs. Watergate. Both are political sandals that have rocked the nation. As Watergate unraveled, many of Nixon's dirty tactics were learned, including assorted lists of enemies (a number of which became targets of IRS tax audits), wiretapping, political sabotage, burglary, blackballing, and smear campaigns. Similarly, as Whitewater unfolded, the scandal appeared to involve more than just an illegal loan. It touched on possible hush money paid to witnesses and includes the acquisition of more than 900 confidential FBI files on Bush and Reagan appointees. In many aspects, the two are very similar. They are alike in the cover-ups they both produced. But they still are about two totally different events. Each of these scandals is associated with a central criminal event and both involved a web of political intrigue.1 First, what were Whitewater and Watergate? Whitewater started as a land development of riverfront property in Arkansas in the 1980s. The Clintons received a large share of the development without putting up any money. The development went bad, so additional capital was needed. There is evidence and testimony suggesting that this cash was obtained illegally from the federal government and never paid back. As for Watergate - though it was revealed by the Senate Watergate committee as an unprecedented abuse of presidential power that was extremely dangerous to the country, it is remembered 25 years later as a strange and unsuccessful burglary in the Watergate office building by people linked to the reelection committee of Nixon. But Watergate was so much more than a political burglary. The Senate hearings showed Watergate was composed of constant criminality by the Nixon White House, and was driven by an extreme commitment to maintain control of power by any means, including criminal co nduct. It included the break-in of a psychiatrist's office for the purpose of smearing Daniel Elsberg - the leaker of the Pentagon Papers; the misuse of the IRS and other federal agencies to punish those on the president's "enemies list"; the illegal wiretapping of journalists and members of Nixon's own administration; and the purposeful editing of government documents to enhance a political agenda.2 Many similarities come up when discussing Whitewater and Watergate. The scandals may be separated by two decades, but much irony is evident when they are compared. For example, in 1974, Hillary Rodham was employed as a lawyer by the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry, along with Bernard Nussbaum, former chief counsel at the Clinton White House. Whitewater vs. Watergate :: American America History Whitewater vs. Watergate. Both are political sandals that have rocked the nation. As Watergate unraveled, many of Nixon's dirty tactics were learned, including assorted lists of enemies (a number of which became targets of IRS tax audits), wiretapping, political sabotage, burglary, blackballing, and smear campaigns. Similarly, as Whitewater unfolded, the scandal appeared to involve more than just an illegal loan. It touched on possible hush money paid to witnesses and includes the acquisition of more than 900 confidential FBI files on Bush and Reagan appointees. In many aspects, the two are very similar. They are alike in the cover-ups they both produced. But they still are about two totally different events. Each of these scandals is associated with a central criminal event and both involved a web of political intrigue.1 First, what were Whitewater and Watergate? Whitewater started as a land development of riverfront property in Arkansas in the 1980s. The Clintons received a large share of the development without putting up any money. The development went bad, so additional capital was needed. There is evidence and testimony suggesting that this cash was obtained illegally from the federal government and never paid back. As for Watergate - though it was revealed by the Senate Watergate committee as an unprecedented abuse of presidential power that was extremely dangerous to the country, it is remembered 25 years later as a strange and unsuccessful burglary in the Watergate office building by people linked to the reelection committee of Nixon. But Watergate was so much more than a political burglary. The Senate hearings showed Watergate was composed of constant criminality by the Nixon White House, and was driven by an extreme commitment to maintain control of power by any means, including criminal co nduct. It included the break-in of a psychiatrist's office for the purpose of smearing Daniel Elsberg - the leaker of the Pentagon Papers; the misuse of the IRS and other federal agencies to punish those on the president's "enemies list"; the illegal wiretapping of journalists and members of Nixon's own administration; and the purposeful editing of government documents to enhance a political agenda.2 Many similarities come up when discussing Whitewater and Watergate. The scandals may be separated by two decades, but much irony is evident when they are compared. For example, in 1974, Hillary Rodham was employed as a lawyer by the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry, along with Bernard Nussbaum, former chief counsel at the Clinton White House.

“Birthday Party” by Katherine Brush Essay

In the â€Å"Birthday Party,† Katherine Brush portrays what at first glance seems to be an innocent dinner between a happily married couple; however, when viewed closer is obviously a dinner gone wrong. Her use of metaphor, along with other literary devices, help show how things aren’t always as they seem. The story starts off in a happy, light-hearted manner, describing a charming married couple. The detail of the â€Å"round, self-satisfied face† of the man and the â€Å"fadingly pretty† woman help describe their attitudes and mannerisms. The â€Å"self-satisfied face† of the man gives off an impression of arrogance, which makes the reader dislike him. The woman on the other hand, pulls the reader in. Her â€Å"big hat† a metaphor for her big heart. The first paragraph is also where Brush introduces the growing contrast between big and little, which is carried on throughout the story. The â€Å"little narrow restaurant† in which the â€Å"unmistakably married† couple dined at conveys just how simple the date was suppose to be by emphasizing how little it was. Brush refers to the intimate atmosphere when she describes that the couple sat â€Å"opposite [of] us,† which makes the reader feel as if he/she were also in the narrow restaurant about to watch the scene unfold. The word â€Å"little† is repeated again when Brush depicts the â€Å"little surprise† the wife had set up for her husband to again touch upon how small the gesture was. The cake is portrayed to be â€Å"small but glossy,† which adds to the littleness of the surprise and how low key is was meant to be. Just a little reminder of her feelings towards her husband. When the orchestra played â€Å"happy birthday to you,† â€Å"the wife beamed with shy pride over her little surprise.† The wife beaming over her â€Å"little† surprise is paralleled with the â€Å"one pink candle burning† on the cake, representing the wife’s loneliness even though she is in a relationship. It is obvious that the wife’s â€Å"little surprise† was taken out of hand when the author explains that â€Å"help was needed† in order to calm the husband down. This conveys how mad he was, and how he didn’t appreciate his wife’s kind, little gesture for him. The author brings the intimate elements back around when she adds that â€Å"you looked at him, and you saw this and you thought.† The repetition of â€Å"you† emphasizes the intimate atmosphere, making the reader feel as if she/he were experiencing this with the onlooker. Everyone around them sensed the tension and the anger felt by the husband towards his wife. Brush uses cacophony when describing the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"quick and kurt and unkind† comment the husband made to his wife in order to show how bitter and angry the husband was. We see just how upset the wife is because, even after the bystander â€Å"waited for quite a long time† before looking, she was still crying. She cries â€Å"all to herself,† showing the loneliness â€Å"under the gay big brim of her best hat,† which is happily hiding her from the terrible remarks of her selfish, rude husband. The intimate mood of the restaurant is cut through with the harsh diction of Brush’s word choice and the nasty remarks made by the husband. The couple that seemed so perfect in the beginning is now torn apart and weeping. The simple surprise that the wife made is ruined leaving her feel lonely even though she is in a relationship.

Immortal Characteristics in the Iliad and the Aeneid Essay

Although written in two distinct eras, The Aeneid and The Iliad offer views of the Trojan War, which have been studied for centuries.   The Iliad, written by Homer in 750-650 BCE, portrays the tale from the Greek point of view.   Sometimes thought to have been a mythic person himself, the telling of The Iliad is attributed to him nonetheless.   The story, written originally in ancient Greek, speaks from an omniscient narrator who can share all details encountered in the main character, Achilles, involvement in the war. Achilles has refused to fight in retribution for Agamemnon stealing his war prize, Briseis.   The Aeneid, on the other hand, is known to have come from the Roman poet, Virgil.   Although the main character, Aeneas, tells portions of the story, Virgil himself narrates the majority of the tale.   Aeneas is traveling to Italy to build a race of Romans.   Juno, who is still angry with the Trojans, sets Aeneas off course and the story begins with a recounting of the war itself. In the way the tales themselves offer varying illuminations on the same setting in Greece, the Gods portrayed share differing characteristics.   In The Iliad, Zeus stands as the king of the Gods.   He refuses to take sides in this war of men, although his favor moves to the Trojan side after Achilles’ mother begs him to intervene.   We find Zeus bothered by the request.   He is involved with domestic disputes already with his wife, Hera, and is reluctant to do any further damage to his solitude.   â€Å"Here is trouble.   You drive me into open war with Hera sooner or later: she will be at me, scolding all day long. Even as matters stand she never rests from badgering me before the gods: I take the Trojan side in battle, so she says,† (Homer, I.593-599).   He does go on to promise he will do as she has asked, although the reader can sense his foreboding in doing so.   His foresight is strong though, as Hera’s reaction is as he said it would be – biting and harsh.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Who is it this time, schemer?   Who has your ear?   How fond are you of secret plans, of taking decisions privately,† (Homer, I.620-622).   Zeus is portrayed as a beaten God, one who is verbally assaulted by his own wife and appears to be weary of her scorn. One can sense the laughter as the words are written, the hidden personalities that are so similar to common man. Jupiter, however, does not worry over what he will go through personally in order to grant the wish of the goddess who has appealed to him.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"With the serenity that calms the weather, and lightly kissed his daughter.   Then he said: No need to be afraid, Cytherea.   Your children’s destiny has not been changed,† (Virgil, I.345-348).   Jupiter has granted what she sought, and promises that her progeny will found the great kingdom of Rome, named after one of the twin sons to come from Aeneas.    The reader can already discern favoritism for the Romans by this issuance of Jupiter.   He is not a hen-pecked God as Zeus is, although Jupiter’s wife is not a timid creature.   Much like Hera, she is vastly upset and carried a grave distaste for the Trojans.   Jupiter, however, feels Juno will eventually relax.   â€Å"Juno, indeed, whose bitterness now fills with fear and torment sea and earth and sky, will mend her ways, and favor them as I do, Lords of the World, the toga-bearing Romans,† (Virgil, I.376-379). The reader gets the sense that the Greek Gods as told of by Homer are seen as folly.   Zeus is not the almighty master, as one would suspect the king of the Gods to be.   He is stuck between caring for his subjects, the minor Gods, and listening to the gripes and complaints of his wife, the telling is almost comical.   Virgil, however, tells the origination of a great race of people, his own Romans.   The Jupiter is patient and assured of the greatness to come.   His caring ways with his daughter and sincere belief that all will be as he said indicate his power and greatness, showing him to be a true King of the Gods. The physical separation between God and mortal man is great.   In the eleventh book of The Iliad, we find Zeus directly interfering with the battle on hand.   â€Å"Now Zeus, the son of Kronos roused an uproar along his host, and sprinkled bloody dew from highest heaven, being resolved that day to crowd great warriors in to the undergloom,† (Homer, XI,58-61).   The battle between Greek and Trojan forces allowed yet another display of Zeus’ great power over man. Zeus demonstrates this power while protecting Hector. â€Å"Hector moved forward with his round-faced shield.   As from night clouds a baleful summer star will blaze into the clear, then fade in cloud, so Hector shone in front or became hidden when he harangued the rear ranks – his whole form in bronze aflash like lightening of father Zeus,† (Homer, XI.67-72).   The soldiers recognize the ability of Hector to shadow himself as the protection of the Gods.   Zeus’ otherworldly display of power and support for the Trojan cause signifies the justness of their cause, yet as we already know, his might is not good enough.   Troy will lose the battle and the God is not all-powerful in the end. The Aeneid however, shows the true power and wisdom of Jupiter is not only just, but up to the task as well.   Aeneas will reach his destination, and Rome will become the great power it is meant to be.   Jupiter sees that Aeneas has fallen sedentary with his love for Dido and remains with her rather than fulfilling his duty as Jupiter told him.  Ã‚   The scourge of the earth is not brought down on his head to force him off the island.   The all-powerful Jupiter simply sends a messenger, Mercury.   â€Å"From bright Mount Olympus he that rules the Gods and turns the earth and heaven by his power – he and no other sent me to you, told me to bring this message on the running winds: what have you in mind?   †¦the land of Rome are due,† (Virgil, IV.365-375). Aeneas is reminded of his family fortune and honor, which are on the line.   True to his word and loyal to his God, Aeneas leaves Dido to fend for herself.   Her misery and subsequent suicide are not given any thought by Jupiter, the mission is at hand and the great Roman peoples are far more important than a single female.   â€Å"Beating her lovely breast three times, four times, and tearing her golden hair, ‘Oh Jupiter! †¦will this man go, will he have mocked my kingdom, stranger than he is and was,’† (Virgil, IV.816-820)?   Jupiter pays her no mind; the Roman Empire is at stake.   Again, it is in silent action, verbal mandates that Jupiter issues his power.   He is not forced to resort to mortal measures to ensure his will is done. Zeus is portrayed as the mover, the God who has to physically partake in things to get anything accomplished.   The stronger God of the two, Jupiter, simply asks and gets what he wants.   The fear of retribution is fierce amongst not only the people, but also the Gods.   He does not take pity on the fallen as Zeus does.   In terms of masculine strength, Jupiter is by far the strongest.   Of course, such an amazing group of warriors, philosophers and artisans could never have come from so slovenly a King as Zeus. As the war wages on in The Iliad, Zeus is once again shown to be a weaker form than the mighty Jupiter.   Achilles has lost his best friend, Patroclus, in battle. Heartbroken, he vows to return to the battle immediately to slay Hector in revenge.   Although Zeus has long since gone to help the Achaeans in fighting this war, â€Å"Zeus took pity on them, saying quickly to Athena: Daughter, you seem to have left your fighting man alone.   Should one suppose you care no more for Achilles?   The he sits, before the curving prows, and grieves for his dear friend. The other soldiers flock to meat; he thirsts and hungers.   Come, infuse him sweet nectar and ambrosia, that an empty belly may not weaken him,† (Homer, XIX.374-382). Athena then goes off to give the poor warriors some nourishment so they may fight bravely in their final battles.   His heart still belongs to the losing side.   We see his weakness again with the interference into the battle.   In calling the Gods to Mount Olympus, Zeus tells them, â€Å"You know what plan I have in mind and why I called you, why you are here. Men on both sides may perish, still they are near my heart.   And yet, by heaven, here I stay at ease upon a ridge.   I’ll have an ample view here.   But you others, go into action, side with the men of Troy or with Achaeans, as each has a mind to,† (Homer XX.22-29).   Zeus lazily tells the other Gods that the people are dying and it breaks his heart.   However, he will sit on the mountaintop and watch the spectacle.   They should go down and help whichever side they feel is just, but he will just watch.   Homer again makes fun of the God.   He is a couch potato during the war he was powerless to stop in the first place.   His wife is constantly meddling in the affairs of state, and Zeus will not step in to act according to his heart. Jupiter does not have this problem toward the end of The Aeneid.   When fighting has broken out in Italy and the great Romans are fighting amongst themselves, Jupiter is asked his opinion.   He responds in a regal and self-assured manner.   When he opens his mouth to speak, all of the earth responds in kind. â€Å"The almighty father then, chief power of the world, began to speak, and as he spoke the great halls of the Gods fell silent, and earth quaked, and silence reigned in the highest air, the west-winds went to rest, the deep sea stilled his waters to calm,† (Virgil, X.137-142).   He has decided that fate will serve each man his own plate.   Jupiter no longer condones divine intervention.   This surprises virtually everyone present, as they have interfered in these matters right from the start.   Yet, the King of the Gods has spoken and it cannot be any other way.   â€Å"He took oath nodding, making all Olympus tremble at his nod.   There was an end of speaking.   Jupiter form his golden throne arose, and lords of heaven on either hand escorted him to the threshold of his hall,† (Virgil, X.160-164). Although the King of the Gods in each depiction of the Trojan wars and its eventual outcomes acted in extremely different ways, the act remains that they were in control the entire time.   The main protagonists for each tale are not afforded this same luxury.   In The Iliad, Achilles never has control over his bloodlust for Agamemnon.   His search for glory and the switching of sides is beyond his control so to speak.   The usurping of his prize from the war damaged his pride and it is the sole driving force for him.   When his best friend is killed, he appears to have devised a higher purpose for his rage, yet the reader notes he is still guided for his own gratification throughout. Aeneas, blindly does as he is bid to do.   He leaves his heart behind when he leaves Dido on the island.   Jupiter is not concerned with the trivial matters before him, and concerns himself only with the Roman creation.   Aeneas cannot simply believe that Dido will eventually understand what he must do, unlike Jupiter feelings for Juno.   The foresight the Gods portray separate them greatly from humanity, making the people seem as though they are simply pieces of a chess game, there for the amusement of creatures bored with eternity. Although Homer pokes fun at the God from the past and uses the tale to tell of the heroism of the Greek people, he fails to place his own God at the forefront as a just and caring ruler.   Virgil at least shows the God of the Romans as one who delights in the magnificence of the race. Physically the gods are far superior to the men they control, but in the case of Zeus, he is far from being above the simple human frailty of emotion.   Homer instills a sense of commonality between the people and their God, one in which the playing field is an equal one.   The Gods are affected by this war almost as much as the people are.   When interfering in the matters of men, the Gods are shaken to the core in some instances, harmed in others, and heartbroken other times still. For Virgil, the people end on the positive note.   The great anti-hero is dead, and the true hero does not turn out to be Aeneas, but the Romans themselves.   The reader sees throughout the epic poem, that Virgil had them in mind all along.   The creation myth of the great empire seeks to solidify their place in the world and by showing that that creation came from a just and powerful authority – he accomplishes just that. Works Cited Homer.   The Iliad. Trs. Robert Fagles.   New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1998. Virgil. The Aeneid. Trs. W.F. Jackson Knight. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 2006.

Marketing Strategies for Low-Income Customers Essay

Good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll could be dead. If a mobile phone ringtone in the shape of the vocalizations of the animated Crazy Frog dominates the billboard charts for months on end, then it could well signal the death knell for the industry, and how it operates. If this ubiquitous amphibian’s aurally annoying song, converted from a mobile phone ringtone, outsold even mainstay acts such as Oasis and Coldplay, why should music companies invest millions in cultivating fresh musical talent, hoping for them to be the next big thing, when their efforts can be beaten by basic synthesizer music? The industry is facing a number of challenges that it has to address, such as strong competition, piracy, changing delivery formats, increasing cost pressures, demanding pri-madonnas and changing customer needs. Gone are the days when music moguls were reliant on sales from albums alone, now the industry trawls for revenue from a variety of sources, such as ringtones, merchandising, concerts, and music DVDs, leveraging extensive back catalogues, and music rights from advertising, movies and TV programming. The music industry is in a state of flux at the moment. The cornerstone of the industry—the singles chart—has been facing terminal decline since the mid-1990s. Some retailers are now not even stocking singles due to this marked freefall. Some industry commentators blame the Internet as the sole cause, while others point to value differences between the price of an album and the price of a single as too much. Likewise, some commentators criticize the heavy pre-release promotion of new songs, the targeting of ever-younger markets by pop acts, and the explosion of digital television music channels as root causes of the single’s demise. The day when the typical record buyer browses through rows of shelves for a much sought-after band or song on a Saturday afternoon may be thing of the past. Long-term success stories for the music industry are increasingly difficult to develop. The old tradition of A&R (which stands for ‘Artists & Repertoire’) was to sign, nurture and develop musical talent over a period of years. The industry relied on continually feeding the system with fresh talent that could prove to be the next big thing and capture the public imagination. Now corporate short-term thinking has enveloped business strategies. If an act fails to be an immediate hit, the record label drops them. The industry is now characterized by an endless succession of one-hit wonders and videogenic artist churning out classic cover songs, before vanishing off the celebrity radar. Four large music labels now dominate the industry (see Table 1), and have emerged through years of consolidation. The ‘big four’ labels have the marketing clout and resources to invest heavily in their acts, providing them with expensive videos, publicity tours and PR coverage. This clout allows their acts to get vital airplay and video rotation on dedicated TV music channels. Major record labels have been accused of offering cash inducements of gifts to radio stations and DJs in an effort to get their songs on playlists. This activity is known in the industry as ‘radio payola’. Consumer have flocked to the Internet, to download, to stream, to ‘rip and burn’ copyrighted music material. The digital music revolution has changed the way people listen, use and obtain their favourite music. The very business model that has worked for decades, buying a single or album from a high-street store, may not survive. Music executives are left questioning whether the Internet will kill the music business model has been fundamentally altered. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), it estimated that 8 million people in the UK are downloading music from the Internet—92 per cent of them doing so illegally. In 2005 alone, sales of CD singles fell by a colossal 23 per cent. To put the change into context, the sales of digital singles increased by 746.6 per cent in 2005. Consumers are buying their music through different channels and also listening to their favourate songs through digital media rather than through standard CD, cassette or vinyl. The emergence of MP3 players, particularly the immensely popular Apple iPod, has transformed the music landscape even further. Consumers are now downloading songs electronically from the Internet, and storing them on these digital devices or burning them onto rewritable CDs. Glossary of online music jargon Streaming: Allows the user to listen to or watch a file as it is being simultaneously downloaded. Radio channels utilize this technology to transmit their programming on the Internet. ‘Rip n burn’: Means downloading a song or audio file from the Internet and then burning them onto rewritable CDs or DVD. MP3 format: MP3 is a popular digital music file format. The sound quality is similar to that of a CD. The format reduces the size of a song to one-tenth of its original size allowing for it to be transmitted quickly over computer networks. Apple iPod: The ‘digital jukebox’ that has transformed the fortunes of the pioneer PC maker. By the end of 2004 Apple is expected to have sold 5 million units of this ultra-hip gadget. It was the ‘must-have item’ for 2003. The standard 20 GB iPod player can hold around 5000 songs. Other hardware companies, such as Dell & Creative Labs, have launched competing devices. These competing brands can retail for less than  £75. Peer-to-peer networks (P2P): These networks allow users to share their music libraries with other net users. There is no central server, rather individual computers on the Internet communicating with one another. A P2P program allows users to search for material, such as music files, on other computers. The program lets users find their desired music files through the use of a central computer server. The system works lime this; a user sends in a request for a song; the system checks where on the Internet that song is located; that song is downloaded directly onto the computer of the user who made the request. The P2P server never actually holds the physical music files—it just facilitates the process. The Internet offers a number of benefits to music shoppers, such as instant delivery, access to huge music catalogues and provision of other rich multi-media material like concerts or videos, access to samples of tracks, cheaper pricing (buying songs for 99p rather than an expensive single) and, above all, convenience. On the positive side, labels now have access to a wider global audience, possibilities of new revenue streams and leveraging their vast back catalogues. It has diminished the bargaining power of large retailers, it is a cheaper distribution medium than traditional forms and labels can now create value-laden multimedia material for consumers. However, the biggest problem is that of piracy and copyright theft. Millions of songs are being downloaded from the Internet illegally with no payment to the copyright holder. The Internet allows surfers to download songs using a format called ‘MP3’, which doesn’t have inbuilt copyright protection, thus allowing the user to copy and share with other surfers with ease. Peer to peer (P2P) networks such as Kazaa and Grokster have emerged and pose an even deadlier threat to the music industry—they are enemies that are even harder to track and contain. Consumers can easily source and download illegal copyrighted material with considerable ease using P2P networks (see accompanying box). A large number of legal download sites have now been launched, where surfers can either stream their favourite music or download it for future use in their digital libraries. This has been due to the rapid success of small digital medial players such the Apple iPod. The legal downloading of songs has grown exponentially. A la carte download services and subscription-based services are the two main business models. Independent research reveals that the Apple’s iTunes service has over 70 per cent of the market. Highlighting this growing phenomenon of the Internet as an official channel of distribution, new music charts are now being created, such as the ‘Official Download Chart’. Industry sources suggest that out of a typical 99p download, the music label get 65p, while credit card companies get 4p, leaving the online music store with 30p per song download. These services may fundamentally eradicate the concept of an album, with customers selecting only a handful of their favourite songs rather than entire standard 12 tracks. These prices are having knock-on consequences for the pricing of physical formats. Consumers are now looking for a more value-laden music product rather than simply 12 songs with an album cover. Now they are expecting behind the scenes access to their favourite group, live concert footage and other content-rich material. Big Noise Music is an example of one of the legitimate downloading sites running the OD2 system. The site is different in that for every  £1 download, 10p of the revenue goes to the charity Oxfam. The music industry is ferociously fighting back by issuing lawsuits for breach of copyright to people who are illegally downloading songs from the Internet using P2P software. The recording industry has started to sue thousands of people who illegally share music using P2P. They are issuing warnings to net surfers who are P2P software that their activities are being watched and monitored. Instant Internet messages are being sent to those who are suspected of offering songs illegally. In addition, they have been awarded court orders so that Internet providers must identify people who are heavily involved in such activity. The music industry is also involved heavily in issue advertising campaigns, by promoting anti-piracy websites such as www.pro-music.org to educate people on the industry and the impact of piracy on artists. These types of public awareness campaigns are designed to illustrate the implications of illegal downloading. Small independent music labels view P2P networks differently, seeing them as vital in achieving publicity and distribution for their acts. These firms simply do not have the promotional resources or distribution clout of the ‘big four’ record labels. They see P2P networks as an excellent viral marketing tool, creating buzz about a song or artist that will ultimately lead to wider mainstream and commercial appeal. The Internet is used to create communities of fans who are interested in their music, providing them access to free videos and other material. It allows independent acts the opportunity to distribute their music to a wider audience, building up their fan base through word of mouth. Savvy unsigned bands have sophisticated websites showcasing their work, and offering free downloads as well as opportunities for audio-philes to purchase their tunes. Alternatively major labels still see that to gain success one has to get a video on rotation on MTV and that this in turn encourages greater airplay on radio stations, ultimately leading to increased purchases.