Analysing the global marketing environment Assignment

Analysing the global marketing environment - Assignment Example Background This report is based on the examination of the global marketing environment of the popular cookies brand of New Zealand, Cookie Times, in the global market, especially in United States. Cookie Time Ltd (CTL) is one of the most popular cookie brands in New Zealand. This is located in Christchurch and makes snack foods since 1983. The mascot of the brand is known as Cookie Muncher. It is a commercial, innovative snacking company. One of the fundamental business structures of the company comprises of franchised distribution, retail, as well as manufacturing operations with special focus on the opportunities of foreign licensing and franchise. Chocolate Chunk Cookie was the first launched product in the New Zealand market intended for individual sale. With unparalleled operational excellence and dynamic entrepreneurship, CTL is dominating the domestic cookie and cracker market for more than 28 years. Their passion lies in building strong customer satisfaction base and network by providing unmatched quality products with extravagant taste (Franchise opportunities, Cookie Time, n.d.). The company’s portfolio includes highly innovative and popular products like glutten-free cookies and smart cookies with authorized certification from the National Heart Foundation. The mainstream sweet cookie was launched in the market in 2006 with prior consultation with the Ministry of health, NZ Parent Teachers Association and the Heart Foundation. In 2010, the first full scale retail space of the company, the Cookie Time Bar was established in Queensland which serves great hot cookies and milk with a nostalgic ambience. The outlet shop of the company outside the Christchurch factory is a landmark site which is well known for its giant cookie frontage. The head quarters and the food science laboratory are also established here. For distribution of the products to more than 6000 domestic retail outlets 40 independent franchisees work rigorously across time (Corporat e Profile, Cookie Time, n.d.). Reports show that about one-third the people of United States of America (US) have no time to take their meal. Only one-third of them take regular three meals in a day. The others depend on easily available food items and snacks and skip their meals. The unhealthy consumer behavior leading to rampant obesity has led majority of the American population to convert their dietary mechanism towards a more healthy process. As a result CTL finds a great opportunity to enter this market with its products which are rich in high proteins, high fibre, natural ingredients with low fat and sugar which guarantees healthy diet (Cookies in the US 2006, p. 6). That is why the study is done to find out whether there is proper global environment of the marketing Cookie Time in the country. 1. Environmental analysis 1.1 Economic Environment The economic setting can modify quite fast. Effects of rapid business decline in a country or region will adversely affect the busine ss environment of any organization within that geographical boundary. However new strategies are to be formulated and implemented at the simultaneously for maintaining sustainability. The fall in consumer’s income changes their consumption pattern by cutting down expenses by barred consumption on some products. As a direct consequence many companies including

CONFLICT RESOLUTION Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CONFLICT RESOLUTION - Term Paper Example Where people stay, conflicts are bound to take place. As human beings, it is vital to find ways of solving conflicts so as to live in harmony. The art and ability to accommodate one another is equally important therefore it is wise to take it as a burden to resolve conflict in an amicable way without resorting to war. From past experience and historical perspective, diplomacy reigns where war has always failed. It is therefore important to analyze conflict from a personal experience with regard to what takes place in the work place. It is also very important to figure out what would be the dangers of letting anger take control of people in the work or social places and the repercussions it might have on their career (Hodgson, 2000). Conflicts in work places are as common as they are in other social places. Having that background knowledge it is therefore important to find ways of handling situations of conflict that may arise in our surrounding. It is also important to realize that m any a times conflicts normally arise as a result of conflicting concerns of individuals, who may want to suit their own interest at the expense of others. Conflicts in work places arise because of a number of reasons. If such issues are not addressed in time, they cause a threat to the organization. An example of what might cause conflict is the feeling that some workers are given special treatment than others. Yet some workers may also engage in conflict because they are sidelined. This occurs when a single worker or a group of workers find it difficult to associate with fellow workers because of their background, their weakness or even their manner of handling situations. For example in my case, I have experienced a scenario at work place when fellow workers ganged up against me. Reason being, I had a weakness in the manner in which I handled lazy people. Instead of being rational, I acted ruthlessly towards them. As a result, I was sidelined by my workmates. The situation got wor se. I was hated by everyone in the organization. My sight could not be condoned by anyone; this deteriorated my performance. I was almost giving up my job when finally the manager came to our intervention. The situation has improved since I now get along with everyone. My situation may not be different from what might be going on in other places of work. Appreciating others is vital since no achievement in the work place can be realized when workers are not united. We must learn to work with others and accept others, putting it in mind that we cannot have the same qualities. Since conflicts are mandatory in places of work, it is important to look at ways of coming up with solutions to solve such occurrences whenever they happen. There are as many solutions to as many social problems as possible. The only challenge that has always been is that there is no strategy that is near perfect for solving conflicts (Palagi et al., 2004). There are five strategies that can be used in conflict resolution in case of conflict in any working places or anywhere else. The strategies include accommodating, compromising, avoiding, and problem solving. All these strategies are important tools that those who are holding managerial positions in the work places should try to adopt when faced with the challenge of trying to solve disputes in places of work. Conflicts in places of work should be viewed as natural occurrences that arise out of discontentment and frustrations and thus before using

Tristram Shandy: Postmodern texts

Tristram Shandy: Postmodern texts Does Tristram Shandy demonstrate that there can be postmodern texts before Postmodernism? Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy dominated the London literary marketplace during its serial publication from 1759-1767.   Like his contemporary writers, Sterne engages in debates concerning what we would now regard as the disciplinary boundary between literature and philosophy which has established its canonical status as a work of postmodern fiction.   It is difficult to ascribe, as many scholars have, to Tristram Shandy the title of ‘postmodern’.   To characterize this novel through a future literary movement which defines itself through the rejection of the principles of the previous movement is incongruous.   How can a novel which precedes postmodernism by over a century and a half reflect the cultural and political formations which sparked the movement itself?   However, Tristram Shandy does contain fictional and narrative elements which clearly invite comparison with the fiction of the postmodern movement. Born into the Augustan Age, Sterne’s discordant writing makes him seem out of place in his own era   Differing drastically from the contemporary imaginative literature of Defoe, Richardson and Fielding and the philosophical writing of Johnson, Tristram Shandy has been explained by critics as an example of ‘process writing’, a text presented in the very act of creation and change.   This analysis can be applied to Sterne himself; moving away from the Augustan poets and the sentimental writers, Sterne’s writing is termed postmodern because it is a rejection of realism, turning from the objectivity of external truth to examine inner states of consciousness.   Sterne’s novel clearly exhibits the postmodernist theory of metafiction, in which the writing self-consciously points to itself as an object in order to question the relationship between reality and fiction.   Sterne was certainly not alone in critiquing methods of narrative construction an d exploring the fictionality of the external world, but what sets Tristram Shandy apart from its contemporary fiction is the use of language as an arbitrary system.   The elements of Tristram Shandy which inspire comparisons with the postmodernist movement are clear: questioning the relationship between text and the self, and an argument for the constitutive power of language.   Postmodern scholars question the fundamental representation of identity and history itself, that is, history as what ‘really’ happened as opposed to history as an objective ‘narrative’ of what happened.   Sterne has a clear understanding of how some element of self-definition and identification is involved in the fictional writing process, and freely admits the element of autobiography in his writing.   ‘Tis †¦ a picture of myself’ he tells David Garrick in regards to Tristram Shandy (Letters 87).   The autobiographical element in Sterne’s writing suggests multiple definitions of the same reality, which depend upon perspectives rather than objective truth.   This comes across as a convoluted and fragmented narrat ive that confuses fiction and reality, narrative and truth. Tristram himself says of his father’s masterpiece, the Trista-paedia, ‘My father spun his, every thread of it, out of his own brain, or reeled and cross-twisted what all other spinners and spinster had spun before him’ (Sterne 93).   Sterne, like his character Tristram, spins his own narrative in an intricate and complex web, so convoluted and transparent that it is difficult to tell where it ends and he begins. Tristram Shandy clearly embodies this ambiguity between reality and representation through language.   James Swearingen writes that in Tristram Shandy ‘language does not just facilitate communication: it establishes the phenomenal horizon in which speakers and things spoken about are constituted’(Swearingten 117).   Tristram constructs his biography through textual language, which reveals itself to be an ambiguous rather than a concrete medium.   He admits that he is better associated with the text itself than the subject to which it refers.   Tristram’s escape from his inevitable death is described as a journey in which ‘life follows the pen’ (Sterne 754).   Once again returning to the autobiographical element of Sterne’s writing, if Tristram’s journey follows the pen, then he, like Sterne, is creating and documenting his own existence, shaping his narrative according to his liking rather than according to objective truth. At the same time that Sterne celebrates the constructive power of language, he reveals its ultimate failure.   Sterne was ‘concerned almost exclusively with the problem of communication among men’ wrote John Traugott, illuminating both the genius and failure of Sterne’s text.   When words fail, as they sooner or later do, communication becomes the business of sensibility.   ‘My uncle Toby looked brisk at the sound of the word siege, but could make neither head nor tail of it’ (Sterne 312).   Traugott concludes that Tristram Shandy seeks to re-establish a community where reason, in the form of language, threatens to destroy it (Traugott 15).   Rather than basing a notion of community upon concrete notions of order and hierarchy, the Shandy world is built on the unstable base of subjectivity.   ‘In Sterne’s world, each individual consciousness establishes itself at the centre of a universe of feeling and ignores any such thing a s objective reality, until the subject of Tristram Shandy finally seems to be the nature of fiction itself’ (Byrd 59).   Virginia Woolf has noted Sterne’s unexpected prose as a means of exploring a materialist critique of the conventions of the novel itself.   The jerky, disconnected sentences are as rapid and it would seem as little under control as the phases that fall from the lips of a brilliant talker †¦ The order of the ideas, their suddenness and irrelevancy, is more true to life than to literature †¦ Under the influence of this extraordinary style the book becomes semi-transparent.   The usual ceremonies and conventions which keep the reader and writer at arm’s length disappear (Woolf 79) Stylistically, Sterne’s novel deconstructs the narrative and linguistic form of the novel in favour of multiplicity and ambiguity. Indeed, the author’s preface is found in volume three, chapters are disordered, and symbols and blank pages are found throughout the book.   Playing with novelistic conventions, Sterne draws attention to the instability of the written form itself, paralleling the ambiguity of the text with the ambiguity of the self. Sterne uses reflection to expose the constructedness of his narrative, encouraging the reading to approach it not as subjective truth but as an aesthetic.   This is clearly apparent in the treatment of various forms of madness within the novel.   Madness figures prominently in Tristram Shandy.   The metaphor of madness appears in many critical discussion of the novel because helps to underscore the link between Sterne and his contemporary Augustan satirists, for whom the classical idea of madness as supernatural inspiration is missing.   Indeed, Sterne seems to anticipate the Romantic poets who, by contrast, represent madness as a sign of alienation, in which the faculty of imagination is the source of anxiety rather than creative freedom. In Tristram Shandy many kinds of madness are manifest.   Characters such as Toby and Walter serve simply as the necessary comic eccentricity, similar to the figure of Yorick to whom Tristram refers throughout his story.   Tristram, howe ver, cites John Locke as an explanation of why ‘my poor mother could never hear the †¦ clock wound up, but the thoughts of some other things unavoidably popped into her head’ (Sterne 39).   The ‘sort of unreasonableness’ which Locke describes is, ironically, the driving force behind Tristram’s unorderly pattern of narration.   Tristram clearly expresses Sterne’s own narrative technique: ‘By this contrivance the machinery of my work is of a species by itself; two contrary motions are introduced into it, and reconciled, which were thought to be at variance with each other.   In a word, my work is digressive, and it is progressive too, -and at the same time’ (Sterne 95).   Sterne questions what it means to live in a world in which the boundaries of the self and the body politic are redefined.   Challenging the conventions of body narrative form and philosophical notions of the self, Sterne questions, ‘is a man t o follow rules or rules to follow him?’ (Sterne, 583) One bibliographer described Tristram Shandy as ‘postmodernist in every sense except the moment in which it was written,’ and most critics have agreed.   However, despite the similarities between Sterne’s own engagement with philosophical and literary critique in his novel, it is impossible to call Tristram Shandy a postmodernist text, if purely for semantic reasons.   It is tempting to explain instances of extraordinary forms of artistic and critical reflection with the tools of the present, but this is a fallacy.   Sterne’s novel engages with the epistemological, philosophical and literary crises of his time, and cannot possibly be explained with a theory born out of the crises of the twentieth century.   As Tristram’s mother exclaimed, ‘L—d! †¦ what is all this story about? –‘ It is, and will remain, ‘A COCK and a BULL, †¦ And one of the best of its kind, I ever heard’ (Sterne 615). Works Cited Byrd, M. (1985) Tristram Shandy London: George Allen Unwin. Swearingen, J. (1977) Reflexivity in Tristram Shandy: An Essay in Phenomenological Criticism New Haven: Yale University Press. Sterne, L. (1967) The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, London: Penguin Classics. -(1775) Letters to his Friends on Various Occasions, London. Traugott, J. (1954) Tristram Shandys World: Sternes Philosophical Rhetoric. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press. Woolf, V. (1932) The Common Reader: Second Series. London: Hogarth Press.

Essay --

Used to turn the chickens out on the alfalfa on a sunny morning" reinforces the idea that everyone has a dream, a goal and a fantasy. Crooks may be negative, yet even he, the "nigger", has a vision of one day experiencing the pleasures of his equality again. Crooks Room Crooks room is clearly downgraded compared to all the other workers. As we see he lives in the stable with the horses, and the other workers get a bunkhouse. â€Å"this room was swept and fairly neat†; This shows that he is not an animal like other characters think he is. They also refuse to share a room with him, although this does allow him to leave his â€Å"possession lying freely around†. A number of these possessions reflect his personality; â€Å"a tattered dictionary† which suggests that he is quite articulate. Some of these items also highlight his treatment and segregation from society. He had â€Å"a few dirty books† suggesting they were pornography because he was not allowed into the cat house due to his skin colour or it could just be old books expanding on the fact he was an articulate or intellectual. Crooks did not have a bed as it was basically a hay stack, â€Å"Crooks bunk was a long box filled with straw on which his blankets were flun g†; showing how he was thought of by the boss. As many people saw black men the same as animals, they were treated in the same way; â€Å"Crooks had his apple box over his bunk and in it a range of medicine bottles, for himself and the horses†. Showing that he has no medicine for himself it is all he can gather. All of these possessions were deliberately emphasised by the author to show that Crooks was indeed equal to the others but no one thinks he actually is. How Lennie affects Crooks As Crooks has been so beaten down by loneliness and... ...s born right here in California†. This shows that Crooks does not seem himself as a Negro, he sees himself as an equal because he was born here, where they are born. Crooks tells Lennie about his past; how he use to play with other white kids and never knew why his father did not like it. But as he got older, he realised and has hated white people ever since, because of their treatment towards him. As Crooks is reminded of his hatred towards white people, who tries to show Lennie how it feels to be lonely in an injurious manner. As Crooks knows that Lennie does not understand anything that is being said, he takes this and uses it against Lennie. â€Å"His excitement had increased George can tell you screwy things, and it don't matter". Crooks tries to get Lennie to feel what it is like to be alone, but shortly after, he becomes threaten by Lennie physical power over him. Essay -- Used to turn the chickens out on the alfalfa on a sunny morning" reinforces the idea that everyone has a dream, a goal and a fantasy. Crooks may be negative, yet even he, the "nigger", has a vision of one day experiencing the pleasures of his equality again. Crooks Room Crooks room is clearly downgraded compared to all the other workers. As we see he lives in the stable with the horses, and the other workers get a bunkhouse. â€Å"this room was swept and fairly neat†; This shows that he is not an animal like other characters think he is. They also refuse to share a room with him, although this does allow him to leave his â€Å"possession lying freely around†. A number of these possessions reflect his personality; â€Å"a tattered dictionary† which suggests that he is quite articulate. Some of these items also highlight his treatment and segregation from society. He had â€Å"a few dirty books† suggesting they were pornography because he was not allowed into the cat house due to his skin colour or it could just be old books expanding on the fact he was an articulate or intellectual. Crooks did not have a bed as it was basically a hay stack, â€Å"Crooks bunk was a long box filled with straw on which his blankets were flun g†; showing how he was thought of by the boss. As many people saw black men the same as animals, they were treated in the same way; â€Å"Crooks had his apple box over his bunk and in it a range of medicine bottles, for himself and the horses†. Showing that he has no medicine for himself it is all he can gather. All of these possessions were deliberately emphasised by the author to show that Crooks was indeed equal to the others but no one thinks he actually is. How Lennie affects Crooks As Crooks has been so beaten down by loneliness and... ...s born right here in California†. This shows that Crooks does not seem himself as a Negro, he sees himself as an equal because he was born here, where they are born. Crooks tells Lennie about his past; how he use to play with other white kids and never knew why his father did not like it. But as he got older, he realised and has hated white people ever since, because of their treatment towards him. As Crooks is reminded of his hatred towards white people, who tries to show Lennie how it feels to be lonely in an injurious manner. As Crooks knows that Lennie does not understand anything that is being said, he takes this and uses it against Lennie. â€Å"His excitement had increased George can tell you screwy things, and it don't matter". Crooks tries to get Lennie to feel what it is like to be alone, but shortly after, he becomes threaten by Lennie physical power over him.

K D Logistics

K D Supply Chain Solutions Pvt Ltd www. kdlogistics. co. in Campus Pre Placement Talk KD Supply Chain Solutions Pvt. Ltd. To be most efficient and effective Third party logistics Provider in India†¦.. Our Vision Efficient: ? Productivity. Effective: ? Quality, Flexibility, Service level. efficient and effective ? Cost Minimization. ? Profit maximization. ? Supply Driven ? Demand (Customer) ? Doing Things Right. driven To be most efficient and effective Third party logistics Provider in India†¦.. Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SERVICES TRANSPORTATION SERVICES CUSTOMISATION CENTER OPERATIONS ORDER MANAGMENT SERVCICES WAREHOUSE CONSTRUCTION DIVISION Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS > > > > > > > > > > > Inventory management Pick and pack operation Dispatch planning Invoicing Collection Quality control and audit Material handling Document management Stock audits Cycle counting Reverse Logistics Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ WAREHOUSE MANAG EMENT SERVICES Every client has a different requirement from its supply chain and we strive to meet that need as closely as we can.Customization is possible for: > Automated operation with racking > Temperature controlled > Raw material handling > Finished good handling > Energy saving and environment friendly Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ? Primary Transportation. ? Secondary Transportation. ? Home delivery system. Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ CUSTOMISATION CENTER OPERATIONS ?We have dedicated and specialized team operating product customization and intermediate packaging system. ? This team focuses on managing client’s inventory by eliminating transporting time to the packaging facility ?These centers assembles products to suit local market down stream supply chain channel requirements. Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ WAREHOUSE CONSTRUCTION DIVISION ?We have established ourselves in the construction of warehouses to suit clients' needs and specific requirements. ? We have developed our own Logistics Park spanning 1. 5 million sq. ft. We are the first 3PL to be to create own infrastructure at Bhiwandi (near Mumbai), Mandideep (Madhya Pradesh) and Gurgaon (NCR). WAREHOUSE CONSTRUCTION DIVISIONSpecial feature: Bhiwandi Logistics Park ? Strategically located and very close Mumbai city touching NH3 ? Racked PEB structure ? State of the art logistics park with a floor strength of 4mt per sq mtrs ? Column less span of 150 feet which facilitate seamless movement of goods with in the facility. ? Exclusive parking facility for more than 100 vehicles. ? Separate entry and exit point for all warehouses. ? Seamless IT connectivity ? Uninterrupted power supply Important Statistics Revenue Logistics- INR 80 Cr †¢ Owned Warehouse Space- 15 lac sq feet †¢ Warehouse space maintained by KDL – FMCG – About 35 lac sq. feet – Retail – About 15 lac sq feet Summer internship -2013 What are we looking for LEADERSHIP OWNERSHIP TEAM PLAY ER DESCISION MAKER Summer internship -2013 What is there for you †¦ †¢ An opportunity which give you ownership. †¢ An opportunity which give direct interaction to our clients. †¢ Exposure to supply chain sector. †¢ An opportunity to explore your entrepreneurial instincts. We†¦. Just started

Improve communication Essay

The reason why Carly didn’t come to me earlier to report the project delays was because she knew the reasons of the delay were not genuine. She was definitely part of the problem and therefore she didn’t have the language of reporting the conflict that was affecting the team project. Also, since the rest of the team knew her weakness she knew if she reported the case to me I would involve the rest of the members thus exposing her weaknesses. Carly hasn’t had a conversation with Morris about their differences despite being the supervisor since she was aware of the root cause of the problem (herself). On the other hand, Morris did not break the ice and discuss the problem with Carly because he assumed that it was Carly’s responsibility as the manager to approach and solve all differences. Furthermore, it was clear to him too of Carly’s participation in the problem. He had also been treated unfairly by Carly and this made it difficult for him to approach Carly. Coupled with the fact that Morris was more educated than Carly, pride could not be ruled out. If Morris had had a conversation with Carly, he would have mentioned about his unfair treatment to her. I tend to think since the other team members knew that Carly was treating him unfairly, this would have been his motivator to mention of this problem. He knew he had support from the entire team. As for Carly, I bet she would have owned up to this problem and promise Morris of a fair treatment in their future interactions. After such a conversation she would have realized that she was losing a key team member and the other team members had observed it previously which would also affect the whole team thus portraying her as an incompetent manager. For Carly to have been given this role of a project manager meant she had positive leadership qualities and therefore would have owned up to her failures. Failure to accept her mistake would have left her as a lone ranger thus breaking the team spirit. The biggest problem with the way these team members interacted lied on communication breakdown and barriers. This is because it’s clear the other team member had noticed the dispute but no one had shared about it with me or even asked Carly or Morris. Teamwork was minimal in this team and this would have affected this project very adversely if not handled well and quickly. To break this communication barrier and improve communication, it would be beneficial for the team to encourage more frequent and effective upward, downward and team communication. With more communication, any arising problem would be handled well in advance before affecting the project negatively. I think Carly should continue serving as the project manager. This because having discussed the dispute openly, the parties would have understood the facts of the problem and hence allow them to see their areas of agreement, thus turning the conflict into new ideas of enhancing teamwork in the project.

Stolen Party cause and effect essays

Stolen Party cause and effect essays The Stolen Party cause and effect In Liliana Hekers essay, The Stolen Party, Rosaura was invited to her rich best friend Lucianas birthday party. Although Rosauras mother worked as a maid for Lucianas family, she never thought of herself as a poor maids daughter. Instead, she truly believed that Luciana was her best friend. When her mother warned her about her lower social status, she ignored her warning and attended the party. At the party, she enjoyed helping out with some little tasks. In the end, the innocent Rosaura was shocked when she discovered that her mother was right all along. Rich people can never treat poor people as their friends, only as their inferior. Rosaura used to go to Lucianas house and they would both finished their homework while Rosauras mother did the cleaning. The two girls would have their tea in the kitchen and shared secrets with each other. Rosaura saw Luciana as her best friends, and she never thought about the problem of being friends with rich people. When Rosauras mother tried to prevent her from being hurt by pointing out the impossibility of a real relationship between poor and rich, Rosaura was deeply offended. She said, I am going because Ive been invited. And Ive been invited because Luciana is my friend. So there. She thought her mother was too conservative. Eventually, her mother helped her get ready on the morning of the party, and helped her look pretty. During the party, Lucianas mother, Senora Ines, was very friendly to Rosaura and asked her to serve the party in a very nice and indirect way. Out of all the guests, she only allowed Rosaura into the kitchen. Her excuse was, You yes, but not the others, theyre much too boisterous.... You knew the house so much better than the others. At the same time, the conversation between Rosaura and Luciana&...

20 Classification Essay Topics on Globalization

20 Classification Essay Topics on Globalization Welcome to our second guideline, 20 classification essay topics on globalization. In this guide, we are going to discuss 20 relevant topics on globalization. You can choose any one of them to start writing immediately. Of course, we have also shared a sample essay with you that would let you know how an essay should be written. But before you read further, we want you to read our first guide first, if you haven’t read it yet. Reading this guide before that one, may confuse you more which, in result, may hinder you from writing the perfect classification paper  you want written immediately. Our previous guide, 10 facts for a classification essay on globalization, covers what it says. It covers 10 facts on globalization from credible sources. These facts would give you the basic idea of what globalization really is, what are its effects and impacts on the world. After reading this guide, we highly urge you to read our final guide first before heading on to compose your classification essay on globalization. Our third guide, writing guide for classification essay on globalization, talks about the methodologies, formats and outlines of writing and beautifying your essay during the composition. It’s a must read and you shouldn’t skim through it. Without further ado, here are 20 topics on globalization: Negative Impact of Globalization on Underdeveloped Countries The History of Globalization and How it All Started After the Cold War The Risks and Chances of World War III Due to Globalization How Globalization Helped Villages to Convert into Cities How Globalization Is Reducing Lifespans Worldwide Can Globalization Become the Ultimate Weapon to Spread Infectious Diseases? How and Why Globalization Has Increased Child Prostitution in Many Countries The Impact of Globalization on Multinational Companies and Organizations The Role of Globalization on Local Culture, Societies and Religion Values How Globalization Has Provided Greater Access to Foreign Products The Dominance of United States on the World and How it Affects Worldwide The Types of Globalization and its Impact on the World The Reason Why Asian Markets Affect American Markets Political Globalization and its Effect on the World The Relation Between Globalization and Global Warming How Globalization Has Spiked Oil Prices in the Whole World Globalization – How it Encourages Countries to Depend on other Countries for Essential Goods and Services Which Countries Really Initiated the Globalization Process? How Globalization Has Affected Drug and Human Trafficking An In-Depth Classification Essay on Globalization and How it Can Unite the World Great! Now you have 20 topics to choose from and start writing. Here is a sample essay which would assist you in writing better. We have chosen one of the above topics so it becomes easier for you to grasp how a classification essay is really written. Here it is: Sample Essay: The History of Globalization and It’s Start after the Cold War Globalization is the way the world works today. It helps individuals, organizations and countries communicate with each other by bridging almost all kind of gaps. It would not be entirely wrong to state that it is globalization that has helped people come closer, and a lot of credit for this goes to improving technology. Globalization has huge effects and on all four corners. It changes culture, politics, financial growth and success with respect to humans around the world. In two ways, the end of the cold war had a major impact on global leaders, especially those in control of strategy and politics. It highlighted the restrictions on community, highlighting boundaries or maximum capacity of a community. The second effect was freeing of thoughts, as communities started to have global links with each other and the word began to spread. Some major issues back then were of inequality and conflict. The conflict between The Soviet Union and the US started a war where both countries tried to get as militarized as possible. The same issue cause inequality, as some countries grew and had strong military while some were very weak on that front. As a result, the end of the cold era put some countries on a different pedestal and some down. Countries like America, Japan had means to grow economically while some were striving to do better. A major reason for this growth was the growth in technology, including transportation and communication. On the positive note, this growth brought countries together as first world countries made a group of strong countries and third world countries turned to them to improve their economies by learning the latest technologies and growing like others. As the Soviet Union and the US competed to push each other’s government, they helped boost the world economy. But, as stated earlier, this was not evenly distributed. This helped setup future for the rest of the world as both superpowers had their own allies. The US supported Japan, winning an ally and The Soviet Union joined hands with other countries. This alliance gave a boost to the economy overall as each superpower helped its allies strengthen its economy so that it could have help in case things got worse in the future. This resulted in globalization as countries joined forces and also changed loyalties in some cases, at times due to changing economic climate and at times to meet the changing demands. One of the biggest changes was in the education section as countries understood the need to get educated and sent foreign delegates for a transfer of education, not only in the form of humans but also in the form of books and other such items. A small amount of attention was paid to how these various parts of education can be settled in a single layout. This is what put the form of globalization and it is there even today, but in a more progressive manner. There you have it. You now have 10 facts for a classification essay on globalization, 20 essay topics on globalization, now all that remains is reading the writing guide for essay on globalization, which is our final guide. Let’s head on to that guide and then we’ll leave you to start writing your classification paper  on your own. If you haven’t read our first guide, we highly recommend that you do that before you move on further. Skipping any of the guidelines would actually blur your understanding. References: St. Rosemary Educational Institution. Types of Globalization. Rosemary Educational Institution. http://schoolworkhelper.net/types-of-globalization/ Sandu Cuterela, (2012) â€Å"Globalization: Definition, Processes and Concepts† Revista Romà ¢nÄÆ' de StatisticÄÆ' – Supliment Trim  revistadestatistica.ro/suplimente/2012/4/srrs4_2012a22.pdf Simon Reich, (1998), â€Å"What is Globalization?† Working Paper #261, The Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies  https://www3.nd.edu/~kellogg/publications/workingpapers/WPS/261.pdf David A. Deese, â€Å"Globalization: Causes and Effects† Boston College, USA.  bc.edu/sites/libraries/facpub/deese-globalization/book.pdf Pearson UK, â€Å"Chapter One: Globalization† Part I: Global Business Environment; HE Educators  http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0273752634.pdf Amin, A., Thrift, N. (1995). Globalization, institutions, and regional development in Europe. Oxford university press. Rodrik, D. (1997). Has globalization gone too far?. California Management Review, 39(3), 29-53.

Accounting a Level A2 Specimen Paper

Corporate and management accounting Specimen Paper First examination May 2005 Time: 3 hours Materials required for examination Answer Book (AB16) Items included with question papers Accounting paper (AB34) (6 sheets per candidate) Instructions to Candidates Answer FIVE questions, choose TWO from Section A and THREE from Section B. In the boxes on the answer book, write the name of the examining body (London Examinations), your centre number, candidate number, the subject title (Accounting), the paper reference (9011), your surname and signature. Answer your questions in the answer book. Make sure your answers to parts of questions are clearly numbered. Use additional answer sheets if necessary. If the accounting paper provided does not allow you to set out your answer in the way you wish, rule up a page of the answer book to suit your requirements. Information for Candidates The total mark for this paper is 100. The marks for parts of questions are shown in round brackets: e. g. (2). This paper has 7 questions. Calculators may be used. Advice to Candidates Write your answers neatly and in good English. This publication may only be reproduced in accordance with London Qualifications copyright policy.  © 2005 Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Accounting 8011/9011 – Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes 23 SECTION A Answer TWO questions from this section 1. The balance sheets of Limsol Ltd as at 31 October 2003 and 31 October 2002 were as follows: 31October 2003 Fixed assets (Net) Current assets Stock Debtors Bank ? 127 500 79 500 27 000 234 000 Creditors: due within one year Creditors Proposed dividends 117 000 37 500 154 500 79 500 979 500 78 000 30 000 108 000 177 000 897 000 ? 33 500 102 000 49 500 285 000 ? 900 000 31October 2002 ? 720 000 Creditors: due after one year 10% Debentures 195 000 784 500 90 000 807 000 Issued share capital 750 000 ordinary shares of ? 1 each Reserves Share premium General reserve Profit and loss 750 000 7 500 27 000 784 500 600 000 150 000 57 000 807 000 24======================Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Ac counting 8011/9011 – Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes Additional Information: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) During the year ended 31 October 2003, fixed assets with a net book value of ? 0 000 were sold for ? 37 500 and fixed assets costing ? 300 000 were purchased. An issue of one bonus share for every four shares held was made on 30 June 2003. To improve the working capital position the directors sanctioned a further issue of debentures on 1 November 2002. An interim dividend of ? 15 000 was paid on 31 May 2003. Required: (a) Prepare a statement reconciling operating profit to net cash inflow or outflow from operations. (13) Prepare a cash flow statement for Limsol Ltd for the year ended 31 October 2003 in accordance with the requirements of FRS 1. 9) â€Å"The management of cash flow is more important than profitability to ensure the survival of a business†. Explain this statement. (4) (Total 26 marks) (b) (c) Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Accounting 8011/9011 – Specimen Paper s and Mark Schemes 25 2. The balance sheets of Rumba Ltd and Samba Ltd at 31 July 2003 were as follows: Rumba Ltd ? 240 000 93 750 333 750 29 625 31 050 28 950 89 625 50 250 39 375 373 125 225 000 27 000 121 125 373125 Samba Ltd ? 144 000 37 050 181 050 15 675 14 280 7 455 37 410 43 680 (6 270) 174 780 135 000 39 780 174 780 Fixed assets Premises at cost Vehicles at net book value Machinery at net book value Current asssets Stock Debtors Bank Current liabilities Creditors Working capital Financed by: Ordinary shares of ? 1 each Share Premium Profit Loss On 1 August 2003 Combo Ltd was formed, with an authorised capital of 750 000 ordinary shares of ? 1 each, to take over the assets and liabilities of both companies at book value with the exception of: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) The premises of Rumba Ltd were revalued at ? 300 000, and Samba Ltd at ? 180 000. The purchase consideration was settled by issuing to the shareholders of Rumba Ltd and Samba Ltd ordinary shares in Combo Ltd at ? 1. 50 each. Required: (a) Calculate the purchase consideration and the number of shares issued by Combo Ltd. (11) (b) Journal entries to close the books of Rumba Ltd. (Narrations are not required). An extract from the balance sheet of Combo Ltd at 1 August 2003 to show the share capital and reserves. (4) (Total 26 marks) (11) (c) Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Accounting 8011/9011 – Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes 7 3. The directors of Kaslan Ltd are considering investing in one of two machines to increase production capacity. The details are as follows: Machine Y ? 300 000 120 000 140 000 60 000 30 000 Machine Z ? 300 000 45 000 75 000 180 000 135 000 Capital cost Estimated net profit: Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 The estimated profit is calculated after deducting straight-line depreciation. Both machines will have a life of fo ur years and an estimated scrap value of ? 60 000. The cost of capital is 15%. Present value of ? 1 Year 1 2 3 Q 15% 0. 870 0. 756 0. 658 0. 572 All costs and revenues occur at the end of each year. Required: (a) Calculate, for both machines, the: (i) cash flows (6) (ii) pay back period (4) (iii) net present values. (8) 28======================Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Accounting 8011/9011 – Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes (b) Using your answer to (a), state with reasons, which machine you would recommend the directors of Kaslan Ltd to purchase. (5) The accounting rate of return method of investment appraisal has one advantage, it is simple to calculate. State three disadvantages. 3) (Total 26 marks) (c) Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Accounting 8011/9011 – Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes 29 SECTION B Answer THREE questions from this section 4. Dynamic Ltd has an authorised capital of 100 000 ordinary shares of ? 1 each which had been issued in full. In accordance with the required procedures the authorised capital was increased to 200 000 shares. The directors deci ded to issue to the public a further 75 000 shares as follows: ? 0. 30 0. 70 0. 50 Application Allotment (Including premium) First and Final Call Applications were received for 112 500 shares. Applications for 15 000 shares were rejected and the monies refunded. The 75 000 shares were alloted on a pro-rata basis, the surplus application money was applied to the amount due on allotment. The total due on allotment was received in full. The amount due on the first and final call was also received in full. Required: (a) Show the ledger accounts to record the above transactions. (A bank account is not required). (10) Give three advantages to a company and its shareholders of making a rights issue. (6) (Total 16 marks) (b) 0======================Revised GCE Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Accounting 8011/9011 – Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes 5. Patel Ltd manufactures three products, X, Y and Z.  · The standard time for each unit produced is: X Y Z  · 12 hours 9 hours 16 hours Labour details: Actual direct labour hours worked 9 251. Standard hourly rate of pay ? 6. Actual wages ? 55 320.  · During August the act ual output was: X Y Z 320 units 260 units 180 units Required: (a) (b) Calculate the standard hours of actual output. (2) Calculate the following variances: (i) (ii) (iii) (c) Total direct labour variance.

Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 15

Humanities - Essay Example During the Justinian reign, a plan to reunite the Roman Empire succeeded. As a way of celebrating the success, they constructed Hagia Sophia, the church of Holy Wisdom. There were other successes, but after Justinian rule had come to an end, the empire suffered several losses (Halsall). Islam is a monotheistic religion that came to be during the 7th century CE in Middle East. The religion literally means submission or surrender. Its basis is on the readings of Prophet Muhammad according to the words of Allah. Allah is their creator; he brought them to earth and is sustainer of the world and life. The holy book (scripture) of the Islam is the Quran and carries all the teachings of the prophet as revealed to him by Allah. There are two divisions within the Islam tradition; the Shia and Sunni. The two hold differing views on maintenance of religious authority. A unifying factor among Muslims is the concept of Five Pillars. The Five Pillars are the practices of Islam, and they are; the hajj, zakat, ritual prayer, profession of faith, and fasting (Baksh, 1-10). In similarities, the three religions are monotheistic as they believe in one God. They take God as a source of everything that exists. They take God as caring and merciful. The religions take humans as the superior creatures on Earth. They are hopeful of future happenings and believe suffering evil cannot prevail. In differences, the religions have different scriptures. Christians use the Bible, Jews use Torah and Talmud, while Muslims use Quran. Christians and Muslims believe there will be a judgment day followed by Hell or Heaven. Jews believe on no immediate eternal life. Charlemagne, Charles the Great, lived between 747 and 814. He received training on leadership matters by participating in military, social and political activities organized by his father who was a mayor of

Photography branding part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Photography branding part 2 - Assignment Example This is the extended version of old CRM. At our photo studio we can maintain a database comprising of all the customer details which will be helpful to us in future contracts. E-CRM can be very advantageous because it is entirely based on the modern technology. We can say that with the help of electronic CRM we can manage our customers on a regular and even on individual basis. The firm can be more responsive towards the customers’ orders. This can help us to create a loyal customer base. At our photo studio we can also apply this e-CRM technique. There would be specific information which must be required from the customers in order to fulfill their future orders in proper time. The information required would include full name, home address, purchase history, and also the planner for the coming events. This would help our professional staff to coordinate with them accordingly. If we have a proper time schedule of the upcoming events then we can accurately manage them and thus satisfying our customers. By promoting our websites on different social websites we can have a larger customer base. In this advanced business world the need of internet based systems is very much important, because many researchers have proved that a strong CRM system directly affects the profits of the organization. This e-CRM helps to establish long term relationships with the customers. Research studies showed that there can be three ways to implement a CRM system in any organization; these can be operational, analytical and collaborative. The operational CRM is for working at the front office means it directly connects with the customers. Now the second technique is analytical CRM which works on the data provided by the operational CRM. It is used for interpretation or we can say data mining. In other words we can say that operational CRM records the number of sales and the analytical CRM predicts the purchasing pattern on those

Leadership Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Leadership - Case Study Example nd avoidance/passive styles) and different features of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, diminishment of personal accomplishment) were made by authors. Out of these five hypotheses only two were fully supported: the one - about positive association between passive leadership style and both depersonalization and emotional exhaustion; the second – about positive correlation between transformational leadership and personal accomplishment. The highest achievement of the authors and therefore the best feature of the article is the fact that the article provides a thorough literature review. A lot of sources providing research on the different styles of management as well as the research on different features and reasons of burnout were analyzed. The analysis of correlations between leadership styles and burnout which already exists in the literature is also presented by the authors of the article. However, the empirical researches as well as the conclusions made in the article contain certain limitations. First of all, taking into account the fact that out of five hypotheses made by the authors of the article only two were fully support with the data, their conclusions about the connections between styles of leadership and burnout as a whole seem somehow overgeneralized. Those hypotheses which were fully supported with the data present just one side of the burnout. Besides that, there are limitations connected with the sample which is used for the research. Even though the authors of the article argue that the response rate of 26.2 percent is normal for this area of research as it involves sensitive issues, it is still very low and as we don’t know anything about the remaining 73.8 percent of the planned sample, the results of the research may be seriously biased. Such a small number of answers (131) provides doubts about the credibility of research results. Even though the study contains certain limitations, especially from the methodological

Wotif.com Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wotif.com - Case Study Example Having established a good name and profitable business operation in Australia, Wotif.com's logical choice for expansion is its neighboring country New Zealand. The proximity of the nations is considered very strategic because the target markets are the almost alike or the same. And since buyers are almost always looking at the proximity of these countries, they somehow consider buying from one or the other. Another is that since Wotif.com is very near New Zealand, customers who are aware of its services in Australia, most could also be aware of them in their neighboring country. Venturing in farther and highly unknown markets like North America, Western Europe or China did not become an option as these markets are already controlled by other huge players. The great distance and different consumer culture will also post additional challenges. In the merchant model, the companies buy the properties like hotels and others at a wholesale price, charge a sensible markup and sell them to customers. However, in the commission based model like the one employed by Wotif.com, its responsibility is solely on the provision of a venue where buyers and sellers can transact. The prices are set by the merchants and it gets a certain percentage of the price that the properties are sold. Noting that properties are not liquid and often requires high payment prices, a company operating on commission based model is more likely to succeed as it entails less risk and is assured of commission when the merchant sells. 4. Using appropriate diagrams illustrate the supply chain for online companies such as Wotif.com, eBay, Dell Computers and Amazon.com. Identify the similarities and the differences between the business models. (8 marks) Wotif.com is the same as eBay since they create value by providing venue for buyers and sellers to transact. They both profit from having a fee to post merchandises and commission to some items. Dell is a manufacturer which distributes its products directly to customers and is employing a significantly different business model from Wotif and eBay since its sets its price. For Amazon, it functions as an online store carrying merchandises from other manufacturers. Version 2. 1. How has Wotif.com maintained its competitive advantage in the marketplace (4 Marks) Wotif.com maintained its competitive advantage in the marketplace by continuing its quest of becoming the lowest cost provider of venue for merchants and buyers of properties. Another is by safeguarding its position as the most profitable and respected business organization in the online accommodation market through strategic pricing strategy and efficient business model. 2. Why would Wotif.com choose New Zealand as their first international market when there are potentially more lucrative markets in North America, Western Europe or China (4 Marks) Wotif.com's decision of conquering its neighbor New Zealand instead of huge yet unknown markets like North America, We

Young Goodman Brown. Theme of your choice of good and evil Research Paper

Young Goodman Brown. Theme of your choice of good and evil - Research Paper Example The puritan beliefs that man was inherently sinful tend to be biased against society in favor of their own self-righteousness out of grace. Through the story of Goodman, Hawthorne criticizes the hypocrisy of the Puritan liturgy by creatively designing Goodman’s journey to self-discovery through personal reevaluation that ultimately ends in the loss of his own faith. Goodman as the protagonist of the story is a universal character, typical of every other man in the universe (Hawthorne 561). This story is strikingly a dark romance story in the period of American Romanticism because it depicts sad and dark events; moreover, in this story, Hawthorne deals with the theme of Good and Evil as two opposing forces in society. The basic argument is that man is constantly faced with the internal conflict about his personal belief, and this is because of the struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Hawthorne affirmatively states that the forces of evil are so strong tha t one is more likely to stray from the path of righteousness to the path of evil and darkness. Man being inherently sinful, he has  to defeat evil by remaining steadfast in his faith, but this is not often easy as we see through Goodman’s woes that lead to him losing his faith; he encounters the devil who is in his own resemblance (Hawthorne 554). The major characters of this story have been given names that suggest a deeper meaning than the surface one, in a deliberate fashion that supports the theme of Good and evil. Goodman for instance points out that the said character is a good man, pure in actions and free from evil. As such, Goodman appeals to the reader as a sympathetic character who has fallen victim of circumstances;  Faith  on the other hand  metaphorically represents his religious beliefs, through which he hopes to attain eternal life.  He believes in her earthly purity and innocence and later in the story,  it emerges that she also represents his per sonal faith. It is faith that keeps Goodman from indulging in evil; this is captured aptly through Goodman’s encounter with the devil in the forest where he excuses his lateness by the delay caused by his wife Faith. This highlights his internal conflict that is informed by man's  general predisposition to evil, and his religious beliefs that prohibit him from freely doing evil. Once Goodman learns that his wife is lost, his personal faith is lost too, and Goodman is totally lost from the righteous path. Apart from the Characters, the setting of the story has been used to highlight the theme of Good and evil in a manner that evokes greater significance in the plot of the story; thus, Hawthorne’s choice of a dense forest setting was purposeful and not merely coincidental. Forests have largely been associated with darkness and dangerous malevolence that could befall any unsuspecting person. Goodman alludes to this myth when he gets a notion that there could be evil beh ind every tree in the forest waiting to attack an innocent individual. In this regard, the forest setting symbolizes evil in its pure form with its deep secrets and darkness that portents mystery. By agreeing to walk in the forest, Goodman starts being compromised in his whole being as he begins to doubt his beliefs in the knowledge he already had about his forbiddance from the forest area. Goodman’s gradual walk deeper into the forest metaphorically represents his gradual straying from good to evil. Deeper into the forest, there is dense darkness that totally blinds Goodman’s eyesight thus highlighting the fact that his morality is getting darker and darker by the moment as he continues to walk in the fo

Should Parents have a Another Child to Save the Life of Another Child Research Paper

Should Parents have a Another Child to Save the Life of Another Child - Research Paper Example Long term repercussions have not been determined as of yet because most of the children born are still underage. Society may not see the negative effects that this process can have on the child until several more years from now, when the child is an adult. As a child, he or she has no choice to donate or not, it is up to the parents. It is definitely heart wrenching to see your child die a little more each day, but parents and society must learn the effects that having another child to save the sick one will have. The opposition is just as outspoken. If a child’s life can be saved, then anything should be done to save it. The opposition has appealing concepts and qualities. No one wants to see a child die, especially the parents of that child. Everything that can be done should be done. Keeping that humane value in mind, during 2002 the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in England laid the basis for an outrageous debate not only in media, but in the ethical c ircles too, when they allowed a family to have a baby that will be genetically selected to cure the chronical disease of its sibling. A group of medical and scientific researchers fully supported the idea to have a baby as a savior for its sibling. It is ethically acceptable to create an offspring to save the life of a desperately ill sibling. ... al., as cited in Pentz, R., et. al., 2008). They also argue that life is a precious thing and it is obligatory for us to save each and every life when we can do it with available technologies in 21st century. It is better than seeing a child dying with Fanconi anemia. It is heart rendering as a human to see people losing strings to life with peeling mucous membranes, sloughing skin and mouths with pouring bloods. No matter, whatever it takes but lives should be saved (Belkin, 2001). Aulisio, May and Block (2001) indicate that "as a matter of social policy there is no justificatory ground for prohibiting parents from having a child to save a child." They see it quite ethical if a child is brought into existence for specific reasons. Whatever happens next to the donor child is the area of main concern while rest lies with the decision of donation that is taken either by the donor or parents. If the minor donor is involved and is not able to take decision then the donation should be don e in the best interest of the donor. For me, infact the idea to create a child as a donor for bone marrow transplant for curing a medically vulnerable sibling, seem awful to all acceptable ethical standards. This is a fact that lot of children born, are from unplanned pregnancies and after the initial shock of the parents, excitement ensues. The baby is born and the parents are happy, proud, and full of love and hopes for the future. Other children are planned and parents experience the same feelings. What happens when that child that is so loved and nurtured becomes so ill that he or she needs a bone marrow transplant in order to survive?

Young Goodman Brown. Theme of your choice of good and evil Research Paper

Young Goodman Brown. Theme of your choice of good and evil - Research Paper Example The puritan beliefs that man was inherently sinful tend to be biased against society in favor of their own self-righteousness out of grace. Through the story of Goodman, Hawthorne criticizes the hypocrisy of the Puritan liturgy by creatively designing Goodman’s journey to self-discovery through personal reevaluation that ultimately ends in the loss of his own faith. Goodman as the protagonist of the story is a universal character, typical of every other man in the universe (Hawthorne 561). This story is strikingly a dark romance story in the period of American Romanticism because it depicts sad and dark events; moreover, in this story, Hawthorne deals with the theme of Good and Evil as two opposing forces in society. The basic argument is that man is constantly faced with the internal conflict about his personal belief, and this is because of the struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Hawthorne affirmatively states that the forces of evil are so strong tha t one is more likely to stray from the path of righteousness to the path of evil and darkness. Man being inherently sinful, he has  to defeat evil by remaining steadfast in his faith, but this is not often easy as we see through Goodman’s woes that lead to him losing his faith; he encounters the devil who is in his own resemblance (Hawthorne 554). The major characters of this story have been given names that suggest a deeper meaning than the surface one, in a deliberate fashion that supports the theme of Good and evil. Goodman for instance points out that the said character is a good man, pure in actions and free from evil. As such, Goodman appeals to the reader as a sympathetic character who has fallen victim of circumstances;  Faith  on the other hand  metaphorically represents his religious beliefs, through which he hopes to attain eternal life.  He believes in her earthly purity and innocence and later in the story,  it emerges that she also represents his per sonal faith. It is faith that keeps Goodman from indulging in evil; this is captured aptly through Goodman’s encounter with the devil in the forest where he excuses his lateness by the delay caused by his wife Faith. This highlights his internal conflict that is informed by man's  general predisposition to evil, and his religious beliefs that prohibit him from freely doing evil. Once Goodman learns that his wife is lost, his personal faith is lost too, and Goodman is totally lost from the righteous path. Apart from the Characters, the setting of the story has been used to highlight the theme of Good and evil in a manner that evokes greater significance in the plot of the story; thus, Hawthorne’s choice of a dense forest setting was purposeful and not merely coincidental. Forests have largely been associated with darkness and dangerous malevolence that could befall any unsuspecting person. Goodman alludes to this myth when he gets a notion that there could be evil beh ind every tree in the forest waiting to attack an innocent individual. In this regard, the forest setting symbolizes evil in its pure form with its deep secrets and darkness that portents mystery. By agreeing to walk in the forest, Goodman starts being compromised in his whole being as he begins to doubt his beliefs in the knowledge he already had about his forbiddance from the forest area. Goodman’s gradual walk deeper into the forest metaphorically represents his gradual straying from good to evil. Deeper into the forest, there is dense darkness that totally blinds Goodman’s eyesight thus highlighting the fact that his morality is getting darker and darker by the moment as he continues to walk in the fo

Social Class Warfare Essay Example for Free

Social Class Warfare Essay Since the beginning everything has been a power struggle, the ones who possesses the most resources dominated over those with the lesser amount. In this day and age, money reigns over the social class and those without it are struggling against the government who controls the majority of it all.As stated by Dee Dee Myers in her article, â€Å"What Class Warfare Really Means,† â€Å"the same folks who have seen their incomes and wealth skyrocket in recent decades – would take the biggest hit. † (Myers) With this issue, UTA students are directly affected because the problem of the current financial difficulties is tied to their friends, family, and themselves. The levels of taxes cripples the middle and lower class, keeping them within their social class, and gives them no hope of further succession Here, Myers explains how the higher and lower classes are virtually unaffected, while the working top brackets of the middle class are taxed to no end.Though many say there is not any difference between classes, I believe that the middle class is treated unequally in terms of taxation versus the other class’s because the government’s inability to distribute tax equally amongst the three classes,the boundaries being the gap in income which keep one classing from rising to another, and the nation’s obliviousness in realizing the unevenly distributed money. For several decades the democratic and republican parties have been in debate over tax preference, resulting in this tax warfare. Students at UTA and virtually any other colleges are forcibly introduced into the world of economy as we take are big leap into debt and taxation. As the majority falls into the middle class due to their loans, students are herded into an unfairly taxed bracket that they will possibly spend the rest of their lives in. In Dee Dee Myers’s essay she lays out the facts that states, â€Å"The 400 Americans with the highest adjusted gross income saw their effective tax rates plummet from 30 percent† (Myers) and that, â€Å"the bottom 40 percent of earners would be virtually unaffected.† (Myers) As explained, you can tell she is pointing out how the high and low class receives the tax break while the middle class is left in the ditch with taxes to pay. Students would find this important because they can never be accurate in determining which bracket of the economy they will fall into. â€Å"They expect to have their own shot at getting rich. But increasingly, they are seeing that the game is rigged.† (Myers) I, like countless other students, began to realize this as I journeyed into adulthood and discovered that success into the â€Å"good life† of high income will be limited as long as the government restrains us from growth. In relevance to that statement, a tremendous gap between those of low class incomes and those of the high class is clearly stated, â€Å"the wealthiest percentile has seen its income grow by a robust 17 percent, while the middle class has seen its real income fall.† (Norton) Though in different articles, similar thoughts are shared as they state unbelievably informative facts stating the gap between the rich and poor. Having this large gap between classes, one can only be left with the belief that the lower and middle class have no hope to gain any possibilities of greater success. Though many still believe that if they persevere through college and earn their degree, they will be able to jump into the high class and make hundreds of thousands of dollars, but in reality many will realize the difficulties, â€Å"More Americans than twenty years ago believe it possible to start out poor, work hard, and become rich.† (Scott and Leonhardt) as stated in Scott and Leonhardt’s essay, it seems that they are arguing that the lower and middle class are losing hope in rising to higher classes. With this all said the main issue can be seen as America’s obliviousness over the topic as a whole. A professor from Harvard named Michael Norton discussed in an interview over how Americans has unnoticed or underestimates â€Å"what the actual level of wealth inequality is in the United States right now.† (Norton) In Scott and Leonhardt’s novel, they saw class as, â€Å"seeming more elusive than ever† I would agree only to a certain point b ecause they are unaware of â€Å"the top 20 percent, as I said, have 85 percent of the wealth.† (Norton) Also with the fact that â€Å"the bottom 40 percent of the people in the United States have basically zero wealth,† as stated by Norton. In that statement, it exemplifies how unevenly the money is distributed in the United States. As students of UTA, we remain uninformed or have no desire to learn about the current state of America’s wealth. Also for students whose income is transferred from generation to generation is, â€Å"so money that goes from generation to generation to generation is very flat. So it tends to perpetuate a great deal over time.† In other words, all will be affected. The poor to the rich, in the end, it can only be solved by today’s students or the â€Å"future of America† to be properly be informed in order to solve our financial issues for the better. Though I know people will argue against my opinions, it will not hide the truth and the citizens of America will come to realize it sooner or later. In Scott and Leonhard’s novel, they stated, â€Å"The income of the middle class rose by just 17 percent, to $43,700, and the income of the poorest fifth rose only 9 percent.† (Myers) Which could be consider â€Å"a large increase† that the rich could argue, trying to state the point that the lower classes has gained some income. But in reality, â€Å"the top 20 percent of Americans is that they have 85 percent of the wealth in America.† (Norton) which cannot be overlooked. Those who oppose my idea might also say, â€Å"we worked for all this, why can’t you?† But in the interview with Michael Norton, he states, â€Å"But its much, much rarer than people believe, and especially wealth transmission,† which shows the difficulty imposed among the lower classes, and making them hopeless for any effort in succeeding. Social warfare will seem endless, as it has been here for several centuries. Many come up with an argument to speak their thoughts in unfairness to the irregularly balanced economic levels, in effort to make the public realize these issues. I, myself have argued in an informative point of view to help educate our future of America, the students of UTA, hoping my thoughts will expand from them knowing our variety of wealth levels from rich to poor. Hoping to end the obliviousness of this country, I informed the students, working hard for their future, so that they can at least scratch the surface of this issue as they grow and realize the hardships of inequality that come before them. Works Cited Myers, Dee Dee. What Class Warfare Really Looks like [What Class Warfare Really Looks like]. Politco. POLITICO, 11 July 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. Norton, Michael. Interview by Steve Inskeep.Morning Edition. Natl. Public Radio, 7 Oct. 2010. Web. 11 July 2011. Scott And Leonhardt. â€Å"Class Matters†. New York, NY: Time Novels, 2005.1-26. Print.

Mechanisms of the Immune System: An Overview

Mechanisms of the Immune System: An Overview When the human body is attacked by microbes or pathogens, it defends itself using certain mechanisms. There are two types of mechanisms one which is non-specific and the other which is specific to the attack. The non-specific mechanism is similar no matter what attacks the body and is again sub divided into external and internal defences. The first line of defences The bodys first line of defense against pathogens is mostly physical. It involves sweat, skin, tears, mucus and stomach acid. Our skin and mucous membraneswhich line the body passages, are fairly effective in keeping most pathogens out of the body. They act like a protective barrier, defending against viral and bacterial invaders. The skin cannot be penetrated by bacteria or viruses under normal conditions. It has a pH range of 3-5 which is acidic enough to prevent the growth of bacteria. The clotting of blood near open wounds prevents an open space for antigens to easily enter the organism by coagulating the blood, and Lysozymes are an enzyme found in tears and saliva that have powerful digestive capabilities, and can break down foreign agents to a harmless status before they enter the body. Mucus in the nose traps pathogens, which are then washed away or destroyed by chemicals. The respiratory tract also has its own line of defense. Invading microbes and debris are trapped in layers of mucous or they are filtered by tiny hair like structures called cilia. The cilia move in waves, sweeping the debris towards the entrance where they can be extracted through coughing or sneezing, so dont hold your sneezes in!AndCorrosive acids in the stomach and protein digesting enzymes destroy most of the invading organisms carried in by food. The first line makes a very powerful line of defence, but sometimes intruders can find their way past this wall. Thankfully we have a second line on the inside! The second line of defence The second line of defence is immobilized when invaders enter in the body. A nonspecific internal defence mechanism is the process of phagocytosis; the ingestion of invading bacteria by certain blood cells. There are many phagocytic responses used in the body. When foreign particles penetrate the skin; like in cases of injury, certain leukocytes known as monocytes move to the blood tissues where they develop into eaters called macrophages. Using pseudopods, the macrophages engulf and destroy the bacteria with their enzymes. Another phagocytic response: white blood cells. Neutrophils are attracted to chemical signals sent off by cells that have been damaged by microbes. In the process of called chemotaxis, neutrophils move towards infected tissue. The neutrophils then engulf the microbe and release lysosomal enzymes that digest both the microbe and the leukocyte. The remaining fragments of protein, dead white blood and digested remainder are called pus. Tissue damage which is caused by physical damage also initiates an inflammatory response. An inflammatory response is a non-specific immune response which results in swelling, redness, heat and pain. Pus and inflammation are signs that the second line of defence is at work. That is how your body responds to a small localized injury. The body can also respond to severe injuries with a system-wide defence. Injured cells emit chemicals that simulate the production of phagocytic white blood cells and increase their release into the bloodstream. Bone marrow, the source of all blood cells is found in the inner spongy part of the upper leg bone, upper arm bone, breastbone and shoulder blades. A fever is a good example of the bodys system-wide response to infections. When infectious organisms spread through the body like in cold or flu, neutrophils and macrophages digest the invaders and release chemicals into the bloodstream. These chemicals cause your body to reset its thermostat to a higher temperature such as 40 degrees Celsius. These conditions in the body make it difficult for the harmful bacteria to survive; so essentially, the fever helps you recover. People often take medication like aspirin to reduce fever; this however may actually prolong the infection. If the temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius however, it can be unsafe. Keep in mind human cells themselves cannot survive over 43 degrees Celsius. THE IMMUNE SYSTEM The immune system is made up of cells, protein, tissues and organs. It defends us from germs and bacteria every day. The immune system is usually very successful but sometimes when there is a problem we can get infections and illnesses. About the Immune System The immune system is the bodys defense against infectious organisms and other invaders. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system attacks organisms that invade body systems and cause disease. The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body. The cells involved are white blood cells called leukocytes. Leukocytes are large opaque blood cells that engulf invading microbes and produce antibodies.They combine to seek out and destroy disease-causing organisms or substances. All leukocytes are produced in bone marrow. There are approximately 6,000,000,000 leukocytes in the human body. They are rather colorless because they dont contain hemoglobin which makes red bloodcells red. They have a life expectancy of 2-3 days and therefore the body is constanlty making large amounts of leukocytes all the time. Picture this: there is half a million white blood cells per very drop of blood! Leukocytes are produced or stored in many locations in the body, including the thymus, spleen, and bone marrow. This is why they are called the lymphoid organs. Leukocytes are also located in clumps of lymphoid tissue all around the body. They have asymetrical shapes which can change enabling them to get around all obstacles. The leukocytes circulate all around the body between the organs and nodes through the lymphatic vessels and the blood vessels. By doing so, the immune system works in a coordinated way to constantly monitor the body for germs or substances that might cause problems. There are 2 basic types of Leukocytes: They are phagocytes and lymphocytes. Phagocytes are cells that chew up invading organisms and lymphocytes are cells that allow the body to remember and recognize previous invaders and help the body destroy them. There are different types of phagocytes. The most common type is the neutrophil, it primarily fights bacteria. They are the most common type of white blood cell, neutrophils make up 50-70% of white blood cells in the body. They are the first to arrive at infected areasand kill intruders by ingestion. This process is called chemotaxis. Once the pathogen is swallowed the neutrophil dies. The process of neutrophils killing bacteria involves them releasing a net of fibers which traps the cell. This is called neutrophil extracellular trap (N.E.T). Some people have neutrophil difficiencies and as you can imagine it leads to severe problems and a compromised immune system. Other types of phagocytes are besophils, Eosinophils, Monocytes and Macrophages. Besophils are very rare in the body, they make up less than 1% of white blood cells. They d not do much as a result and simply help respond to infections. Eosinophils help ingulf parasites and discharge destructive enzymes to damage invading cells. They also kill parasitic eggs and worms. Monocytes are also very rare in the body, the less monocytes in the body the better. They replenish Macrophages and also help against infection. Finally we have Macrophages. They are cells that eat invaders and are involved in primary and innate immun response. For example they can be found in the lungs where they clean foreign debirs so they do not cause any problems. They usually remain stationed at specific posts in the body where foreign materials often enter. Anything that passes by the macrophages is scanned and if something is suspicious they engluf it. Once englufed the macrophage cereates an enzyme that neutral izes the invader so it becomes harmless and connot replicate and they preserve the antigen so that in the future it can be recognized and dealt with faster. The two kinds of lymphocytes are B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes. Lymphocytes start out in the bone marrow and from there they either stay and mature into B cells or they leave for the thymus gland, where they mature into T cells. B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes have different functions. B lymphocytes are like the bodys military intelligence system, they seek out their targets and send defenses to lock onto them and track them down. T cells on the other hand are like the soldiers, destroying the invaders that the intelligence systems (B cells) have identified. Antibodies are very specific Y-shaped proteins. For example an antibody produced against the influenza virus is not effective against HIV. These Y-shaped tails of the proteins are very similar, no matter which type of anti-body. Variation may only be produced in the outer edge of each arm, the area where the anti-body combines with the antigen. Antigen markers are different depending on the virus, for example the antigen marker of the influenza virus is different from that of the HIV virus. Each antigen is accompanied by its own antibody, shape wise. The markers of an antigen are located on the membrane of the virus or bacterium. After each attachment of an antibody, the antibody-antigen combination makes it more conspicuous, making it easy to be destroyed by wandering microphage. Antibodies prevent poisons and toxins from destroying cells with receptor sites, found on different cells. This might explain why some poisons affect the nervous system, while others affect digestive or circulatory systems. This receptor site is designed to hold either a hormone or a specific nutrient. Specialized geometrical structures allow toxins and poisons to become attached to the receptor sites on cell membranes. After bring attached, the poison is ingested by the cell, which the receptor site mistakes for hormones or nutrients, absorbing the poison. Antibodies then interfere with the poison so that the structure created is not recognized by the receptor cell. Receptor sites are also used by viruses as entry ports. As the virus injects its hereditary material into the cell, it leaves an outer protein coat in the entry port. The outer coat allows the virus to rest in different locations. For example the cold virus has the geometrical shape to allow it to attach the lung cells. How the Body Recognizes Harmful Antigens As the T-cell scouts, it looks for foreign bodies posing a threat to its survival. The macrophages then attack the invader, engulfing it. As the macrophage presses the antigen into its cell membrane, it couples with the T-cell, also known as a helper T-cell. The T-cell then reads the shape of the antigen and releases a chemical messenger called lymphokine. The B-cells divide into clones because of the lymphokine. A second message is then sent from the helper T-cell to the B-cell, allowing the production of antibodies. A specific type of antibody is produced by each B-cell. Antibodies are attached to their cell membranes by the time the B-cells enter the circulatory system. The Killer T-cell is an activated additional defender if the helper T-cell. These lymphokines go out for one purpose, which is to destroy. After being activated, the killer T-cells puncture through the cell membrane of the invader, which may differ from a protozoan parasite to a bacterium. Viruses are very different from the rest, as they hide within the structure of the cell. As the viral coat is found attached to the cell`s membrane, the T-cell attacks the infected cell. Killing the infected cell prevents the reproduction of the virus. Mutated cells are also destroyed by Killer T-cells. This process is extremely important as some of the altered cells may be cancerous. Getting cancerous virus or not depends on the success of the Killer T-cell. The bodys` rejection of organ transplants depend on Killer T-cells. Antigen markers on the organ will be recognized as foreign, sending the Killer T-cells in. Immunosuppressant drugs such as cyclosporine can slow down the Killer T cells. After the battle is done, and won, a different type of T-cell, the suppressor T-cell, signals the immune system to shut down. Communication between Suppressor T-cells and Helper T-cells is vital, allowing the immune system to know how many antibodies to produce to contain the antigens. Phagocytes clean the area, removing the dead and injured cells, and tissue begins to repair and replace. As previously mentioned, helper T-cells must read a blue print of the invader before the B-cells can produce antibodies. This information is stored so that later infections can be destroyed before the microbe can cause any harm. Immunity is based on maintaining a good number of antibodies. Its believed that memory-B cells are generated during the infection to hold an imprint of the antigen or antigens that characterize the invader. Most b and t cells produced die off within a few days; but memory B-cells remain. It can identify the enemy and quickly mobilize antibody-producing B-cells to defeat invading pathogens before they can establish themselves. As long as the memory B-cell survives, a person is immune to the disease, which is why a person cannot catch chicken pox more than once. Proteins also play a role in the bodys line of defence. When foreign organisms are present in the body, antimicrobial plasma proteins called complement proteins are activated. There are about 20 known types of complement proteins. Under normal conditions these proteins are inactive. When invading microbes trigger them however they in turn work as messengers. The complement proteins gather and initiate an attack on the cell membranes of the foreign organism. The proteins will then form a protective coating around the invader; this seals the invading cell immobilizing it. A second group punctures the cell membrane, this causes water to rush in and burst the cell. The tiny microbes become less soluble and more susceptible to phagocytes by leukocytes. All of these specialized cells are parts of the immune response system that offer the body protection against disease. This protection is called immunity. The Several Types of Immunity Innate Immunity Innate immunity is often called natural immunity, everyone is born with it, it is a general protection. It refers to basic resistance to germs or diseases that other species possess. For example, if a human has HIV their dog wont get HIV because it has innate immunity to that disease. Innate immunity works in both ways something that makes us sick wont get another species sick and something that gets another species sick wont get us sick. The Responses in innate immunity are Broad and non specific. The molecules used have a limited repertoire of recognition. It is a first line of defense. Innate immunity includes the external barriers of the body, like the skin and mucous membranes, which are the first line of defense in preventing diseases from entering the body. If this outer defensive wall is broken, the skin attempts to heal quickly and the second line of defence becomes involved. Adaptive Immunity The second kind of protection is adaptive/active immunity, it develops throughout our lives. Adaptive immunity involves the lymphocytes and develops as people are exposed to diseases or immunized against diseases through vaccination. With all kinds of diseases constantly exposed we adapt out bodies by taking vaccinations to become immune to them. Passive Immunity Passive immunity isan immunity borrowed externally from another source and it is temporary. For example, antibodies in a mothers breast milk provide the baby with temporary immunity to diseases. This helps protect the baby against infections during childhood when the babys body is still in early stages of development and not very strong. Everyones immune system is different. Some people never seem to get infections,while others seem to be sick all the time. As we grow older, we gradually become more immune to more germs as our immune system comes into contact with more and more of them. Matching tissues for organ transplant The main challenge is the immune response of the recipient- their immune systems ability to distinguish between self and non-self. The donor organ is often identified as an invader by distinct markers on its cell membrane, MHC or Major histocompatibility complex. MHC is a protein fingerprint unique to each person so the recipient will make antibodies to destroy what it thinks is a foreign invader. To reduce rejections, attempts are made to match donor MHC with that of the recipient as closely as possible. For living donor transplants, physicians usually look to close relatives because the MHC is genetically controlled. The better the match, the greater the chances of long term success. To help reduce rejection factor in deceased donor transplants, (because deceased donor transplants cannot usually have as close of an MHC as relatives) immunosuppressant drugs can be given, but it will also reduce the immune systems ability to fight off invading viruses and bacteria; placing these patients at risk of infections. Malfunctions of the immune system: Abnormal functions of the immune system can give rise to two types of problems: immune deficiency diseases and inappropriate attacks of the immune system against nonthreatening agents. Immune deficiency diseases may be caused by a foreign agent, such as the HIV virus which attacks t-cells, or a hereditary condition such as the severe combined immune deficiency SCID. Inappropriate or exaggerated immune response can also create problems. Hypersensitivity or response is where the immune system attacks normal cells in ones own body, which can destroy tissues and organs. Allergies Allergies occur when the immune system mistakes harmless cells for harmful invaders. If youre allergic to peanuts, your body recognizes one of its proteins as dangerous. Although its safe, your body immobilizes the antibody strike force against it. Increased tissue swelling, mucous secretion, and sometimes constricted air passages are all part of the immune response. Dust, ragweed and strawberries, do not pose any threat to life but the immune response can be so severe that it becomes life threatening. A sever food allergy is called an anaphylactic reaction which involves the respiratory and circulatory systems accompanied by hives, itching and swelling. When you eat a food to which youre allergic, the cells that believe they are in danger release histamine. It changes the cells of the capillaries, increasing permeability. The enlarged capillary causes the area to redden. White blood cells leave the capillary in search for the invader altering osmotic pressure. Proteins in extracellu lar fluids create another osmotic force to oppose it. Anaphylactic shock can occur very quickly and weakness, sweating and difficulty breathing indicate the condition. Medial precautions include carrying a kit with adrenaline (Epipen). Autoimmune Disease The immune system can make mistakes and launch an attack on the bodys own cells. Mutated T and B cells are capable of attacking the body but are usually held in check be suppressor T cells. The failure of suppressor T cells can cause diseases such as arthritis and rheumatic fever, all of which can scar the heart muscle. Drugs and serious infections can weaken suppressor T cells leaving the body vulnerable to autoimmune disease. The number of suppressor T cells also declines with age, and this explains the commonness of arthritis in the elderly. Stem cell research: The answer for replacing damaged tissues may lie in stem cell research rather than transplantation. Stem cells can differentiate and develop into a variety of different tissues such as epithelial tissue, muscle tissue or nerve tissue. Stem cells in the skin continuously replace cells that are sloughed off, give rise to a wide range of blood cells that protect against foreign invaders and identify human cells that have mutated, such as cancer cells. Stem cells are pluripotent cells that can give rise to different types of body cells. Precast Concrete: Advantages and Disadvantages Precast Concrete: Advantages and Disadvantages Jump to: Advantages of Precast Concrete Construction  | Disadvantages of Precast Concrete Construction 1.1 Introduction Precast concrete is a form of construction, where concrete is cast in a reusable mould or â€Å"form† which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and lifted into place. By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment (precast plant), the precast concrete is provides the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. There are many different types of precast concrete forming systems for architectural applications, differing in size, function and cost. The advantages of using precast concrete is the increased quality of the material, when formed in controlled conditions, and the reduced cost of constructing large forms used with concrete poured on site. It is used mainly in the construction of buildings with repetitive design and elements, such as schools and apartments. Every construction material system has its own characteristics which influence the layout, span length, construction depth, stability system, etc. This is also the case for precast concrete. Not only in comparison to steel, wood, masonry structures, but also with respect to cast in-situ concrete. Precast concrete members may be solid or may contain hollow cores. Many precast components have thinner cross sections than cast in situ concrete. Precast concrete may be either normal or lightweight concrete. Theoretically, all joints between the precast units could be made in such a way that the completed precast structure has the same concept as a in-situ one. However, this is a wrong approach one, which is very labour intensive costly. If the full advantages of precast concrete are to be realized, the structure should be conceived according to its specific design philosophy: Long spans, appropriate stability concept, simple details,etc. Designers should from the very beginning of the project consider the possibilities, restrictions advantages of precast concrete, its details, manufacturer, transport, erection service stages before completing a design in precast concrete. Architectural precast concrete provides architects with an exciting medium when designing facades for a wide range of buildings, from healthcare facilities to shopping malls, commercial office buildings to sports stadiums. 1.2 History of IBS Concept of IBS in not new and can be traced back to as early 1624. In 1624, panellised timber houses were shipped from England to the new settlement in North America. In 1851 Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London and 1889 Eiffel Tower, Paris are the well-known examples of buildings which uses the method of precast in constructing the structure of the building itself. 1.3 Precast building system Precast building system is divided into 3 main parts: Precast concrete frame Precast concrete wall Precast concrete floor 1.3.1 PRECAST CONCRETE FRAME Description Precast concrete frames involve an entire structure being fabricated off-site. In addition, structural components can be supplied for incorporation into a structure on-site. Frames can simultaneously achieve both structural and decorative design requirements. A variety of mixes, colours and finishes can be used too. The precast frame is composed of precast column and beam. Process Precast concrete frames are cast in the same way as precast concrete cladding, but as they are designed as structural elements they have heavier reinforcement than required for non-structural cladding. Elegant connections are required between columns and beams to transfer considerable forces without affecting the visual appearance of the frame. 1.3.2 PRECAST CONCRETE WALL Description Many precast concrete walls are cast in a flat position at the building site. But they are still classified as precast, not sitecast. When the concrete is strong enough, the wall panels are lifted and placed in the desired positions for the building. This method is commonly known as tilt-up construction. Today such walls are lifted and placed with cranes, so that casting can make repeated use of single forms. Some wall units are cast in factories, where the form, quality of materials, and finishing can be more controlled. Because of their large size and weight, these walls cannot be transported to long distance from the factory. Thus, their use is limited to a short distance from the precast factory. Precast units for roof and floor structures are usually prestressed. However, precast wall units are usually conventionally reinforced with inert steel bars. Precast wall are used for internal external walls, lift shafts, central cores etc. Precast wall systems are mostly used in domestic construction, both for individual housing for apartments. The solution can be considered as the industrialized from of cast in-situ walls or classical brick or block masonry walls. 1.3.3 PRECAST CONCRETE FLOOR SLAB Precast concrete floor slab is the most fully standardized precast concrete elements. They are used for making floor and roof slabs. The principle advantages of precast floors are speed of construction, absence of scaffolding, large variety of types, large span capacity, economy. Precast floors can also be classified according to their manufacture into totally partially precast floors. Totally precast floors are composed of units, which are totally cast at the plant. After erection, the units are connected to the structure the longitudinal joints are grouted.In some cases a cast in-situ structural topping screed is added. Partially precast floors are composed of a precast part a cast in-situ part. Both parts are working together at the final stage to achieve the composite structural capacity. The main totally precast floor roof types are described hereafter. Pre cast hollow core slab Most widely used type of pre cast flooring highly efficient design and production 1.4 Advantages of Precast Concrete Construction Some of the advantages of using precast concrete construction are as follows: 1.4.1 Reduced Construction Time and Cost Precast concrete construction will save valuable time and helps to reduce the risk of project delay and possible monetary losses. Precast design and production of elements can be started while the construction site is under survey or earthworks. Production are also unaffected by weather conditions due to the controlled environment of the casting area. Also, the usage of large precast panels will reduce the time taken to complete the structural works. Therefore, other trades such as painting and electrical wiring can begin work sooner. In conventional construction method, time-consuming works such as formworks, scaffoldings and curing are needed to produce a structural element. In precast concrete construction method, structural elements are produced in manufacturing plants while other activities at the construction site proceed. When the structural elements are needed, they are immediately sent to the site and assembled continuously, forming the structural frame and enclosing the building. In precast concrete manufacturing plants, modern machineries are utilized with several technicians attending to certain production process. This greatly reduced the number of unskilled requirements. 1.4.2 High quality and aesthetical value of products Precast products are manufactured in a casting area where critical factors including temperature, mix design and stripping time can be closely checked and controlled; and this will ensure that the quality of precast products are better than cast-in-situ concrete. A huge sum of money will be saved by not having to do rectification works. Also due to factory-controlled prefabrication environment, many combinations of colours and textures can be applied easily to the architectural or structural pieces. A vast range of sizes and shapes of precast components can be produced, providing a great deal of flexibility and offer fresher looks to the structures. 1.4.3 Cleaner and safer construction sites Usage of precast elements eliminates or greatly reduces conventional formworks and props. Precast construction also lessens the problem of site wastages and the related environmental problems. The prefabricated products also provide a safe working platform for workers to work on. Workers and materials are also greatly reduced at the construction sites. Using Just-in-Time principles, the precast elements are kept at the factory yard until the site is ready for installation. Also, as elements are produced in the plant and mostly designed to be repetitive, minimal wastage will be experienced at both factory and construction sites. 1.4.4 Greater unobstructed span The usage of prestressed precast solutions such as the Hollow Core slabs and Double-T beams offer greater unobstructed span than the conventional reinforced concrete elements. Having lesser beams and columns, will provide larger open space. It is very ideal for the construction of places of worship, warehouses, halls, car parks, shops and offices. 1.4.5 Lower total construction costs All of the above simplify the construction processes and increase productivity, quality and safety. As a result, the total costs of construction are reduced. More often than not, most of the opponents of precast construction only use the costs of materials in comparing the in-situ and precast construction without realising that there are hidden costs to the traditional methods. Also a contributing factor to the low usage is the fact that Malaysia has always been able to source cheap labours from neighbouring countries. Therefore, the industry players are very reluctant to change to the new construction methods. As a result, the country is faced by problems of low quality, productivity and safety in the construction industry due to high dependency of manual labour. The country also suffers from the outflow of monies as well as social problems. If the labour supply experience sudden reduction while demand remains the same, labour costs will definitely be increased and produce more prob lems to the industry. 1.4.6 Increased Quality of Structural Elements Precast concrete elements produced in plants using modern techniques and machineries. Raw materials such as concrete, sand, and reinforcement bars are under high level of quality control. Formworks used are of higher quality than those used at construction sites. This allows truer shapes and better finishes in precast components. Precast components have higher density and better crack control, offering better protection from harsh weathers and sound insulation. High density is achieved by using vibrating table or external vibrators placed on formworks. Precast concrete also provide better fire resistance for reinforcement bars. When compared to in situ concrete, this reduces the amount of long-term movement, which needs to be recognized in building design. 1.4.7 Increased Durability and Load Capacity of Structural Elements Prestressed precast concrete components have high structural strength and rigidity, which are important to support heavy loads. This allows shallow construction depth and long span in structural components. Fewer supporting columns or walls result in larger floor space, which allow more flexibility in interior design. Dense precast and prestressed concrete components are cast-in with smooth steel, concrete or fiberglass. This result in components with smooth surfaces which resist moisture penetration, fungus and corrosion. High density concrete reduces the size and quantity of surface voids thus resisting accumulation of dirt and dust. Precast concrete components are more durable to acid attack, friction, corrosion, impact, abrasion, and other environment effects. Precast concrete structures have longer service years and require minimal repairs and maintenance. 1.5 Disadvantages of Precast Concrete Some of the drawbacks of using precast concrete construction are as follows: 1.5.1 High Capital Cost A large amount of resources must be invested initially to set up a precast concrete plant. Sophisticated machineries are expensive and require heavy investment. Percast concrete is mainly used in construction of high-rise buildings and flats, which are atleast 5 storeys high. Precast concrete is also utilized in construction of housing estates where the design of houses is uniform. Other projects where precast concrete is suitable are large stadiums, halls, factories, awrehouses, airports and hangars. The scale of the construction projects using precast concrete must be large enough to ensure sufficient profit to offset the initial capital cost. 1.5.2 Sophisticated Connection Works The behaviour of connections determines the performance of precast concrete structures. When assembling of precast concrete structures, connections between precast components must be supervised and done properly. This way, the intended behaviour of a connection (simple, semi-rigid, or rigid) can be achieved. Apart from that, a good sound insulation can be provided and water leakage problem can be avoided. Skilled and well-trained labours are required to ensure proper connection is produced during erection stages, which lead to additional cost. 1.5.3 Transportation, Handling Difficulties and Modification Limitation Workers must be careful when handling precast concrete components to avoid damage. Precat components are manufactures in plants, which are not always situated in the area of the construction sites. Precast components must be carried from the plants to the sites using trailers. Usually, precast components are large and heavy, creating difficulties in transportation. Upon arrival at the sites, portable cranes or tower cranes will lift the precast components into place for erection. Usually, to increase the speed of construction, several cranes are used requiring large space. Proper construction planning and site management is a must. Workers be well trained to ensure that precast components are positioned and connected properly to avoid cases where the columns, beams, walls, or slabs are not well aligned, dislocated or out of plane. Precast concrete system is not flexible when future modification is taken into account. For example, the walls of a flat built using load bearing precast w alls cannot be demolished for renovation purposes, as this will affect the stability of the entire precast structure. 1.6 Precast Concrete Construction in Malaysia The usage of precast building system is gaining popularity in Malaysia because of its many advantages such as high quality structural finishes, less labour force, shorter time of completion and saves cost. In the construction industry today, the usage of cast in-situ method is not so practical and effective especially when it is in a large scale construction. Therefore, the usage of precast components is the best alternative to fulfill the needs in large scale constructions. The precast concrete concept is ideal to suit the future demands of higher specifications and performance for the commercial, industrial, civic and domestic buildings. Precast building system or commonly known as IBS (Industrialized Building Systems) in Malaysia has many advantages if it is compared to the traditional cast in situ system. Production of precast components such as beams, columns and slabs were done in the factory thus ensuring high quality control for each component. Structures of precast building can be quickly erected on site and the delays due to concrete curing and concrete formwork removal can be reduced resulting in shorter completion time of construction. Besides that, precast system requires lesser amount of labour force. 1.6.1 Development of IBS in Malaysia IBS in Malaysia has begun in early 1960s when Ministry of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia visited several European countries to learn about precast concrete construction and evaluate their housing development program. After their successful visit in 1964, the government had started first project on IBS aims to speed up the delivery time and built affordable and quality houses. Precast concrete construction started in Malaysia with the production of 7 blocks of 17-storey flat, 4 blocks of 4-storey flat and 40 units of shop house opposite the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital at the intersection of Jalan Pekeliling and Jalan Pahang. This project used the Larsen-Nielson system from Denmark. The second construction project, which used precast concrete, was the construction of 6 blocks of 17-storey flat, 3 blocks of 18-storey flat and 66 units of shop house along Jalan Rifle, Penang. This project used the Frenchs Estior system. Since then, numerous precast structures such as high-ris es, car parks, warehouses, factories, housings and retail units have been built all over the country. Some latest examples are the Telekom Headquarter in KL, townhouses in Cyberjaya, City Square in Johor Bahru, Putra Mosque in Putrajaya and Metal Pak Factory in Shah Alam. Today, the use of IBS as a method of construction in Malaysia is evolving. Many private companies in Malaysia have teamed up with foreign expert from Australia, United States and Japan to offer precast solution to their project. In addition, more and more local manufacturers have established themselves in the market. Precast, steel frame and other IBS were used as hybrid construction to build national landmark such as Bukit Jalil Sport Complex, LRT and Petronas Twin Tower. It was reported that at least 21 of various manufacturers and suppliers of IBS are actively promoting their system in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the government of Malaysia still feels that the usage of IBS is low despite the possible potential. From the survey conducted by CIDB of Malaysia in 2003, the usage level of IBS in local construction industry stands at 15%. The total registered IBS contractors in Malaysia stand for 1,993 in year 2007 and registered IBS manufacture in Malaysia until 2007 is 138 producing 347 IBS products available in the market. Most of the local developed products are based on traditional materials such as reinforced concrete and the most innovative materials are based on imported technology. Previously in the RMK-7, the country intend to construct about 800,000 units of houses for its population using the IBS and 58,500 units planned for the low medium cost houses. However the achievements are disappointing with only 20% completed houses reported due to use of conventional construction method. 1.6.2 IBS as Mass Construction Method The term IBS is often misinterpreted with negative meaning as it is always linked with industrialized buildings that were built in 1960s. These buildings are normally associated with prefabricated mass construction method, low quality buildings, leakages, abandoned projects, unpleasant architectural appearances and other drawbacks. Due to the poor architectural design, the old prefabriacted buildings have given the pbulic bad impression about precast concrete. There have been quiet a number of cases where the use of IBS had lead to such drawbacks. For example, in the case of Pekeliling Flats in Kuala Lumpur and Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor, Penang. These 2 early prefabricated flats were constructed in mass to produce low cost accomodation for lower income groups. However, the design was very basic and not considering the service aspects like the need for wet toilets and bathrooms. Lacking in this design consideration leads to problems of leakage that becomes the common issue with precast buildings. In addition, in many cases the low cost housings are not maintained properly, thus contributing further to the poor image of IBS buildings. 1.6.3 Characteristics of IBS Industrial production of components though prefabrication. Reduced labour during prefabrication of components and site works. Modern design and manufacturing method using CAD/CAM. Systematic Quality Control i.e ISO 9000. Open Building System i.e permitting hybrid applications. 1.6.4 Why IBS Budget Speech 2005: The Government is determined to ensure that every Malaysian will have access to affordable homes. During the period 1971-2003, the Government constructed 490,000 units of low-cost houses. The government intends to provide an additional 100,000 units of affordable homes to be implemented through the Industrialised Building System (IBS).This system will ensure quality, save cost, create a safer and cleaner working environment as well as reduce the dependence of foreign workers 1.6.5 Social Problems Currently 75 foreign workers out of 100 construction workers. There are 318,000 foreign workers in Malaysian Construction Industry Let say one foreign worker gain RM400 per month; RM400.00 x 12 months = RM5,000 per year, 318,000 x RM5,000 = RM 1.59 Billion per year It shows the High outflow of Ringgit 1.6.6 Types of IBS The construction method can be classified into 4 categories: