To what extent is it still true to say that legal justice in England Essay - 1

To what extent is it still true to say that legal justice in England and Wales rests upon adversarialism - Essay Example In such a system a decision is arrived at by a neutral decision maker on the basis of the details furnished by the parties. In respect of criminal cases two decision makers will be present, namely the judge and the jury; the duty of the former is to decide on the legal aspects whereas the duty of the latter is confined to factual issues.2 Moreover, the large number of legal commentators has designated the Australian and American legal systems as being adversarial legal systems. â€Å"Such classification is made because the primary and dominant legal procedure in this system is adjudication on legal disputes defined by the parties who bring those disputes to court for adjudication†3. The adoption of an adversarial system in England has been attributed to first, the practice of compurgation. This practice was an Anglo-Saxon defence in which several persons were made to testify in respect of a person’s innocence and second, the culmination of the extant English legal procedures like trial by jury and private prosecution4. I believe strongly that our adversarial process is the most effective way of trying criminal issues. However, the legal system has begun to recognise that pure adversarialism does not always produce justice, and more effort is now going into establishing areas of consensus between prosecution and defence. For example, judges are reining in needless, destructive cross-examination which puts people such as rape victims on trial, and procedures are being invented to prevent ambush tactics which involve one side taking the other completely by surprise5. The English legal system is primarily adversarial in composition. In this system resolution of issues is achieved by means of argument between the disputing parties in the presence of the presiding judge. This organization is methodical but costly and a considerable amount of time is taken in deciding

Qantas Case Study Essay Example for Free

Qantas Case Study Essay It is the world’s second oldest airline, and has a successful history to uphold. Over the next 5 years Qantas aims to hedge fuel prices and use more efficient aircraft to limit further fuel costs improve employee/employer relationships by reducing the number of employment relations disputes and retain corporate market share by enhancing facilities and lounges to appeal to corporate travellers. Change management is viewed by   Alan Joyce as a critical component Reasons for current business planning What were the critical factors that led to Qantas’ decision to move some of their operations off shore? 3 2. What then happened once the decision was made4 – What change management processes needed to have taken place? 4 Were the change management processes well managed? 4 What could they have done better to counteract the disgruntled union and workers? 4 3. Where is Qantas now in its competitive positioning both locally and internationally?

Evolution of Race in State Development

Evolution of Race in State Development Examine critically the view that the idea of ‘race’ is endemic to the formation of the modern state. The critical examination mandated by the present question requires an introductory note concerning the appropriate definition to be employed regarding the terms formation and racism. Formation is suggested to be a less than ideal expression to describe the processes of modern state development. In this sense the term evolution is preferred as the more accurate and organic experience of modern state development. Racism is a more complicated term due to the variance between its dictionary meanings and etymology on one side, and its popular connotations on the other. The meaning of racism is both closely associated and intermingled with its near cousins culture and ethnicity. It is important to bear in mind as this examination is advanced that racism may be considered as both a scientific term and as a catch –all descriptor for all manner of conduct and attitudes that fosters the discrimination or antipathy of one person or group against another. This review will proceed on three distinct but related lines of examination: (1) how racism should be conceptualised (2) the legal definition of racism as it has developed in the UK, the European Union and in other jurisdiction as a pluralistic societal initiative (3) examples of how racism has contributed to the development path taken by modern nations. Sports examples are tendered as illustrations of how racism in modern culture remains a constant in the face of wide ranging legislative schemes aimed to eradicate it. The concept of racism Racism has been explained by way of both science and social perspectives through history. From a purely biological orientation, debate has raged as to whether there are distinct physiological differences between various peoples sufficient to permit a rational, science based differentiation between them; DNA research and the genome projects confirm this distinction exists to a slight degree in all fundamental human construction.[1] In modern times, where Western societies have attempted to formulate a comprehensive definition of race, an overwhelmingly white / Caucasian identity is invoked as the societal norm, with others who are not a part of the white definition cast in the position as a racial ‘other’.[2] Goldberg and other academic commentators have employed the contrasting analytical devices of racial naturalism, where race is accepted as an outgrowth of science, and racial historianism, the concept that shapes and defines race through legal enactment.[3] The historian view of race implicitly involves a consideration of racism as an evolving concept. Much academic commentary has considered racism in terms of outsiders, even where the population subject to racial treatment was born within the nation. Paul Gilroy had considered a defined ‘new racism’ in the UK in the late 1980s not to be exclusively linked to skin colour or other physiological differences between humans, but a logical extension of ‘†¦discourses of patriotism, nationalism, xenophobia, Englishness, Britishness, militarism and gender differences’[4] – a sweeping rationale that represents the basis for national anti-racism legislation. It is submitted that Gilroy’s observation is much keener than the ability of the law to counter the problem. Racism is rooted in the establishment of separate and conflicting identities within a society, where a people define themselves as the norm, and those different to them are automatically presumed to possess all opposite characteristics.[5] The Enlightment thinking that was powered by the philosophies of Hobbes and Locke, among others, has also been the subject of significant criticism as the root cause of racism in modern state evolution. This approach centres upon the Enlightment era reverence for rationality, where the conclusion that there must be positions of natural superiority and inferiority between races was regarded as a scientific outcome. Emphasis upon enlightened and rational thought placed Europe and the supposed civility its race in contrast with all primitive places. In contrast, other commentators have placed racism on a different historical footing. The leaders of the Enlightment did not articulate racial principles or a presumed white European superiority to a significant degree. [6] Malik places the historical progression of the racial definition as one of class distinctions, with racial divisions bearing a greater relation to economic status than physiology.[7] As nations were elevated in status throughout the nineteenth century, it is suggested that imperialism is an intrinsically racist concept; the subjugation of another people, by relatively peaceful colonialism or starker military conquest, requires a national mindset of superiority.[8] The encoding of race has also been a distinctly evolutionary process. ‘Black’ (or worse) was a simple blunt force description of the racial distinction between the Caribbean immigrants to the UK and Canada during the 1950s and 1960s; in modern times, the code words of immigration and naturalisation carry a subtle but equally powerful message.[9] Racism has evolved to both include and modify popular concepts of culture and ethnicity. Whether one accepts race as a genetic based circumstance, or as a purely social invention, it clearly exists and prospers in Western culture. In modern societies, racism has expanded dynamically as a concept to occupy the same ground as ethnicity, where each has become interchangeable with the other as a means of differentiation. Ethnicity occupies this common ground with racism because it relies upon racial principles in its definition. In each of the five circumstances enumerated as ‘ethnicity’ generated in a society, namely: the existence of an urban visible minority; ethno national groups, such as the Kurds in Turkey; distinct groups that exist in plural societies (e.g. Asian and Caribbean peoples who live within the UK); indigenous minorities, such as North American or Scandinavian native peoples; post-slavery minorities, such as Afro-Brazilians. Each ethnic definition contains a racial thread.[10] For the purposes of the legal definition outlined below, ethnicity and racism are afforded similar treatment. The legal definition of racism is at once subtle and bluntly constructed. Legislated definitions, such as those contained in the UK Race Relations Act[11] or the European Convention of Human Rights[12], are comprehensive in their scope. It is equally important to note that such definitions are often an ‘after the fact’ response to societal change, not a signpost for a nation’s future. The UK legislation enacted in 1976 was built upon the legacy of the Notting Hill riots and the ‘moral panic’ associated with black street crime in urban Britain of the early 1970s.[13] It is impossible for modern states to enact laws that map a future treatment of racism, as ethnic boundaries are in a constants state of flux. Germany’s uneasy relationship with its Muslim minority is generally cast in racial terms that incorporate the religious, cultural and linguistic differences of the migrant labour attracted to the formed West Germany in the late 1970s.[14] Statutes that proclaim as a purpose the eradication of racism are a constant in modern pluralistic Western nations. The Race Relations Act as interpreted by the House of Lords in Mandla[15] determined that British Sikh people were a racial, as opposed to a religious or cultural group within the meaning of the Act; race was defined by the Law Lords as a combination of a long common history, a distinct cultural tradition, and any confluence of the factors of geography, language, literature, religion or the existence of the people within a larger community. The effect of Article 14, ECHR, combined with Protocol 12 of the Community and the UK Human Rights Act reinforces this definition. In this sense, the law dictates race. In 1982 the enshrined constitution of Canada elevated racial and cultural diversity to a fundamental national status.[16]The Australian constitution embraces a similar regime. These nations are highlighted here to illustrate the evolution in racial notions in these states, as both countries had previously engaged in efforts to assimilate its aboriginal peoples into a mainstream white culture.[17] Each country was overtaken by the realisation that pluralism and multiculturalism were desirable societal goals, with pluralism used as its own code for racial / ethnic diversity. Declining birth rates throughout the Western world have created a dichotomy between the economic imperative to boost population and labour forces through immigration, and ethnic / racial attitudes.[18] It is suggested that simply legislating an end to such societal strife will be unsuccessful. Fitzpatrick’s Mythology of Modern Law[19] and the theories of H.L.A. Hart[20] share an important explanatory principle as to why racism exists among peoples. Fitzpatrick’s myth basis to modern law and Hart’s concepts of pre-legal societies that are founded upon shared cultural traditions and observances each exclude those who are different. The relationship between racism and economic standing mentioned briefly above is also important in this context. It is contended that a wholesale economic re-ordering of the world nations would do more to achieve racial harmony than any legislation. The United States, Brazil and South Africa are prime examples of nations where modern racism and socio-economic status are indistinguishable. [21] On one level, sport may seem an odd illustration of racism in the modern state. In the predominately white cultures of the UK, USA, and Canada, the black athlete is a well – established figure, particularly in the professional arenas. It is submitted that the elimination of racism in sport has proved as illusory as with any other segment of society. Owusu detailed the contradictory aspects of race in UK athletics through the contention that black athletes are rewarded if they publicly espouse the view that racism is non-existent in UK sport; those athletes who express contrary opinions as to the fact of racism are characterised as paranoid or ungrateful.[22] UK sprinter Linford Christie and boxer Frank Bruno are presented as the opposite ends of this argument – each man is of Caribbean heritage who achieved success in athletic pursuits. Bruno never achieved the ultimate success in his sport, but maintained a steadfast image as a ‘mainstream’ athlete, while Christie was outspoken throughout his career regarding the UK athletics establishment. . It was Christie who was cast as a disruptor of the normative codes for the UK black athlete.[23] There is little question that racism is endemic in the progression of the development of all Western nations. The period that has followed World War II has been marked by ever-increasing contact between peoples of different national origin, cultures, traditions, and heritage. The black letter of the law is not necessarily a stimulus to changes in racial attitude, as the multi-faceted physiological, ethnic and economic creature cannot be eliminated by legislation alone. Bibliography BBC News ‘Polish Immigration’ (June 16, 2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/5080924.stm (Accessed April 22, 2007) BBC News ‘Coe’s racial jibe’ (2001) http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/1171320.stm (Accessed April 22, 2007) BBC News ‘History of UK race laws’ (December 13, 2005) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4510062.stm (Accessed April 22, 2007) Fitzpatrick, Peter (1992), The Mythology of Modern Law (New York: Routledge) Guardian ‘Since when did Seb Coe learn to Jive talk?’ (2001) http://sport.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,5274602-108365,00.html Gilroy, P. (1987) There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation (London: Routledge) Goldberg, David Theo (1993) Racist Culture (Oxford: Blackwell) Goldberg, David Theo (2002) The Racial State (Oxford: Blackwell) Hart, H.L.A. (1961) The Concepts of Law (Oxford: Clarendon) Keita, L. (2002) The Problem of Race in the 21st Century The Western Journal of Black Studies 26: 1, 55 Malik, Kenan (1996) The Meaning of Race: Race, History and Culture in Western Society (New York: NYU Press) Miller, Mark J. â€Å"Muslim Immigration to Europe† (University of Delaware) http://www.udel.edu/poscir/mjmiller/MuslimImmigrationtoEurope (Minaret)-1.htm (Accessed April 22, 2007) Owusu, Kwesi (2000) Black British Culture and Society: A Text reader (London: Routledge) Riese, Matt ‘The Biological Meaning of â€Å"Race†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Spring 2005), University of California at Santa Cruz http://www.cbse.ucsc.edu/pdf_library/MeaningOfRace_Riese101005.pdf (Accessed April 21, 2007) Solomos, John and Martin Bulmer (2004) Researching Race and Racism (New York: Routledge) Routledge Thomas, Cora (2001) Australian Aborigines to White Australians Australian Aboriginal Studies 1, 21 Thompson, Kenneth (1998) Moral Panics London: Routledge Werner F. Menski (2005) Immigration and multiculturalism in Britain: New issues in research and policy http://www.art.man.ac.uk/CASAS/pdfpapers/osakalecture.pdf (Accessed April 22, 2007) Table of Cases Mandla v Dowell Lee [1983] 2 AC 548 Table of Statutes and Conventions European Convention on Human Rights Race Relations Act, 1976 1 Footnotes [1] See for example, Riese, Matt ‘The Biological Meaning of â€Å"Race†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Spring 2005), University of California at Santa Cruz, 1, 3 [2] Goldberg, David Theo (1993) Racist Culture [3] Goldberg, (2002) The Racial State, 143 [4] Gilroy, Paul (1987) There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation, 41 [5] Fitzpatrick, Peter (1992), The Mythology of Modern Law, 101 [6] Malik, Kenan (1996) The Meaning of Race, 54 [7] ibid [8] C.f. Kipling’s ironic â€Å"White Man’s Burden’ (1899) [9] Keita, L. (2002) The Problem of Race in the 21st Century The Western Journal of Black Studies 26: 1, 55 [10] Werner F. Menski (2005) Immigration and multiculturalism in Britain: New issues in research and policy, 1, 10 [11] Race Relations Act, 1976 (and as amended, 2001) [12] Article 14 [13] See Thompson, Kenneth (1998) Moral Panics London: Routledge 14 Miller, Mark J. â€Å"Muslim Immigration to Europe† University of Delaware http://www.udel.edu/poscir/mjmiller/MuslimImmigrationtoEurope(Minaret)-1.htm (Accessed April 22, 2007) 15 Mandla v Dowell Lee [1983] 2 AC 548 [14] [15] [16] Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s.7, 15 [17] E.g. Curry, Bill and Karen Haslett, (2007) Residential schools Globe and Mail (Toronto) (April 24, 2007, p A14); Thomas, Cora (2001) Australian Aborigines to White Australians Australian Aboriginal Studies 1, 21 [18] A recent ethnic issue that makes this point in the UK is BBC News ‘Polish Immigration’ (June 16, 2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/5080924.stm [19] (1992) [20](1961) The Concepts of Law [21]Keita, L. (2002) The Problem of Race in the 21st Century The Western Journal of Black Studies 26: 1, 55 [22] Owusu, Kwesi (2000) Black British Culture and Society: A Text reader (London: Routledge), 9 [23] ibid

Ritual Art Celtic Society :: History Religion Religious Essays

Ritual Art Celtic Society Pre-Christian Celtic Society About the pre-Romantic period of Celtic civilization (from the end of the 6th century BCE to some time in the first century CE) there is little written as record of their culture or ritual. We know of there existence through reference by Greek writers to their relation to the source of the Danube and to their being near the Greek colony that became Marseilles. Later writings refer to their rituals and superstitions, which had, as with other uncivilized cultures, played a huge part in the lives of the people. But much interest lies in this culture for those who have heritage in their people and those who are interested in the "pagan" religions that existed before the dominance of Chirtianity. As with most pre-world religion cultures, a belief in magic was a powerful stigma for much of the art and architecture found in the area occupied by the Celts. Artisans of the time recorded the rituals of sacrifice in relief imagery. These practices were performed sometimes by drowning the victims in pots, other times dropping the offered bodies into pits or burning them alive, animals and humans alike, in massive wooden structures in the shape of a figure. Descriptions of these events come mostly from Roman writings, many by Caesar. These writings present a fearful view of these pagan rituals; a fear that is attributed in part to their gruesome nature and in part to the heavily forested landscape in which they took place. This landscape was unlike any land in Roman areas which had been heavily farmed for long periods. Thus the image of the fearful and cruel Celts was created iin the eyes of the Chirstian west. Celtic Mythology and Ritual The mythology of the pagan Celtic tribes lacked the distinct pantheon that cultures similar to the Greeks possessed. Their deities were varied, with only general connections from one area to another. Though some terminology and imagery was evidently borrowed from other cultures, specifically the Aryan and Italic, the Celtic cults remained separate from any other culture in their exact beliefs and ceremonies. Most of the cults' mythologies contained some reference to a union between a God, often referred to as Dagda, meaning the good or all-competent God, and a goddess, referred to as Morrigan, the Demon Queen. This union was the most important focus of ceremony and myth. The recitation of this myth and others was another portion of the ritual practices that Druids performed with the same intent; a show of respect to the gods with the hope of beneficial retribution.

Global Problems Such As Climate Change Greenhouse Effect Engineering Essay

Nowadays people are faced with many planetary jobs, such as clime alteration, nursery consequence, acid rains, air and H2O pollution, etc. One of the major jobs is air pollution. Air contain waste gases from cars, such as oxides of sulfur, N, C monoxide, which combine in air with H2O or other atoms, organizing unsafe compounds, destructing ozone bed and precipitating with acerb rains. Many solutions are proposed presents, such as utilizing environmentally friendly fuels, change the auto or engine design. One of possible solutions is auto mass decrease. For illustration, â€Å" each 100 g of decrease of auto mass consequences in salvaging 0.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometer, which equals to 0.6 – 0.7 kilogram of CO2 † ( Steeluniversity.org ) But how can the mass decrease be implemented? Harmonizing to the equation, mass depends on the volume and the denseness of the stuff: As it is seen from the equation auto mass can be reduced by taking the stuff with lower denseness or by cut downing the volume of auto parts. In footings of the first solution steel remains to be the most suited stuff because of it ‘s mechanical belongingss. Steel has satisfied formability, articulation ability and output strength. Customers are happy with steel. Almost all autos are made from steels and the industry has all agencies and conditions for it. However, unstained steel is rather expensive and coating must be used. There are besides some alternate stuffs with lower denseness – Ti ( I?=4.52 ) , aluminum ( I?=2.71 ) , glass ( I?=2.55-3.55 ) , Mg ( 1.71 ) , composite ( 1.55-1.93 ) , polymer ( 0.9-1.7 ) , cloths ( 0.8-0.9 ) , white pine ( 0.51 ) . ( Istochnic ) . But they can non be used by several grounds: Cost – auto doors made of Ti, Mg, aluminum can be really expensive, so that clients will non accept these autos. Lower mechanical belongingss. Cars may non go through clang trials Poor formability Joining troubles -it can be hard to fall in such auto outer door panel with the body-in-white. Extremist alterations of the whole fabrication procedure may be required The alteration of the stuff may ensue in the alteration of assembly fixtures, organizing dies, etc. Further probes are necessary Some of these stuffs are already used in luxury autos, such as Lotus. ( Istochnik ) . But for household autos it seems to be impropriate. Hence, steel is chosen for the auto door outer panel. To cut down auto mass another parametric quantity can be changed – V ( volume of the constituent – in our instance the volume of door ) . We can non extinguish this constituent due to safety demands. We can non change the surface of the door, because it can do the alterations of the whole building. That is why the merely possible thing we can make is to understate the thickness of the door which seems to be the best option. However, we should utilize another type of steel to follow with all safety and design standards. Purposes to cut down the auto outer door panel mass at least by 25 % take the thickness of the door carry out trials on formability, articulation ability, corrosion opposition, dent and oil-canning trials take the steel and coating method Calculate weight and cost nest eggs When planing auto door the most important belongingss should be considered are: Joinability – the ability of steel to fall in, depend on the chemical science and strength ( Istochnik I change ) Formability – ability to accept the desirable signifier deue to fictile distortion. With the addition of strength formability decreases ( Change and Istochnik ) Corrosion opposition – bar of the destructive onslaught by the environment ( alteration and Istochnik ) Dent opposition – the ability of the stuff to defy local distortions. Small defects can be caused by rocks ( Change and Istochnik ) Furthermore trials are needed to be carried out in order to look into the belongingss of chosen stuff. Dent and Oil-canning trials Dent trial and Oil-canning trials are required to find the thickness and the output strength of auto door panel. The minimal values of this parametric quantities following with this demands should be found. Difference between as-received output and the concluding output strength. IstochnikThickness, millimeterAs-formed output strength, MpaPanel curvature, millimeterPanel mass, kg0.56305 49 3.980.58305 43 4.120.60290 38 4.250.62290 35 4.400.68277 27 4.830.70240 25 4.970.72240 23 5.110.76240 21 5.400.80190 19 5.68 Table 1. Date from the dent and oil-canning trials for each thickness Figure 1. Yield Strength against curvature for each thickness What parameters does the dent trial depend on? What parameters does the warp trial depend on? Which strength is needed for each thickness? Corrosion opposition The life-time warrant for auto door panel is 12 old ages. Several factors contribute to the corrosion opposition, including the stuff chosen. Stainless steel has first-class opposition to corrosion, but it will be really expensive to bring forth auto from this stuff. Uncoated steel will non last for 12 old ages harmonizing to rust procedure. So, the coated steel is the most cost effectual manner of bettering corrosion opposition of an uncoated merchandise. There are several types of coatings, viz. : pigment coating, Sn coating, Zn coating, Cr coating and polymer coating. Paint, Sn, polymer, Cr can give aesthetic consequence but one time scratched it will non protect steel from the corrosion because they act merely like a barrier. Serious environmental concerns and high cost can be deal with in the instance of polymers and Cr. Furthermore, extra coating may be needed to give the appropriate coating and surface required by clients and marketing co-workers. That is why Zn seems to be the best coating stuff. Even if scratched it will give the steel. It gives an first-class protection due to sacrificial mechanism. However, extra bed is needed to obtained coloring material that consumers need. Industry criterion corrosion trial is carried out in order to find the thickness of Zn coating and technique for using Zn coating. First Zn coated sheet 150Ãâ€"100 nanometer is treated with Zn phosphate, premier with catodic electrocoat, spray with white based coat and finish with clear coat. Scribe the painted steel – one diagonal abrasion through the coatings to the steel. The sheets are subjected to the 80 rhythms. – one per twenty-four hours. This corresponds to 3.4 old ages of exposure to existent conditions. Measurement showed how many millimeter of pigment next to the Scribe was removed. Due to the experiments day of the month the most effectual type of surfacing are HD galvanised and HD galvannealed. Cold rolled steels showed the worst corrosion opposition.Coating typeCoating weight, g*m2Average scribe weirdo, millimeterElectrogalvanized steel30 2.7Electrogalvanized steel+Zn rich primer40 2.8Hot dip galvanized steel45 2.6Electrogalvanized steel60 2.1Electrogalvanize steel70 1.6Hot dip galvanized steel67 1.7Hot dip galvanized steel107 1.4 The size of the auto door is 700Ãâ€"1000 millimeter. So, the country of the door is: S= 700*1000=700 000 mm2 It is known that the average loss of pigment is 0.01 % after 12 old ages. The country of paint loss can be calculated as: Spain loss=700 000*0.01/100=70 mm2 If this happen due to one abrasion, it may be possible to cipher the mean scribe weirdo after these 12 old ages. However, it is assumed that horizontal Scribe is non governed by the length of the abrasion. Scribe creep12 years=70/10=7 millimeter Similarly, Scribe creep1 year= 7 / 12 = 0.583 millimeter Scribe creep3.4 twelvemonth = 0.583 * 3.4 = 1.9822 a†°? 2 millimeter Using the above secret plan it is possible to happen the thinnest coating matching to 2mm scribe weirdo. The thinnest coating is 60 g. per mm2 or 8.4 A µm. The surface coating and the cost depend on the type of surfacing. The average cost for 60 g/mm2 coating is the undermentioned: 1.27 for galvanneal steel ; 1.3 for dip galvanized and 1.33 for electrogalvanized. Similarly the surface finish index is 1, 0.95 and 0.9, severally. Hot dip galvanized coating was chosen for this instance, because this coating showed itself better during corrosion trial and it has the mean values of the cost and surface finish index. Formability During formability trial a steel foliage is analyzing at particular imperativeness. This trial demonstrates the location of major strains in auto door panel. The angle parts of the panel a most likely to tear during forming. To prove these corners Forming Limit Diagram is applied. It is seen from the trial that the location of the secret plan on the Diagram depends on several factors, such as strength, type of the coat and oil for lubrication. To put the points to the safe country the undermentioned parametric quantities were chosen: Thickness t = 0.6 millimeter As-received yield-strength 290 Mpa Coating – hot dip galvinised Lubricant – Oil 2 The as-received strength alters the work indurating advocate which affects stretching of the steel sheet. In our instance the minimal work indurating advocate was found to be 0.2. We besides do n't take into history the R value since deep drawing is non utilize for auto door panel. Joinability There several types of fall ining techniques, such as adhesive bonding, concentrating and welding. Adhesive bonding is non normally used for auto door because it is technically complicated and economically unbeneficial. Riveting is used for some parts of autos but this method is impracticable for doors, since it would impact the visual aspect of the vehicle. In this instance welding seems to be the most appropriative. Steels are easy welded together, what is widely used in industry. Among the great sum of welding techniques ( electron beam welding, optical maser welding, seam welding, metal inert gas welding, opposition topographic point welding, discharge welding, clash welding ) opposition topographic point welding is the best pick for auto door outer panel. This technique is accessible and easy. the thickness of the steel sheet and the type of surfacing can impact fall ining procedure. That is why joinability trials should be carried out to look into if steel sheets with chosen coatings can be welded together. During the trial the following values were determined: Thickness, T millimeter 0.6 As-formed output strength, MPa 210 Load, kN 1.9 Welding current, kA 8.0 Welding clip, rhythms 8 Hold clip, rhythms 10 Coating Hot-dip galvanized Electrode life 2000 dyer's rockets 1 rhythm = 0.02 s What is the minimal and maximal current that produces acceptable dyer's rockets? Which is the minimal and maximal electrode force? What is the minimal and maximal dyer's rocket rate? Determine this inquiries when there is no coating Steel choice Now we have to take the steel class. Harmonizing to our consequences, we were proposed 6 types of steel: The BH220 Bake Hard steel was chosen. The comparative tabular array of current and chosen steels: Comparative parametric quantity Original Experimental Steel thickness, millimeter 0.8 0.6 Steel curvature, millimeter 10 38 Coating, type/thickness 0/0 3/8.4 Min burden, N 1.1 1.9 Min welding current, kA 5 8 Min welding clip, rhythms 7 8 Hold clip, rhythms 10 10 Consequences.Decision.

Leo Tolstoy essays

Leo Tolstoy essays Though Leo Tolstoy is most well-known for his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, which he wrote when he was in his forties, pieces written after he turned fifty were the ones that clearly established the philosophy known as Tolstoyism. Tolstoyism is a philosophy that denounces the "artificial refinements of society" (2) material wealth, private property, alcohol and tobacco, patriotism, military conscription, and capital punishment - and advocates vegetarianism and pacifism. The paragraph cited above, form A confession, is important because it illustrates Tolstoy's reflection on his own life. This reflection would eventually lead to the author's conversion-which involved renouncing his prior emphasis on rational analysis and accepting his faith in God as the reason for human life, renouncing all of his worldly possessions, including his copyrights, and becoming a vegetarian. After his religious "rebirth,"" the author simplified his writing style in order to reach the lower and m iddle classes, and became involved in religious popularism- communion with peasants and working peple in an effort to alleviate their problems (3). Tolstoyism and religious populism have been influential to many religious radicals. Mohandas Ghandi expressed the impact that Tolstoy had on him- citing the essay entitled The kingdom of God is Within You, in which Tolstoy emphasizes the use of non-resistance to evil (4). The creation of a moral philosophy was a lifelong process for Tolstoy. Born 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana in the Russian province of Tula, the author gained recognition at the age of 24 after publishing the novel Childhood, and remained famous until his death in 1910 (5). He went into the Russian army for the four years that followed and was stationed in the Caucasus. Here, he wrote The raid in 1853, published in the, The contemporary, the same literary journal that had published Childhood. The second in his biographical trilogy, Boyho...

How to Write a Deductive Essay on Emma Larkin’s #8220;Finding George Orwell in Burma#8221;

How to Write a Deductive Essay on Emma Larkin’s #8220;Finding George Orwell in Burma#8221; Deductive essay writing is a form of essay writing which evaluates your knowledge of concepts. When writing such an essay, your piece must be based on the idea that a single concept in the form of a set of circumstances or a single concept in the form of different premises can be used from which to draw a reasonable assumption about what the current state of that situation is (for your deductive essay you can select a great topic by flicking trough the list based on â€Å"Finding Orwell in Burma† by E. Larkin). This is, essentially, a type of puzzle that has to be solved by the reader by giving them enough information. For Example: If your goal in the work is to show that the Burmese government committed human rights violations, you would want to take individual factors about the actions of the Burmese government and present them to the reader so that the reader can weigh each individual factor and their knowledge about each factor as an individual set of events or actions, then add the group of events or actions together, and from that, find a conclusion. The use of surveillance, torture, imprisonment, and death might be separate events or acts which the reader uses to conclude that the human rights violations took place. For a deductive essay there are three main components: 1) Premise The premise is the first component. It is a basic belief or a basic fact which you use as the foundation from which the reader will draw conclusions. You might present more than one premise in your argument. This is perfectly acceptable. You can get some facts from the suggested ones on â€Å"Finding Orwell in Burma† by E. Larkin. 2) Evidence The evidence you present functions as the second component. The evidence is what support you have for your premise. This can be a story you have analyzed, information that has been collected, or something that was observed. For Example: If your goal in the work is to show that the Burmese government committed human rights violations, you would want to use the observations presented in the book as your evidence. 3) Conclusion The conclusion is the third and final element contained in the essay. This is where you present your final analysis of the situation which you have presented. The final analysis has to be based on your different premises and the evidence you have collected. For Example: Premise: All horses are animals. Evidence: Mary Lou is a Horse. Conclusion: Mary Lou is an animal. Obviously this example is rudimentary, but it nonetheless offers great insight into the process and helps to simplify it for the sake of learning. Deductive reasoning is something founded on the most local deduction you can make with all of the pieces of evidence you have at your disposal. It must also focus on the most likely or the most reasonable outcome. Your conclusion may not be the only one, but it should be the most likely. Your essay should be clear and remain focused with each paragraph reserved for a particular point or aspect and its supporting details and examples. The more support you have in terms of evidence, the stronger your conclusion will be. The opposite is also true: if you have weak evidence your conclusion will be weak.

Internet Service Providers and their customer switching essays

Internet Service Providers and their customer switching essays Internet Service Providers and their Customer Switching The rapid growth in New Zealand Internet use, combined with relatively easy market entry by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has resulted in the competitive supply of Internet services. 2001 Census Snapshot1 (Who has access to the internet?) from Statistics New Zealand indicates almost 4 in 10 households have access to the internet in New Zealand, especially with households in the Auckland and Wellington regions, they have the highest rates of internet access at nearly 9 in 20. On the other hand, empirical evidence collected points out the seriousness of the competitive threat ISPs have to face while they capitalize on the large population of Internet users. The research conducted by Nielsen/Net Ratings2 (19/11/2001) shown on the number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) within each country in comparison to the country's population presents New Zealand has ranked 7th place globally, having 36 ISPs within a relatively small population of 3.8 million. That means slightly over 100,000 head counts per ISP in New Zealand. From the marketers perspective today, challenges and opportunities coexist in the broad marketplace; undoubtedly any ISP without exception needs to exert all the marketing efforts to retain current customers and attract new customers as well while the pressure to make money has increased substantially as income from Web advertisements has dropped in recent years. Analysis of customer retention and its impact has received recent attention in much research (e.g. Keaveney 1995;Reichheld and Sasser 1990). This paper focuses on specific industry-Internet service providers and is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses how important switching and switching barriers are in Internet service providers sector, whilst the reasons why customers/businesses stay with one ISP even though they may have seriously considered alternatives will be examined ...

W.L. Gore Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W.L. Gore - Assignment Example In this regard, the company manufactures lifesaving cardiovascular equipment and guitar strings. The manufacturing operations of the company are spread across China, Scotland, Germany and Japan. The company is renowned for its innovative fabric known as GORE-TEX that has led to its achievement of over 2,000 patents globally. Its brand is visible in jackets, head ware, boots, gloves, guitar strings and NASA astronauts’ space suites (Gore, 2008). The work ethic of employees is based on lattices that promote direct interaction between associates. Thus the employees transcend to leaders subject to their attributes in attracting followers and gaining the respect of their colleagues (Gore, 2008). Furthermore, each manufacturing plant is allocated a minimum number of associates since it maximizes returns and synergies as well as contributing to the improvement of quality. In addition, the company continuously constructs new manufacturing plants within its area of operations. For example, there are 18 manufacturing plants within a radius of 30 miles in Delaware OF United States (Gore, 2008). In this regard, the employees of Gore have exhibited a positive attitude in their wo rk and increased quality of output. This has led to the company’s success in which it has consistently been listed as among the top 100 companies to work in as an employee. The company is renowned for a structure that goes against the conventional business leadership model in that it employees a structure that is hierarchy free. In this regard, the company has no managers, job titles or descriptions (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2011). The only structure is composed leaders and associates. The company equally does not have any union representation or defined Human Resource procedures or policies. In this regard, the company is not aligned with the standard or conventional Human Resource structure. In addition, the company promotes the philosophy of ‘natural leadership’ in that

Outsourcing Impact on loyalty in the organization Dissertation

Outsourcing Impact on loyalty in the organization - Dissertation Example Among these underlying factors include the need to satisfy the following: (1) increase customer service satisfaction; (2) make use of efficient website; (3) offer flexibility in logistics services; (4) set high goal achievement and goal exceedance; (5) create a â€Å"proactive cost improvement† and â€Å"proactive performance improvement†; (6) establish a strong brand image; (7) promote partner-specific adaptations in 3PLs; (8) establish and maintain a high quality logistics service; and (9) increase operational performance. To ensure that customer loyalty in logistics outsourcing is possible, this study highly recommends the need to establish a strong brand image, increase operational performance, and increase customer service satisfaction. Establishing a strong brand image is possible by continuously improve its operational performance in order to keep its customers satisfied. To increase both operational performance and customer satisfaction, investment in highly eff icient website is a must. It is also important to use goal achievement and goal exceedance to closely monitor the company’s ability to meet or exceed the goals or expectations of its existing customers. Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. 2 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Aims/Purpose of the Study ....................................................................... 5 1.2 Research Objectives ................................................................................. 5 1.3 Research Questions .................................................................................. 5 1.4 Significance of the Study ........................... .............................................. 6 1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study ......................................................... 7 2. Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Customer Loyalty and Its Benefits ........................................................... 8 2.2 General Information about Logistics and Logistics Outsourcing ............ 11 2.3 The Underlying Factors that Increases Customer Loyalty in Logistics Outsourcing .............................................................................. 14 3. Research Methodology ............................................................................................ 18 3.1 Data Collection Strategy .......................................................................... 18 3.2 Structure of the Literature Review .......................................................... 19 3.3 Research Ethics ............................ ........................................................... 20 4. Research Findings and Discussion .......................................................................... 21 5. Conclusion and Recommendations ......................................................................... 25 Bibliography †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Employability Skills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Employability Skills - Assignment Example The major target market for Next is the 18-35 year old consumers and the firm’s major successes are due to offering lower- and mid-priced merchandise that make its fashion offerings desirable to the lower-resource consumer. Many of the firm’s sales come from its online website, referred to as NextDirect, which contributes to over 40 percent of the company’s total revenues (Next 2012). Why the business is so successful is that the company has established a low cost pricing strategy and the capability of procuring trendy and chic fashion merchandise that is relevant to the contemporary, younger consumer with a need for fast, mod fashion at an affordable price. Next competes with major retail companies such as Zara, Matalan, Debenhams and even New Look (to suggest only a few competitors). Internally, Next operates under a functional organisational structure where each division associated with the value chain is grouped and maintains reporting structures according to the purpose of the division. The company has a marketing department, a procurement division, a sales department, and customer service division (to name only a few) with each being responsible for their own activities. This is one of the disadvantages of Next’s internal structure as it does not provide many opportunities for cross-collaboration and inter-group consultations. Having had a lower-level management position in the women’s clothing department at Next, I gained valuable insight into what responsibilities and performance targets required development for future employment. At Next, there was little emphasis on teamwork throughout the entire business model and, therefore, I was not given many opportunities for networking, collaboration, or working within a group environment to solve organisational problems. Stover (2004) asserts that in order for a business to generate more valuable solutions to problems and innovate, it is critical to interact with

Wal-Mart Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Wal-Mart - Assignment Example This power should not be misused but used judiciously to enhance operations and for the overall growth of the company. Management information is helpful so long as it helps in the decision process but in most cases the systems designer systematically neglects the decision that could be made from the information (Stern, 1970). Instead, it is used to analyze questions by manipulating the data. 2. Management Information Systems Stern (1970) defines management system as an â€Å"automated system, which presents information both internal and external to the business that aids in making a specific set of routine decisions†. Systems are often created with miscellaneous pieces of data but they are seldom used or sometimes even misused. MIS should force the system designer to work with the manager and specify the most relevant data needed. The information generated should help the manager in making better decisions and this difference should be measurable. The definition of MIS implies that it is not worth building an MIS system unless the managers are willing to use it. MIS has never been rightly used as a control system for better decisions. 3. Background – Wal-mart Wal-mart plays a significant role in the US economy. Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, it has grown from a single store to a mammoth international corporation. As of 2007 Wal-mart operated more than 3400 stores and is the largest employer in the United States (Basker, 2007). Its first store opened in 1988 as an experimental format. Wal-mart is the largest retailer in the world with its sales being larger than the sales of the three big retailers combined – Carrefour, Home Depot and Metro. It is the biggest retailer of jewelry and groceries in the United States (Dan, 2002). Twenty-four of all toothpaste is purchased at Wal-mart’s (Dan, 2002). Wal-mart own 18 Lear-jets and employs 60 pilots. Wal-mart’s success is attributed to its expert logistics system and its cost-conscious â€Å"corporate culture† (Basker & Noel, 2009). 4. Importance of MIS for Wal-mart Wal-mart was an early adopter of technology and information system. Wal-mart achieved competitive advant age by being a leader in adopting technology in its operations (Basker, 2007). Wal-mart has three basic philosophies behind their Information system – they run a centralized information system from Arkansas for all their operations; they have common systems and common platforms and their third philosophy is to be merchants first and technologists second (Lundberg, 2002). They allow a great deal of flexibility as well so that people in the local markets can adapt to local situations. Wal-mart defines it success with the customer and everyone at Wal-mart has the same definition of success. Wal-mart believes that their merchants, suppliers, customers and business leaders must have access to information as this helps them to better understand the needs of tomorrow (Rollin, 2008). It has technological edge in inventory control, logistics and distribution. All its stores and distribution centers are connected to the company headquarters through computer network. Wal-mart was also a n early adopted of bar-code technology which reduced the labor cost of processing shipments. The software – Retail Link – helped to bring the suppliers close to the individual stores

Dental Asst Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dental Asst - Research Paper Example ("NYSDA") Salary structure: Compensation amount differs from state to state as per the cost of living and other surrounding factors like year of experience, clinic location, etc. California dental assistant’s annual wage is $35,290, average $ 12.96 per hour and in New York $14.92 per hour. ("Dental Assistant") State board: For California, the state board is Dental board of California ("Dental board of California") while for New York, it is NYS education Department (NYS Edu). Dentist and dental assistants must be licensed by this board to practice in NY State. ("NYSED.GOV") Hygienist: Educational Requirements: To become a dental hygienist in California, the candidate has to undergo 4 or 6 years programme to get bachelor or masters degree respectively from Dental Hygienist College. The classes include Anatomy, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Nutrition, Physiology, Periodontology, Microbiology, Clinical dental hygiene, Sociology, laboratory and clinical training. To qualify for this deg ree, the candidate should have previous high school diploma and good score on college entrance test.

Why is everything made in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Why is everything made in China - Research Paper Example China is an industrialized nation and has the support from various aspects such as government for survival in the industry. The trading relationships with other countries are also excellent such as the US traders prefer to have Chinese suppliers because the bulk shipping order’s cost is less which means import from China is cheap compared to other countries. According to the study performed by Booz Allen Hamilton, only those companies are successful that integrate China as the basis of competitive advantage. The improvement in the economy shows that China has a great potential for future domestic sales, therefore setting up factories will facilitate to be a beneficial project for the future. The major domestic industry in China is automobile, which may change in the future (Booz Allen Hamilton Inc, â€Å"Booz Allen/AMCHAM Shanghai Study Finds Companies Adopting China as Both a Growth Market and Manufacturing Hub Are Two-Thirds More Profitable Than Others†). There are ce rtain controversial views such as China is not good in social responsibilities because they make the children work for cost minimization. Hence, the myth is that a company in China is only concerned about the profit and not the society. They do not consider all the 3 P’s that are Profit, People and Planet (Whycenter, â€Å"Why Is Everything Made In China†). ‘Made in China’ products are becoming more famous in today’s world. In this research paper, the benefits of manufacturing units in China have been analyzed with an example of plastic manufacturing unit. The effect of the economy and environment are examined to understand the reason for building manufacturing units in China. The integration of all economy implies globalization, hence the increase of ‘Made in China’ products are affecting the world’s economy. The economy of China and other countries have been analyzed to understand the impact in other countries. Every company fo cuses on cost minimization to increase the profit margin. The labor cost in China is a factor to be taken into consideration for the labor intensive companies such as clothing, footwear and others. In order to reduce cost of production, companies generally look to shift to China for establishing manufacturing units. There is a potential growth in China but the question arises whether it is sustainable or not. In this context, the future prospects in China are identified. Benefits and Reasons for Manufacturing in China China has emerged as preferred destination for setting up of manufacturing units due to certain advantages that are present in the country. The labor cost is less in India and Africa. However, to build a plant in developing country a few infrastructure facilities such as electricity, technology, telecommunication, financial infrastructure, government cooperation and others are essential to be considered. In this case, China is advanced than India and it is incomparable with Africa. Hence, China provides the advantage of cheap labor and adequate industrial infrastructures. China is perceived as the huge potential market thus it encourages the potential to build the operations in the country. Certain examples of reasons as well as benefits of manufacturing in China are: Reduction in cost of Direct Labor, Overhead and Material Cost Indirect Engineering, Marketing, Financial Labor & Transactional Cost is reduce. Supply chain logistics & service are made simpler to Asia’s customers Center for Material Sourcing throughout Asia for Domestic and China Production

Wal-Mart Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Wal-Mart - Assignment Example This power should not be misused but used judiciously to enhance operations and for the overall growth of the company. Management information is helpful so long as it helps in the decision process but in most cases the systems designer systematically neglects the decision that could be made from the information (Stern, 1970). Instead, it is used to analyze questions by manipulating the data. 2. Management Information Systems Stern (1970) defines management system as an â€Å"automated system, which presents information both internal and external to the business that aids in making a specific set of routine decisions†. Systems are often created with miscellaneous pieces of data but they are seldom used or sometimes even misused. MIS should force the system designer to work with the manager and specify the most relevant data needed. The information generated should help the manager in making better decisions and this difference should be measurable. The definition of MIS implies that it is not worth building an MIS system unless the managers are willing to use it. MIS has never been rightly used as a control system for better decisions. 3. Background – Wal-mart Wal-mart plays a significant role in the US economy. Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, it has grown from a single store to a mammoth international corporation. As of 2007 Wal-mart operated more than 3400 stores and is the largest employer in the United States (Basker, 2007). Its first store opened in 1988 as an experimental format. Wal-mart is the largest retailer in the world with its sales being larger than the sales of the three big retailers combined – Carrefour, Home Depot and Metro. It is the biggest retailer of jewelry and groceries in the United States (Dan, 2002). Twenty-four of all toothpaste is purchased at Wal-mart’s (Dan, 2002). Wal-mart own 18 Lear-jets and employs 60 pilots. Wal-mart’s success is attributed to its expert logistics system and its cost-conscious â€Å"corporate culture† (Basker & Noel, 2009). 4. Importance of MIS for Wal-mart Wal-mart was an early adopter of technology and information system. Wal-mart achieved competitive advant age by being a leader in adopting technology in its operations (Basker, 2007). Wal-mart has three basic philosophies behind their Information system – they run a centralized information system from Arkansas for all their operations; they have common systems and common platforms and their third philosophy is to be merchants first and technologists second (Lundberg, 2002). They allow a great deal of flexibility as well so that people in the local markets can adapt to local situations. Wal-mart defines it success with the customer and everyone at Wal-mart has the same definition of success. Wal-mart believes that their merchants, suppliers, customers and business leaders must have access to information as this helps them to better understand the needs of tomorrow (Rollin, 2008). It has technological edge in inventory control, logistics and distribution. All its stores and distribution centers are connected to the company headquarters through computer network. Wal-mart was also a n early adopted of bar-code technology which reduced the labor cost of processing shipments. The software – Retail Link – helped to bring the suppliers close to the individual stores

Why is everything made in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Why is everything made in China - Research Paper Example China is an industrialized nation and has the support from various aspects such as government for survival in the industry. The trading relationships with other countries are also excellent such as the US traders prefer to have Chinese suppliers because the bulk shipping order’s cost is less which means import from China is cheap compared to other countries. According to the study performed by Booz Allen Hamilton, only those companies are successful that integrate China as the basis of competitive advantage. The improvement in the economy shows that China has a great potential for future domestic sales, therefore setting up factories will facilitate to be a beneficial project for the future. The major domestic industry in China is automobile, which may change in the future (Booz Allen Hamilton Inc, â€Å"Booz Allen/AMCHAM Shanghai Study Finds Companies Adopting China as Both a Growth Market and Manufacturing Hub Are Two-Thirds More Profitable Than Others†). There are ce rtain controversial views such as China is not good in social responsibilities because they make the children work for cost minimization. Hence, the myth is that a company in China is only concerned about the profit and not the society. They do not consider all the 3 P’s that are Profit, People and Planet (Whycenter, â€Å"Why Is Everything Made In China†). ‘Made in China’ products are becoming more famous in today’s world. In this research paper, the benefits of manufacturing units in China have been analyzed with an example of plastic manufacturing unit. The effect of the economy and environment are examined to understand the reason for building manufacturing units in China. The integration of all economy implies globalization, hence the increase of ‘Made in China’ products are affecting the world’s economy. The economy of China and other countries have been analyzed to understand the impact in other countries. Every company fo cuses on cost minimization to increase the profit margin. The labor cost in China is a factor to be taken into consideration for the labor intensive companies such as clothing, footwear and others. In order to reduce cost of production, companies generally look to shift to China for establishing manufacturing units. There is a potential growth in China but the question arises whether it is sustainable or not. In this context, the future prospects in China are identified. Benefits and Reasons for Manufacturing in China China has emerged as preferred destination for setting up of manufacturing units due to certain advantages that are present in the country. The labor cost is less in India and Africa. However, to build a plant in developing country a few infrastructure facilities such as electricity, technology, telecommunication, financial infrastructure, government cooperation and others are essential to be considered. In this case, China is advanced than India and it is incomparable with Africa. Hence, China provides the advantage of cheap labor and adequate industrial infrastructures. China is perceived as the huge potential market thus it encourages the potential to build the operations in the country. Certain examples of reasons as well as benefits of manufacturing in China are: Reduction in cost of Direct Labor, Overhead and Material Cost Indirect Engineering, Marketing, Financial Labor & Transactional Cost is reduce. Supply chain logistics & service are made simpler to Asia’s customers Center for Material Sourcing throughout Asia for Domestic and China Production

Rate Law and Activation Energy Essay Example for Free

Rate Law and Activation Energy Essay Introduction In this experiment we are analyzing the relationship between reaction rates at different concentrations and temperatures to determine the true rate constant, activation energy, reaction orders, and half-life of a reaction. The reaction of interest is the addition of a hydroxyl group to the nucleus of Crystal Violet. Crystal Violet, or hexamethylparaosaniline chloride for short, is a strongly colored purple dye with the chemical formula C25H30N3Cl and disassociates completely in solution. The relevant structure for this compound can be seen in figure 1 Figure 1 The base that is being used for the reaction is the strong base Sodium Hydroxide, or NaOH. This molecule also completely disassociates in water. Because measuring the concentrations of reactants is difficult in a simple lab setting, the reaction between Crystal Violet and Sodium Hydroxide will be measured through light absorbance. As the reaction between the chemicals takes place and the Crystal Violet receives the hydroxide the overall intensity of the purple color will decrease thus affecting the absorbance. The absorbance of the solution will be measured with a colorimeter as the reaction takes place and will be interpreted as a direct representation of concentration of Crystal Violet. After the reaction has taken place, through analysis of graphs plotting absorption vs. time, the natural log of absorption vs. time, and the inverse of absorption vs. time the reaction will be determined to be either zeroth, first, or second order with respect to crystal violet. From here the a pseudo rate constant can be determined, and using comparisons of different constants at different concentrations of NaOH solution and different temperatures, the reaction order with respect to hydroxide, the true rate constant for the reaction, and the activation energy for the reaction can all be determined with the following equations respectively. equation 1 Where k2’ is the pseudo rate constant of the reaction using twice the initial OH- concentration as is used in the k1’ reaction and n is equal to the reaction order with respect to OH-. equation 2 Where k’ is a pseudo rate constant based off of absorption and n is the reaction order with respect to OH- determined by equation 1. equation 3 Where k1 is the reaction constant at temperature T1, a is a constant that can be ignored due to the way the equation will be utilized, R is that gas constant, and Ea is the activation energy. Procedure The following materials were needed for the experiment: 4 100mL beakers 250mL beaker 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet Stock solution 0.10M NaOH Stock solution Distilled Water 10 dry plastic cuvettes and caps Stirring rod Vernier Colorimeter 50mL volumetric pipet 100 µL syringe 2 10mL vials Logger Pro software Vernier computer interface Hot plate Vernier temperature probe 1. First, 100mL of 0.10M NaOH solution was obtained using a 50mL volumetric pipet, and 0.05M was prepared using a the pipet, the stock 0.10M NaOH solution, and distilled water. 2. The Logger Pro software was engaged and both the Vernier colorimeter and temperature probe were plugged into the appropriate channels. The temperature of the room was measured and the colorimeter was calibrated by setting the 0% light and 100% light conditions. 3. The colorimeter was set to 565nm and 1mL of 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet solution was mixed with 1mL of 0.05M NaOH solution and quickly added to the colorimeter. Data correlating time, temperature, transmittance, and absorbance was then recorded for seven minutes as the reaction between the two solutions took place, and this data was saved. 4. This previous step was repeated two additional times with the 0.05M NaOH solution, and then three times with the 0.10M NaOH solution. 5. Last, two 10mL-vials of 0.05M NaOH and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet solution were prepared in a warm bath solution on the hot plate. Once the temperature reached 35ËšC and was recorded, steps BLANK through BLANK were repeated again twice with the heated solutions of Crystal Violet and 0.05M NaOH. All of the data that was collected was saved and distributed between the two lab partners and all excess solutions were disposed of properly under the fume hood. Results The following are the graphs obtained from the absorption and time recordings of the third run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.62ËšC. figure 2 figure 3 figure 4 These plots show that the reaction order with respect to crystal violet is clearly 1st order due to the great r2 value of the linear trend line. Since our pseudo rate constant based off of absorption is equal to the negative slope of our linear plot, our k’ in for the reaction of 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.62ËšC is 0.1894. These next three plots are the graphs obtained from the absorption and time recordings of the first run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.10M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.50ËšC. figure 5 figure 6 figure 7 As expected, these results still indicate a reaction order of 1 with respect to crystal violet as demonstrated by the linear plot on the figure 6. Our k’ in for the reaction of 1mL of 0.10M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.50ËšC is 0.2993. Now that we have two pseudo reaction constants in which the OH- concentration differs by a factor of 2, we can use equation 1 to obtain the reaction order with respect to OH-. Since the reaction order must be an integer we can see that the n must be 1. It is now know that for the reaction, the reaction orders with respect to both reactants are 1. At this point, the true rate constant can be determined using equation 2, where n is 1, the initial concentration of OH- is 0.05, and the pseudo rate constant k’ is 0.1894. These next three plots are the graphs obtained from the absorption and time recordings of the first run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 36.09ËšC. figure 8 figure 9 figure 10 Once again it is apparent from the three plots that the reaction is first order with respect to crystal violet. However, the reason we performed this last kinetic run was to obtain a value for k at a different temperature. This way we have two sets of values for equation 3 with two temperatures, and two rate constants. With this information we can cut out the pre-exponential factor a and solve for the activation energy. But first k must again be calculated for the reaction at the new temperature. Doing this the same way as done in calculation 2, we obtain a reaction constant of 4.964 – a higher value, which is to be expected with the increase in temperature. Now, manipulating equation 4 we obtain that equation 4 While plugging the proper values provides which after some arithmetic leads to a calculated Ea of 15,254.67J, or 15.25467kJ. The calculation for half-lives for the different conditions is simple, and just requires the following equation. equation 5 When using the rate constant found in calculation 1, t1/2 for the kinetic run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.62ËšC is found to be 0.183 seconds. Error Analysis In this experiment there are several things calculated and several sources of error to take into account. Error needs to be calculated for the rate constants k, for the half-lives, and for activation energy. The errors for the pseudo-rate constants are obtained using the LLS method. Once these are obtained the next step is to calculate the error in the true rate constants. When calculating the error in true rate constant once must apply both the error in the pseudo rate constant and the error in the measurement of volume for the 100 µL syringe as it pertains to the concentration of hydroxide. The error in the syringe is 0.02mL, which for 0.05M NaOH solution leads to an error in concentration of approximately 1Ãâ€"10-3M and 2Ãâ€"10-3M for 0.10M NaOH. Equation 2 is manipulated to solve for the true rate constant. The following equation is used to solve for the error in the true rate constant. equation 6 And when the derivatives are solved is equal to equation 7 And when the numbers are plugged in for the first kinetic run looks like calculation =.08 In other words, the rate constant for the first kinetic run came out to be 3.79 ±.08. Now when calculating the error in the half-life the only thing that has to be taken into consideration is the error in the rate constant, which was just calculated above. Using the same method, equation 5 is solved for half-life, and the error is calculated like so. equation 8 Which after the derivatives are solved is equal to equation 9 And of course after the correct values for example the first kinetic run are plugged in provides calculation = .004 And last but nowhere near least, is the error analysis for the activation energy. With this the error for the true rate constant must again be taken into consideration, and the error for the temperature probe. The error for the true rate constant has already been calculated, while the error for the temperature probe is provided in the lab manual as being  ±0.03K. Taking these into consideration, a very complex process follows. The same process as above was used but involving much more complicated and lengthy derivatives. First equation 3 was manipulated to the following form. equation 10 The derivative of this equation with respect to each variable (T1, T2, K1, and K2) was then taken squared, and multiplied by the square of the respective variables uncertainty. These were added up and the square root was taken as in the above methods. The end result was a calculated error of 2 KJ for the calculated activation energy of 15kJ. Figure 11 Overall this lab was very successful in the use of absorption as a method of monitoring change in concentration. The calculated errors all seem to be about what one might expect. This lab was very analytical outside of one glaring hole. You can see in figure 9 a slight curve in the plot that isn’t found on either figure 3 or figure 6. To me this seems to be because the reactants are heated up to a temperature around 35-36ËšC, but once the chemicals are mixed and placed in the cuvette the temperature is no longer controlled as the reaction takes place for the following seven minutes. Thus, as the temperature falls the rate of the reaction slows, and the pseudo rate constant is lower than it should be. This of course leads to a rate constant lower than it should be, and then the activation energy is affected as well. If I were going to change one thing about the lab, I would try and do something to control the temperature as the reaction persisted. Aside from that, there is little room for error outside of obvious blunders. Conclusion A reasonable value for activation energy was calculated from the data collected in this experiment. There were no major mistakes made in the laboratory, and the calculations all went smoothly. This experiment demonstrated that there are creative ways around difficult problems in the laboratory, such as measuring absorption in place of concentration to follow the progress of a reaction. References- Alberty, A. A.; Silbey, R. J. Physical Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Wiley: New York, 1997. Department of Chemistry. (2013, Spring). CHEMISTRY 441G Physical Chemistry Laboratory Manual. Lexington: University of Kentucky

Level of VEGF in Chronic Nephropathy Models

Level of VEGF in Chronic Nephropathy Models The number of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) progressing to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and requiring renal replacement therapy are increasing worldwide. In India, the age-adjusted incidence rate of ESRD is estimated to be 229 per million population (pmp), and >100,000 new patients enter renal replacement programs annually (1). Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common cause of ESRD development among other disorders predisposing to ESRD. The costs of DN are significantly higher than those from other diabetic complications because the patients are subjected to haemodialysis programs and renal transplant when failure occurs. Thus, the burden of DN on public health is enormous (2). The current therapy for patients with renal injury includes glycemic control by antidiabetic medications. Blockage of renin angiotensin system (RAS) is the most commonly practiced way of controlling blood pressure in DN. However, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin recep tor blockers moderately slow the rate of progression but do not arrest or reverse the progression of disease. Moreover, RAS blockade is usually initiated only after DN manifests itself clinically with persistent proteinuria in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. But despite knowledge of the devastating effects of these complications and the involved costs to patients, to date, there is still no method that is sufficiently sensitive and accurate for subclinical diagnoses of diabetic nephropathy. The pathomechanisms leading to these changes are not yet clearly understood and therefore, therapeutic approaches for relief of this disease are scarce or do not permit a favorable pharmacological intervention. Angiogenesis the development of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones is involved in physiological events and in pathological disorders including cancer, proliferative retinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and neointimal formation. Angiogenesis is controlled by the balance between proangiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors. Experimental studies have demonstrated the involvement of an imbalance of angiogenesis-related factors in the progression of CKD and the potential therapeutic effects of modulating these factors have been identified (3, 4). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, a potent pro-angiogenic factor, is involved in the development of the kidney, and also plays an important role in maintaining the glomerular capillary structure and in the repair process following injuries of glomerular endothelial cells and peritubular capillaries (5-7). It is constitutively expressed in podocytes, proximal tubular cells and medullary thick ascending limb cells in the ju xtamedullary region of the normal kidney. Evidence is emerging that VEGF plays a critical role in maintaining renal homeostasis (8, 9). Altered (increased or decreased) expression of VEGF leads to glomerular dysfunction and proteinuria (3, 10-15). It has been demonstrated that VEGF administration has a beneficial effect in both acute and chronic nondiabetic renal disease. In the remnant kidney model and cyclosporine nephropathy, decreased VEGF expression was observed. These observations were correlated with renal dysfunction and capillary loss. VEGF administration was found to reverse the renal dysfunction in these models (4, 16, 17). In contrast, both circulating and local VEGF levels are high in diabetes. In diabetic nephropathy , the increases in the number of glomerular capillaries and in the glomerular levels of VEGF-A and its receptor VEGFR-2 are observed (3, 18). The role of abnormal angiogenesis induced by VEGF has been implicated in diabetic retinopathy and diabetic nephrop athy associated with progression of disease and the excessive VEGF has been shown to have a role in mediating glomerular hypertrophy (3). The precise mechanism is unclear for contradictory status of VEGF-A in diabetic and non diabetic kidney disease. So, in the present study we decided to investigate the level of VEGF in two different chronic nephropathy models; one was diabetes induced chronic nephropathy and the other was non diabetic nephropathy. VEGF and NO interaction has been explained as one of the regulating mechanism in causing paradoxical effects of VEGF by Takahiko Nakagawa et al.; 2007. The author explained the dark side and the bright side of VEGF effects. VEGF normally stimulates endothelial nitric oxide (NO) release and acts in coordination with elevated NO levels as a trophic factor for vascular endothelium. The increased NO derived from the endothelial cell acts as an inhibitory factor that prevents excess endothelial cell proliferation, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, and macrophage infiltration. Normally, an elevation in VEGF expression should result in elevated endothelial NO levels, since VEGF increases both endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression and NO release from endothelial cells. However, in diabetes, despite high levels of VEGF, endothelial NO levels are low. The authors have summarized several mechanisms to explain the low endothelial NO bioavailability. First, glucose can scavenge NO. Second, t here is an impairment of eNOS activation. A third mechanism could be oxidative stress, which quenches NO to form peroxynitrite. Fourth, the formation of advanced glycation products in diabetes may also result in the consumption of endothelial NO. Fifth, both asymmetric dimethyl arginine and uric acid are commonly elevated in diabetes and can reduce endothelial NO bioavailability. Finally, NO may bind to glycosylated deoxyhemoglobin. Thus in diabetic settings high levels of VEGF, in absence of NO; lead to excessive endothelial cell proliferation, stimulation of macrophage chemotaxis, and vascular smooth muscle cell activation resulting in vascular injury (19, 20). Based on these observations we decided to investigate level of NO, in addition to VEGF; in two different chronic nephropathy models. The therapeutic effects of anti-VEGF-A strategies and anti-angiogenic factors in diabetic nephropathy have been reported (21). The beneficial effects of administration of VEGF in non diabetic CKD have been reported (17). The contrasting effects of VEGF in non-diabetic and diabetic kidney disease prompted us to review factors modulating VEGF expression in CKD. Hypoxia and certain cytokines are major regulators of VEGF expression (22-29). Physiological adaptation to hypoxia is an area of intense investigation. Adenosine is a critical mediator during ischemia and hypoxia and contributes to diseases as diverse as inflammation and carcinogenesis (30). Inhibition of adenosine kinase and the dephosphorylation of ATP and AMP by surface apyrases (e.g., CD39) and ecto-5’ nucleotidase (CD73), respectively, represent the major pathways of extracellular adenosine liberation during oxygen supply imbalances. Once liberated in the extracellular space, adenosine is either recycled (e.g., throu gh dipyridamole-sensitive carriers) or interacts with cell surface Adenosine Receptors (ARs). Presently, four subtypes of G protein-coupled ARs exist, designated A1, A2A, A2B, and A3. They are classified according to utilization of pertussis toxin sensitive pathways (A1 and A3) or adenylate cyclase (A2A and A2B). The A2BAR have been recently much investigated for their role on renal functions. A2BAR have been reported to inhibit PDGF induced growth of mesangial cells ,they also protect the kidney from ischemia (31, 32). A2BAR have also been reported to inhibit inflammation, so it is remained to be determined which type of A2AR are involved in inflammation associated with diabetic nephropathy. A2B receptors have a lower affinity compared with other subtypes and require higher concentrations of adenosine for their stimulation and such high levels can be reached during hypoxia, ischemia, inflammation, and injury. A2BAR regulate various pathological processes, including mast cell activation, vasodilatation, inhibition of cardiac fibroblast and vascular smooth muscle growth, stimulation of endothelial cell (EC) growth, and angiogenesis (8,9,10,11,12). The functional aspects of ARs responses may be determined by surface expression profiles. Microarray analyses of cDNA derived from endothelial cells subjected to various periods of hypoxia revealed significant changes in the ARs profile, wherein the prominent phenotypic change favored A2BAR expression, with concomitant down regulation of A1AR and A3AR(2). As chronic state of nephropathy also involve hypoxic intra renal environment (33), we decided to find the expression of A2BAR in two different models of chronic nephropathy. The most potent stimuli for VEGF production is hypoxia as stated above. The evidence of line also suggests the hyperglycemic state of diabetes to be hypoxic. Particularly, it has been demonstrated that in a mouse podocytes cell line the expression of VEGF increases under exposition to high D-glucose concentrations. At present however, it is not clear how glomerular VEGF production is unregulated in response to diabetes or high glucose concentration (13). Ex vivo exposure of rat kidney glomeruli to adenosine leads to an increase in VEGF content. Activation of A2BAR subtypes augments expression and releases VEGF beyond basal levels in rat glomeruli. Additionally, the status of VEGF and NO axis in non diabetic nephropathy is not well investigated. Based on these observations we decided to investigate the effects of A2BAR modulators on VEGF and NO in chronic diabetic nephropathy. Reconstitution of endothelial NO synthesis and/or its availability in glomeruli of diabetic nephropathy anima l models via the A2BAR modulation, remains an interesting matter. We thus hypothesize that differential expression of VEGF in diabetic and non-diabetic kidney diseases is mediated by A2BAR. The expression of A2B receptor is disease specific. Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a potent immunosuppressive agent with definite efficacy to prevent organ allograft rejection. However, CsA causes significant nephrotoxicity that might contribute to long-term kidney graft loss (34). Acute CsA nephrotoxicity is characterized by renal vasoconstriction, which is dose-related and reversible with dose reduction. In contrast, chronic CsA nephrotoxicity may be progressive and irreversible, the histological lesion of which includes tubular atrophy, afferent arteriolar hyalinosis. We resolved to investigate the mechanisms of cyclosporine induced nephropathy as non diabetic chronic nephropathy model in present study. A line of evidence has demonstrated reduction in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and nitric oxide (NO) in CsA nephropathy(35, 36). VEGF is an endothelial cell mitogen that increases angiogenesis and vascular permeability. Endogenous VEGF has a relevant role in the renal tubular defense against CsA toxicity. Blockade of the VEGF by ÃŽ ±-VEGF results in intensification of the tubular injury the CsA nephropathy(37). The occurrence of both in-vivo and in-vitro effects of VEGF blockade provides evidence of a direct protective effect of VEGF on the tubular cell. Numerous studies have reported a important role of NO in regulation of the effects of VEGF on angiogenesis, vascular permeability, and blood pressure regulation (38, 39). A2BAR have been known to mediate NO release in various pathological settings (40, 41). In the late phase of CsA nephropathy, nitric oxide synthase activation is reduced (42). However, it is necessary to determine whether or not A2BAR agonist induces VEGF in chronic CsA nephropathy. Previous in vitro studies using vascular smooth muscle cells as well as macrophages suggest administration of A2BAR agonists results in increased VEGF expression, potentially stimulating angiogenesis. Accordingly, it was hypothesized that A2BAR agonists induce expression of key angiogenic factors such as VEGF in CsA induced chronic nephropathy. Such an increase in renal VEGF expression by A2BAR activators may initiate the angiogenic response at the site of renal injury. Hence present study was designed to investigate the effects of A2BAR modulators on VEGF expression and NO levels in kidneys of chronic CsA induced nephropathy.

Thinking Outside the Box Essay -- Biography, Albert Einstein

Thinking Outside the Box Imagine all the things one encounters during everyday life. Try to also imagine being a person who cannot stand not knowing how those things work. This was the kind of unique person that Albert Einstein was. His obsession with how things worked began when his father, Hermann Einstein, gave him a compass. The fact that the magnetic needle behaved as if influenced by some hidden force field, rather than through the more familiar mechanical method involving touch or contact, produced a sense of wonder that motivated him throughout his life (Isaacson 13). Einstein’s different way of thinking is one explanation for his vast knowledge. Albert Einstein’s accomplishments during his lifetime have greatly influenced today’s science world. Albert Einstein had a considerably normal childhood. He was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He had a younger sister named Maria but the family called her Maja. She was born in November 1881. When Einstein met his baby sister for the first time he had mistaken her as his new toy. His response was to look at her and exclaim, â€Å"Yes but where are the wheels?† (Isaacson 11). His father, Hermann Einstein, was a Jewish businessman who had a knack for math and whose job required him and his family to move frequently. Since Hermann was a businessman, Albert’s parents were considered middle-class Jews (Brita. Einstein’s mother, Pauline, was a homemaker and an accomplished pianist. Since Pauline had a love for music, naturally she wanted her son to have one as well. She arranged for Albert to take violin lessons. He was hesitant at first, but that quickly changed when he first heard Mozart’s sonatas. Music became both magical and emotional to him (Is aacson 14). When Einstei... .... He continued to exam the brain and came to the conclusion that Einstein had more brain cells than the considered normal amount (Bragg 156). It is still not definite if that is the cause for Einstein’s excessive knowledge. Albert Einstein was a man of many traits. He was wacky, eccentric, and sometimes a loner. He felt no desire to dress the part of a scientific genius. Sweatpants and a hooded jacket always sufficed. His accomplishments and achievements inspired many scientists to venture off into the unknown with hope of finding new information. Although some considered his nontraditional lifestyle a hindrance, he pushed through the inevitable and continued on with his life. There is no question that Albert Einstein is still the most influential scientist of the twentieth century or that his accomplishments have greatly influenced today’s science world.

Karen Horney: Her Life and Work Essay -- Feminine Psychology Essays

Karen Horney: Her Life and Work Karen Horney, a psychoanalyst perhaps best known for her ideas regarding feminine psychology, faced much criticism from orthodox Freudian psychoanalysts during her time. Robert Sternberg said that creativity is always a â€Å"person-system interaction† because many highly creative individuals produce products that are good, but that are not exactly what others expect or desire. Thus, creativity is only meaningful in the context of the system that judges it. If this is true, I believe that Karen Horney made truly creative contributions to the field of psychology, and particularly to the domain of psychoanalysis. She broke rules in a domain that was itself fairly new, and in doing so presented ideas that have been in use to this day. She did so in a system that bombarded her with a fair amount of criticism because her ideas were different from those that Freud and his disciples supported. However, she made her mark as a master in her domain and has managed to have a nu mber of her ideas incorporated into ego psychology, systems- theory, and a number of self-actualizing schools of psychotherapy. Howard Gardner has studied many creative masters within the context of his theory of the three core elements of creativity. These include the relation between the child and the adult creator, the relation between the creator and others, and the relation between the creator and his or her work. Karen Horney’s childhood and adult life have been reflected in much of her work. She was born in 1885, the end of the Victorian era. Horney’s father was a â€Å"God-fearing fundamentalist who strongly believed that women were inferior to men and were the source of all evil in the world† (Hergenhahn & Olson... ...usly shaped her personality and later influenced her psychoanalytic theory. In turn, her personality affected her relations with others in her domain, her family, her peers, her critics, and her supporters. It allowed her to obtain and hold prominent positions in psychology and to help countless patients. Horney took much pride in her work; she refused to allow orthodox Freudian doctrine and its supporters to prevent her from voicing the theories that she carefully constructed from years of personal introspection integrated with observations of societal influence. References Gardner, Howard (1993). Creating Minds. New York: Basic Books. Hergehhahn, B. R. and Olson, M. H. (1999). An Introduction to Theories of Personality. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Rubins, Jack L. (1978). Karen Horney: Gentle Rebel of Psychoanalysis. New York: The Dial Press.

AT&T Wireless Case Essay

1. [10 points] Describe the cost behavior in the wireless industry. What are the implications of this cost behavior for cost-volume-profit (CVP) relationships? Cost behavior is how a company’s costs change given a change in that company’s activities. Variable costs are costs that change proportionately with the changes in a company’s activities. In contrast, the costs that do not change with a change in a company’s activities are known as fixed costs. In the case of AT&T, costs are focused primarily into the fixed category. This means that as the company’s activities shift, its costs remain relatively unchanged. This combination of high fixed costs and low cost variable costs gives AT&T and the rest of the industry a large amount of operating leverage. The high operating leverage of AT&T means that the company utilizes a higher risk strategy which leads to higher profits as volumes increase. Essentially, as long as AT&T maintains a volume that covers at least its fixed costs, any additional volume translates into profit. This works both ways however, if volume decreases below the threshold for covering fix ed costs then every decrease in volume yields proportionately equal losses. According to the case, there is little cost associated with text messaging. The case states that text messaging has an incredibly low variable cost, estimated at only a few cents per text. So basically, once AT&T has covered the cost of the required infrastructure to facilitate text messages, any revenues garnered from text message and virtually pure profit. 2. [5 points] What are the key cost drivers? Can a cost driver be used to continually raise prices? A cost driver is the root cause of why a cost occurs. For AT&T and the wireless industry there are several cost drivers. The most obvious ones in this case would be the number of texts sent per minute and the number of customers handled by the carrier. However, there are many more. These include the number of cell towers in the area and the amount of database  storage needed for handle the messages. In addition, individual cell phone plans and how many devices that are currently handled by a carrier in a given area are cost drivers. The primary cost driver used for the purpose of determining costs in this case is the amount of texts per minute. In this case, with its high fixed costs and low variable costs, any given change in volume will have little effect on costs. So, for AT&T, the cost drivers are unlikely to raise prices. However, this is not the case for all industries. If a company has high variable prices and low fixed prices we would expect the opposite. 3. [15 points] What does it cost AT&T to send a text message?[Consider costs of the channel, billing cost, storage cost] Based on this cost, what is AT&T’s profit margin as a percentage of its short message service (SMS) text messaging business? [Consider per-use pricing and package pricing] The case states that the average cost per voice minute is $0.07. From this the case determines that the equivalent amount of texts that can be sent, given the data transmission rates, is eighty-one. Thus the cost per text can be calculated as: $0.07 / 81 = $0.0008641 per text This, however, is not the total cost of a text. We must also factor in the costs of billing, databases, and storage. The case estimates the cost of billing at twice that of the wireless costs. Therefore we calculate the cost of billing as: $0.0008641 x 2 = $0.0017283 per text Database costs are estimated to be $10 million and AT&T is expected to carry 1% of the 3.5 trillion in world traffic. Knowing this we calculate the cost of storage as: $10 million / ( 3.5 trillion x .01) = $10 million / 35 billion = $.0002857  per text The cost of storage is assumed to be negligible in the case. However, I felt that it would still be interesting to calculate the cost. The case states the cost of storage to be $1,000 per terabyte and that worldwide traffic requires 1,343 terabytes of storage. Given that AT&T carries only 1% of the traffic storage costs can be calculated as: ($1,000 x (1343 Tb x .01) / 35 billion = $13,430 / 35 billion = $0.0000003837 The combined cost of sending a text is thus: $0.0008641 + $0.0017283 + $0.0002857 + $0.0000003737 = $0.002878 To calculate the profit margin, we simply divide gross profit by total revenue. We will take into account the profit margins for three of AT&T’s data plans. The per message plan which charge $0.20 per text, the $5.00 for 200 messages plan, and the $15 for 1500 messages plan. Per message plan: ($0.20 – $0.002878) / $0.20 = 98.56% $5 plan: (($5.00 / 200) – $0.002878) / ($5.00 / 200) = 88.49% $15 plan: (($15.00 / 1500) – $0.002878) / ($15.00 / 1500) = 71.22% 4. [5 points] How strong a relationship should exist between the price charged to a customer for a good or service and the cost of providing that good or service? Explain. It depends largely on the profit goals of any given company and can vary wildly depending on a number of factors such as whether a company is nonprofit or not. In the case of AT&T, the price should at least cover the cost of the product in order for the company to break even. Any amount greater than that will translate into profits. AT&T should price their products based on the supply and demand of the given products. For text messaging, the demand is massive and AT&T gauges their prices accordingly. However, I feel that a degree of morality should be taken into account. I know that in the business world morality is generally ignored in search of profits. But with text messaging, they are metaphorically printing money for themselves. The cost of sending a text message is infinitesimal compared to what they charge their customers. The sad truth is that as long as we remain willing to pay their price for the service they will continue to charge it. 5. [5 points] Why is the price that AT&T charges to transmit a kilobyte of data via text message so much higher than the price charged to transmit a kilobyte of data via a Smartphone? The price of text messaging is higher than simply transmitting data by smartphone largely because of supply and demand. The wireless industry prices their products based on demand. Currently, the demand for text messaging is high and still growing. Because of this prices remain high. Perhaps if the average consumer was more aware of the cost of texting this would change their preferences and cause the price to ultimately drop. Texts are not the only source of revenue for the wireless industry. For example, the industry also experiences revenues from sales of devices such as cell phones. The industry prices their devices in order to compete with others in the industry and this leads to low prices in the device market. The revenue from texts is used to offset the loss of potential revenues in the device market. 6. [10 points] What should the management of wireless firms seek to do now? Wireless firms should seek to improve their infrastructure to increase the capacity and efficiency of their networks. This would allow the firms to handle a larger amount of data and improved rates. This would, in turn, increase the amount of customers that the firms could service and would increase the firm’s revenues. In the case of the wireless industry, an increase in revenues would likely lead to proportionately large increases in profits. The most efficient ways to improve the wireless infrastructure is to add additional towers and storage capabilities. According to the PCIA, revisions in networking policies would also help to achieve this goal. By  allowing the wireless industry access to existing support structures such as towers, buildings, water tanks, and utility poles, the need for constructing expensive cell towers could be eliminated. In fact, the new generation of antenna systems no longer require the construction of older cell towers and are designed to be at tached to the previously mentioned pre-existing support structures.