Chipolte External Factor Evaluation Essay

Analysis of the External Environment Within the fast casual segment, there are certain external trends and forces that Chipolte must address. Some of these trends and forces can lend themselves to being opportunistic in nature; however there are some that can threaten the well-being of the restaurant. The success of a company ultimately depends upon how well it can use its strengths to take advantage of external trends. By utilizing an External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) a company’s chief strategist can analyze and determine crucial external opportunities and threats important to the future of their organization. Another growing trend that the fast casual industry can capitalize on is the growing health trends among consumers. More and more people are becoming aware of the foods that they consume and are making strides to eat healthier. In fact, according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association, 19% of all customers are actively seeking out healthy alternatives when dining out (franchisedire ct.com, 2011). This is a direct result of obesity rates constantly rising in the United States. Furthermore, several restaurants competing in the fast casual sector have made conscious efforts to offer rather healthy meals to their customers. Certainly, realizing that customers are seeking out healthy options when dining out will prompt the industry to enjoy much success in the coming years. A third trend is the expanding interest in, and availability of, organic food ingredients. Several restaurant chains have dedicated their mission and vision statements to seek out the finest ingredients. It is no secret that many fast food chains use cheap ingredients that even compromise the nutritional value of the food it serves. However, several fast casual chains refuse to compromise the integrity of the ingredients used in its menu options. The use of produce that comes from sustainable practices is becoming more and more important to customers after so much light has been shed on how animals are treated before being used for food. This has even  prompted many chains to purchase pro duce from locally-owned organic food producers. In fact, according to the National Restaurant Association, 70% of adults say they are more likely to visit a restaurant that offers locally produced food items (franchisedirect.com, 2011). The recent advances in technology have also enabled various restaurants to offer customers a more customizable way to order food. There are currently applications that allow customers to order food via their smartphone. Capitalizing on an idea from pizza parlors, fast casual restaurants also allow customers to order food online and specify a particular time for pick up. As these restaurants offer its customers more ways to place an order, the business can maintain a larger propensity for growth as ordering food becomes more convenient. The fast casual segment has also begun to enter into the construction of sustainable restaurant designs. Currently, there are numerous initiatives for developing LEED and other sustainable buildings. These buildings are very environmentally friendly, and offer advant ages to the communities that they are erected within. At the head of this curve is Chipotle, which has received the first certifications for LEED-designed restaurants (fastcasual.com, 2008). Using sustainable buildings to house its restaurants is not only advantageous because it would appeal to customers, but there are also other governmental incentives in the form of tax credits and deductions (irs.gov, 2011). Thus, not only are sustainable buildings great for attracting and maintaining new customers, but it also makes great business sense too. Diversification of food concepts is a tremendous way to attract a wider audience with a differentiated taste. As the fast casual segment continues to grow and prosper, the companies competing can afford to implement spinoffs much in the same way as the giants of the fast food industry have done through the years. Many of the key players within the industry attract a customer with a specific taste profile. As these restaurants continue to expand and grow, they too can spinoff another brand of restaurant with a differentiated menu. Accompanying the numerous opportunities to the segment, there are also several existing threats that must be navigated in order to remain successful. The first of these potential threats pertains to rising food prices. The fast casual segment must especially take note of this because it already uses the highest quality ingredients which lead to higher costs. However, if food prices  continue to rise, the industry would be forced to either cut costs or raise the prices on its menu. This is a very touchy subject as the restaurants within the segment cannot afford to raise prices too high without facing adverse effects to its normal business operations. The ease of entry into the market is also another threat that the organization must combat. Although fast casual restaurants offer a distinct experience for consumers, its products are not necessarily revolutionary by any means. This leaves them somewhat vulnerable to competitors to enter the market and attack the brand; especially given the low startup costs for restaurants. However, with adequate marketing and utmost customer satisfaction, these restaurants can maintain their customer base and thwart any potential competitors. Increasingly inclement weather and the apparent increasing threat of natural disasters always remains a possible hardship. This would cause food shortages and a st eep rise on the price of ingredients. This makes it absolutely necessary for organizations to diversify their distributors to different parts of the U.S. in order to prevent catastrophic shortages. This way, if a flood destroys the supply of one supplier in an area, the restaurant can use another supplier elsewhere in order to maintain adequate distribution to its restaurants. The threat of recessions also can be a harmful blight to the segment’s success. Economic downturns often affect most businesses in negative ways and the fast casual segment is not protected from such an event. Although it did enjoy moderate growth and prosperity through the most recent recession, the segments growth was stunted a bit, as was the case for a majority of industries. However, restaurants were steadfast in maintaining prices and a quality experience and customers continued to support the food segment. The threat of consumers’ taste preferences changing is always of concern. Although most people are creatures of habit, diff erentiation of taste preferences can change, leaving the restaurant vulnerable. Knowing this, it is crucial that restaurants constantly improve upon food quality and the dining experience. Doing so will keep the entire experience â€Å"fresh† and entice the customer to come back. One of the obstacles in restaurants expanding into different areas that most do not realize, is the fact that there are often difficulties in acquiring the necessary agreements to open new stores (Chipotle 10-k, 2011). These consist of building permits if the company is  looking to build a brand new fixture for the new restaurant, to lease agreements for current buildings. Different cities have different zoning and ordinance codes, making the decision to rent a preexisting space a plausible alternative. However, the restaurant management typically has a target number of what it wants to pay on a monthly basis. Often, there can be a discrepancy between what management feels is fair and what the lessor feels is fair. This can hinder the expansion rate of a restaurant until both parties come to grips on fair terms of a lease agreement. It is important that fast casual organizations constantly analyze opportunities and threats that are presented outside of the organization. If companies do not exploit its advantages within the market, it cannot grow at a pace that it should be. On the other hand, if it does not properly navigate and combat the external threats presented, it will surely not be in business for the long term capacity which is often hoped. Thus, an EFE is extremely important in developing and maintaining a successful business. Works Cited David, Fred R. Strategic Management Concepts: A Competitive Advantage Approach. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.

New Moon Book Report

This book report is being written for Mr. Reynold Bassant, lecturer for Comparative Literature. The book which was carefully selected is New Moon, it was written by Stephanie Meyer, one of the most promising new authors of this century. The book has 563 pages and was first published in hard cover by Little Brown and Company in September 2006, in the United States of America. After mass circulation and the sale of two million copies, the book became the New York Times Number One bestseller for 2007. It was later published in soft cover by First Media Tie in September 2009.As a sequel to The Twilight Saga, New Moon is now a major motion picture which has received numerous accolades. Even though this saga comes in four parts- Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, I chose to do this review on the second saga because it best documents the sacrifices, heartaches and forgiveness one faces in the trials of true love and friendship. What makes the book even more exciting is the fact that Meyer chooses to weave this web of friendship with a mortal human, a wolf boy and a 145-year-old vampire.I find the book intriguing because Meyer has created an amazing hybrid of romance, tragedy and adventure wrapped between the covers of this exciting sequel. The main characters of the book are Bella Swan, a 17-year-old high school student, her childhood friend and werewolf Jacob Black and Edward Cullen, a mind-reading vampire. Bella moves out of her mother’s home in Phoenix and goes to live with her father Charlie, who is a Sheriff. She promptly falls in love with Edward. Meanwhile, Jacob is a proud descendant of the Quileutes Indian tribe who lives in a reservation called La Push.He and several other Quileutes are honour bound to protect the town from blood thirsty vampires. Because of this both Edward and Jacob are mortal enemies and Bella is trapped in between her star-crossed supernatural love for Edward and her genuine friendship with Jacob. The villains of the b ook are Victoria, a revengeful vampire, and the ancient Volturi vampire family who uphold law and order among their immortal clan. Other important characters in this book are Edwards’s family- father Carlisle, mother Esme, sisters Rosalie and Alice and his brothers, Emmett and Jasper.Like Edward they are all â€Å"vegetarian vampires† who survive on animal blood. Carlisle is a prominent doctor who saves Bella’s life on two occasions. Alice is psychic who has an uncanny ability to predict the future. Her skill weaves a hypnotic thrill of suspense as she sets the pace for the various scenes in the book. Jasper can control moods with his mind while Emmett has brute strength. Rosalie is considered the most beautiful of the group while Esme is the glue that holds the family together.Meanwhile, Bella’s mother Rene and step-father Phil lives in Florida and keeps regular contact with her through e-mail. Jacob’s father is Billy, a wheel-chair bound Quileute warrior who holds all the secrets of La Push. There are at least six wolves headed by Sam Uley and includes Leah and Seth Clearwater, Quil Atera and Embry Call who safeguard human life in Forks and La Push. New Moon is undeniably a suspense thriller. The book is mainly set in the contemporary rainy town of Forks, located in Washington DC in the United States of America.Most of the scenes take place at Forks, at the La Push Indian reservation, located a few miles away, the town of Port Angeles and finally at Italy where the Volturi clan resides. Both Bella and Edward attend the Forks High school where they spend time with other friends such as Jessica Stanley, Angela and Mike Newton. But in the second chapter when Jasper attempts to attack Bella, Edward becomes concerned and decides to leave Bella so that she could enjoy her human life with someone from her own clan.He makes the ultimate sacrifice knowing that Bella could never fit into his world. When Edward leaves, Bella spends th ree months as a mere shadow of her former self. She becomes introverted and it was only when Charlie decides to send her back to Jacksonville with her mother that she decides to visit Jacob. She gives him two motorbikes to repair and starts spending all her afternoons at the Reservation. Bella soon realises that whenever she does anything risky, she hears Edward’s voice in her head, cautioning her.She becomes dependant on his voice in her head. When she jumps off a cliff to skydive, Alice gets a vision and Edward believes that Bella had committed suicide. Unable to live with himself, he goes to the Volturi hoping that they can end his life. The Volturi leaders Aro, Caius and Marcus refuse as they value Edward’s mind reading gift. Edward decides to reveal himself to Italians knowing that the ultimate penalty for such exposure would be death. But Alice gets another vision of Edward’s intentions and takes Bella to Italy to save him.She manages to stop him before he commits the act. But the Volturi captures them both. They eventually release Bella and Edward after they both confess their love. They are allowed to leave only when Edward promises to change Bella into a vampire. When they return home, Jacob is broken hearted because he had fallen in love with Bella and cannot believe that she would return to Edward after he rejected her. The book shows the trials of sacrifice and the tragedy of love, especially love that is star-crossed.Although New Moon is a fascinating book filled with myths and legends of ancient tribes, it is unfortunate that Meyer chooses to associate suicide with love. The book reveals that both Edward and Bella cannot live without each other. They both sacrifice themselves for each other’s happiness. While this is commendable, I believe that the emphasis on suicide in the final scene with the Volturi, as well as Bella’s apparent desire to die by doing risky things, is not healthy for the impressionable young readers who read this exciting trilogy.I also find fascinating the plot that Meyer uses where Bella saves Edward. This is a refreshing change from the usual plots where the hero saves the damsels in distress. There is also a strong emphasis on the importance of family and friendship which I find commendable. Therefore, I will definitely recommend this book to other readers as it is impossible to stop reading this sequel once you get started. The book gives one an insight into the sacrifices that we humans would make, in our quest to protect those whom we love.

Abnormal Psychology Film Project-Girl Interrupted

Film Project-Girl Interrupted (Borderline Personality disorder) Borderline Personality disorder-a Personality disorder, which is under the large umbrella of Metal disorders. According to medicine. net, BPD is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. However, according to Susanna Kaysen, doesn’t everyone go have some of these symptoms every once in a while? Everyone experiences mood swings, family, and work life issues.Everyone experiences job changes, or even change in their self. Why then would these symptoms mean that someone has a mental illness? This was Susanna Kaysen’s argument throughout her memoir â€Å"Girl interrupted†. In this paper, I will provide a summary of the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted†, Identify BPD and its causes and symptoms, as we ll as provide the lasts findings about the disorder. Girl interrupted was primarily based on the two years that Susanna Kaysen spent at McLean Psychiatric hospital. After being referred to a family friend who was a doctor, Susanna was told that she needed to seek help.She was strongly urged to â€Å"Take a rest† at McLean Hospital after attempting to commit suicide. Along with many promiscuous relations with men, and self harm, her family grew concerned. However, Susanna did not think that she had an issue. Reluctant to believe that she has an illness, she still checked herself into the hospital where most of the movie takes place. Upon being admitted into the hospital, Susanna was given drugs throughout the day consisting of laxatives, sleeping pills, etc. At first, she denied them, and was still forced to take them. She eventually went to not taking them at all. Read also Memory – ForgettingAfter being introduced to Lisa Rowe, one of the main characters, she learned how to â€Å"tongue† her medication. This meant that the nurses would stand around the client to ensure that they swallowed their medication, when in fact they were just hiding it beneath their tongue, and making gestures as though they were taking them. Practicing â€Å"Tonguing† as a method to not take their medication prolonged Susanna’s stay at McLean. In the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted†, Susanna grew very fond of Lisa Rowe, who was client at the hospital, placed their due to her being diagnosed as a Sociopath. Rowe had a way of controlling the other women in the facility to point where they were scared, intimidated, and easily persuaded by her. Susanna was no different upon entering the facility. Susanna eventually found herself under Rowe’s spell. Rowe’s character, was very heartless, and seemed to take pleasure in her abili ties to control the women, as well as breaking the rules at McLean hospital. Due to her behavior, the women were often intrigued by her. This type of behavior from Rowe as well as witnessing how cold hearted she was once Daisy committed suicide caused Susanna to realized that she could not stand up to Rowe, and she did not like that.I believe that at this point is when Susanna started to build on her esteem as who she was. She realized that she did not like what Lisa did, and that she did not want to continue to play accomplice to her any longer. I believe that Susanna started to form an opinion as far as what she likes and what she did not like and she did something about it. Previously, she was not able to do that. Upon returning back to McLean, is when Susanna’s behavior started to change. She no longer â€Å"tongued† her medication. She started to take them, she started to see Doctor Vick more often, and she began to heal from her disorder.Throughout her healing, R owe was admitted back into the facility, and underwent extreme care for her conditions. This was habitual for Rowe at this point. She thrived off of constantly turning things upside down where ever she went. It almost seemed that as Rowe was digressing more and more into her illness, Susanna was healing more and more. Most of the women there seemed to be getting better, but was constantly taken a step back by the behavior and influence of Rowe. However, I’d like to believe that it was Susanna who truly helped to heal many of the women that were in that facility, including Rowe.Upon her last night at McLean facility, after taking a sleeping pill to drown out the noise and sleep peacefully, Susanna noticed her cat Ruby was not in her room. She followed the noises leading to the downstairs tunnel that the girls would go to at night, to find Rowe, Georgina, and Polly, reading aloud Susanna’s Journal. The journal included Susanna’s truthful thoughts of the women at t he facility. Rowe read these thoughts aloud to try to stir malice in the hearts of those that she was reading aloud about. After reading it, Susanna began to run, and the ladies chased her.After no other place to run to, Susanna finally broke down and told Rowe how she really felt about her. This manifestation, I believe, led to the healing of not only Rowe, but of Georgina, Polly, and Susanna. Borderline personality Disorder contains a large array of symptoms. However, the most common symptoms according to WEBMD. com are having patterns of difficult relationships caused by alternating between extremes of intense admiration and hatred of others. Having an unstable self-image or be unsure of his or her own identity.Act impulsively in ways that are self-damaging, such as extravagant spending, frequent and unprotected sex with many partners, substance abuse, binge eating, or reckless driving. Having recurring suicidal thoughts, make repeated suicide attempts, or cause self-injury throu gh mutilation, such as cutting or burning himself or herself. The last most common symptom is to have frequent emotional overreactions or intense mood swings, including feeling depressed, irritable, or anxious. These mood swings usually only last a few hours at a time. In rare cases, they may last a day or two.Susanna demonstrated at least two of these symptoms in the movie being that she attempted suicide at least once, as well having a lot of casual or promiscuous sexual relations. These both contribute to struggling with self identity, or having a low self esteem. Susanna felt that she was not socially accepted in her society, or that she was considered out of the norm, and because of this she lashed out in these types of behaviors. It is said that Borderline personality disorder may begin to onset in the teenage years; however, they tend to not diagnose someone accordingly until they are 18 years old and older.Due to the ever changing personalities in adolescents, they feel that it is more valid to wait for a child to stop going through these biological changes before they diagnose them symptoms that cannot be triggered biologically but more so neurologically. Studies show that although low self esteem, and not feeling accepted are symptoms of BPD, the cause for it are complex. Causes of BPD can be genetic, biological, or environmental. BPD can also be caused by traumatic events, child abuse, or simply by changing events happening in young adulthood.Although, the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted† was based on Susanna’s time spent in McLean in the late 60’s, there are late findings concerning the disorder Borderline personality disorder that suggest that this can be more of biological and neurological disorder than anything else. It is appearing that brain functions, or the lack thereof, are the main reasons for this disorder. â€Å"NIMH-funded neuroscience research is revealing brain mechanisms underlying the impulsivity, mood instability , aggression, anger, and negative emotion seen in BPD.Studies suggest that people predisposed to impulsive aggression have impaired regulation of the neural circuits that modulate emotion. The amygdale, a small almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain, is an important component of the circuit that regulates negative emotion. In response to signals from other brain centers indicating a perceived threat, it marshals fear and arousal. This might be more pronounced under the influence of drugs like alcohol, or stress. Areas in the front of the brain (pre-frontal area) act to dampen the activity of this circuit.Recent brain imaging studies show that individual differences in the ability to activate regions of the prefrontal cerebral cortex thought to be involved in inhibitory activity predict the ability to suppress negative emotion. † Researchers suggest that there are drugs that can counteract the buildup of these fluids in the brain in the following: â€Å"Serotonin, nor e pinephrine and acetylcholine are among the chemical messengers in these circuits that play a role in the regulation of emotions, including sadness, anger, anxiety, and irritability. Drugs that enhance brain serotonin function may improve emotional symptoms in BPD.Likewise, mood-stabilizing drugs that are known to enhance the activity of GABA, the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may help people who experience BPD-like mood swings. † What I find interesting about this disorder as well as many mental disorders is that a lot of them are controlled or not, by neurotransmitters, fluids, and just everyday functions of the brain. The brain is such a powerful body organ that it can control you mentally, which can very well lead to controlling you physically as well. In conclusion, this project, through film, shined a light on many mental disorders in one.Many of these disorders are illnesses that I cannot help but agree with Susanna when she asks if they really are illnesses . I can’t help but question if one illness is truly more extreme then the next, when many of them contain a lot of the same symptoms. Finally, looking at the character of Rowe form the beginning, she initially came off as one on the sanest people there. Although, she always went against the rules, that mainly came off as jolly good fun to the other women in the facility, making her the most likeable. However, Rowe didn’t not truly realize her illness until she was called out by one of her peers.It truly makes me wonder if the magnification of our symptoms in society as not being the norm is what truly makes us then go crazy. Otherwise, we would all be secure in the lunatics that we are. There are many sociopaths, walking this earth today that are highly regarded. According to Wikipedia, Princess Diana was considered to have BPD, but was one of the most beloved people in the world. This project gave a full descriptive of how someone who has Borderline personality disord er behaves through observing the movie â€Å"Girl interrupted†. I also paired examples from the movie as well as research to identify the symptoms, and cause of BPD.Finally, I provided some latest findings on the disorder. Although there is still no set cause of the disorder, psychological and psychiatric help, alongside medications is still strongly encouraged the disease. However, with this specific disorder, could it just be someone liking them self for who they are regardless of what they could have gone through in life? References: citations from 11Davidson RJ, Putnam KM, Larson CL. Dysfunction in the neural circuitry of emotion regulation – a possible prelude to violence. Science, 2000; 289(5479): 591-4. Wikipedia. com Webmd. com NIMH. com

Practitioner Skills for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Practitioner Skills for Managers - Essay Example That is why the professionals do command a high acceptance and a premium price in the job markets around the world. There exists a big demand for managers who evince professionalism in their daily work routine. This demand gap in fact speaks a lot about the relevance of professionalism at the work place. Professional managers tend to carry an aura and charisma in their personalities that reflects the attitude and the ability to deliver positive results amidst all the incumbent resource crunches and constraints. It is this attitude to deliver results amidst all odds that facilitates the professional managers with decisive cutting edge proficiency. The mere presence of professional managers within an organization imbues it with the ability to deliver positive results and a decisive growth. Most of the successful organizations owe their success to the hard work of professional managers who make a distinctive attitudinal and practical difference at the work place. To a great extent profe ssionalism is all about numbers. In fact numbers play a major role in the success of any organization. Professionals do command the ability not only to make the numbers work for themselves, but also for the organization they serve. Numbers do aid the task of quantification of resources and effort that go into an organization and professionals do always know how to make the numbers work. To a great extent numbers have to do with data and information. Simply speaking data is a collection of facts that may include within its ambit, values or observations. Data may come as numbers, description of things, observations, measurements, words etc. There are two kinds of data that are qualitative data and quantitative data. Qualitative data mostly comprises of some descriptive information that is it tends to define something. Quantitative data comprises of numerical information and it tends to quantify things. It goes without saying that a progressive and innovative approach towards data coll ection and processing could go a long way in imbuing the organizations with an unprecedented efficiency and success (Williams 2002). An optimal hold over organizational data helps the organizations to configure efficiency and growth plans that are in tandem with their business goals (Williams 2002). Many a times it happens that the resources lying at the disposal of organizations do not happen to be in consonance with their growth objectives. Herein, a data centered approach towards things helps the organizations to customize their growth plans in accordance with the resources and inputs that they have at their disposal (Williams 2002). A data centered approach towards things also enables the organizations to optimize the resources and assets that they have to usher in growth, efficiency and proficiency (Williams 2002). In the current globalized scenario, the consumer preferences and aspirations happen to fluctuate at a fast pace. A data centered approach towards changing market and economic scenarios helps organizations inculcate a built in flexibility within their frameworks and strategies to respond quickly to the altering business needs (Williams 2002). Data also helps the organizations to exploit the available automation tools and technologies to enhance availability and service levels. Herein, one also cannot ignore the relevance of information. Simply speaking information is a stimulus that carries a meaning within a specific context for its receiver, which may be an individual or an organization. Information constitutes the foundation of contemporary business processes and planning. Information enables the organ

Analyst Management Summary Report of Vodafone UK Essay

Analyst Management Summary Report of Vodafone UK - Essay Example Such a thorough assessment and comparative study with one of its peers, namely France Telecom-Orange, would enable one to recommend whether or not to make an investment of ?1Million in the stocks of Vodafone. Company Profile Vodafone is a global telecommunication company, operating in above 30 nations across the world and with more than 404 million customers (Vodafone, 2012). The company is listed in the London Stock Exchange and has 49,180.6 million shares outstanding (Bloomberg, 2012). ... Additionally, the company had been continuously giving out dividends to its shareholders since the last four years. Financial Ratio Analysis The liquidity position of an organization can be evaluated with the assistance of its current ratio and quick ratio. These ratios establish the organization’s capacity to meet its short-term liabilities. The current ratio can be determined as the ratio of the current assets to the current liabilities of the company, while the quick ratio is computed by dividing the quick assets by the current liabilities. It should be noted that the quick asset of an organization cosist of its cash, receivables and short term marketable investments (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2010). The liquidity ratios of Vodafone are as follows: Year Mar-11 Mar-12 Current Ratio 0.63 0.83 Quick Ratio 0.61 0.81 The analysis of a company’s capability to generate cost-effective sales by means of its resources can be assessed by means of its profitability ratios. These ratio s include the gross profit margin, the net profit margin as well as the returns on equity and assets of the company. The gross profit margin of a firm is the ratio of its gross profit to revenue, while net profit margin is the ratio of net profit to revenue. Then again, the return on equity (ROE) of a company is the value of net income as a percentage of total shareholders’ equity while the return on asset is the value of net income as a percentage of its total assets (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2010). The profitability ratios of Vodafone are as follows: Year Mar-11 Mar-12 Gross Profit Margin 32.84% 32.04% Net Profit Margin 17.37% 14.99% Return on Equity 9.10% 9.04% Return on Asset 5.27% 4.98% The solvency position of a company can be determined by means of

Compair the Matrix, Cathedral, and Billy Slaughterhouse 5 to the one Essay

Compair the Matrix, Cathedral, and Billy Slaughterhouse 5 to the one who ascends from in The Allegory of the Cave - Essay Example On the hand, the blind man’s view of life comes from an open perspective and he is ready to learn new things about life (Carver, 2002). The narrators view on blindness (life), changes when the blind man asks him to describe the cathedral for him. When he lacks words to do this, he is forced to show him by drawing, by catching his hand. Communication through symbolism helps him to understand the world through the blind man’s point of view. The blindness that separated them at the beginning brings them together. This is achieved through seeing the world from others perspective. Slaughter house- five basically explores the illogical nature of human beings, free will and fate. This book explores the concept that we are powerless and can do only what we can actually do. Billy Pilgrim is an anti-war character, who trains as a chaplain assistant, earning him disgust from his friends. Despite being the main character of the book, he gets on the nerves of everyone because of his dreams, weak body and fecklessness. He still manages to survive one of the main human atrocities, where others have failed. Nothing in Billy’s life happens out of his own will, but he watches as his life unfolds in front of him for example he is recruited to the war without his consent and gets married to a woman he does not love. In most of the novel, his character is not one the narrator could call a â€Å"character†, and only does so when he becomes â€Å"crazy† and breaks out of hospital to a radio talk show to tell about â€Å"Tralfamadore†. This is a place where he was abducted to by aliens, and this could either be in his head or reality. Events in this place take place simultaneously, so nothing happens before or after the other. In this situation, a person can choose only the good memories of life. Some can argue that the events in his life are due to the post traumatic disorder he has suffered in his life. We all can agree that human life invol ves suffering, and in his case, this seemed to be happening a lot. The old ways of explaining this suffering; religion and patriotism, do not seem to work. In the end, Billy awaits death without fear and is in control, something he was not able to do throughout his life. He ends up being the most unlikely war heroes. In Matrix the movie, Thomas Anderson, is one of the many billions of people connected to the Matrix unaware that they live in a virtual world. Despite being a respectable programmer for a software company, he is also a hacker with an alias†Neo†. This is when he gets to know about the Matrix. He has a choice to forget all about it and live his normal life, or gather information on the Matrix. Neo chooses to liberate humanity from the virtual fate, and there begins his journey to enlighten and being a hero. This is despite warnings from those who know the truth. He embraces his role and even learns fighting skills quite first, in the journey of being savior of the universe, where he gets his other name, â€Å"the one†. This is when we start to see his messianic like qualities and belief from other characters such as Morpheus and the Oracle, towards human liberation. There are several similarities between this character and Jesus Christ, for example Jesus was both earthly and godly, which can be compared to Neo’s ability to go through realms. The name Thomas can also be compared to doubting Thomas in the New Testament, who doubted the resurrection of Christ. Similarly, Neo doubted his abilities at

Multiculturalism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Multiculturalism - Term Paper Example The political and demographic aspect of Multiculturalism has received a considerably high level of importance in society today. This refers to the diversity of two or more cultures in the same region or country (Kymlicka, 2012). A comparative analysis and evaluation of various countries policies on immigration shows a clear disparity in terms of level of acceptance and recognition of the minority immigrant community by the natives. Europe still lags behind in terms of adjusting their rules to accommodate immigrants among themselves and treat them as equal in terms of socio-cultural and political rights and privileges. United States has been promoting a similar cultural diversification campaign but is yet to fully realize its efforts. Canada is at the center of multiculturalism debate due to its popular positive approach that stands out in terms of global cultural tolerance rating. Today, the world experiences the highest level of globalization, thus people from different cultures hav e been forced to interact and live together. For this reason, multiculturalism remains an important aspect in the 21st Century. This proposal explores the aspect of multiculturalism and its importance in society today. It takes a particular look at the case of Canada where this social concept has gained much prominence and highest comparative unity. The political input into the issue within urban centers in Canada gives an insight into the positive contribution of multiculturalism in the society. Although there are four aspects of multiculturalism i.e. demographic, prescriptive, holistic, and political, we narrow it down to a specific case to exhaust the factors surrounding its applicability. This proposal will first explore the meaning of multiculturalism in broad terms. This is important, as different people have assigned meaning to this term, based on different principles. However, it will be core to understand multiculturalism as being grounded in

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 39

Reading response - Essay Example Bridal understands that respect is invaluable and someone who wants to succeed must accept the consequences of disrespect. She tells Fragrance, â€Å"A tutor for a day is a father for a lifetime† (Mair 226). This shows how much she believes and respects Ch’en. It is not always wrong to question authority or do things differently. Bridal presents to Ch’en a set of stationery that Ch’en had never seen and a portrait with weeping eyes (Mair 225). When Ch’en dismisses them, Bridal accepts it and uses what Ch’en approves. As a result of following her tutor’s instructions, she become so good at writing that Ch’en admitted that he had never seen such good writing. I personally believe that taking corrections positively is one way of progressing in life. This scene thus corresponds with my belief. The schoolroom scene is very entertaining. There is adequate use of stylistic devices such as rhyme that give it a poetic feel (Mair 223). In addition, it emphasizes the need for mutual a working relationship between people in authority and those under them, based on trust and

Touchpoint Mapping by Mounir Ariss and Not All Interactions Qualify as Assignment

Touchpoint Mapping by Mounir Ariss and Not All Interactions Qualify as Dialogue - Assignment Example 3. Logical: The logical dimension as suggested by the author incorporates the business processes, the information flows and the technology components within the organization. It is important for the organization and the employees to understand their business processes to foster good relationships with the customer. A touch map is an illustration that depicts all kinds of interactions that take place between the company and its customers. Its foundation is laid on the basis of various customer segments and is a reflection of the customer’s perspective. It aims at enabling the organization to maximize customer value by catering to customers differently. The touch map addresses the Logical experience dimension. 1. Use a flexible opt-in policy: through this policy the customer is prompted if he wants any communication from the firm or now. The customer should be given the opportunity to decide if he wants the firm to communicate to the extent of how much communication does he want from the firms end. 3. Tread cautiously with targeted Web ads: It is important to be cautious while targeting web ads. Be aware of customer’s informed consent on this matter if you want behavioral targeting to succeed. 5. Create a culture based on customer trust: Cultivate a culture of customer trust within the organization. If the employees know that customer’s privacy is to be protected, it will become second nature to them and they would be very cautious about dealing with customer information. 6. Remember: you are responsible for your partner too: Make sure that suppliers, vendors and distributors associated with you also respect your customer’s personal information if you are sharing it with

Databases Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Databases - Coursework Example The insert statements used for the creation of two rows are shown below along with the screen shot of populated table. Four staffs were added, two for each clinic. One staff is assumed to a nurse and the other as manager. ID for each staff is populated as a combination of year of joining, the clinic number and staff number. The city for each staff is populated with the same value as the city in which the clinic (they are employed) is located. Two managers were then updated in the clinic table. The SQL statements and the screen shot of populated table are shown below. Records for four patients were created, two for each clinic. Patient ID is chosen as a combination of clinic number of the clinic at which the registration is performed and a patient number incremented by one upon each entry. SQL statements and screenshot of populated table is shown below: Two rows are created for two vaccines: One for typhoid and another for yellow fever. VaccineID for each vaccine are chosen as an integer which increments by one upon every entry. Invoice cost is populated by querying the vaccine table for vaccine cost based on the vaccine id for which the invoice is created. The SQL statements and screen shot of populated table are shown below: Four invoices were recorded for two registered patients one for each clinic. Invoice ID are chosen as numbers incremented by one upon each entry. SQL statements and screen shot of populated table are shown below: Four rows were inserted, two for each clinic. Appointment ID is chosen as a combination of date on which the appointment is fixed and an appointment number incremented by one upon each entry for the day. The SQL statements and the populated table are shown

Chemistry Research Part 1 Acids Essay Example for Free

Chemistry Research Part 1 Acids Essay Ethanoic acid is non-toxic and is a weak acid [4], meaning it will not do any damage to most surfaces as it does not corrode or bind to other metals, therefore can be easily removed through washing or rinsing it [2]. Disadvantages: Ethanoic Acid is the slowest de-scaler of the three acids, and is therefore the least effective. It also may cause an unpleasant smell, and can have a negative effect on the taste of coffee [6] meaning one would need to spend longer time rinsing and cleaning the machine thoroughly to ensure that the taste of the coffee is not affected. Citric Acid Advantages: Citric acid leaves behind zero toxic residues and has just enough acidic concentration to descale without etching or damaging household surfaces in any way and there are no volatile compounds or products that harm the environment. Disadvantages: Because citric acid is a weak acid, it wont remove heavy build-up of scale very quickly. It is also a powder hence it must be dissolved for use. It also works best with hot water meaning there will be higher energy consumption. Even when used with hot water, citric acid is not as effective at descaling as Sulfamic acid. Sulfamic Acid Advantages: Sulfamic acid is the fastest de-scaler It dissociates into hydroxonium ions more readily in aqueous solution than the others, therefore giving a greater concentration of atoms that are able to react with the calcium in lime scale. It is safe to use because it does not produce chlorine gas [5], which can be toxic. Sulfamic acid also has a low volatility. Disadvantages: Sulfamic Acid can be an irritant to eyes or skin and is the most expensive of the de-scalers. Q2) How these de-scalers remove limescale Limescale forms when hard water is heated above 61Â °C or when it is left to evaporate on surfaces such as taps and showerheads. Hard water is water that contains high quantities of calcium and magnesium ions. These hardness minerals, in the form of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, precipitate out of hard water to form limescale [1]. Therefore, to clean or remove limescale, something needs to dissolve or soften calcium carbonate and/or magnesium carbonate, so it can easily wash away. Acids cause mineral deposits such as rust to oxidise, thereby weakening them and making it possible to simply wash them away. Lime scale removers work by chemically reacting with the lime scale to form safe chemicals and ions. Lime scale is Calcium Carbonate, and when broken down by strong acids, produces Calcium Chloride, Water and CO2. These are much safer, and can be washed away with water, to remove the CaCl from the area. Bibliography [1] http://www.dynapipe.co.uk/how-to-remove-limescale.htm [2] http://www.coffeehomedirect.com/how/to/clean/a/coffee/maker/with/vinegar [3] http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7404899_delime-coffee-maker.html [4] http://incarinsurance.org/advantages/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-ethanoic-acid-as-a-descaler-.html [5] http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130123013345AA71LkB [6] http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?scy=ZA;slg=ENG;ctn=HD5405/60;dct=FAQ;refnr=0092154;view=aa12_view_partial.html;session=20120502004843_66.249.71.242;faqview=1

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Article Essay Example for Free

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Article Essay Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act This article review is on the article written by David S. Addington called â€Å"Congress Should Repeal or Fix Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to Help Create Jobs.† The Heritage Foundation published the article on September 30 2013. In the article, the author addresses concerns among companies staying in compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The author indicates that section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley act has caused a financial burden on companies. Companies spend a large amount of money to stay in compliance with the regulations on section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Furthermore, companies could use the money spent on auditing financial records to invest in more business lines and create more jobs (Additon, 2011). Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires companies to include a statement of the responsibility of the company management for â€Å"establishing and maintaining an adequate internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting† along with their report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The annual report must include an assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting, followed by having a registered public accounting firm â€Å"attest on, and report on the assessment made by the management.† This aspect of the legislation requires companies to document important financial documents along with the review from the certified public accounting firm; it requires tremendous effort and large amounts of money for companies to comply with this aspect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Additon, 2011). The author indicates that companies can use the money spent by companies to stay in compliance on other businesses lines; creating more job opportunities and benefiting the economy. The author demands that Congress should examine whether section 404 is needed, and if so, how to cut its costly burden on businesses. Modifying or repealing section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act can free businesses to stimulate the economy (Additon, 2011). Businesses must stay in compliance with the law to operate efficiently at all times. Companies should stay in compliance to get the confidence and trust from investors. The 2012 Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey listed where companies  stand on reviewing cost, time, efforts, processes to stay in compliance with the regulations. Approximately 35% of midsize organizations spend from $100,000 to $500,000 annually, and almost 80% spend $1 million or less. By year four of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, most organization are spending $100,000 to $500,000 annually (2012 Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey); this is relatively a small amount of money compared the total amount the company actually makes. The Sarbanes-Oxley act protects the public from unethical behavior by companies. If the government does not hold companies accountable for their financing, it will lead to unconfident investors in the market; if the public is not investing in businesses the economy will not be better. The prize the company pays to stay in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is at the right price, achieving trust, and confidence from the public. References David S. Addington Congress Should Repeal or Fix Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to Help Create Jobs. The Heritage Foundation. September 30, 2011. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/09/congress-should-repeal-or-fix-section-404-of-the-sarbanes-oxley-act-to-help-create-jobs 2012 Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey. Retrieved from: http://www.protiviti.com/en-US/Documents/Surveys/2012-SOX-Compliance-Survey-Protiviti.pdf

Energy Saving Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Environmental Sciences Essay

Energy Saving Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Environmental Sciences Essay The Carbon Trust Applied Research and Incubator schemes has over the years through their Low Carbon Technology Assessment given a clear indication of their technology priorities and this have been determined on the basis of the carbon saving potential of each technology and the extent to which the Carbon Trust support is likely to have a significant impact on progress towards its commercial deployment. This they do considering the increasing amount of carbon pollution in the environment which has led to a pile up of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and has made climate change a great concern for the entire world. According to the Pew Centre (2011) nearly all of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the residential and commercial sectors can be attributed to energy use in buildings and lighting accounts for about 11% of energy use in residential buildings and 18% in commercial buildings, which means it uses the second largest amount of energy in buildings after heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Thus adjustments to lighting systems can be straightforward and achieve substantial cost savings consequently; addressing lighting can be a simple way to reduce a buildings energy use and related GHG in a cost-effective manner. This can be achieved according to the Pew Centre (2011) in two ways: Conservation; through minimizing the amount of time lights are in use; Efficiency; improvements that reduce the amount of energy used to light a given space, generally using a more efficient lighting technology. Lighting is a large and rapidly growing source of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005 grid-based electricity consumption for lighting was 2650 TWh worldwide, which was about 19% of the total global electricity consumption. Furthermore, each year 55 billion litres of gasoline and diesel are used to operate vehicle lights. More than one-quarter of the population of the world uses liquid fuel (kerosene oil) to provide lighting (IEA 2006). Global electricity consumption for lighting is distributed approximately 28% to the residential sector, 48% to the service sector, 16% to the industrial sector, and 8% to street and other lighting. In the industrialized countries, national electricity consumption for lighting ranges from 5% to 15%, on the other hand, in developing countries the value can be as high as 86% of the total electricity use (Mills 2002). More efficient use of the energy used for lighting would limit the rate of increase of electric power consumption, reduce the economic and social costs resulting from the construction of new generating capacity, and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the environment. At the moment fluorescent lamps dominate in office lighting. In domestic lighting the dominant light source is still the inefficient incandescent lamp, which is more than a century old. At the moment, important factors concerning lighting are energy efficiency, daylight use, individual control of light, quality of light, emissions during the life-cycle, and total costs. Efficient lighting has been found in several studies to be a cost effective way to reduce CO2 emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for non-residential buildings concluded that energy efficient lighting is one of the measures covering the largest potential and also providing the cheapest mitigation options. Among the measures that have potential for CO2 reduction in buildings, energy efficient lighting comes first largest in developing countries, second largest in countries with their economies in transition, and third largest in the industrialized countries (ÃÅ"rge-Vorsatz, Novikova Levine 2008). The report by McKinsey (McKinsey 2008) shows the cost-effectiveness of lighting systems in reducing CO2 emissions; see Figure 1.1. The global carbon abatement cost curve provides a map of the worlds abatement opportunities ranked from the least-cost to the highest-cost options. This cost curve shows the steps that can be taken with technologies that either are available today or look very likely to become available in the near future. The width of the bars indicates the amount of CO2 emissions that we could abate while the height shows the cost per ton abated. The lowest-cost opportunities appear on the left of the graph. Capture1.PNG Figure1.1- Costs of different CO2 abatement opportunities. (McKinsey 2008) The background above shows clearly that it is not possible to make a decision in one question without considering the others. A holistic view takes into account all energy flows in the building over time in order to reach a sustainable approach (Diemer, 2008). In order to build high performance buildings (WBDG, 2008) we have to consider all the different design processes and aspects of buildings (see figure 1.2) and how buildings are used by owners and users. Capture3.PNG Figure 1.2- Global objectives for High Performance Buildings. (WBDG, 2008) INTRODUCTION According to Pew Centre (2011) lighting accounts for about 11% of energy use in residential buildings and 18% in commercial buildings, thus the need to conserve light use and adopt more efficient technologies can yield substantial savings. In addition to that it can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and give benefits like better reading and working conditions as well as reduced light pollution. Carbon emission through the greenhouse gas effect remains the singular problem the whole world is facing due to the increased use of fossil fuels and use of traditional technologies in lightings at homes or in commercial buildings, as well as many buildings still remaining brown instead of going green. In order to achieve the reduction of carbon in the earths atmosphere as well as other greenhouse gases a lot of industries have sprung up in the clean or renewable energy sector. One of those elements of the industry according to the US Department for Energy (2012) is the energy efficiency sector, which may not seem flashy or significant at first glance but is quietly spurring innovation while cutting costs and saving jobs across the country as more industry leaders are turning to innovative energy efficiency techniques to reduce energy bills and produce affordable products. New lighting technologies are many times more efficient than traditional technologies such as incandescent bulbs and switching to newer technologies can result in substantial net energy use reduction, and associated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The US Department of Energy in a study in 2008 revealed that using light emitting diodes (LEDs) for niche purposes in which it is currently feasible would save enough electricity to equal the output of 27 coal power plants. This project would give a description on researches on different lighting efficiency methods which can be used in Carbon emission reduction and energy conservation, as well as also help commercial firms cut costs so that they are able to produce affordable products and also help save more jobs in the present economic recession still biting most firms in top industrialised countries of the world. COMPANY PROFILE ABOUT US APASI ENERGY COMPANY LIMITED is a global leader in renewable energy solution, the company was established in 1993 with its specialization in Lighting Efficiency Solutions and Technology. Having been in operation in Edinburgh(UK) and most countries in Europe for the past 20years, and conducts researches that span over green technologies like power engineering, lighting technology, environment pollution and management, and more recently carbon technology. The company offers the most suitable environmental strategy to meet specific environmental, comfort, energy and cost criteria. Using computational methods backed by our practical, performance-based approach we can assess various options of environmental strategies giving greater flexibility to architectural design. Areas of expertise include: Environmental faà §ade design and optimisation analyse performance of faà §ade options including heat transfer, solar gains, day-lighting, and ventilation. Low energy building design assess different designs including advice on building form and natural ventilation strategies to aid the passive low energy design. Renewable and low carbon technologies investigate alternative technologies that best suit the project needs, including faà §ade integrated low carbon solutions. Since the commencement of business, our shareholders have undertaken a substantial programme of investment in order to enable the company to meet the rapidly developing needs for energy utilization through lighting technology, with all emphasis in technological innovation and total efficiency, we have maximised the environmental and economic performance of our resources, which has made us excel in the energy market and meet our customers needs. TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW Lighting according represents at times up to 25% of home electrical use and it can affect the way one feels, work and interact with others. It helps accomplish everyday tasks and it is also a significant part of ones monthly utility bill. Efficient lighting would thus come in useful since it is a form of science as well as an art, despite the fact that most people still use the incandescent bulb, a technology invented some 100 years ago by Thomas Edison. Since lighting thus plays an important part in home electrical use and carbon emission from residential and commercial buildings, increasing ones lighting efficiency is thus one of the easiest and fastest ways to lower energy bills (http://www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/lighting/). Lighting or Energy efficiency can thus be defined as the optimisation of energy consumption, with no sacrifice in lighting quality. It is a combination of thoughtful design and selection of appropriate lamp, luminaire and control system selection made in conjunction with informed choices of the illumination level required, integration and awareness of the environment or space which is being lit (http://www.energyrating.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2009-ref-manual-lighting.pdf). LIGHTING EFFICIENCY METHODS This part of the proposal would mention the popular ways to reduce the amount of energy consumed by lighting systems and the following discussed options give a range of conservation options that can reduce the use of artificial lighting (source: Pew Centre, 2011) : Behavioural Change This would mean a change in attitude of energy users whether in residential and commercial buildings. Turning off lights when they are not being used reduces energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity, and utility bills. It may include turning off lights in unoccupied rooms or where there is adequate natural light. Adjusting artificial light output can also provide energy savings; for example, using task lighting (e.g., a desk lamp) rather than room lighting can reduce the number of fixtures in use, and dimmers allow lights to be used at maximum capacity when necessary and at low capacity. BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES (BAT) Timers and sensors can reduce light usage to the necessary level; these options use technology to mimic the behavioural change described above. Sensors are used to serve different purposes in this model of light energy efficiency and they are of different kinds: Occupancy sensors: This help ensure that lights are only on when they are being actively used. Infrared sensors can detect heat and motion, and ultrasonic sensors can detect sound. Both must be installed correctly to ensure that they are sensitive to human activity rather than other activity in the vicinity (such as ambient noise). Some estimates suggest that occupancy sensors can reduce energy use by 45%, while other estimates are as high as 90%. Photo sensors: They use ambient light to determine the level of light output for a fixture. For example, photo-sensors might be used to turn outdoor lights off during daylight hours. IMPROVING BUILDING DESIGN TO MAXIMIZE NATURAL LIGHT By improving the substantial amount of natural light that comes into a building, the need for artificial lighting is reduced and it may only become a supplement for use at night or when otherwise needed. Also in reducing GHG emissions through building design, it is important to take a holistic approach that considers not just how design affects natural light, but also the heating and cooling requirements for the building. When artificial lighting is necessary, choosing efficient technologies can effectively reduce electricity use and related GHG emissions. In choosing among the available technologies, it is important to consider several factors, including the quality of lighting needed, the frequency of use, and the environment in which the light is being used (e.g., indoor or outdoor). The following types of lighting and fixtures are most common in buildings: INCANDESCENT BULBS These bulbs emit light when an electrical current causes a tungsten filament to glow; however, 90% of the energy used for the bulb is emitted as heat rather than light, making these bulbs the least efficient for most household purposes when evaluating them on a lumen (amount of light emitted) output to energy input basis. Halogen bulbs are a type of incandescent that are slightly more efficient than standard incandescent but less efficient than most other alternatives. COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS (CFLs) AND FLUORESCENT TUBES These emit light when an electric current causes an internal gas-filled chamber to fill with ultraviolet (UV) light, which is then emitted as visible light through a special kind of coating on the tube. All fluorescent bulbs require ballast, a component that regulates the current going through the lamp. Ballasts can be integrated into the bulb, as is the case for most CFLs (allowing them to be used interchangeably with most incandescent bulbs) or non-integrated, which require the ballast to be part of the fixture, as is the case for many fluorescent tubes used in schools and offices. Ballasts come in two varieties: magnetic (which are older and less efficient) and electronic (which are newer and much more efficient). Both CFLs and Fluorescent tubes come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and efficiencies (see Figure 1 for a diagram of a typical CFL bulb). They generally use 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs. A CFL produces between 50-70 lumens per watt, compared to the 10-19 lumens per watt for an incandescent bulb. They are also long-lasting products, with a lifetime of 10,000 hours for CFLs and a lifetime of 7,000-24,000 hours for tubes. Incandescent bulbs, by comparison, have a lifetime of 750-2500 hours. http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/lighting/cfls/images/Parts_of_CFL_large.jpg Figure 1: Diagram of CFL Bulb (Source: U.S. EPA/ DOE Energy Star Program. Learn about Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_about). HIGH-INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) LAMPS HID Lamps come in several varieties with widespread applications. They emit light when a current-also regulated through ballast-is passed between two electrodes on either end of a gas-filled tube. Mercury, sodium, or metal halide gas can be used, each with different colour outputs, lifetimes, and applications. These types of lights are not appropriate for all types of areas and use; for instance, HID lamps have a long start-up period-up to ten minutes-and are best used in areas where lighting must be sustained for several hours (e.g., on sports fields or for street lights). In general, HID bulbs are 75-90% more efficient than incandescent bulbs and have a long lifetime. LOW-PRESSURE SODIUM Though these types of lamps are among the most efficient available for outdoor use, they are only useful for certain applications because of their long start-up time, cool-down time, and poor colour rendition. Low-pressure sodium lamps are typically used for street or highway lighting, parking garages, or other security lighting. Because of their niche application, they are not typically considered as a substitute for other types of less efficient bulbs. LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED) In light-emitting diodes, electrons and electron holes (atoms that lack an electron) combine, releasing energy in the form of light. This technology has been around for several decades, but many applications of LEDs for lighting have only recently become available commercially as improved colour renditions have been developed and costs reduced. LED fixtures use 75-80% less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and can have a lifespan 25 times longer than incandescent light bulbs. HYBRID SOLAR LIGHTING In this emerging technology, a roof-mounted solar collector sends the visible portion of solar energy into light-conducting optical cables, where it is piped to interior building spaces. Controllers monitor the availability of solar light and supplement it as necessary with fluorescent lights to provide the desired illumination levels at each location. Early experiments show that hybrid lighting is a viable option for lighting on the top two floors of most commercial buildings. This technology has other promising benefits as well. The solar collector on the rooftop can separate visible light from infrared radiation; the visible light can then be used for lighting, and the infrared radiation can be used for other purposes, such as to produce electricity, for hot water heating, or for a space heating unit. Because the energy is split, less heat energy is wasted in lighting; it is instead used for other energy-consuming items within the building. SOLID-STATE LIGHTING (SSL) This are the next generation of light energy efficiency technologies which make use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), or light-emitting polymers are commonly referred to as solid-state lighting (SSL). Unlike incandescent or fluorescent lamps, which create light with filaments and gases encased in a glass bulb, solid-state lighting consists of semi-conductors that convert electricity into light (http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidstate/SSLWhat.asp). According to a US Department of Energy (DOE) estimate no other lighting technology offers the same level of potential to reduce energy use in the future like the SSL. The DOE estimates that energy savings in 2030 from SSL could reach 190 TWh, the annual electrical output of 24 large power plants (1,000MW). This they estimate would result in 31.4 million metric ton reduction of carbon and $15 billion in energy savings by 2030. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The purpose of this research is to know the best possible lighting technology that would guarantee energy efficiency and help reduce carbon emission from residential and commercial buildings. Investigation of the best lighting efficiency technology would be the significant part of the research and the results from it would help form the basis for the next generation of energy efficient technologies that would be used in homes, offices and industries to help save costs, keep jobs and reduce global carbon emission. The research would thus embark on finding out the most cost effective and energy efficient technology that can be used in buildings and how CO2 and light pollution can be reduced especially using next generation technologies like the LEDs and Solid-State Lighting (SSLs). PRODUCT INNOVATION AND APPLICATIONS In terms of product innovation and its application, the Light emitting diodes (LED) and particularly the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) would be the innovative products to be developed to maintain energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions as they are set to make valued contributions over the next 30 years. It is estimated that energy savings over the next three decades from SSL could reach 190TWh which is the annual electrical output of 24 large power plants which would in turn reduce 31.4 million metric ton of carbon released in the earths atmosphere. LED lighting systems have proved useful in indicator applications such as exit signs and traffic signals due to their brightness, visibility and long-life, while new uses include small-area lighting, pathway and step marking and are set to be the lightings for entire walls and ceilings in future. The Solid-state lighting (SSL) on its part is increasingly used in a variety of lighting applications because it offers the following benefits: Long Life   LEDs can provide 50,000 hours or more of life,  which can reduce maintenance costs. In comparison, an incandescent light bulb lasts approximately 1,000 hours. Energy  Savings   The best commercial white LED lighting systems provide three times the luminous efficacy (lumens per watt) of incandescent lighting. Colour LEDs are especially advantageous for coloured lighting applications  because  filters are not  needed. Better Quality Light Output   LEDs have minimum ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Intrinsically Safe LED systems are low voltage and generally cool to the touch. Smaller, flexible light fixtures The small size of LEDs makes them useful for lighting tight spaces and for creating unique applications. Durable   LEDs have no filament to break and can withstand vibrations. Source: . MARKET USER GROUPS AND PROJECTIONS There is a varying market base for products developed using the ethos of lighting energy efficiency particularly the LEDs and SSLs which are the next generation of lighting efficiency products to hit the market and are expected to great help reduce carbon emissions by reducing the amount of electrical power generated for homes and businesses. The following groups of market users are identified: Home users: Products from lighting energy efficiency can be used by home owners and individuals to reduce the amount of electrical power they consume at home through lighting. This they already do through the use of sensors in their lighting systems that detect human voice, noise or activity before turning on the lighting in places within the home. More products like the LEDs can further be developed to be used in most lighting at home to further reduce energy consumptions in residential buildings. Business leaders: There is the chance for business leaders in different industries to reduce the amount of energy they consume in their offices or industrial places. Lighting energy efficiency can help cut by as much as 30% in some cases of the energy an industrial plant consumes hence saving the company costs and also helping to keep jobs. Investor: This group of stakeholders would like to know the level of profit available in this kind of project and would be interested when they find the huge potential inherent in lighting efficiency technology and would be excited by the next generation of technology in the field such as the LEDs and SSLs. Regulator/Government: Government of most industrialized nations like the United States are committed to making consumers and businesses go green and save money and costs by reducing the energy they consume. They sponsor researches into the development of new LED lighting technologies that would help reduce power generation from government and power producers. Thus this research been done and products developed from it would help government in sensitizing people on new information or products to help them go green and be efficient in their energy consumption thereby reducing carbon emission and act as a regulatory tool for sustainable development. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING The research project when completed would see APASI ENERGY COMPANY LIMITED make use of its outcome to develop products in collaboration with other researchers, manufacturers, utility companies that are interested and government to devise schemes were the products would be tested to rate their efficiency and thus facilitate a broad adoption of LED technology across Scotland and indeed the UK. Also professionals in business and marketing would be brought on at a later date to help fashion out marketing strategies to help permeate home and business consumers of electrical power to take on the new products so as to reduce their energy consumptions and save them costs. ENERGY AND CARBON SAVING PREDICTIONS In terms of energy and carbon savings, the efficient use of lighting in residential and commercial buildings would go a long way in ensuring that happens. Energy conservation and efficient use of lightings would greatly reduce carbon emissions associated with lighting significantly. At the level of individual households and businesses, conservation and efficiency measures can lower utility bills, and broader use of lighting efficiency technology across the society can result in Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and environmental benefits derived from reduced demand for electricity. For example Candescent Fluorescent (CFLs) use 75% less energy and LEDs use 75 to 80% less energy than incandescent light bulbs; substituting these products for traditional lighting technologies, for example, can reduce net energy use. The continued widespread use of efficient lighting technologies like the Solid-state lighting technology would be essential for GHG emission reductions with a 2008 study by the US Department of Energy revealing that replacing LEDs from their current niche uses would save enough electricity to equal the output of 27 coal power plants and reduce 31.4 million metric ton of carbon by 2030. Estimates by global market research company McKinsey Co. also note that LED technology increase such as switching from incandescent and CFL bulbs to LEDs by 2030 would provide GHG emission reductions from lower energy consumptions and also cost-effective over the life-time of the bulbs. Asides from the benefits of lighting efficiency to global climate, its other benefits include lower utility bills to consumers, reduced light pollution and better reading and working conditions. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Reduced Energy Bills: The use of timers and sensors in lightings of buildings can go a long way in reducing electricity consumption from its use and this can result in net savings for homes and businesses through lower utility bills. Longer Life: LEDs provide a longer lasting life when used compared to incandescent bulbs. The LEDs can last for up to 50,000 hours compared to the incandescent ones that last for 1,000 hours hence there is a reduction in maintenance costs for businesses and home users. GHG Emission Reductions: Using efficient lighting technologies and energy conservation can result in the reduction of carbon emitted by residential and commercial buildings. The particular adoption of SSLs is estimated in the next 30 years to be a major technology in reducing the amount of electrical power generated from both non-renewable and renewable energy sources thus reducing the emission of carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon Trading: When successful developed and deployed across the UK, efficient lighting technology can help the Scotland and the whole UK save a lot of carbon which could have been emitted into the atmosphere. With new global plans to establish a global carbon market, that would give the UK lots of carbon to be traded in the carbon market. Weaknesses Sensors/Lighting Control: Sensors are not always able to detect and match needs of the occupants because they are often located far from the area of occupancy especially in the ceilings and cannot necessarily gauge lighting needs closer to the ground. Upfront Costs: This pose a particularly notable barrier, though lighting technologies and practices pay for themselves over time due to their long lasting life-time some of them particularly new edge technologies have huge up-front costs that consumers, businesses and local councils may be unwilling to pay. Also, products like the Hybrid solar lighting (HSL) has existed for decades but cost considerations have thus far made widespread adoption infeasible. Mercury Use: Scepticism about the quality of CFL bulbs has deterred many customers though manufacturers have been able to address such concerns like its poor reflectors and noisy nature, but concerns are still high amongst consumers about the use of mercury in it. CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury in each bulb less than 1/100 of the amount in an older thermometer. Carbon Reduction: The project looks at how carbon emission can be reduced through lighting efficiency and due to the fact that carbon emission amounts to about 11% from homes and about 18% from commercial buildings totalling 29% between the two, efficient lighting technologies as presently used cannot reduce the entire global GHG emissions. Opportunities SSLs: The Solid-State Lighting products when fully researched and deployed have the potential to solve lots of the problems associated with light pollution and carbon emissions from residential and commercial buildings as well as saving costs. It also would greatly reduce carbon emission into the atmosphere by reducing the amount of electrical power consumed hence in turn reducing the amount of electrical power needed to be produced. Regulatory Tool: This research project would help regulatory bodies better provide policies and regulations that would drive businesses and homes to become greener and save energy. It would also ensure that industries emit less carbon and thus reduce the amount of pollution going into the atmosphere. Threats Competition: There is the possible threat of competition from rival firms once this research project is made public, as they may want to produce such products. Also there is possible competition from other countries in the world who may want first mover advantage in producing technologies like the SSL which is the future of the lighting efficiency technology industry. Utility Companies: Companies which sell utilities like electricity may see the development of the SSL lighting technology as a threat as it is estimated to reduce electrical energy consumption in homes and businesses amounting to up to the equivalent of 27 power plants in the next 30 years, hence they may not be cooperative in collaborating to testing the development of the new products in pilot schemes amongst their consumers to be able to generate data on the amount of electrical usage the use of SSL technology actually reduces so as to also know how much carbon emission that reduces from the power plants. Payback Periods: The payback period for the use of lighting technology also vary in length and building occupants may be reluctant to install efficient lighting technologies if they will be vacating the buildings before they can reap the full benefits of these technologies. Market Entry Barrier: There is a huge market barrier to new entrants in the lighting efficiency technology market hence the need for funding. To research and also make many of the new technologies in the lighting industry requires costs hence new entrants find it difficult to break into the market or even have enough funds to carry out research on next generation of technologies. THE RESEARCH PROJECT TEAM The research project team is a multidisciplinary one which has experts on low energy consumption technology, engineering, environment scien

History of Solar Advancements Essay -- History Historical Energy Sun E

History of Solar Advancements Our sun provides us with a virtually unlimited resource that we have used for centuries in a multiple of ways. We use it to keep us warm, to grow our food and generate millions if kilowatts of electricity. Everyday the sun showers the earth with more potential energy that we produce in that day or even that week. According to the Go Solar Company (1999-2003), †on an acre of land with the sun overhead is receiving more the four thousand horsepower, which is equivalent to a large railroad locomotive, and in less than three days of the same intensity will match the estimated total of all fossil fuels on the earth†. Many of the visionaries I will be talking about explored almost all the renewable energy options familiar today, and in less than 50 year they (independent and jointly) developed an impressive array of technologies for harnessing solar radiation and converting it to energy in the way of steam to power the machines of their respective eras. You will see that p rior to World War 1, they were using all of the solar thermal conversion methods now being considered, but after the War and for a better part of 50 years their work was nearly forgotten in the rush to develop fossil fuels for an â€Å"energy-hungery† world (Smith , 1995). When the term â€Å"solar energy† is mentioned the common thought is of recent technologies, or rather a young approach to energy production, this in fact is not entirely true. What is true is that since the dawning of the space age solar-conversion used for energy production has grown with leaps and bounds but this technology has been around for some time. In fact the first documented usages of solar-conversion are found in the writings of Homer (Iliad and the... ...e energy needs. As Frank Shuman declared more than 80 years ago, it is "the most rational source of power." Work Cited: History of Solar Energy. Broadcast on Sun. 16/12/00. Reported by Alexandra de Blas: Interview of John Perlin. Internet: Online Sept.16, 03. Bailey Howe lib. UVM Available: www.abc.net/ â€Å"History of Solar Power†. Go Solar Company. L.A. California. Copyright 1999-2003. Internet: Online Sept. 27, 03. Bailey Howe lib. UVM. Available: www.solarexpert.com Smith, C. History of Solar Energy: Revisiting Solar Power’s Past. Tech. Review. July 95. Internet: Online Sept. 16, 03. Bailey Howe lib. UVM. Available: www.solarenergy.com â€Å"The History of Solar Energy†.The Solar Energy Science Project. Environmental Portfolio. Penn State. 1999. Internet. Online Sept. 27, 03. Bailey Howe lib. UVM. Available: www.personal.psu.edu

Biography of Yaseer Arafat Essay -- essays research papers

Biography of Yasser Arafat (1929-2004) Mohammed Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa Al-Husseini, more commonly known as Yasser Arafat was the fifth of seven children born to a Palestinian textile merchant on August 24, 1929. According to Arafat and other sources, he was born in Jerusalem, however, French biographers, Christophe Boltanski and Jihan El-Tahri revealed in their 1997 book, Les sept vies de Yasser Arafat, that he was actually born in Cairo, Egypt, and that is where his birth certificate was registered. The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs also lists Arafat’s birthplace as Cairo. Ian Pacepa, a former Romanian intelligence official, disclosed that the KGB had invented a background for Arafat with a birthplace in Jerusalem. Claims that Arafat was related to the Jerusalem Husseini clan through his mother have been disputed by the Palestinian historian Said Aburish. In an unauthorized biography, Aburish claims that â€Å"The young Arafat sought to establish his Palestinian credentials and promote his eventual claim to leadership... [and] could not afford to admit any facts which might reduce his Palestinian identity. ...Arafat insistently perpetuated the legend that he had been born in Jerusalem and was related to the important Husseini clan of that city.† Arafat’s childhood was divided between Cairo and Jerusalem, where he lived for four years with an uncle following the death of his mother when he was five. Arafat entered the University of King Faud I (later renamed Cairo University) in 1947 and studied engineering. It was during his college years that Arafat adopted the name Yasser, which means â€Å"easygoing† in Arabic. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Arafat left the university and, along... ... capital in some part of the holy city. For nearly half a century Arafat was the symbol of Palestinian nationalism. Though he was not a military man, he was rarely seen out of his uniform in an effort to project strength and his commitment to armed struggle. He wore his kaffiyeh in a unique fashion, draped over his shoulder in the shape of Palestine, that is, all of historic Palestine, including Israel. The high-profile terrorist attacks he directed helped gain international attention and sympathy for the Palestinian cause, but, ultimately, his unwillingness to make the psychological leap from terrorist mastermind to statesman prevented him from achieving independence for the Palestinian people, and brought them decades of suffering that could have been avoided had he abandoned his revolutionary zeal for liberating Palestine and agreed to live in peace with Israel.

Code Of Hammurabi Essays -- History Babylon Essays Papers Ethics Soci

Code Of Hammurabi The people of ancient Babylon lived their lives not how they wanted to, but by "The Code of Hammurabi". The code was the major reflector and shaper in the ancient Babylonian society. If there was something they wanted to do, they had to make sure that it wasn't against the code, because if it was, the consequences were serious, and could mean their life. But without the code, their society would be much more uncivilized and inhumane. Without the code, they wouldn't have been as advanced and as knowledgeable as they were.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The code of Hammurabi reflected many things about the Babylonian society. It reflects that stealing was a very bad thing to do, in more than one way. For example, if someone stole an ox, a sheep, an ass, a pig, or a ship, they would have to pay thirty times the value of what they had stolen, and if they could not repay, they would be put to death. If someone attempted to break into another person's house, they would be killed and buried there, and if a man took a slave and made it his, his hands would be cut off. Honesty was another thing that was very important to the Babylonians. If a woman was accused by her husband of sleeping with another man, and she can't prove that she hadn't, she had to throw herself in the river. This also shows that adultery was unacceptable. For example, if a man's wife were caught with another man, the two would be tied together and thrown in the river. Incest was also forbidden in their society. I...

Reflective Report on Group Work

Reflection on group work Project Content |Page | |Content |2 | |Introduction |3 | |The Group |3 | |My role in the Group |4 | |Difficult encountered during the group work |5 | |The Presentation |7 | |Conclusion |8 | |References |9 | Introduction When effective group management and high organisation skills are applied, group work can bring students a wide range of skills and abilities related to people and problem solving. Group work demonstrates student’s capacity to communicate effectively, share and consider opinions, establish trust, analyse the group process, resolve conflicts and also develop their creativity. However, the constructive learning and beneficial results does not always come as a result of group work. For instance, if the students can not perceive the objective of the group work in order to achieve a common goal, or to lay back or believe that the work load can be relied on other members of the group making the individual work less and still get an equal grade, the educational benefits can result in frustration and arguments as well as leading the whole group to a state of stress and anxiety. This essay reflects on my own participation towards ‘Lush Project’ as a project director, also how I contributed in interpreting  and  researching  the  Lush  Brief,  as  well  as my participation with the  final  presentation. It also discusses the difficulties that emerged throughout the group work; things that went well regards to the preparation and the areas that could have been improved upon. The Group A group can be defined in various ways, for instance; Charles Handy (1993, p. 150) identified a group as â€Å"any collection of people who perceive themselves to be a group† in order to interact with one another. The group then is likely to go through a number of structures which cover forming the group, the group passing from an undeveloped concept to a mature conception then going through a â€Å"variety of stages from mutual acceptance and membership to control and organisation† (Culliname, J. , 2007, p. 628)). My group went though the ‘Tuckman’ structure which is defined as ‘forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning’. Forming – initially the group was formed of seven students from the same class. There was no deliberation as to who would be in what group. There were only seven in the class and we were given the assignment to research the company ‘Lush’ and from our findings we were to stage and run a successful and unique event on behalf of the company. In this stage, the individuals start to know the other members of the group and the group is uncertain of the prospective tasks and there are no rules for the group work leading to a lack of focus and interest. At the norming stage a clearer guideline was given, individuals had the chance to choose the roles in the group and procedures were taken from there. The group consisted of a Project Director, two Logistics Managers, an Account Director, a Finance director and two Creative Directors where all had to come across to an agreement of a name for the group ‘Essence Events’ and where each individual group member would pitch an idea to the rest of the group. At this stage emotion was shown and excitement expressed towards the work we had to do. A timetable for regular meetings was given to each individual of the group by the project director and at each meeting’s ‘minutes’ were taken by one member of the group in order to keep track of the work that had been done. Then comes the performing where the team knew each other and structure and guideline were clear and cohesive. The team now focused on a common goal of developing the ideas for the ‘Lush’ event. At the beginning of this stage, all members of the group were getting together regularly and were constructing and expanding ideas for the project as well as for the presentation. However, unfortunately the group did not stay this way for very long. Distraction and lack of interest emerged bringing the whole group down to anxiety and disagreement. I as group leader was rather unsuccessful in putting the team together and in demanding more of a serious commitment from them. At this stage, the group should have been able to have delivered a successful project in the form of a presentation. Instead, all the hard work that had been done was diverted into a lack of interest and commitment resulting in a negative consequence. The final stage is the adjourning, where ‘Essence Events’ group disbanded. The idea should be that the group dispersing should get together again and reflect on the group work and see what went well and what did not go well and what should we have done differently. In this case, each member of the group was asked to reflect on the group work on their own which might bring more benefit as an individual. My Role in the Group According to Culliname, J. (2007, p. 566), a leader â€Å"aim to influence and guide others into pursuing particular objectives or visions of the future and to stimulate them into waiting to follow†. A project director has the same principle of leader in the sense of being able to conduct tasks successfully, maintaining teamwork and have a democratic participation leadership on the project. At the outset, as the project director I felt that I would fit into the role easily and would be able to distribute different roles to each member of the group. However, I was on a steep learning curve where I would find out that as group leader not only are you expected to have your own ideas to pitch to the group, but you are expected to salvage the group when an idea goes horribly wrong and the group then turns to you for guidance and a solution of how to rectify such problems. Not only was the actual academic side of the group a shock, but the outside organisation of the group proved to be tough as well. Trying to pin down each member of the group to turn up at a particular time at a particular place was a whole other project in itself as of course each member had other work pieces to deal with at the same time, which needed the same amount of due care and attention as the ‘Lush’ event presentation required. When separating responsibilities and separate individual projects to each member of the group I was well aware that not only did the writing and research need to be done but we needed to go to ‘Lush’ stores themselves in order to gather further research information to then take back to the group and compile our findings together to make a firm research file from which we could then discuss and sort what was considered to be primary information and what was secondary information. What we did was with each visit to the ‘Lush’ stores we would divide up the responsibilities and each person was responsible for gathering the respective information. The branches of research were mainly creativity, marketing, pricing, PH, promotion and target market. For instance, the marketing section one observation that the group made is that the door to the shop was always open. This was so that the smell of the products would reach the public outside and therefore attract their attention and ultimately attract consumers into the store to purchase the ‘Lush’ products. When we pitched our ideas to the group, one of the group members suggested that we should run the ‘Lush’ event based on the four seasons (winter, summer, autumn and spring). Each section included the right smell of the particular season, the right colour, such as darker heavier colours for the winter seasons and brighter colours for spring and summer. We emphasised the fact that ‘Lush’ does not carry out any tests on animals and that all their products are environmentally friendly and are also all natural products. Difficult encountered during the group work As with any group or team project it is inevitable that at some point throughout the time together there will be a minor or a major hurdle. This being that either one of the group members does not agree with a particular pitch or strongly disagrees with another person’s idea(s). They may even simply not get along with another member of the group. In the ‘Lush’ situation all group members seemed to get along at the beginning, however, soon disagreement and arguments started to emerge on the event’s topic and meetings. As a general rule the ideas for the project were usually chosen by the majority vote of the group. The problems that we as a group faced were ones that we would generally expect to encounter. We as a group suffered from people not attending meetings. This could be down to lack of organisation, however, it is unlikely that this was the case as all members of the group were aware of the time, date and location of the meeting. Some members simply did not turn up and failed to let the rest of the group who had turned up know that they would not be coming. This ultimately could be said down to the group leader, however, the leader can only do so much as the leader cannot be expected to force other members to turn up. As leader I could only send messages, emails and give phone calls and state the importance of the meeting but, could not make the individual turn up. Another problem we faced was as mentioned earlier; there was a lack of interest from certain members, and this pushed its way through the group and affected others as they began to become irritated with the members of the group who, when they would turn up, not doing any work. This issue I addressed as I took the respective group members aside and both explained the situation that they were putting the group in and asked what it was in particular they were not interested in. It became apparent that it was not the idea that they were not interested in, more the fact they simply did not want to share the workload, as they would not turn up to the meetings and hence cause the other members who did turn up to take on their work that they had not done as well as their own part of the project. Being anxious of not being able to complete the project in time for the presentation a few of the group members decided to starting putting the project together even though it seemed to be a lot of work to do for just a few members of the team. Just three days before the presentation all group members seemed to be interested about the work again and a vast improvement was made and the members who previously had failed to turn up, turned up to what was supposed to be the last meeting and the work was again shared â€Å"equally† and finished . This although seemingly positive in the short term for the group project, was relatively short lived as it had come too late and there was a lot of ground to cover in order to deliver our presentation. This created the problem that there was not as much time as we had hoped for. The Presentation The last minute work reflected in our final presentation because as a result there was a distinct lack of practice for the final presentation. The problems during the actual presentation were that due to the lack of practice there was no real deliverance of each member’s part as they had not pre-read their material beforehand and in effect, the actual presentation was more of a reading practice than of the finished article. Our first main practice was about a few hours before the final presentation was due and this was where I as group leader had to explain that I had told the members that this was the situation that we would be in if we carried on the way we were going three weeks prior to the presentation date. This led to a select few of us being able to deliver our part in a professional way, however, rendering the remainder of the project unfinished. We started late as one member who was responsible for the budgeting aspect of our project had failed to complete final checks on their display and as a result during the presentation their part failed to initialise causing a major delay whilst they left and went to go and print off their part to present. Upon reflection, the above situations were somewhat out of my control as group leader as I could not force the members of the group to turn up and do their part, also being unable to reach the other members due to them not answering my messages or simply not answering phone calls left the rest of the group in a hard situation as we were unaware as to whether they were doing their part of the project. These issues as aforementioned were out of my control somewhat, however, I feel that my role as project director was not fully satisfied as I did not quite deliberate responsibilities as much as I might possibly have wanted to if given the same opportunity again. There were many ideas from the group at the outset of the project, however, there was no real development of these ideas and this may have been what caused the lack of guidance from the project leader. Also as group leader it is a challenging situation to be in as it is easy to be forceful and blunt at the beginning of the project, however, I chose perhaps too soft an approach for too long a period and this is what perhaps led to some of the group members failing to keep up to date. Upon reflection, we as a group did deliver our presentation; however, it was not as good as what we originally thought when compiling our ideas. There was a lot of potential for the group and the idea of the ‘Four Seasons’ was something that we felt as a group would enable us to succeed in our endeavours as a group. However, if I am to perform my role correctly, must shoulder the responsibility as it was up to me to have directed the ideas much more thoroughly, and if given the opportunity again, I would most definitely do so, as good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. For the final presentation, I gave the idea and it was accepted by the group that we should use a flip chart as this mirrored the fact that ‘Lush’ also used natural products. We used a lot of visual representation as we felt that this would be a much more observer friendly method of communicating our ideas across. The pictures that we used were all from magazine cut-outs. At the presentation, we did not have just one sole speaker, each member of the group spoke on their respective areas of responsibility. Myself and another member of the group gave the main introduction to the presentation and a small introduction to each speaker. Due to the lack of practice I was very anxious and tense resulting in a bad opening and followed by the other member of the group. The timing was very accurate and the presentation ended with a simple but effective conclusion followed by answering all direct questions made by the panel. In order to have delivered a better presentation the group should have had better commitment to what the original aim of the group was at the outset of the project. Critically, the leader should have relayed a better understanding of what was expected in order to complete our presentation to a high professional standard. Conclusion According to J. F. Benson (1987, p. 1) Group work in practice â€Å" refers to the conscious, disciplined, and systematic use of knowledge about the processes of collective human interaction, in order to intervene in an informed way, or promote some desired objective in a group setting. † In our group’s presentation, the idea of disciplined knowledge was what we as a group failed to achieve as we were unable to have the entire group in one place every time we arranged a time to meet. Although groups generally elect a leader, there are as always exceptions to the general rule. A group is a team, a democracy, not a dictatorship. A group needs to have its own ideas and aims, so that a high level of morale is maintained throughout the group. If there is one person who decides upon everything with no concept of what it is like to function as a team, the team will fail, due to a lack of interest and commitment. A team needs to work together, else it will fall short of what a group is all about, and a team has more than one person within it. References Benson, J. F. (1987), Working more Creatively with Groups, Routledge. Brandler, S. and Roman, P. C. (1999), Group Work: Skills and Strategies for Effective Interventions, 2sd Edition, The Haworth Press Inc. Culliname, J. (2007), Working in Organisations: A Compilation of Resources for the University of Greenwich, 2sd Edition, A Person Custom Publication. Handy, C. (1993), Understanding Organisations, Harmondsworth, Penguin Book.