Homelessness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Homelessness - Essay Example I have found many people around me who forced to spend their final days of their lives in rescue homes even though they have enormous wealth. An old age couple who was staying near my home forced to transfer their lives to a near rescue home recently since they failed to get enough attention from their parents. These couple had huge wealth, but their children were working abroad. They failed to get enough protection from their children and finally forced to take shelter in a rescue home conducting by a charitable trust. In another case, I have seen a person forced to live in a rented house because of unemployment. The recent recession resulted in this person losing his job. He forced to sell his house in order to repay some of his debts and forced to shift to a small rented house with his wife and two children. Before recession itself, they were struggling to find their livelihood. When we analyze both the cases mentioned above, we can see that the homelessness problem is due to structural reasons rather than the individual reasons. Unemployment, poverty, lack of affordable housing, housing policies etc are some of the structural reasons commonly cited by many sociologists for homelessness (What causes homelessness?). But in the first case given above, we can see that the family set up forced the couple to take shelter in rescue homes. Kendall (2008) mentioned that people like to form groups to meet instrumental and expressive needs. Instrumental or task oriented needs cannot be met by one persona alone, so the group work cooperatively to fulfill the goal. Moreover small groups are better for all the members to acquaint well and to interact simultaneously (Kendall, p.151-152). The first case given above can be analyzed with respect to the above perspective. As per the current trends, people like to live in nuclear families, a family with husband, wife and one or two children. It is difficult for them to accommodate more

Social iSolation Prompted by Technology & Social Media Research Paper

Social iSolation Prompted by Technology & Social Media - Research Paper Example Today people hardly find time to speak to their neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Instead, they make relations with unknown people around the world through social media. Evidently this situation leads to social isolation, a potential issue affecting the social development process. According to Cacioppo and Hawkley, â€Å"social isolation is defined as the absence of contact with other people and lack of integration to society and includes the perceived feeling of being isolated from others† (as cited in Uribe, 2007, p. 3). Studies indicate that social isolation can cause depression and other long term psychological impacts on the victims. This paper will explore to what extent the obsessive use of technology and social media promote social isolation. It is assumed that the current trend in the use of social media and technology would drastically affect the social lives of individuals, and hence this issue should not be taken lightly. The primary audience of this paper will be anyone who uses social media and similar technologies to connect with family and friends. The secondary audience includes my professor and fellow classmates. Evidently social media and technology are increasingly used by children and young adults as compared to others, and hence they are highly exposed to its negative impacts. As reported by Lenhart, Purcell, Smith and Zickuhr (2010), nearly 72% online young adults extensively used social networking websites on a daily basis as of 2013. The major social media websites used by youngsters include Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. Today teens and young adults consider social media as a vital part of their life, but they do not recognize the detrimental effects of such social websites on their social skills and personal interactivity. Generally formation of basic social skills including

Causes and Impact of the Recession on Banking Sector

Causes and Impact of the Recession on Banking Sector Introduction Growth Management: Two Hats Are Better Than One By Andrew Lester page 169 Says there is a definition of an economic recession-two succsive quartets in a year when the economy shrinks rather than grows. In the presence of economic recession, the effected countries are extremely in the state of anxious..The developed countries are trying to do everything to avoid the impact of recession in their country, but, it is true, the developed countries are the first affected of the economic recession because of the economic slowdown. It can be understand with the simple explanation through the different principles of economic, when any country played a big role in international trade market in different sectors; it is true that the economic effect will be more swear on their land. Recession affects the GDP or gross domestic product of the country and the downturn in different economic activities are facing the declination (smith, 2009). Rationale Recession is the phenomena which is not new, but it occurs from time to time. In this dissertation we will focus on the economy of UK under the shade of recession. The economic changes which are being brought by the recession. Banks are the finance provider to the other sectors which in turn provide growth to the economy. This late 2000s recession aggravated the situation. Mortgage rate was high they cut back loans and redundant people. The problem was clear in the late 2000s recession when the international investors and domestic holders withdrawing their deposits and the banks were reducing the availability of loans. It was really hard for the clients to find a reasonable mortgage rate or mortgage offers. In the previous year, the external economic environment has greatly affected UK banking and finance. Globalization linked economies so that economic shifts and changes in one economy affects the other as in the case of the mortgage market in the United States and the banking sector in the United Kingdom. Technological innovation also supported the linkage of economic sectors so that a downturn in one economy is likely to affect other economies. This finds expression in the mortgage market of the United States and its effect on the banking sector in the United Kingdom. The trend in the United States is the engagement in the sub-prime mortgage market to meet growing demand for housing. As such, many banking and finance institutions engaged in sub-prime mortgage, which in effect is approving loans for people who do not necessarily meet the credit rating criteria previously established. As a result, many people purchased homes on mortgage financing. As these loans matured, many were unable to pay the mortgage loans. This resulted to the sub-prime mortgage market crash in 2007. In the meantime, the United Kingdom also experienced housing demand. This encouraged new firms to engage in the sub-prime market or existing banks to establish sub-prime mortgage services such as Northern Rock. The sub-prime mortgage market crash in the United States affected the banking sector in the United Kingdom, particularly the banks that engaged intensively or almost exclusively on the sub-prime market. The crash in the United States signalled the problem that is also starting to heighten in the United Kingdom because of a number of reasons. One, large banks present in the United States and involved in the mortgage market were in the process of consolidating their losses so that these banks refused or had not ability to extend short term loans to other banks, which heavily relied on short-term loans from various banks for its sub-prime mortgage system to work. Another, banks in the United Kingdom also refused to extend further loans to the mortgage market or to financial institutions relying on short-term loans. This led to a credit crunch that eventually led to huge losses and bankruptcy. In this crucial time some banking institutes had effectively exercise of sufficient internal control practices to support its sustainability target by balancing risks with expected returns as well as some important decision taken and implemented by board of directors like to not heavily involve in mortgage market helps them to survive and book enough profit in this time. In this dissertation we will focus on the impact of recession on some financial firms who couldnt survive and book major losses up to close down with the example of Northern Rock, who announced bankruptcy. The Focus will be on the Barclays that how it has bear the pressure of recession and it flourishes. We will find out the policy and the methodology to reflect the waves of recession. Dissertation will also focus on strategies to be implemented and suggest some changes to be made in operation of banking business to not repeat these again. Some other financial firms who survive and balance its profitability by quick important decision and implement of some strategies with the example of Barclays, top banking firm of United Kingdom Literature review This dissertation will also discuses the financial crisis in UK and what is the economic condition at present. Christopher Dow said that   Recession are best defined as shortfalls below the capacity growth rate,thus accompained by growing unemployment. the initial defination of a large recession(that output should fall absoltly) is thus equivalent to a requirment that the rate of out put growth should fall below the norm(or capacity rate) by more than the norm itself. Five periods were identified on theses criteria as major recession;1920-1,1929-32,1973-5,1979-82and 1989-93. On January 24, 2009, Edmund Conway, Economics Editor for The Daily Telegraph, wrote that The plight facing Britain is uncannily similar to the 1930s, since prices of many assets from shares to house prices are falling at record rates [in Britain], but the value of the debt against which they are held remains unchanged. Recession in this age of globalization is not to be kept at a single place it tranfer its effect from one sector to the other and from one country to other . It will also highlight what are the main causes of Northern rock banks down fall due to various factors which are thoroughly discussed in literature review with the help of print media, companys case studies/websits,books,gernerals and websites also what are the affects on consumer.It is also conclude ground realities of global recession as well as enhanced information of worth while recourse in order to understand the matter of crux of world economic globalization. The subprime mortgage crisis has already suggested living standard of people around the world in line with fare of US and global economy and now it threatens to derail the U.S. economy. Origin of economic crisis and how to tackle them, advice to take valuable measures to get over the economic crisis has been revealed by best selling economist Robert Shiller in his book. An aggressive response need to be taken by people in order to restructure the intuitional basis. He also shows in his book that how these economic bubbles can be further dangerous in near future . Northern Rock banks and several of its customers withdrawal their money and savings due to there was news in the market about bankruptcy of bank which are received from Bank of England. This was certain one the reason that the prior consumers of Northern Rock have placed their savings in other banks considered to save better constancy even if the interest rate slightly lower then others. However, these consumers and their experience with Northern Rock mostly affected their future financial planning and decision-making. Barclays bank was formed in 2006 with the forshighted motive to become powerful development platform for Barclays and targeted the rapidly challenging market. The idea was to provide the better services for retail and commercial customers in markets around the globe. In 2008 annual report the group chief executive John Verley reported that that We have managed Barclays carefully through this period. We have remained solidly profitable The main reasons for Barclays survival in credit crunch is followed by its constant approach to make important progress towards success of goal by attracting 9 Million new customers while offering them cost saving packages. Richard Posner in his book describe the way of getting ride vicious credit crunch and the reasons of economic crisis by his in-depth research.   By Marc LaBonte, Thecapitol Net, Patrick Purcell: describes the Recession, Depression, Insolvency, Bankruptcy, and Federal Bailouts and to determin how resession begin or end. By Mark Zandi:give the broad accessible analysis for the economic crisis from 2007-2009.the answer is also give thoroughly in his book related recession and new version is update with latest events regarding fall of 2008 financial collapse. Gjerstad, S.,et al(2009) said in the article ‘In just the past 40 years there were two other housing bubbles, with peaks in 1979 and 1989, but the largest one in U.S. history started in 1997, probably sparked by rising household income that began in 1992 combined with the elimination in 1997 of taxes on residential capital gains up to $500,000. Rising values in an asset market draw investor attention; the early stages of the housing bubble had this usual, self-reinforcing feature. It is noticeable that lower mortgage rates are attracting, but somehow the financial institutions have a big shortfall. They have to suffer for it. In general sense the housing market is the direct centre of the crisis. The Financial disaster had started in USA and spread out to Uk and the rest of Europe. Three years ago when northern rock a mortgage bank was teetering on the brink, the financial authorities considered keeping it float with secret emergency lending but it was bank run(Anon 2009) . The main objection at that time came from the financial services authorities that a listed company should have to disclose the emergency lending to avoid misleading the business market. BBC (Aug2009) reported thatNorthern Rock relied heavily on the markets, rather than savers deposits, to fund its mortgage lending. The onset of the credit crunch has dried up its funding. Schifferes,S. (2007) in his article reported that â€Å"A wave of foreclosures and evictions is about to sweep the United States in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage lending crisis. Another bank to discuss is northern Rock which collapse as a result of recession. Hyun Song Shin in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, said ‘The U.K. bank Northern Rock became the first high-profile casualty of the global financial crisis of 2007‚Äà ¬2008 when it suffered its depositor run in September 2007. In spite of the television images of long lines of depositors outside its branch offices, the run on Northern Rock was unlike the textbook retail depositor run caused by coordination failure. Also, contrary to received wisdom, its reliance on securitization was not an immediate factor in its failure. Rather, its problems stemmed from its high leverage coupled with reliance on institutional investors for short-term funding. When the de-leveraging in the credit markets began in August 2007, Northern Rock was uniquely vulnerable to the shrinking of lender balance sheets arising from the tick-up in measured risks. Aims and objectives. The dissertation aim will be recognise secondary data of global recession effects in the UK economy as well as in primary research study determining first hand information on the recent situation of global recession affecting Uk economy, in terms of banking sector and mortgage sector .The first objective of the research is to find out the most suitable strategy that can be use by the institutions which in return can increase their market performance..For the objective, the need to use collective research and information placing weight to global economic recession facts and figures in the year 2008 and present, and its impact within UK economy. . Research Questions The dissertation will aim to find answers the following research questions through the analytical techniques and the data collections. What causes an economic recession? What are the effects of an economic recession on the financial sector? Northern rock was collapsed during the recession period what was the reason behind? Barclays Plc is not affected by the recession. What are the strategies they adopted? What is the short term and long term strategies adopt by a business in the recent recession? Research Methodology The main objective of this analysis would be to examine the main causes of recession and the impact of recession on the financial sector with detail research on Barclays Plc and Northern rock Bank. This dissertation will discuss the strategies they applied to survive in recession and what are the problems they had faced. The dissertation will also discuss the economic condition of UK banks and housing market. It will also analyse that what are the strategies, which have been adopted by the financial sector. For the research methodology, it is important to bring in related knowledge towards the UK recession and its impact towards the financial sector. Negatively or positively from within the case study interviews to be given by some UK small medium enterpriser and multinational corporations, interviews will not be of less than hundred, these are the ones who are effected by recession regarding their loss of jobs and the status from their employment from the UK business sectors. Types of Data The main type of Data will be collected for this purpose of this report is as follows. Primary Data Primary data is the information, which is collected by the researcher from his own analysis. It could be in the form of analysis questionnaires, interviews, observations, case studies or critical incidents. The primary data, which is collected from the different sources, could be either qualitative which looks at the explanation behind the given responses or quantitative which is in the form of numbers and which can represent in the form of a graph or a table. Secondary Data Secondary data is the information that is already available. This could be including books, reviews, press releases, newspaper, news bulletin, or reports etc. Again secondary data collected could be either quantitative or qualitative. It depends on the source and type of the information collected. Primary Data Questionnaires A research question is a kind of survey where the information is collected with the intension of arriving at the different conclusions on an issue. This kind of survey will help the researcher to get impartial result and if required the researcher can predict an issue or advice changes. Questions will be divided to the employees, managers of big financial companies of selected banks, mortgage companies and the housing sector. The question will be targeting a most specific issue of the discussion and each response would be analysing against each other. Survey may be deals with a variety of media (paper-electronic-verbal). Different kind of method can be used internet, face to face, telephone and mails.. The population will be divided in managers employees and customers. Interviews Interviews will be held on the spot with the people of different sectors. It could be on phone or face to face either when the respondent meets the interviewee over the phone or directly and answer some circumstantial questions relating to circumstantial issue. This kind of interviews is more advantageous since not only respondent can convey himself or herself and interview can ask to elucidate the answer. Secondary Data Sampling method Stratified sampling Stratified sampling is a method where the population is based on groups. For the dissertation purpose, we will divide the populations. Managers of the companies This will include managers who are in direct contact with financial departments, including policy and decisions makers. Employers This group directs to those who help to apply the strategies or changes. Their opinion is indispensible as they are indirectly related with the running of business Customers This group directs to those who are directly and indirectly affects with new changes and strategies. The big advantage of stratified sampling is that question will be related to the details. The interviewer wants to be answered and there will be less chance that the respondent will simply guess an answer because they have already been chosen whether they are in a position to answer the question. There is another advantage of this type of sampling method is that it increases the chance of having a more relevant answers as compared to simple random sampling. It is possible that the disadvantage is that it makes the analysis a bit complex. Simple random sampling This is a method where a small group of samples are selected from a large group of people. the advantage of this method is simplest and straightforward and disadvantage is time scale may be too long. Data analysis There are two major approaches to analysis the data and collect an information qualitative and quantitative research method. Sometime required information is already available and required only be pull out. However, in the analysis sometime information must be collected. This kind of research will call back the second approach. The research needs to be collected and it is not already available. The research mainly relies on the primary data. The nature of the problem which researcher will explore in this report is suitable for both research methods. The secondary data in this research will be gathered from reports, books journals, internet journals-internet websites, companys website, articles and every other written source of data. As primary data will be collected through the interviews and questions, then all of the collected data will be analysis to accomplish the objectives and aims of the dissertation. Qualitative Research Technique Qualitative research means to know why, not the, how, which is collected by many methods like interviews, feedback, forms-emails. Qualitative research is used to understand how people feel and they think-depth interviews or group discussions are two common methods to use for collect qualitative information. Quantitative Research Technique Quantitative research technique where a research method depends less on interviews, questions, observations but it is more focused on the numerical data and statistic collection and analysis. Information collected from the financial sectors, banks, mortgage companies will be combined together and put into tables and graphical charts to view the opinion on different topics and to review overall responses. Limitations of the Study Validity and reliability Validity directs to the truthfulness and accuracy of the research. Research data may be mislead if a question will be misinterpreted or misunderstand. Reliability is a various statistical tests. There is another way to test the reliability is to ask a same question with different wording in the research survey. It will help to collect a right data. Data may be misleading if the interviewee gives a judgment instead of straight facts. Therefore respondent will be bound in many ways from freely expression views with the help of close ended questions. Interviewing It may be challenging to finding the right person at the right time because of the current economic situation. A financial sector would face the different challenges and then an interview for an academic research could end up with a long way wait. Confidentiality As the business market is very competitive and the fact is that bit information about the company can give a rise to the competitors, a company might not want to share data. Although a confidentiality, agreement will be signed and disclaimer will be issued. Response times The response time to the questionnaire and interview setting mostly rely on how busy the management and staff are at the research time. This might make collection process lengthier Recent external factors Economical changes have a direct impact on the financial sectors and therefore theses changes have impact on their staffs as well. It is possible that feed back could be more a response to the recent external changes and not because of the business to ensure employees are happy and content. Time Scale Planning Activities May 05-30 May-June 30-22 June-July 25-02 July 04-14 July 16-26 July-Aug 27-07 Aug-Sep 08-25 Sep 26-30 Project proposal ___ Literature Review ____ Research Methodology ____ Empirical study ____ Empirical result ____ Recommendation ____ Conclusion ____ Thesis submission ____

Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories Es

Everyone is Important in Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories In many of Dr Seuss’ children’s books, a character is struggling to get his voice heard. For example, in Horton Hears A Who and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, there are characters that couldn’t get anyone to listen to what they have to say. These characters teach us that no matter how big or small, everyone is important. Horton had thought he heard a sound but didn’t see anyone. Nearby was a very tiny speck of dust flying aimlessly throughout the air. Horton realized that someone must be living on that speck of dust! He immediately takes action and makes up his mind that he is going to save this person because, â€Å"a person’s a person, no matter how small.† (6) No one else would believe him though. Horton knew what he had heard but didn’t know how to get the others to believe what he had to say. One of the most important lessons throughout the entire book is that Horton didn’t give up on the Who’s even though everyone thought he was crazy. The little town of Who’s were counting o...

Ford Motor Company Essay

Strengths Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car, the world’s leading vehicle renting organization, operates from approximately 8,100 locations in 143 countries worldwide. Ford Motor Company is in ten place in 2011 Fortune 500 list (Us), with Revenues of (Millions) 128,954.0 and Profits of (Millions) 6,561.0 and in the 2011 Global 500 list, Ford Motors in twenty fifth place. †¢ Ford is a Household name brand †¢ Has physical presence in all major continents †¢ Ford motor credit company helps finance, lease and sell insurance customers †¢14,400 international patents, copyrights and trademarks †¢2nd highest market share in truck sales †¢Sponsor special-rate financing programs available only through Ford Credit Programs increase Ford Credit’s financing volume and share of financing sales of their vehicles Weaknesses Ford Motors doesn’t have a fuel efficient stander pickup or cargo van, compared to Chevrolet Silverado (Pickup) that gives 20mpg in city and 23mpg in highway and the Chevrolet Express (Van) that gives a 15mpg in city and 20mpg in highway. †¢ Durable good- in rough economical times it is not necessary to replace †¢ If consumers continue to demand vehicles that are relatively large, have high performance, and/or are feature-laden, while regulatory standards require the production of vehicles that are smaller and more economical, the mismatch of supply and demand would have a negative  effect on profitability †¢ Market share has declined in many regions of the world over the last year. Overall market share in the United States, including PAG-brand vehicles, has declined in each of the past five years, from 20.5% in 2003 to 15.6% in 2007 †¢Stock shares have declined, resulting with volume reductions have had an adverse impact on our results of operations Ford Motor warned its European operations may lose $500 million to $600 million this year. Opportunities Innovation technologies, Sync with My ford touch is a combine technology, that help and assists drivers for a more comfortable drive experience. The Sync technology consist in integrating Bluetooth- enable cell phones and Mp3 players in to the car, providing hand free call and music selection capabilities using voice activate commands. My ford touch replaces many traditional buttons with clear, colorful and user friendly LCD screens. †¢ Block Exemption Regulation (Europe) – Makes it easier for a dealer to display and sell multiple brands in one store (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury) without the need to maintain separate facilities †¢Increasing presence in China, with more investment in manufacturing capacity, introduction of new products and expansion of distribution channel †¢Opened a second assembly plant and new engine plant located in Nanjing, China Initial capacity of the plant was approximately 160,000 units annually, boosting total annual passenger car production capacity in China to more than 410,000 vehicles Operates a purchasing office in China to procure components for operations outside of China Threats †¢ Decline in overall market share due to Including increased competition Industry shift away from traditionally stronger segments (e.g., traditional SUVs and full-size pickups) Reduced vehicle sales to daily rental companies †¢Decrease in commercial fleet sales reflected lower industry volume †¢Japanese and Korean manufacturers are increasing their production capacity in Europe Strength †¢ Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees. (http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/ford-diversity-commitment) , (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=7670) †¢ The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. (Oica.net, 2011) (http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/ranking-2010.pdf) †¢ Ford Motor diversity in Ford Credit is a subsidiary of The Ford Motor Company that finance vehicles to customer and dealers to support Ford Motor Company sales. They also provide financing on Lincoln vehicles, offering: competitive rates, innovative products, flexible terms (http://www.fordcredit.com/companyInfo/prof ile.jhtml) †¢ Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car, the world’s leading vehicle renting organization, operates from approximately 8,100 locations in 143 countries worldwide. †¢ Ford Motor Company is in ten place in 2011 Fortune 500 list (Us), with Revenues of (Millions) 128,954.0 and Profits of (Millions) 6,561.0 (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/full_list/index.html) and in the 2011 Global 500 list, Ford Motors in twenty fifth place. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/full_list/index.html) Weakness †¢ Ford Explores rollover and firestone tires recalls controversy announced on August, 2000, approximately 14.4 million tires contain a safety-related defect. Harmed Ford brand image. (http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/FirestoneRecall) †¢ Ford Motors doesn’t have a fuel efficient stander pickup or cargo van, compared to Chevrolet Silverado (Pickup) that gives 20mpg in city and 23mpg in highway and the Chevrolet Express (Van) that gives a 15mpg in city and 20mpg in highway. (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworstepatrucks.htm) †¢ Ford Motors only has seven subsidiaries, Lincoln, mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin. Opportunities †¢ Fuel efficient cars, Ford Motor Company is launching the most fuel-efficient cars in the market. The All-new 2012 Ford Focus will be powered by a fuel-efficient 2.0-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine with twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) and direct gasoline injection that will deliver up to a projected 40 mpg highway. The combinations of these technologies helps to lower gas emission but, still have horse power. For a 4 cylinder 2.0 liter engines it is rated at 160 horse power and 146lbs of torque. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33438) †¢ Big donator to charity and victims of natural disasters. October 27, 2000 – Ford Motor Company will donate $1.4 million to the San Diego Environmental Foundation (SDEF) for the preservation, protection and enhancement of the San Eliot Lagoon Ecological Reserve, which is one of San Diego’s and Southern California’s most precious and unique natural resources. (http://media.ford.co m/article_display.cfm?article_id=6425) †¢ Innovation technologies, Sync with My ford touch is a combine technology, that help and assists drivers for a more comfortable drive experience. The Sync technology consist in integrating Bluetooth- enable cell phones and Mp3 players in to the car, providing hand free call and music selection capabilities using voice activate commands. My ford touch replaces many traditional buttons with clear, colorful and user friendly LCD screens. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Driving Technology, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) gives out three warnings when a vehicle not visible or enters ones blinds spot. The signals consists in a Yellow light appears in the corresponding side view mirror, an audio alert and a message warning displayed.  (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Rear view camera and Forward Sensing System, helps drives to see on screen when parking in reverse. The Forward Sensing System helps to determine how close are the objects form the vehicle. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS). This technology consists in adapting to the road conditions and help drivers to compensate directional shifts caused by crowned roads surface or steady crosswinds. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Active Park Assistants uses ultrasonic based sensing system and EPAS for parallel parking. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Rain-Sensing Wipes has a optical sensor that auto adjust to the climate conditions. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) Power train and convenience †¢ Adaptive cruise control allows the vehicle to set and mating speed without using the pedals. It also has a radar- based system that’s can monitor the vehicle in front up to 600 feet. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Easy fuel or cap less system helps drives when filling the car with gasoline a hassle-free, odor free, and have a more consistent seal compared to traditional manual cap.( http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Eco-Boost gains of up to 20 percent and reduction of CO2 emissions by as much as 15 percent compared with larger, less efficient engines. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Dual-clutch Power Shift six-speed transmission combines the responsive performance and fuel economy of a manual gearbox with the convenience of a traditional automatic transmission. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) Threats †¢ Government regulations. Do to the pollution and the Global warming caused by the Co2, car manufactures are trying to develop fuel efficient cars. In Jul 29,2011 Major car developers and manufactures joined President  Obama to discusses the further in fuel economy and proposed a new Fuel-efficiency standers. Today’s stander is 27.3mpg by 2025 the stander should be at 54.5 mpg. Its estimated that this new â€Å"stander† will save a average of $8,000 on fuel bill per vehicle, and will reduce U.S. oil consumption by 2.2 billion barrels per day. (http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/07/government-raises-fuel-economy-standards-to-545-mpg-by-2025.html) †¢ Change of oil price, is one of the most volatile components oil, is very heretical as it prices increases and decreases. Consumer are more aware that fuel efficient vehicle can guarantee more performance for their money. In 26-07-2011 oil crude open at $99.0 an close$99.6 (http://www.livecharts.co.uk/futures_commodities/oil_prices_historical.php) †¢ Increase of raw materials. This effects the manufacturing of the automobile if the steel components raises then the car will have to be a lot more expensive. According to the World Carbon Steel Transaction Prices in Mar,2011 medium steel sections were $719/Ton in April,2011 it was 926/Ton. (http://www.steelonthenet.com/price_info.html) †¢ Recession is another factor that Ford Motor Company has to battle. As the economy declines in activity, more people are not investing or spending their incomes in new vehicles. It is estimate that the US unemployment rates is at 13.9 million persons a (9.1 percent) http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)

A Book Review on Eckhart Tolle’s

A New Earth talks about being present in the moment of one’s life. It also talks about being in contact with one’s consciousness while looking deeper into life’s meaning.The author, Eckhart Tolle, experienced a spiritual transformation that has delivered him from extensive periods of depression. Deeply inclined by Buddhism, Hinduism, and other Indian schools of thought, the author emphasizes living in the current moment, the now. A new Earth is a book that puts ahead a number of sensible solutions to ways of thoughts that have caused a great deal of hurt and dysfunction in society. One must try reading A New Earth to experience a positive shift of his/her consciousness.The first part of the book talks about being still for the awakening of the consciousness through nature, specifically through a flower. The chapter also explained the pathway to Heaven, which the author describes as not being a place but is within the consciousness. Tolle is also reinstating the s ignificance of now.The author discussed the concept of awakening as being a vital part of recognizing the unawakened part of a person. The mind is easily fooled into thinking that it’s the ego, which is not the real being of a person. The ego will trick one to identify with it over and over again. The author also talked about one’s thoughts and the dysfunctions of man’s way of thinking.The first thing that one may become aware of in this book is that the author uses stipulations like the human consciousness’ evolution and enlightenment. Tolle however failed to define these terms clearly and would make it hard for a reader to understand what the author is trying to say. Reading the first chapter may pose quite a challenge for the unawakened person’s understanding.This book needs more facts rather than assumptions. The author also stated some things that are contradictory with the bible. For example, Tolle talks about a creature growing some wings an d evolving into a bird. The bible says that God created the birds of the air, and not that it evolved.Tolle also explained that the Holy Spirit, which was being signified by the dove, has provided a means for a reflective alteration in planetary consciousness. The reader personally doesn’t agree with this New Age teaching as the Holy Spirit leads people to salvation and not into a transferring of planetary consciousness.

Youth Violence and Music essays

Youth Violence and Music essays The prevailing opinion in the media is that listening to violent lyrics tends to lead to violence. This idea permeates nearly all media, news and entertainment. According to the conservative organization Empower America, the issue at heart is such music leading us on a slide toward decivilization (Bennet and Tucker, 1995). The idea being that by glorifying subjects like rape, murder, suicide and homophobia [the fear of homosexuals and their lifestyle], these lyrics erode the judgement and thought capabilities of adolescents. In recent history, the popular solution to the problems of our society has been censorship [the mandated editing or suppression of the music thought to be at fault]. The Parents Music Resource Center [PMRC], headed by Pamela Howar and including such big Washington names as Tipper Gore [wife of Democratic Presidential Nominee Al Gore] pushed for Motion Picture Association of America [MPAA] style ratings of music (Deflem, 1993). The PMRCs efforts resulted in the widely noticed Parental Advisory warnings. While the adults seem to agree, the youth, adolescents and artists alike, seem to take a different direction. The dominant point of view among younger audiences is that no one is responsible for teen violence but those who act out. But there is a second view. We are all equally guilty for the violent acts of youths (Manson, 1999). Such violent acts, while increasingly spoken about by news and entertainment media, the Centers for Disease Control report that violence in adolescents is down (Youth 2000). Given the perceived impact of violent lyrics, and the immense popularity and friction of this issue, it is surprising that little or no actual study has been done to back up any of these claims (Hogan et al, 1996). The ultimate goal of my research is to determine whether there is a real, causal connection between violent lyrical content in music and violent feelings in teens. H...

logical culture essays

logical culture essays Do culture and individual beliefs affect logical thinking? If so, how do they influence the conclusions we reach? The first question that must be asked before answering this question is: What exactly is logical thinking? Logical thinking is the process in which one uses reasoning consistently to come to a conclusion. If this definition is strictly followed, logical thinking cannot be affected by any outside influences as long as the premises are truly valid. For example the syllogism: is truly logical because the major premise is true. In a more 'general world' however, we refer to logical thinking as simply deducing a reasonable explanation or conclusion from what is already and personally known. What is personally known is often fallacious because of stereotypes, cultural taboos, and/or prejudices. Because of this, the premises used in reasoning are not always truly valid but are accepted as valid. This is what influences the conclusions that are reached; the premises which have been 'jaded' by culture and individual beliefs. There are many aspects to culture and all of them affect what is personally known and the way one makes decisions. These are mainly language, background (history), race, religion, individual beliefs, and even geography. Individual beliefs are an aspect of culture which are defined as being opinions and convictions. These are normally based on the other aspects of culture mentioned. For example a person who is a Unitarian would most likely have different beliefs about the roles of women in society than someone who is Evangelical. In this example, the individual belief concerning women was based on the code developed by the particular religion. Although religion is a very strong force in our society today, beliefs are also cultivated trough family, education, peers, and in many cases can be developed depending on the area and time period that a person lives in. (For example, my grandfather was greatly af...

Basf Marketing Report

In order to be known as â€Å"The† global chemical supplier BASF redefined its image by officially changing its name from â€Å"BASF† to â€Å"BASF the chemical company† in 2004. This bold statement is expressed in their brand, corporate identity and company logo. BASF has lived up to this goal establishing itself as the largest chemical company in the world. (1) BASF, which stands for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory), has used its image marketing to evoke the concept that We dont make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.  ®. BASF posted sales of 52. 6 billion euro in 2006 (1) placing itself above Dow Chemical, its closest competition, followed by companies Bayer AG and DuPont. BASF the chemical company markets a strategy in all its divisions called the â€Å"Verbund† concept, a German word meaning â€Å"linked†. This concept of total integration is how BASF aligns its businesses internally as well as with customers and suppliers. BASF has realized a competitive advantage by not only integrating but interlocking value chains. In the last three years practicing on the Verbund concept acquisitions like Engelhard Corporation, Degussa AG and Johnson Polymers have allowed BASF to further its vertical integration of its businesses. In 2007 BASF found its place at a rank of 81 on the Fortune Global 500 Companies list, up from 94 in 2006. In February of 2006 Fortune magazine performed a survey of U. S business professionals and BASF earned the distinction of being one of the 50 most admired companies in the world in a global comparison. Introduction When you say â€Å"BASF the chemical company† many people may not know the name but those who do can usually recite the slogan: We dont make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.  ®. Even those that can recite the slogan can be quite challenged to give one example of a product that BASF makes. Given this you would be amazed at some of the everyday products that use BASF chemicals. The additive that thickens your shampoo, the Ibuprofen used in your pain medication, the Legos  ® your kids play with all have components supplied by BASF. The only reason an average person would hear of BASF is through their corporate level image advertising. How is it that a company whose products are never seen by the average consumer ends up as the worlds largest in its industry? How it is a company that many have not heard of could make acquisitions in the 1. 6 billion dollar range? How is it a company can post sales in the 52. 6 billion euro range and the average consumer does not know who they are yet there products are everywhere? The first team discussions on what company to do the report on a team member brought some information to the table. This information is that he works for the world’s largest chemical company and no one knew what the company truly makes provoking the questions from above. The challenge is to understand how a company markets itself to a global position without the normal consumers influence. Our team chose this company to look at a business that would perform its marketing in a different environment than the main stream consumer environment and to better understand how a company markets without being seen. This is a report on business to business marketing observations of BASF the chemical company. Table of Contents †¢Macro-Environment Context †¢Marketing, Research Customer Analysis †¢Segmentation Target Markets †¢Differentiation and Positioning †¢Marketing Decision Levers †¢Recommendations Macro-Environment Context BASF is the worlds leading chemical company. They offer intelligent solutions based on innovative products and top notch services to its customers globally. This is the basis of their mission statement and purpose as a company. Their mission is also to create opportunities for success through trusted and reliable partnerships. BASF visions of success include sustainable profitable performance, innovation for the success of customers, safety health and environmental responsibility, personal and professional confidence, mutual respect and open dialog as well as integrity. Creating a Sustainable Profitable Performance to BASF is the basis for all activities within the company. They are continually committed to the interest of their customers first and foremost. They take pride in rewarding their employees, shareholders and take the same stance with regards to society as a whole to better the environment around them for future generations. BASF takes pride in developing innovation for their customers to add continuous long term partnerships well into the future. Their trade mark statement of We dont make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.  ® clearly states this philosophy. They derive nearly all of their business from Business to Business (B2B) sales. This makes innovation very important in all of their many niches in multiple markets they involve themselves in. Partnerships are valued within BASF and are built upon continually to mutually take advantage of highly scientific and technological advances. Due to the nature of the business, that being a chemical company, the environment must take precedence to ensure success. In this day and age, if your company doesn’t take steps to protect the environment that it is in, it won’t be in business long enough to matter. BASF takes safety, health, and environment responsibility to a level that supersedes that of economic considerations. BASF makes their products environmentally friendly for future generations by supporting the Responsible Care TM initiatives. BASF puts itself among the best in the world by fostering group-wide diversity personal and professional competencies. They feel that diversity leads to global success and capitalizes on competition by offering many differing views. They encourage employees to be creative and utilize their potential for common success. In addition they treat everyone fairly and with mutual respect. They try to keep open dialog with all employees, customers, stockholders and relevant groups within society to keep all on a level playing field. The last core value that BASF incorporates is Integrity. The company acts with respect to their words and values. They comply with all laws and respect all good business practices in the many countries that they operate. BASF has a great strategy that includes 4 simple strategic initiatives. They earn a premium on their capital, they help their customer be more successful, they form the best team in the industry, and they ensure sustainable development. All of which are conveyed in the visions for the company same as above. The strategic initiatives are the product of years of providing excellent products at a competitive price to all of its customers. Politically speaking, BASF is globally involved. Based in Germany and intertwined within business all around the world it would be impossible to not be involved in politics. It takes a great stance on political issues to continue its success in business and to show continued enthusiasm in protecting the environment. With regards to the Environment, BASF strives to be the best and let the world know that this is an important issue. Environmental issues in past years have shown light on companies that make their business creating and working with chemicals. BASF cannot escape the microscope of this issue. They comply with all government regulations in all countries it does business to ensure their future. They support the Responsible Care TM initiatives and keep them at the forefront of their values. Environmental issues to BASF ties directly to their social responsibility. The people at BASF value their own lives as much as their neighbors and support this by their integrity. They treat those around the world with the same respect that they feel they would want, regardless of what they are doing. Be it they are selling products to another company or creating a new product, social responsibility is never taken lightly. Technologically BASF prides itself in being the best for themselves and those they do business. They invest millions upon millions to ensure success in the ever changing markets all over the globe. They pass their technological advances on to their customers to ensure continued success and lasting partnerships. Technological advances in the chemical field have undoubtedly kept BASF at the top for so many years. Given a clear SWOT analysis of BASF from any level of the organization, the business unit, the product line or the specific product yields a clear image of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats all over the globe. SWOT analyses are often used during sales meetings to identify opportunities in the market. They have proven themselves over and over by being a superior company throughout all markets. A tried and true philosophy rooted in the company’s vision and values brings this out in them. They continually identify trends in the industry and counter the changes all the time. In addition they analyze their competition whenever possible to capitalize on those before them. BASF analyzes itself through multiple management channels to ensure continued innovation and profit for its customers, employees and shareholders. Teams all around the globe research the firm’s present and future clients to build lasting relationships and capitalize on hidden opportunities to improve themselves. Their strengths encompass being a globally prestigious brand, a large market share, and universally known for its social and environmental activities. Opportunities lie within possible joint product lines with other companies and customers. Weaknesses of BASF are global spreading in the way of having employees all over the world and keeping focus on attainable goals. They are influential in just about all markets and run the risk of being thin in a small amount of them. Threats within the chemical market could be the continual need to stay environmentally friendly. This can add costs and reduce focus on core assets of the business. While everyone wants to stay â€Å"green†, it comes at a price and that has to be economically accounted for keeping the cost benefit ratio at an equilibrium that is good for all. Marketing Research Customer Analysis BASF being a company that markets its goods and services to organizational firms primarily focuses on the practice of business marketing and being a company that produces no real end product the analysis of normal consumer behavior is not widely used. The success of a business to business marketing plan is in the hands of an organizations purchasing group. These groups that make the purchasing decisions for organizations usually have numerous deliverables that could drive the individual market. One group may see delivery performance as a key factor in their purchasing decisions, the next market segment may see price, value added services or warranty as the key elements. Because of this BASF must continually scan the environment of each of its individual segments and markets using a multidomestic marketing strategy. Being a global provider of chemicals the use a multidomestic marketing strategy helps in the sale of their diverse array of products dependant upon the particular market and the unique region. Marketing research in a commodity based business like the chemical business is primarily based on the use of combination of secondary data analysis and a small amount of primary data gathering and mainly environmental scanning. Scanning the environment and staying on top of the latest social, economic, technological, competitive and regulatory forces help BASF form its global strategy in marketing. This strategy then flows down to the different divisions using more practical marketing research tools to grow the business. Being a business to business company means marketing research is primarily secondary data. BASF globally uses SAP business software. The information gathered in this software is used to formulate sales forecast based off past performance. It is also used to analyze what products are moving and which are not giving key indicators of what products or even divisions are the Stars which are the Dogs, Cash Cows and Question marks. Corporate sales, procurement and logistic systems like WorldAccount or Ensphere ® are also used to gather this data to better service the customer. Trade magazines and publications are used by many of the divisions to gather data in the development of marketing plans. Here is an example from one of the divisions; BASF Industrial Coatings uses trade publications like Metalmag and Construction News to analyze industry trends. Along with trade magazines industry web sites provide information as well. Sites like the one listed below provide valuable information to keep BASF on top of the industry and what’s the voice of the customer. These sites are for the Industrial Coatings division. http://www. coolmetalroofing. org (cool metal roofing coalition) http://www. coolroofs. org (cool roof rating council) http://www. metalconstruction. org (metal construction association) http://www. themetalinitiative. com http://www. designandbuildwithmetal. com (new website lots of pertinent info). Although this is just one division of BASF the same practices reflect across the different divisions. Although not highly used, BASF does a small amount of primary data gathering. In the different divisions web polls, new product or service trials and focus groups have been used to gather information about the voice of the customer. Companies like Ducker Worldwide have performed â€Å"Voice of the Customer Focus Groups† to gather information on the performance of BASF as compared to their competition. Trials include potential new products or services that are either presented or given to a customer to test the markets interest in such goods. These goods or services are run through a customer in the industry to collect information on what the markets tolerance is for such goods or services. Regulatory, social, economic, competitive and technological forces help steer the marketing plan of the various BASF divisions. Through environmental scanning in each of these unique regions BASF collects data. The data is then analyzed to focus on trends in the global market. This data is then used to help direct the company and marketing plan. Canada has had legislation banning/limiting the use and importing of the chemicals such as Isophorone. Isophorone is a distillate of acetone a chemical used in inks, coatings and copolymers. This markets regulatory force led to a change in the components used in coatings sold into Canada. This led to the marketing of â€Å"Isophrone Free† coatings. This information was gathered and then marketed through brochures and fliers as well as the face to face interactions of the BASF sales force with their Canadian customers. With the ever increasing focus on the health of our environment, not only locally but globally, BASF has recognized this social pressure and focused an incredible amount of energy on marketing to the â€Å"Green Movement†. A mere visit to the BASF web site will show the amount of energy being placed upon marketing to the environment. This Green Marketing can be seen in headlines like â€Å"Intelligent solutions for climate protection†, â€Å"Sustainable development†, â€Å"Eco-Efficiency† and â€Å"Climate Protection† on the lead in page of their web site. BASF is currently marketing its association with world wide movement â€Å"Eco- Efficiency Analysis†. Figure 1. Eco-Efficiency Analysis comparing BASF Ibuprofen to competition This term that was coined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in its 1992 publication Changing Course looks at the overall footprint of a product from â€Å"cradle to grave†. Realizing the negative image of chemicals and their effect on the environment BASF uses Eco-Efficiency certification to market and sell the total impact a product will have on the environment. The hope is that their product will stand out as environmentally better than the competitions (Figure 1). This certification is being offered on many of its product lines across the globe. Products like Ultradur  ® high Speed easy flow plastic, Ecoflex  ® biodegradable packaging material carry the Eco-Efficiency seal. Other products like or Ultra-cool  ® paints with UV resistant pigments to reduce heat transfer in buildings carry the Energy Star certification. All these have come from environmental scanning. Ultra cool was marketed well enough that it pre-dated any legislation that followed. California’s â€Å"Title 24 Energy Code† now mandates solar reflective coatings used in construction. In the metal roofing industry BASF was the only company producing â€Å"cool† coatings that could meet this legislation and they were producing it before the legislation was enacted. Since then all major suppliers of paint for metal roofing have developed and now market â€Å"cool† coatings. This market segment did not exist until the development of BASFs Ultra-cool ® coatings. This is a testament to the effects of collecting marketing data using environmental scanning, product development and marketing. In scanning the economic climate BASF has gathered data for years on the benefits of their concept Verbund also known as total integration. The Verbund concept has been marketed through every division of BASF the chemical company. There is a â€Å"Purchasing Verbund†, â€Å"Safety Verbund†, a â€Å"Production Verbund† and many more. All of these wide variety of products would make you think that there are a lot of different prices to consider when purchasing from BASF. Because the products they offer are mostly raw materials, the prices of their products change with the economy. When the price of oil goes up, their prices for materials related to that product go up as well. They don’t base their prices off of any index or manufacturer recommendation. This price fluctuation does not affect the quality of their services as there is really no comparison by price to judge whether or not the product is quality. The price that BASF offers for it’s products does not affect consumer perceptions of their company. It seems that along with the business of providing chemicals, they also bring along the feeling of connecting with their customer on a higher level. That overrules the price effect on a consumers decision to go with BASF. BASF does not use the concept of off-peak pricing, which consists of charging different prices during different times of the day, week, or month. This usually reflects the varying demands of the services or products offered. BASF would not benefit from this tactic because the only reason their price changes would be due to the economy and their resources. They do not have a peak time or an off-peak time of demands for their products because they are raw materials and chemicals. The chemicals that BASF offers are in need to make finished products by many different companies at all times of the year. Place BASF uses the e-commerce network widely to reach their customers and suppliers. E-commerce is the electronic handling of business transactions with purchases and production. They conduct most of their transactions through the web in which a customer can log into their personal account and purchase their products through what they call WorldAccount. BASF uses the new internet e-commerce world as a way to make communication faster, more effective, and more direct. It allows customers to have service 24/7, get precise product information, have orders processed faster as well as keep current data on all of your orders. BASF found that the e-commerce way of providing products was the best way allowing more detail and service to be provided to the customer. BASF also has a good representation with production and sales facilities in all of the economic regions. They are located in five continents which are Europe (which is their home market), North America, Asia, Africa and South America. They have more than 100 large sites throughout the world which allows them to be closer to their customers in 170 countries and supply them with their products in a reliable manner. BASF has verbund sites located in Germany (Ludwigshafen), Belgium (Antwerp), Freeport Texas, Louisiana, Malaysia (Kuantan), and China (Nanjing). The term verbund is a German word and means â€Å"linked† or â€Å"integrated†. These verbund facilities make use of integration production processes which makes it less expensive to manufacture the products. This allows BASF to supply a wide variety of different sectors. BASF also operates important production sites which are located in Germany (Schwarzheide), Spain (Tarragona), Port Arthur, Texas, Mexico (Altamira), Brazil (Guaratingueta), China (Shanghai), Japan, (Yokkaichi) and Korea (Ulsan). The use of these multiple locations makes BASF a company that one can rely on almost anywhere you are located. This allows the company to become inseparable from their customers making it more convenient to do business with them in person, as well as through their online stores. Promotion The main idea about BASF’s promotional campaign in Europe is to show that certain things would not exist without their chemicals. It aids you in the course of life and without them, certain things would not be attainable for you. Their main slogan is â€Å"Invisible Contribution. Visible Success. They are aiming to show you that BASF is often working behind the scenes to make their invisible contribution that creates a visible success for their customers through using their chemicals to create the end product. Their image campaign in Europe(which is made up of television commercials and print ads) is directed at the opinion leaders. These are members of society who lead others and shape the views of the general public. The campaign has been covered in Germany, France, Great Britian, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands through newspapers and lifestyle magazines (such as business, news and science magazines). Their television ads are broadcast during scientific and sport programs, new bulletins, films and television series and is aimed at a wide target audience in Europe. They feature different ads for each type of chemical that they provide which include television ads for the paper industry, the semiconductor industry, water treatment, house construction, sports and leisure, road construction, agricultural products, extreme sports, automotive industry, bridge construction, sun protection, fuel, and plasticizers. They are making sure that they cover each kind of service that they offer by showing this wide variety of television and print ads. BASF uses a discrete way of creating publicity for themselves. When you are on their website for Europe advertising you have the opportunity to download their several different print ad campaigns and use them how you would like. They also offer the option for you to purchase either a postcard or poster of the ad. Publicity is something that is nonpersonal and an indirectly paid presentation of an organization, good or service. In this case, the customer, or fan of BASF, is paying for the poster or postcard, and in turn when sending that postcard or putting up that poster, they are providing no personal advertising that was not directly paid for by BASF. It is a pretty creative way of getting a profit and recognition while allowing their customer’s to do the advertising for them. In this case, the publicity works for them. When it comes to advertising in America, the rules are a little different than they are in Europe. Their main theme is that they are helping to make products better. Their main focus is to show how their chemicals can make your everyday life better here and around the world by creating remarkable and visible changes in many of the most important industries. Their slogan is â€Å"We dont make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.  ®Ã¢â‚¬ . This slogan, according to BASF, has made them the most recognized of any chemical company in North America. The purpose of the several different TV ads allow you to see that they don’t make the finished product, they just provide the quality ingredients to make the best products. It also allows you to see that there are countless uses of the BASF materials that allows you to enjoy life. Just as their slogan says, in most of their TV ads they tell you that they don’t make the product, they just make the product itself better. For example, â€Å"We don’t make the helmet, We make it tougher† is a slogan used in a commercial about their Ultramid polymide nylon that provides hardness and abrasion resistance commonly used in helmets. Along with their TV and print ads, BASF is moving into a more innovational way of advertising to keep up with the demands of advertising and today’s technology. They offer through their website Podcasts. These podcasts include an audible innovation magazine of BASF that offers monthly topics on how chemistry and chemicals will design and shape our future. The other podcast available through the BASF website is â€Å"The Chemical Reporter†. This podcast is for the curious person that has questions about chemistry in your everyday life. This podcast offers answer in their weekly episodes. You can download this to your iTunes account or as an MP3 file for you MP3 player. Another innovation offered is to receive all news alerts and press releases through a RSS feed free of charge. This allows a customer to receive up-to-date news about BASF in a very quick and comfortable way (at your own computer). The only draw back is that you have to download and RSS-reader, but once you have you can select from several different news topics about BASF available online at their website. I’m sure these new innovations are there to create a buzz and traffic to their website. Recommendations The success of BASF marketing can be seen in there continual growth globally. To make recommendations would be easier if we were to look at one division of the company. Either due to market conditions or poor market strategy planning not all the divisions of BASF can be doing well at any given time. The American auto industry is in a state of flux with ever present pressures from the global market. Although divisionally BASF will feel these pressures globally their affiliation with non-US auto makers absorb some of this industries variation, this allowing time for the US market to be analyzed and adjustments to be made. Pure recommendations would have to come from some direct market analysis based off of the division of the company. BASF has done a great job in their Verbund concept. Being a supplier, the concept of interlocking processes or systems creates a relationship with the customer that is hard, or sometimes inefficient to break. From this alignment with cusotmers long term relationships are established. BASF could draw better on global technologies. In looking through the BASF corporate web site many of the technologies that are seen are from different countries. Online information on the use of these products in a specific country could not be confirmed or denied as a potential customer it would have been nice to know that they are available domestically. One observation is that BASF although a hidden part of many â€Å"name brand† products does not benefit from any of their customers successes. Co-branding could lock in the business through the social pressures felt by dropping BASF as a supplier in favor of an alternative. One flaw of focusing on the Verbund concept to lock in customer loyalty is it makes social pressure less of a final end consumer pressure and more of an industry pressure which in the end may not affect sales. In not hurting sales the decision to drop BASF is less of an issue of end unit sales and more of an internal issue of efficiency. Companies like Dow and DuPont often add their name to products in advertising. One example is LineX. LineX is a truck bed liner that is spray applied. This product uses BASF chemicals yet it is DuPont that benefits from co branding with LineX. LineX advertises on their website the following â€Å"LineX, fortified with DuPont Kevlar†. This co-branding is getting the name DuPont and their product Kevlar out to the end consumer. Thus if the customer is happy with the bed liner they may be happy with a product like â€Å"Suave shampoo with DuPont thickening agent† when it should be â€Å"Suave shampoo with BASF thickening agent†. This co-branding would broaden BASF’s evoked set and lock in customer relationships. BASF should capitalize on their success more publicly. The successes of BASF can only be found through their website. These high points in the story of BASF would help establish the confidence that a purchasing group would have in dealing with a stable successful company like BASF. One last recommendation would be to sponsor more events. Dow and DuPont get much of there brand awareness from the sponsorship of events like racing. BASF does a limited amount of this and mostly on a divisional basis. Sponsoring events would get the BASF name out there making it more of an everyday name than it is today.

Modern System Of Policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern System Of Policing - Essay Example Scholars looked as if they were busy discussing the politics of police reform. Researching of the causes of modern policing was considered in a superficial manner, more often presumed than proved. Cities switched unavoidably to modern policing as a result of increasing degree s of crime and disorder in a period of phenomenal growth as well as intense social change (Schneider 1980 p 54). During the above mentioned period London was plagued via crime as well as the safety of a lot of citizens was doubtful. Pick pocketing, gambling and robbery were ordinary amongst the crimes that took place. An essential factor in Sir Robert Peel's plan was the division of policing as well as the judiciary. Peel believed that police should be accountable for one side of the law, it was called the examination phase (Hurd 2007). Even till today, this idea remains almost unchanged. Until 1829, law enforcement had been dramatically lacking in organization. As London expanded during the 18th and 19th centuries, maintaining law and order had become a priority and also a matter of public concern. The policing system was seen as ineffective and failing dismally to restore and maintain peace and order. Previous systems were i... Overall it was counterproductive and inefficient. Victims of crime became reluctant to prosecute, as did the jury with regards to conviction. In spite of its early plausibility, the concept that the police were formed in the reaction to a crime wave is dull and wrong. Moreover, it is not a very valid o explanation. It presumes that "when crime increases to a particular level it is only a 'natural' social response to make a modern police force. This obliviously is not a clarification but a statement of a natural law apart from this it yields very little proof. We cannot leave out the possibility that the revolts of slave, rebellion, and other such examples of collective violence resulted in the creation of modern police, however we must keep in mind that neither crime nor disorder were not uncommon in the cities of the nineteenth-century, and thus cannot in any way be responsible for a change similar to the development of such a institution. Violent mobs were in power of a lot of parts of London throughout the summer of 1780; however the modern Police did not emerge till 1829. Getting drunk in Public was a severe problem in the early 1775, however a modern police force did not emerge till 1838.3 therefore the crime-and-disorder theory is unsuccessful in providing reasons as to why earlier waves of crime didn't create modern police.Bowling (1999) researched the decrease in the rate of homicide in New York and believes that belligerent policing is only one factor which contributes to the decline of homicide. He states that the most persuasiv e argument for the increase and decrease of murder in New York is the increase and decrease of the crack cocaine sale which, as he believes to be reciprocal. Another reason

Financial Modelling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Financial Modelling - Research Paper Example , Total assets of company (expressed in  £ millions), Extent of team working within the company (expressed as a percentage), Scheme (coded as 1 if company has a profit sharing scheme) and 0 otherwise, Market share of company (expressed as a percentage), the age of the company (since how many years it was established) and lastly, Return on capital employed (also expressed as a percentage). First we show graphical representation of the data to understand any issues or patterns which arise from the data, we then conduct univariate and bivariate analysis to find out if there is a correlation between profit sharing scheme (the dependent variable) with the independent variables (the six aforementioned variables) one by one, later the multiple variable analysis to discover if the overall model is significant or not, which means we explore if the six independent variable all together have an influence on profit sharing scheme or not. Finally a logistic regression analysis was run to find o ut the impact (positive or negative) that the six independent variables have on the profit sharing scheme. The SPSS computer program was used to conduct the statistical analysis while the excel software was used for the graphical visualizations. Graphical visualization helps us to visually explore and understand the pattern of a given data set. In this section we present the graphical visualizations of the variables. We begin by the Profit margin of company (expressed in percentage). The graph clearly shows that that none of the companies has managed to reach a profit margin of 35% and slightly few have a profit margin of below 5%. The highest profit margin recorded is 32.33% and the lowest profit margin is 4.4%. Figure 2 presents a graph of total assets of company; we observe that most companies had assets of between  £ 2000-8000 (millions). The company with the highest assets had  £ 13,686.62(millions) worth of assets while the lowest company had  £ 270.65 (millions) worth of

Racism in football Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Racism in football - Essay Example In Cashmore’s book Black Sportsmen, he identifies many factors which have influenced blacks and contributed to their decision to enter the field of sport. Firstly, Cashmore attempts to illustrate and empathise with the tendency for black families to be unstable. How many African/ Caribbean children have been raised in a broken home by a lone parent, typically the mother? By the age of 13 or 14, the child tends to seek out a father figure. In many cases, this results in them building a relationship with their coaches. This relationship/bond usually lasts until the child becomes an adult and is ready to face the real world on their own. â€Å"The surrogate father guides his protà ©gà © through his turbulent teens into his twenties when he develops into a mature and secure sportsman with an abundance of technique and conviction challenging enough to take him to success † (Cashmore, 1982: 79). The majority of afro/Caribbean children did enter sport through the encouragement and support received from coaches and trainers. However, it was only a small proportion that became successful as they held the vital physical assets such as strength and speed. In essence, black parents tended to neglect their child’s development in sport. They generally offered no encouragement and at times made it obvious that they had no interest in sport. Carlos Francis (black footballer) commented on the influence of his parents: â€Å"They’ve never even seen me play. They gave me no encouragement at all and didn’t even realise I was so into football. Even now they don’t take an active interest† (Cashmore, 1982:81). As Cashmore goes on to explain the reasons behind the lack of support, he elaborates on the fact that black parents tend to be pre-occupied in maintaining a material existence, and trying their very best to make ends meet. Most parents were uneducated; when they migrated over they had taken up the work that was made available to them. These

International Law and Humanitarian Issues Assignment

International Law and Humanitarian Issues - Assignment Example According to these provisions, N had the right to humane treatment from her host country the United Kingdom. The EU court affirmed the expulsion of N from the UK based on the article 3 of the EU convention on human rights. The judges argued that N had the capability of accessing treatment in her mother country of Uganda (Martin, 2006). Moreover, the court argued that the applicant had the care and support of her family. However, on her side and arguments of many human rights bodies, it was assumed that the country offered HIV/AIDS treatment. They court did not ascertain if it was sufficient in N’s case. Moreover, article 8 of the act was raised claiming that N could not be extradited to Uganda since it this provision allowed respect of her rights (Doyle,  2004). For instance, the ruling disregarded her right to humane treatment and that a person would not be extradited to another country based on health or moral grounds. Question 2 In case the UN General Assembly were given more humanitarian authority to intervene in sovereign nations. The UN general assembly would be in a dilemma in assisting in humanitarian issues and would most likely do less. This is because; currently the United Nations has failed to address many humanitarian issues and interventions in different parts of the world. ... For instance, the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the massacre in Srebrenica are some of the conflicts that the UN failed to prevent (Martin, 2006). The UN has wide and sweeping authority to intervene in humanitarian situations across the globe. The main stumbling block to humanitarian interventions includes the issue of sovereignty. Unless, a country seeks for intervention then the UN cannot intervene in some situations. For instance, the 2008 Myanmar Cyclone was a great catastrophe that required humanitarian intervention but the UN did not intervene (Dunoff,  2010). Some legal framework and reforms have been initiated within the ranks of the UN to solve the issue of sovereignty. For instance, Canada in the year 2000, established the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). However, several processes made towards interference on humanitarian work have been thwarted by the UN Security Council. This body has heavy political interests in different regions o f the world and therefore, if greater authority would be vested on the UN it could lead to fewer interventions (Weissbrodt, 2007). Question 3 Occupying another nation or country is illegal and it amounts to an act of war against that nation. The sovereignty of a nation is recognized by international laws such as the Geneva Convention. The United Nations and other international bodies do not in many cases advocate for occupation of another country. Occupation of other countries is old fashioned since it overrides the sovereignty of a nation. It would not be prudent for occupiers of another country to change the legal or political systems of the occupied nation (Martin, 2006). Occupiers should not be permitted to transform the nations they occupy since these nations have

Analysis of Warmart annnual report 2009 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Analysis of Warmart annnual report 2009 - Essay Example Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. functions Wal-Mart discount stores, super-centers, local markets and Sams Club sites in the United States. The company also functions in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom (Wal-Mart Issues 2009 Annual Report to Shareholders). According to Rob Walton, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world requires a retailer that saves individuals’ money to provide them a better life. The director of the company is proud to know that millions of customers as well as the new ones are turning to them for their service. They are better placed than ever to meet the requirements of our consumers and members. Their approaches are distinctly defined and their management group is united and focused on distributing the best possible experience for customers and associates. The merchandising group functions with suppliers to guarantee value, diversity and quality. What works behind their success is the global price leadership position. They are much more committed to sustainability, liable sourcing and affiliate opportunity which creates a difference for them. Development opportunities keeps on emerging even in complicated business environments. Their major strength is their consistency which in turn helps them to maintain leadership. Mike Duke is committed to the values and goal that are Sam Walton’s birthright, in addition to the members, consumers and shareholders. Lee Scott, ex-CEO for nine years, assisted Wal-Mart to reach heights of sustainability, variety and inclusion of all individuals and helped the owners to engage with others on crucial issues like health care, and also supported to strengthen Wal-Mart’s status as a reliable and caring company. The management of Wal-Mart always tries to present its financial reports in a clear and

Epistemology of Jean Piaget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Epistemology of Jean Piaget - Essay Example Piaget proposes that there are three types of knowledge: physical, social, and logical mathematical. According to Piaget, "Intelligence is an adaptationTo say that intelligence is a particular instance of biological adaptation is thus to suppose that it is essentially an organization and that its function is to structure the universe just as the organism structures its immediate environment". "Piaget also called his view constructivism, because he firmly believed that knowledge acquisition is a process of continuous self-construction. That is, Knowledge is not out there, external to the child and waiting to be discovered. But neither is it wholly performed within the child, ready to emerge as the child develops with the world surrounding her...Piaget believed that children actively approach their environments and acquire knowledge through their actions". Piaget declared that he is neither an innatist nor an empiricist. He believes that we always interpret according to our own structu re. Innatists believe that every individual is born with preexisting ideas present in the mind. Empiricists, on the other hand, believe that experience, especially of the senses, are the only sources of knowledge. Piaget argues that for empiricists, knowledge is a copy of objects. But actually, knowledge is always an assimilation or interpretation. In drawing a geometrical shape, the child does not draw what he sees, rather, he draws his idea of it - he draws what he knows of it. To look at it a clearer perspective, the child actually draws his interpretation of the object, and not the exact object itself. Asking a child to draw a diamond shape, showing the child a model of that shape, would give the child an idea of what you want him to do. He may see the diamond shape as a square with some points on it, so he may draw a square with a point in it or with a point beside it. In the light that Piaget believes knowledge is primarily operative, he points out that children who are in the concrete operations stage (seven to eleven years old), and in the formal operations stage (twelve years old and up) constructs their perception of the world through the cognitive development which results from the child's interaction with the environment. The interiorisation of this interaction then forms internal models of reality or "operational structures" which forms the basis of perception upon which the child acts. In the seriation demonstration, four children were asked to arrange a set of rods in order of length. Barbara is 3.5 years old, Renaud is 4 years old, Matthieu, 6.5 years old, and Catherine who is 9 years old. Among the four children, Catherine mastered the seriation structure as she can comprehend the processes of relating, corresponding, ordinal estimation, measurement, and classification. Catherine is at the age wherein she has mastered the nature of coordination. Barbara, on the other hand, being the youngest in the group, at 3.5 years old, she in the stage wherein she is motivated by biological and social impulses, also she has no sense of obligation to rules. She is the one with the poorest seriation structure among the group. Renaud is a few months older than Barbara, and similar results are expected from him regarding the seriation process, but better, as he is more

Analysis of Warmart annnual report 2009 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Analysis of Warmart annnual report 2009 - Essay Example Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. functions Wal-Mart discount stores, super-centers, local markets and Sams Club sites in the United States. The company also functions in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom (Wal-Mart Issues 2009 Annual Report to Shareholders). According to Rob Walton, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world requires a retailer that saves individuals’ money to provide them a better life. The director of the company is proud to know that millions of customers as well as the new ones are turning to them for their service. They are better placed than ever to meet the requirements of our consumers and members. Their approaches are distinctly defined and their management group is united and focused on distributing the best possible experience for customers and associates. The merchandising group functions with suppliers to guarantee value, diversity and quality. What works behind their success is the global price leadership position. They are much more committed to sustainability, liable sourcing and affiliate opportunity which creates a difference for them. Development opportunities keeps on emerging even in complicated business environments. Their major strength is their consistency which in turn helps them to maintain leadership. Mike Duke is committed to the values and goal that are Sam Walton’s birthright, in addition to the members, consumers and shareholders. Lee Scott, ex-CEO for nine years, assisted Wal-Mart to reach heights of sustainability, variety and inclusion of all individuals and helped the owners to engage with others on crucial issues like health care, and also supported to strengthen Wal-Mart’s status as a reliable and caring company. The management of Wal-Mart always tries to present its financial reports in a clear and

Using material from item A and elsewher Essay Example for Free

Using material from item A and elsewher Essay Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the view that the growth of religious fundamentalism is a reaction to globalisation As mentioned in item A ‘much has been written about the decline of religious beliefs and the secularisation of modern societies’ this states that the growth of fundamentalism represents a culture which tends to be a clash between the sacred an secular. Fundamentalism refers to ‘black and white’ thinking that opposes modernism or any sort of progressive beliefs about religion and social topics. Rejecting modern beliefs does not particularly make fundamentalist group violent. Whilst the item mentions ‘they reject modern interpretations o faith as having lost their ways because teachings have been watered down’ this supports the idea that fundamentalist groups tend to oppose anything that challenges their religious interpretations and opinions. There are various characteristics of fundamentalism; a sociologist Bruce indicates the fact that religious text are seen as perfect. Referring back to the item it suggests that ‘fundamentalism seek a return to a literal interpretation of their holy book and strict obedience to religious teachings’ this supports Bruce idea as such holy teaching must be read literally-be it the bible, quran or the torah for e.g. Homosexuality is seen to be a sin, and fundamentalist groups are strongly against this view. Although there are many holy teachings and beliefs, one consequence of this is that fundamentalism rejects religious pluralism; there can be but one literal truth. This reflects on the important implications for what school teach for e.g. in some Christian schools in USA, the obect the scientific explanations of creation. Another aspect of fundamentalist is there is a profound rejection of modern society. Living in the modern world is seen as problematic because of the variety of choice; including too much choice of religion, sexuality, lifestyle etc. As mentioned in the item ‘while fundamentalism may have views that differ greatly from the mainstream’ this supports the perception that fundamentalists reject the idea of choice and assert the value of tradition. Lastly, another characteristic is activism. Activism is strongly encouraged whereby fundamentalists are vocal in their struggle of good against evil. In their ways of active approach many fundamentalists resort to violence in bid to express both their hatred of modernity and the need for tradition values to return for all. Examples of extremist fundamentalism include the shooting of  Malala, bombing of abortion clinics, 9/11 etc, Islamic fundamentalists. Quoting from the item ‘some sociologists argue that one response to globalisation has been the growth of religious fundamentalists’ This was the central view of Giddens whom mentioned that globalisation has turned the whole planet earth into a ‘global village’ such that every point o n the planet is constant and lose touch with the rest of the world via electronic, satellite or telephone communication. This has had a huge impact on fundamentalism. There are clear examples of how globalisation has helped fundamentalist groups for e.g. Terrorist groups such al-qaeda have various websites to both communication members and grow in numbers. Depite the fact that fundamentalists are against modernity, they can be seen as hypocritical groups as they tend to use modern ways and technology to spread their views. Another clear example is represented by the Miss World beauty Pageant in Nigeria 2002 A ‘blasphemous’ article was published by a newspaper office suggesting the prophet Muhammed (pbuh) would have liked a Miss World Beauty Queen. This had raised riots by Muslim fundamentalists which claimed over 100 lives. Assessing the view that globalisation has a growing state of fundamentalists, if such articles were not published, would there be such a large scale of fundamentalist activity? However growth in fundamentalism can be due to other factors beside globalisation. A response to secularisation; once again Bruce identifies fundamentalism is caused by secularisation- he argues the decline in religion in modern society, combining the views of science and rationality, undermines traditional faiths which supports evidence from the item as it mentions ‘but fundamentalism seems to go against this trend’ and therefore this does not truly suggest that globalisation is the main reaction to the growth of fundamentalist groups. Almond et al agree secularisation and modernisation produces fundamentalist however implying that it is caused by facets such as low levels of education and high levels of inequality, economic problems displacement of people by war, and western resentment and hatred. This also ties in with such facts that fundamentalism is more likely to develop when; there is just one sacred perfect text which followers can argue, a religion must have a common enemy etc. Such aspects determine that globalisation is not the only factor, there are many other ways of fundamentalist groups increasing Another aspect may be certainty in a world of choice.  Fundamentalists groups tend to have an appeal to those who seek a moral anchor in a world of unlimited choice i.e. young people. Modernity creates a moral ambiguity- unaware of what to do and therefore leading to a profusion of choice and a lack of guidance. This verifies the idea that globalisation is not the only reason as to why fundamentalists is growing, but attracting people in other ways. Lastly, Karen Armstrongs view also supports the view that it is not due to globalization. She argues there is nothing in Islamic religion which tends to lead towards fundamentalist beliefs. Many Islamic leaders and followers are in favour of westernisation and modernisation. However her argument differs to many as she states that the west has tried to impose modernisation too rapidly in these countries and as a result, this has lead to mass resentment f the west by many Islamic populations in the world, thus encouraging Islamic fundamentalism. In conclusion, although gloablisation does play a major role as to why fundamentalist groups are promptly growing, we cannot assume this is the only way. Assessing the view of this, it does need to be taken into consideration that there are other elements which have an impact of fundamentalist groups vastly spreading such as secularisation, economic problems, certainty in a world of choice etc.

Introduction to Noise Pollution

Introduction to Noise Pollution NOISE POLLUTION The word Noise is derived from the Latin word nausea which means feeling of sickness at the stomach with an urge to vomit. Disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains. What is Noise Pollution? According to Odum, noise pollution is the unwanted sound dumped into environment without regard to the adverse effect it may have. Noise pollution may be defined as any unwanted electromagnetic signal (sound) that produces a jarring or displeasing effect and which interferes with human communication, comfort and health. Noise pollution also caused when the loudness of the sound becomes irritating or unbearable. Noise pollution also refers to perturbations which interfere in the communication systems. The unit of sound intensity is decibel (dB). The sound intensity from 0 to 100 dB is pleasant but when the sound intensity exceeds 120 dB, it causes noise. Sound intensity of 130 dB is the upper limit of the threshold of hearing and beyond this, is the threshold of pain which may cause damage to car and leading to hearing impairment. So, sound of more than 130 dB causes noise pollution. Sources of Noise Pollution: The pollution of noise can be caused by natural processes or by human activities. (1) Transport noise; (2) Industrial noise; and (3) Neighbourhood noise. 1. Transport noise: The main threat of noise comes from transport sector. The transport noise includes road traffic noise, rail traffic noise and aircraft noise. (a)  Road traffic noise: The chief causes of road traffic noise are the number of road vehicles and their high traffic speed. Faster moving vehicles produce high noise from their gear box, exhaust system, vibrations from their body, etc. (b) Rail traffic noise: The noise from rail traffic is comparatively lower than that from road traffic. Introduction of diesel engines or electrical engines has reduced the intensity of rail traffic noise which was previously shown by steam engine. Besides use of welded tracks and improved coach suspension have contributed to the reduction in railways noise, (c) Aircraft noise: Larger and faster aircrafts produce high noise intermittently during take-off, landing and during flight. Noise generates from compressor and turbine and near jet exhaust. Jet engines create most noise around a radius of 16 km. Sonic boom is an important aspect of aircraft noise. Sonic boom occurs when an aircraft flies supersonically overhead. (2) Industrial noise: The different machines of numerous industries, factories and mills produce a lot of high intensity sounds causing noise pollution. Some industrial processes like weaning, ship building, boiler making, pressing and blasting operations are nosier than others. The operations in pneumatic drills, milling machines, cutters, printing press with an upward, downward and sideways movement and vibrations, cause lowering of hearing capacity to a large extent. The noise pollution is further magnified due to the installation of industries in compact places. For example, the workers near the heavy industrial blowers in steel industry are exposed to sound of 112dB for eight hours and hence suffer from occupational pollution. 3. Neighbourhood noise: This type of noise includes antisocial activities of neighbours like using of loud TV, stereo, radio sets, jazz music, fireworks parties, playing of children, barking of dogs, neighbourhood brawls out of intoxication and industrial neighbourhood noise etc. The machines used in house construction like concrete mixes, vibrators, bulldozers, heavy diesel lorry, building demolition activities also add to the noise pollution. Noise is air-borne mechanical energy striking the human eardrum. A sound of 65dB is the noise level for conversation heart at a distance of one meter. A sound of 125dB (A) gives the sensation of pain in the ear and 150dB (A) might kill a human being. If a noise of 90dB in the mid-frequency range reaches the ear for more than few minutes, then the sensitivity of the ear is reduced. The various effects of noise pollution on human beings may be classified in to two categories: (1) Auditory effects (2) Non-auditory effects. 1. Auditory effects: The impairing of hearing which may cause immediate auditory fatigue finally leading to deafness is known as auditory effects. 2. Non-auditory effects: These effects include interference with speech communication, annoyance leading to ill-temper, bickering, mental disorientation, violent behavior and a series of health hazards.   Ã‚   Permissible Noise Levels (Control): We have already discussed the sources of noise of different intensity and their hazardous impact on living organisms particularly on man. Still we work and live in the environment where the noise level is not optimum. Thus it is rightly told by Robert Koch that noise pollution is a slow agent of death. The peoples working in areas where the intensity of noise is comparatively higher suffering from progressive hearing loss, physiological (health) and psychological hazards including tension. The maximum permissible noise levels at different are summarize. . Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution: Noise produced from different sources has created a catastrophe to the entire living world specially to man. Hence, necessary steps should be taken to minimise the level of noise thereby protecting the living world from its detrimental effects. Few methods of minimising noise pollution are discussed below: (1) Industrial noise pollution control: The level of noise pollution due to industries can be lowered down by adopting the following techniques: (a) Use of improved technique: The noise at source can be reduced by replacing noise producing machines with suitable improved technique. For example, the noise from exhaust fans can be decreased either by increasing the number of blades or by decreasing the rotational speed. (b) Sound proofing: An insulating material may be applied on the noise producing machinery and equipments which causes sound proofing. (c) Transmission control: The level of noise can be minimised by covering the walls of the room by sound absorber (e.g. acoustic tiles), introducing gaskets around the doors and windows, sealing all the outlets and putting carpet, drapery and acoustic materials inside the room. (d) Creation of green vegetation cover: Plants and trees should be planted along highways, streets and industrial areas because the vegetation covers absorb and dissipate sound energy and acts as a buffer zone. (e) Using protective devices: The use of ear plugs or ear muffs or even cotton balls by the worker in the industry can protect them from hazardous effects of noise pollution. (f) Operations in open space: Noisy industrial operations should be conducted at open spaces far off from residential areas. (g) Use of Building codes: Certain codes should be enforced which require sound proofing in the construction of industries, buildings and apartments. 2. Community noise control:   The community noise control includes minimization of noise from air traffic, transport system, building constructions etc. The noises from the above sources can be lowered by adopting the following procedures: (a) The air traffic noise can be reduced either by suitable technique or by zoning the area around the airport and not allowing for the construction of houses or industries within 10 meters of the airport. (b) The road traffic noise includes tyre noise, engine intake noise, exhaust noise, aerodynamic noise, noise from blowing of horns etc. Such type of noise pollution can be controlled by incorporating silencers in vehicles, maintaining speed limit prescribed for the vehicle and banning air horns. (c) The loudspeakers, radio and music system should be operated at threshold intensity so that the noise level should not be hazardous to living organisms. (d) Public awareness should be created to educate the common man about the harmful effects of noise pollution, through radio, television, newspapers etc. (e) The noise can be reduced by introduction of new regulations which mainly include lowering speed limits and designing for non-stop operation. (f) Stringent laws should be implemented to control noise pollution. For example, Motor Vehicle Act of India provides restrictions on heavy vehicles using double sirens while passing through populated areas. (g) The laying of ballast less tracks reduces the noise level due to railways. (h) The noise pollution can best be controlled by promoting education and research.