Bcg Matrix’s Problems and Its Reconstruction

Exploring the Role of Management Accounting Systems in Strategic Sensemaking We are gonging to critically evaluate an article on the Exploring the Role of Management Accounting Systems in Strategic Sensemaking by authors Marcus Heidmann, Utz Schaffer and Susanne Strahringer. Title, Abstract and Introduction We think that the abstract provides sufficient information, identifies main issues in the article and explain the purpose of writing this article, and echo each other at the title. The introduction is very informative.It illustrated two main problems (interpretation and logistical problem), which related to understanding the role of MAS in strategic sensemaking. The interpretation perspective defined strategic sensemaking as a learning process, and interactive use of MAS have positive influences. However, interactive perspective neglects the relationship between MAS use and MAS dimension. The logistical perspective just said MAS dimensions is important in this information processi ng, but not explain how MAS dimensions contribute to strategic sensemaking.Both information processing did not deal with these problems. Theoretical framework In the literature view authors defined strategic sensemaking as the individual process of observing, interpreting, and communicating strategic issues. Through these three successive processes to understand how managers use the management accounting system and how MAS dimensions contribute to this use. Management accounting system in the observation phase, there are two characteristic modes of observation – scanning and focused search.Scanning behaviour can provide managers with different perspectives on strategic issues and it is more likely to accommodate new information. However, managers are more likely to use MAS for focused search, which can faster identificated the problems in areas covered by the system. It is required by executives because the limited attention capacity to achieve targets. We must concerned that the statistical analysis and data mining technique can reveal the weak value information from the various kinds of data which people usually cannot find out directly.High level of formalization as the character of MAS that focus attention on selected areas, whereas potential loss at other important areas and cause constrain the information. Authors said consistent data will reduce scanning behaviour and may decrease the possibility that strategic issues are identified. We thought these situations will occur, but managers use the MAS for focused search is inevitable. How to use their MAS for scanning and focused search together and have the greatest efficiency is worth considering. In the interpretation phase, authors thought manager’s awareness is a key factor to interpret strategic issues accurately.Reliable information related to controliability perceptions and external information can reduce bias, errors and potential to increase confidence in judgement by consistent info rmation. Therefore, MAS also can increase awareness during issue interpretation. Manager’s awareness and more extra information were useful, but managers use MAS determine strategic issues is important as well. Another point about MAS in form of short-termism have side-effects and harmful to the interpretation of strategic can balance the effect of short-term performance.Correct form and flexible MAS information style are other factors effect strategic issues. However, we felt that this point may not key point in this phase. Authors stated find more extra information with a great degree of manager’s awareness to interpretation strategic issues. In the final phase – communication phase, authors introduce a new definition about media richness, which separated by three levels. High media richness of MAS should have a positive effect on sensemaking, but did not have enough evidence to prove there have positive influences.On the other hand, managers use interactive M AS has positive impact on communication which reduced equivocality of strategic issues. The interactive use of MAS contributes to strategic sensemaking by providing directions and facilitating interactive that help to resolve equivocality of strategic issues is the biggest positive effect in communication phase. Authors further described the quality dimension of MAS, and proposed that when evaluating the MAS’s effectiveness, not only the information characteristics, but the system quality dimensions (integration, flexibility, accessibility, formalisation and media richness) should be considerate.Of course, the integration analysis of information quality dimensions and system quality dimensions will give the comprehensive assessment of MAS’s role in stagey sensemaking. Authors have given the overall research framework. Information and system quality dimensions, both impact the three phases, which in turn impacts the effectiveness of MAS for strategic sensemanking. Howev er, in our view, the research framework is too coarse. Is there interaction between the information quality and system quality? If exist, how is its impact on the MAS effectiveness, Are there any counteraction from MAS use to information quality and system quality?All these question are not involved. Impact of MAS on Processes in Strategic Sensemaking Authors of the article use some statistics to explain how MAS influence processes in strategic sensemaking. We think they have interpreted what MAS can bring to companies. On observation, from doing some research and statistics analyzing, they get a high association between interactive use and focused search supports the notion that managers use MAS to look for specific information that is useful to discuss strategic issues. It is useful for us to understand the influence of MAS.On interpretation, they say some people suggest that the processes to prepare MAS information can also increase awareness. It is a positive impact. They also d oubt whether a high level of MAS formalization negatively impacts in strategic sensemaking. But they do not say how to solve this problem. If a high level of MAS formalization has been used in companies, how to avoid changes and risks? On communication, they analyze particularly what positive impact MAS can bring in strategic sensemaking, such as on communication. In strategic sensemaking it is important that information concerning strategic issues is communicated to managers who have complementary information or are able to take action. † We all agree this point of view. Authors also tell us that there are two kinds of interaction when asked about the role of MAS information. It can help us understand what MAS information can help to companies. However, it does not say how the system can function effectively between managers and staff. For example, how to forecast negative problems occur in the future?How to make this system flexibility in order to be suitable for more and mo re companies? We think there are still more important views do not be mentioned in this article. Although they use some cases to show some positive impact, it does not mean that systems are perfect. And the article does not tell us how to avoid any other questions such as how to avoid some risks when MAS be used. We agree that there must have some unstable elementary. We find another article talks about the effectiveness of management accounting systems. It also does not mention how managers can use it effectively.Because there may have some negatively impacts if every manager use a high level of MAS formalization. From these two articles we can find that it is essential to solve this problem. We think there must have some risks if the level of management accounting system becomes too high. Although it has many positive impacts, it still cannot forecast risks in the future. Many managers try to deal with this problem through tools, but this is not sustainable. A good management acco unting system should be a long-term management system not just a high level system.It should consider risks and changes for companies in the future. We suggest that do more research for this system. Asking more managers for this system is essential, in order to find some negative impacts and solve them. Research Methodology Authors focus on measurement instruments of observation communication, and effectiveness of management accounting system in strategic sensemaking to make this research. Because the limited empirical evidence, complex and broad phenomenon, the most of relationships suggested are only tentative.Therefore, the authors of the article state that: we chose an exploratory multiple-case design with 30 top and middle managers of 7 large companies in Germany. In the aspect of select sample, the authors introduce too detailed of the sample, and the range of the sample just limited in the companies of Germany. No explanation for the professional term such as replication logi c. The highlight of this article is that authors collect data through semi-structured interview and a questionnaire. The diversified methods of data collection can obtain different result to be analyzed.Although the author has taken some steps to reduce hindsight bias and allow the identification of unconscious effects of MAS in strategic sensemaking, the authors do not explain why the data have to be avoiding these situations and how these data affect the result in the part of semi-structured interviews. In the aspect of questionnaire, the authors quote a large number of words to introduce and explain which methods and aspects they used for data collection and analyze of the questionnaire. However, authors do not explain the absent questionnaire whether it is influence the survey or not.Furthermore, the incomplete questionnaire might affect the accuracy of the result possibly. For analysis result, authors should explain more particularly and do not just use two number of percentage s to illustrate. This paper needs some specific data to support the summary in the research. We suggest that authors can add more explanations for the professional term and reduce some unnecessary introduction such as for sample or give more detailed data in the appendix. Comparison to another article We compared this article with another similar one.The title of the comparison article is â€Å"The effectiveness of management accounting systems† by Teerooven Soobaroyen and Bhagtaraj Poorundersing. In Teerooven’s paper, Regarding that there is little consideration of other more mainstream contextual factors such as uncertainty and decentralization(DEC) applied on research of the effectiveness of MAS, in addition to the information quality dimensions, in assessment of effectiveness of MAS, they focused on the effect of two contextual variables, namely task uncertainty (TU) and DEC.They thought the absence of evidence on its actual timeliness, aggregation and integration may limit the benefits of knowing how far broad scope information has had am impact in the first place. Moreover, traditional methods usually are carried under some hypothetical conditions which often opposed to actual conditions, and this could undermine the practicality or validity of the results. Considering the impact of situational variables on the state of available MAS will be more near the practical situation.That the evidence on the influence of contingent variables in the relationship between MAS and managerial performance remains incomplete and of limited usefulness also make it reasonable. However, unlike Teerooven’s paper, the author of this paper take consideration of system quality dimensions in addition to information quality dimensions, they recognised that not only the information quality itself but also the system performance on processing information can have impact on the analysis of MAS’s role.In these two articles, both of them have their own emp hasis, however, if combing their thoughts, more comprehensive, more extract evaluation of MAS would be acquired. The same aspects in select sample, there are more researchers and set out the requirements of sample selection in the comparison article. The author comments that â€Å"in this respect, the following lists and databases were used to triangulate and identify a reasonably full and reliable list of manufacturing companies†¦.. † In the aspect of research method, the choose of this article are compared as deeper discussion of this research.Teerooven comment that: MAS play a significant intervening role between task uncertainty (TU) and decentralization (DEC)†. We feel that it is relevant to make valid comparison. The author chose to conduct their research using a questionnaire survey. Although we believe that the interview of semi-structured and questionnaire are superior to just sending out questionnaires, the comparison article may produce more accurate res ult due to using a large amount of research objects and screening by Teerooven and Bhagtaraj.For the aspect of design questionnaire, the highlight of the comparison article is that there are total 41 questions which are divided into five parts about MAS. According to the different management structure of the companies, the authors of the comparison article design two different questionnaires which are â€Å"Sale/marketing manager† and â€Å"Production/operations manager† and give full of time to respond within three weeks. The design of questionnaire has played an important role for the research result.In the aspect of research result, authors also have clearly classified above all aspect. There are not present in the article and we feel that this is a major weakness of the article by Marcus, Utz and Susanne. On the other hand, the comparison article have put into data result and the questionnaire template in the appendix. We feel that authors can expand the range of s ample selection or add another research method to analyze. ConclusionAccording to the knowledge what we learn and some relevant knowledge what we not familiar with, we are not sure that we propose some questions and doubt is reasonable. But we feel that the article have some questions like that the research framework is unsophisticated, there is not correlative between information quality and system quality and the problem is when the company has use the high level MAS formalized, which methods are used to improve and reduce the risk.For details of the problems, the author can deal with a more particularly and improve some shortcomings, to make the article more fluently, such as no explanation for the professional term. Bibliography Poorundersing. B and Soobaroyen,T (2008) The effectiveness of management accounting systems, published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Available at: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. libaccess. hud. ac. uk/journals. htm? issn=0268-6902&volume=23&issu e=2&articleid=1641976&show=pdf&PHPSESSID=lcnec7hn2ja606agg4g49si4u5 [accessed at 20 March 2012 ]

Graphics Design Firm Marketing Plan Essay

Executive Summary: The Metolius Agency is a Graphic design and visual communication firm based in new Concord, New Hampshire. Operating from a small office the company will be targeting a consumer base of 5-15 year old companies and provide them with unique perspectives on corporate identity and visual communication. For the first 7 months Keivs will be handling the firm’s affairs alone after which he will hire an assistant to help him in design and administration. The competitive edge Metolius has is Keivs’ knowledge of not only creative but also business skills that will make it possible for the company to attract its business-oriented clients because of a practical backing to their creative approach Overtime the company will grow due to its low overhead, creative and practical designs attracting increasing consumer attention, reaching profits in the first 9 months and generating $27,347 by the third year. Objective: With a realistic mission statement that focuses on delivering above expectation to customers and good customer relationships, the main objective of the firm is to s to position The Metolius Agency as a creative, unconventional, and innovative graphic design and visual communication firm in the Concord, NH area. In addition Metolius will set its marketing objectives to: a. Increase visibility in the market. b. Generate 30% new business through referrals each quarter, after year one. c. Strengthen brand equity through informal polling during networking activities. The financial objectives will include: a. Maintain positive, steady, growth each month. b. Reach profitability by the end of year one. c. Continue to decrease the variable costs associated with serving a project. Situation Analysis: The Metolius Agency requires a good analysis of both the = market and itself to serve its customers better. The information gathered by the company about the market shows that the potential market is divided into small and medium companies and has shown a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 7.65% over 4 years (2002-2006). The graphic design industry reached $812 million in 2000 and it is predicted that for the next five years it will grow at 5.6%. The increasing desires to appear professional and use the Internet have been attributed to this growth in the industry. Also contrary to the decade old market trend of advertisement agencies offering full service with minimal or no outsourcing, the Metolius agency will concentrate only on their specific skill sets. The company plans to provide customers with a wide selection of its designs and services, better accessibility by centralizing service provision, impressive customer service and competitive pricing. The services offered will be charged by the hour and $75 will roughly be the charge/hour demanded by Metolius. Through SWOT analysis it has been established that the strengths of the company are focus, elegant office space and amalgamation of the business with the creative sense, and the main opportunities for the firm are a growing market, growth based on technological advancement and also low co-relation with downfalls in the economy. The struggle to be cutting edge, to inform the customers and remove time for marketing activities have been identified as weaknesses, and local competition (i.e. large agencies, freelancers and Kinko’s), easy to use software that allow potential clients to cater their own needs and a demographic change due to shift in local industries are the main threats to the firm. Marketing Strategy: A graphic firm relies on referrals and efficient networking and not advertising to generate sales. Based on the market research of several focus groups and a research project completed by three University of New Hampshire graduates, Metolius has devised a 3 point marketing strategy, consisting of networking, client referral, targeted customer acquisition to gain visibility and increase sales. The networking will involve using Kievs’ personal and professional contacts to arrange meetings and get customers. Client referrals will come from the customers and the chambers of commerce who will be impressed by Kievs’ work. Kiev will also be shortlisting companies and finding ways to approach their decision makers and close a deal. Also putting content of all releases on the internet and management of search engine submissions will be done by outsourcing the work to specialists at an internet and e-commerce consultancy firm, â€Å"1st-at-the-top.com†. The firm has identified its market to be the small and medium scale companies in Concord that have been operating for 5-15 years. Metolius will position itself as a focused and innovative graphic design and visual communication firm in the market by dwelling on Kiev’s diverse background of business and creativity. Marketing Mix: The Metolius Agency’s marketing mix is comprised of approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. * Pricing: The pricing scheme will be based on per project fee that will be calculated by the hours required for a project plus any other additional costs. * Distribution: The distribution of services will be either via the central office or via the Internet. * Advertising and Promotion: The most successful activities will be a comprehensive networking campaign, as well as a targeted customer acquisition system. * Customer Service: In order to ensure long-term profitability, all expenses will be born for customer service to achieve total customer satisfaction. Financial Projections: Metolius requires monthly revenue of $8760 to break even. It is forecasted that in 3 years time (2002, 2003, 2004) the company will grow sufficiently such that the total sales revenue will roughly double to $145,392 and the total expenses even though will rise they will get smaller in comparison to the Revenues by as much as 1.5% and become 4.35% at the end of the third year. Therefore it could be concluded that the business will always be yielding and fast growing. Review and Control: The following areas will be monitored to gauge performance: – Revenue: monthly and annual. – Expenses: monthly and annual. – Repeat business. – Customer service. This will be done by setting up a start and end date for a jobs, assigning the budget for the job and the job to a manager and department so that it can be monitored. Marketing Organization: Initially Kievs alone will head and manage the marketing function till he hires an assistant for help in the 7th month. Contingency Plan: The difficulties and risks posed to Metolius and the worst case scenarios must be addressed in the contingency plan. Problems with generating visibility, landing large projects for increase income and increasing competition are some of the difficulties the firm will face. The worst-case scenarios will be if the firm can’t achieve profits and must liquidate assets to cover liabilities.

Comparing Two Perspectives of Management Essay

Management is the attainment of organisational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organising, leading and controlling organisational resources (Samson & Daft, 2009, p. 12). In essence, the final outcome of management is to achieve organisation goals and managers in various levels should achieve goals effectively and efficiently by intelligently utilizing financial, human and other resources in hand. The four skills which may assist managers to achieve these organisational goals are planning, organising, leading and controlling. Traditional vs. Modern Perspectives The practice of management can go back as far as 3000 BC. It developed over thousands of years from Traditional style of management to Modern today. Traditional Perspectives Traditional Perspectives includes (Samson & Daft, 2009): 1.Classical Perspectives – concentrates on making the organisations an efficient operating machine. 2.Humanistic Perspectives – emphases understanding human behaviour, needs and attitudes in the workplace. It has taken more consideration of behaviors, needs and attitudes as well as social interactions and group processes. *For the purpose of the report, I will not elaborate on each item mentioned above. Use Human Resources Perspective as an example. It suggests that Jobs should be designed to meet higher-level needs by allowing workers to use their full potential (Samson & Daft, 2009). This theory was initially supported by a ‘dairy farm’ view and further illustrated by the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and McGregor Theory X & Theory Y. It is my understanding that the theory suggests people generally perform better if they are given full rein to their imagination and creativity. This, in details, means: 1.People are given freedom to fulfill their desired physiological, safety, love/belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization (Maslow’s Hierarchy) needs and wants. They may not be satisfied with all five of them, but fulfillment in any of the above may somewhat increase productivity; 2.Management assumes that employees enjoy working and will seek responsibilities under working/learning process and does not believe in punishment to keep the employees in line. Instead, it believes that employees will exercise self-control if they’re committed (McGregor’s Theory Y). Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the world leading automobile producers and its philosophy is the famous ‘Toyota Way’. The two pillars are ‘Wisdom and Kaizen (improvement)’ and ‘respect for human nature’ (Saruta 2006). Without going into the full description of ‘Toyota Way’ philosophy, we will mainly discuss one component as an example: Improvement. The company motivates employees through a series of incentives, such as wage, on-job education, and progressive promotion. Hence it presents work as something interesting and worthwhile for worker’s self-motivation. In the Japanese operation, this philosophy helped the company achieved long working hours and concentrated labour. Unfortunately it hasn’t been working as successful in other countries. Does this mean the employees in other countries haven’t fulfilled any of their interests? Managers must understand that employees will be motivated by unmet needs; and that once a need is satisfied, it is no longer a motivator (Fisher 2009). There may be environmental factors the management did not consider. Cultural difference for instance may affect the effectiveness of this philosophy. Being in a country with a generous welfare system like Australia, people’s desire for a balanced work/social life style is much stronger than financial achievement. In this instance, Toyota management in other counties should realise the differences in worker’s needs and present other incentives accordingly. Modern Perspectives Modern Management Trend is developed to collaborate with the more complicated technologies, organisational environment and unforeseeable uncertainties in today’s world. Modern Management Theories are focused on how individuals contribute to organisation and corporate performance while the performance of the chief executive is dictated by the organisation’s financial returns and shareholders’ expectations (Weymes 2004). The three major contemporary extensions of the perspectives (Samson & Daft, 2009): 1.System Theory; 2.Contingency View; 3.Total Quality Management. *For the purpose of the report, I will not elaborate on each item mentioned above. Use Contingency View as an example. This theory is an extension of the humanistic perspective in which the successful resolution of organisational problems is thought to depend on management’s identification of key variables in the situation at hand (Samson & Daft, 2009). It believes there is no universal approach that works consistently in every situation. Management should always consider aspects within and outside the organisation and utilise various concepts and techniques appropriately. Looking at this theory from a horizontal angle, Knootz (1981) has simplified it into ordinary words, ‘there is science and there is art, there is knowledge and there is practice. One does not need much experience to understand that a corner grocery store could hardly be organised like General Motors, or that the technical realities of petroleum exploration, production, and refining make impracticable autonomously organised product divisions for gasoline, jet fuel, or lubricating oils’. Different organisations have different variables which determine the size of the company, the management hierarchy, the service procedure and so forth. Looking at it from a vertical angle, an organisation may have diversified subsystems and external affiliates. Today’s managers cannot afford to ignore the uncertainties evolved around these elements. Grandori (1984) noted a decision maker needs to classify the state of uncertainty that characterises a decision situation, eliminate the strategies that are not feasible in that situation, and select a feasible strategy. To realise the contingency approach its potential as an effective construct for maintaining and improving managerial effectiveness in a hyper dynamic environment, its development must proceed in a systematic unified and directed manner (Luthans & Stewart, 1977). IKEA, as an example, is the world’s most successful mass-market retailer, reaching 33 countries and hosting 410 million shoppers a year; the furniture is made by about 1,500 suppliers in more than 50 countries. Its signature feature is the flat packed product that customers assemble at home. To target the dramatic technology development in 21st century, the company introduced online shopping to address convenience and traceability. The company designs its own, and also broadens the product mix into food and general living supplies (â€Å"IKEA Company Profile†, n.d.). Investment risks can be sufficiently minimised, and it is best described by the old adage â€Å"never put all your eggs in one basket†. Traditionally, a showroom with a team of salesmen and delivery truck drivers is the focal point of a typical furniture retailer. Globalisation and widely spread use of internet will eventually force them out of the market. IKEA tackled these issues from supply-chain, customer satisfaction and diversification of investment risks. It further demonstrates the contingency approach is used to sustain IKEA’s completive edge in all time. Although these strategies may not be suitable in 10 years time, contingency view will always exert management to evaluation situation at hand and make decision accordingly to sustain performance. Conclusion Generally speaking, the traditional perspectives of management tend to standardise a managerial approach across the board by analysing one particular scenario with a number of assumptions. However, the modern perspectives recognise the uncertainties in reality and take many aspects into consideration of their decision making process. Contingency view is not a brand new theory that is completely different from the traditional perspectives. Whilst we are not suggesting the traditional perspectives are untrue, managers should be selective according to the situation at hand and use a combination of approaches to tackle from all angles. Management in the modern world is no longer a unitary practice; it is an art. Continuous education and professional development can only offer the mandatory knowledge. Real life experience and rational conduct at time is the key to successful management.

Technologies Affect on Communication Research Paper

Technologies Affect on Communication - Research Paper Example To begin with, it is important to note that traditional modes of communication such as telegrams, letters, use of human messengers to deliver messages, have continued to lose popularity save for special circumstances, even though they are still being used in societies that have not invested on modern infrastructure (Bucy, 2004). Cell phones for example have become a major necessity in the human life due to their mobility and portability, which in turn creates convenience. This is as opposed to the wired communication devices such as the landline telephones, which are static in nature by the virtue of the fact that a person waiting for an important call has to remain within an audible range, so as to receive a call once the telephone rings (Atkin, 2006). In this context, mobile technology has enabled people to call and reach their intended recipients from any location and during any time of the day, without having to interfere with their day to day activities. For example, a person wo rking in the field can reach his or her spouse by calling them on their mobile, may be to check on how they are doing or to pass an important message. They make it possible for parents to enquire and confirm on the safety of their children especially in these uncertain times when children are vulnerable to numerous physical and psychological threats in the society. By doing so, one can perform his or her duties without distraction, knowing well that their families are safe wherever they are. Cell phones have also enabled users to deliver themselves from tough predicaments such as mechanical breakdowns on their vehicles while on transit (Atkin, 2006). One only needs to call a towing company or an expert to come to their aid. Without these gadgets, such an occurrence would necessitate walking long distances in search of help, which could also be dangerous especially if it occurs late in the night when there are few motorists on the roads and when the chances of being attacked by armed gangsters are real. It is also observable that most of the mobile handsets in the current markets have built-in cameras, which enable users to record videos and take pictures of their surroundings. In light of this, a person can use his or her phone to record evidence or an occurrence such as an accident or criminals in action, which can later be used by insurance companies or security personnel in building their cases. This is an important aspect since it is not always possible to have security and traffic officers in each and every corner of the nation. Witnesses to such occurrences would be in an excellent position to explain the details to the officers, after they use the same cell phones to call the authorities as well as ambulances depending on the situation at hand (Atkin 2006). However, it is not always easy to communicate vocally through cell phones especially if a person is in a noisy environment. In addition, some details in a phone conversation may be delicate in nature such that they require a lot of privacy. For example, personal information such as bank and other financial details, access codes to important online accounts or even delicate family issues are not supposed to access the public. To counter this, mobile phones are equipped with short messaging systems, which enable one to send information in form of text (Bucy, 2004). The recipient needs only to access the message, read it and if it is too confidential, he has the option

Use Of Credit Scores By Insurers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Use Of Credit Scores By Insurers - Essay Example Rates and premiums are calculated on the basis of your risk level. Many insurers estimate the amount you stand to collect as premium in the event of a loss and charge you a premium amount enough to compensate such claims. If your insurance claims equate to average compared to the credit score, insurers still price the premiums in a manner that profit is earned. Other than the credit history, other factors help in underwriting and pricing of insurance. Some of the factors include the driving history, area of residence, age, gender work history among others. Taking into account all these factors while pricing an insurance cover could be a fair deal. However, consumers should have a better reason to make their credit history healthy. This will better your chances of landing favorable insurance rates and policies. To determine whether or not to offer auto insurance coverage to an individual, insurers often rely on an individual's credit information. Many insurers argue that this informat ion is appropriate in evaluating the possible risks and thereby charging the correct premiums to their clients. However, many states castoff this approach from being used as the sole foundation for cumulating rates, denying, renewing or canceling premiums policies for their clients. Some states forbid the use of these scores in rating premiums and making underwriting decisions. Others require that insurers should inform their clients and applicants of the decisions made while determining their premium in relation to their credit history.

BUSSINESS PLAN (GATEWAY TO SNOWTOWN) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

BUSSINESS PLAN (GATEWAY TO SNOWTOWN) - Essay Example In order to reverse this abysmal trend, my plan proposes the design and implementation of a project that will establish two main gateway signs, to be located in two strategic sites in the town. The overall rationale behind this decision is to present Snowtown to commuters before their entry into the district. It will also serve as a quick reference to what is on offer and where it can be obtained within the premise of the city. The project envisages beyond given the town an aesthetic phase lift to also providing a one stop coordinating network of the town’s iconic and signing outlay. To be incorporated in the project is the construction of public services centers at definite locations within the overall framework of the project. Snowtown by virtue of her location is the most preferred route for road users commuting to and fro Adelaide and Port Piere. Owing to this significant advantage, it is incumbent on the city planners to identify how to enhance the comparative advantage of this phenomenon within the established context of road transport. A recent survey indicates that, most travelers know little or nothing about this boisterous town besides cruising through it to their intended destinations. The project therefore, desires to embark on a massive publicity campaign that will showcase the township as an appealing tourism destination that will treat visitors to a delightful exhibition of the rich cultural heritage of Snowtown. It will serve as a platform to tap into the vibrant agricultural legacy for which the township is reputed for. In the case of Snowtown, besides the conventional road signage, there is a conspicuous gap in the provision of other equally relevant information outposts that presents the town in a unique fashion with the view of marketing it. In recognition of the above fact, there has been a remarkable move by government in recent times to explore within available provisions to pursue viable programmes that spurs sustainable economic

Nazi Germany in Animation Works from 40s-60s Research Paper

Nazi Germany in Animation Works from 40s-60s - Research Paper Example This was known as the Thaumatrope (Lenburg 272). This led to a series of progression in how the animations operated. Animations have been used since time immemorial to depict different aspects of human life. This ranges from people, scenarios, and events in the past, present and projected ones in the future. Use of animation has proved to be effective and has come in handy where there is no video. However, animations have also been used to propagate vices such as racism and hate speech. Many studios have produced animations with a massive amount of racist work. One of the notable cases is the racist animation used to depict Nazi Germany by Americans. This was in the period of 1940 to 1960 immediately after the 2nd world war (Langman 22). This paper shall thus reference into the investigation of the old animation works that occurred during the 1940s through to the 1960s over the massive amounts of the racist content that they showed. The paper shall also focus on the Nazi Germany and the manner by which the animations were depicted and were used. Again, information of how the Nazi Germany brought in the same issues affecting animation studios in America shall be investigated. The reaction to the audience to the racist animations shall also be compared to the present day where these works have been banned. Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler ruled Germany through the Nazi party. Germany, at this time was referred to as Nazi Germany or Third Reich. Nazi Germany was responsible for the launching of the Second World War in the larger Europe. It was also responsible for the Holocaust, which led to the death of many Jews living in Europe and other minor tribes. Racism was quite rampant in the Nazi Germany. The Nazis believed that some races were better than other was. Their racist stand was known, but nobody expected they would actually turn against their own people whom they ruled. Hitler had plainly made known his hatred for the Jews. This is why immediately he got to power; he spearheaded the movement against them, which led to the holocaust. Hitler would blame the Jews for all misfortunes in Germany. According to him, they had lost the 1st world war because of a conspiracy by the Jews. He also claimed that the Jews had attempted to destroy Germany, which led to the hyper inflation in 1923. In January 1933, the Jews were labeled sub humans (Mauch, Christof & Kiran 201). Germans could no longer buy from Jewish shops as they were marked with the yellow Star of David. Soldiers were placed at the doors to make sure no one entered these shops. This was an attempt to drive the Jews into Bankruptcy. Jews were hard working and had earned many fortunes with time. The racism became worse when Jews had to sit on chairs marked for them in public places such as schools and bus parks. In schools, the teachers would openly ridicule Jewish children. The racism became worse in 1935. The law of Nuremberg was passed making Jews lose their right as German citize ns (Mauch, Christof & Kiran 223). Marriages between Jews and non-Jews were prohibited, and from this point on, violence against the Jews became intense. Since this period, and after the Second World War, short animations produced from various studios focused on racist content works. Many of these focused on the Nazi Germany. There were various charges against Disney. It was claimed that Disney was a Nazi.

A formal Business plan about a fictouse landscping company that i Essay

A formal Business plan about a fictouse landscping company that i briefly outline - Essay Example The mission statement of the company will be the basis of the company’s marketing strategy and the creation of the company’s image as a brand. Already the company has a reputation of offering quality services in a timely manner and within budget. The company’s mission statement will therefore be â€Å"JMB Giving Landscaping Holistic touch of Creative Art.† The aspect of imagination will portray the company’s intention to apply creativity innovation and invention towards ensuring that consumers enjoy unique landscaping services because creativity cannot be easily reproduced but requires talent. At JMB our visions will be to turn imagination into reality to ensure that our customers enjoy unique and customized services and that the outcomes have the uniqueness and aesthetics only found in art. In addition we believe in keeping of time and operating within the customer’s budget. Once you give us the contract you will only have to sit back and wait for your finished product. Currently JMB has built reputation among small scale consumers. The company is now targeting contractual agreements with corporate partners to increase on the volume of contracts and to be able to make future projections. The company will depend on its capacity to deliver quality services in a timely manner and to add artistic creativity to landscaping. According to Ingels one of the ways to attain competitive advantage that cannot be easily reproduced by rivals in landscaping business is by applying graphic and design art to landscaping (15). The company will employ the services of reputable graphic designers and computer animators whose work will be to create visual images of designs for display to customers. The graphic designers and computer animators will also be able to turn the imaginations of the consumer into 3D images to allow the consumer to have a taste of what the finished products will

British Airways World Cargo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

British Airways World Cargo - Research Paper Example The net work of this freight carriers are diversified over eighty countries with two hundred trading centers. Customers can rely on these freight carriers since they undertake prompt schedules with proper connection carriers either through air or land. They have introduced an international timetable regarding the time schedule of their cargo carriers. Thus they can ensure worldwide Air Cargo linking facility in the same day itself. Their motto is to provide the cargo facilities to the customers at its maximum extend. They have been taking very keen interest for solving the problems of their customers. They undertake the risk of carrying easily destroyable items such as vegetables, fruits, flowers, fish, meat, milk products and other canned and readily cooked food products. This venture has brought them too much recognition and appreciation worldwide. Their employees working in their global centers are committed to fulfill the requirements of the customers. In 1966 an air transport consultancy called International Aviation Services was formed. The main intention of these services was to conduct transportation of goods by air lifting. This organization changed their name as IAS Cargo Airlines after four years. Then they expanded their trading network worldwide in accordance with the high demands developed by the world of business. They secured the world wide recognition of people on account of their faultless freight carrying service. Then they renewed their fleet and air freight system with Jet planes. After this their business started to flourish within some years. They are authorized to carry consignments which were shipped by ocean previously. Thus they started introducing bigger air freight carriers in order to accommodate consignments with respect to the growing demands of the world. Another air cargo called Trans Meridian air cargo was also operated from Britain during this period. Economically these two freight carriers were equal in strength. These two cargo companies united together to form British Cargo Airlines which existed up to 1980. The price of jet fuel had increased during this period. The cargo owners cannot afford the price hike and they are forced to stop the venture. The economic instability prevailed during that time caused certain business concerns in Britain to suffer draw backs. These business concerns were the customers of British Cargo Airlines and their withdrawal from the business field caused the closure of the British Cargo Airlines. All these events caused the formation of British Airways World Cargo from its parent organization the British Airways. British airways world cargo started as a sister concern of

Biology Unit 5 DB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biology Unit 5 DB - Essay Example The leaves grow from a basal rosette, and a ‘keel’ provided the required structural reinforcement to each pitcher so the the opening is always upright. Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are called phytotelmata. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or by enzymes secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants contain mutualistic insect larvae, which feed on trapped prey, and whose excreta the plant absorbs (Wikipedia). During digestion, trapped prey are converted into a solution of amino acids, peptides, phosphates, ammonium and urea. The plant obtains its mineral nutrition, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, from this solution. Common habitats of the pitcher plant are bogs, savannas and flat woods. The wettest parts of the bogs are favored, often restricting the species to the edge of the bogs. Pitcher plants form dense floating mats on the water on the edge of bog ponds or lakes and acidic streams. The carnivorous form of nutrition of the plant is an adaptation to the poor mineral content or acidic nature of the soil in which it grows. The soil in which it grows is usually deficient in trace elements such as molybdenum. Such soils are usually highly acidic and unsuitable for many other plants. The modified leaves of the pitcher plant help it to catch preys that comprise not only insects but also isopods, mites, spiders and the occasional frogs. What the plant does not get from the soil it grows in, it obtains from the living prey it catches

Networking Concepts Essay Example for Free

Networking Concepts Essay Benefit of network Network: Network is very popular common word now. It is a collection of computers, printers, and other electronic devices which is linked by cables or wireless devices; it can make a situation for them to communicate with each other. For the welfare of network individuals are able to share and exchange information (files and programs), access common services (email and applications), and share hardware (printers, servers, image scanners, and fax machines). picture of LAN/MAN/WAN network The Name of Network LAN (Local Area Network: It is a small geographical area (Room, Building or a Campus) of networking MAN (Metropolitan Area Network): If network in a city than it is called MAN. WAN (Wide Area Network): If network spread geographically (Country of across Globe) than it is called WAN. Advantage of network: It offers a wide range of advantages. It help to transferee filesAA one computer to another, centralized printers, centralized information (an intranet web server, for example). For it programs can be run off a server, so updating means updating a single program, not one on each computer (which can be a nightmare if there are a few hundred computers), centralized data backup Disadvantage of network: To drive up network . there are many equipment needed which is much cost. Virtual Private Networking Service: Virtual Private Networking Service is failure for a secure network connection which can be taken on top of a public network, such as the Internet or Education Wireless Integrated Network. For the help of it Internet’s  infrastructure can move secured data to and from the campus network. It play an indispensable role    off-campus students and staff to access the Universitys online resources in the home computer,  through their ISP (Internet Service Providers) like Signet, Star Hub, etc. using dial-up or broadband service. We can also get the facility of Universitys  e-services or computing facilities that are not made available on  the Internet or WWW (World-Wide Web In this case we can do Laboratorys UNIX servers, network printers, file shares, personal web storage folders, etc for the help of network. Picture of Virtual private networ VPN on NTUwireless: There are also some risks in wireless network. So in this case to keep our privacy on NTUwireless, our campus wireless network, we can  use  this VPN service to dial-out of NTUwireless – as like as we normally use VPN on the Internet to access NTU network. To connect wired  network to the campus, VPN connection is not necessary. This service is not turned on for  the wired network. VPN client behind the corporate firewall: Most organizations and universities  have some form of firewall implementations on their  Internet gateway to except for Signet, Star hub or the overseas ISP If there is a firewall in your organization, you  should use SSL VPN to connect. or, If you want to connect NTU with Microsoft VPN, the organization’s Firewall  requires PPTP traffic  via TCP port 1723 ;amp; GRE protocol to  pass through the  Firewall. Network Installations: networking of a communications system through to planning, designing, installing and maintaining the system. (Picture of network installation Connect Systems work is able to provide the best computer network design and specification, meeting both present and ongoing requirements to each client and is closely with each client. We offer a wide number of benefit to all client . These include recommend, supply and install all the necessary hardware and software for your network installations, as well as we offer tuning and support system . To provide a total data and voice transport system including help and advice with the design and fitting of client’s computer rooms a structured wiring can be installed. The necessary thing or installation: Windows Vista/2003/XP * Cyrix Presentation Server ;amp; Access Essentials * Internet, Firewall and VPN connectivity solutions including Cisco PIX, Symantec Enterprise Firewall installation and configuration * E-mail products including Exchange, Lotus Notes and Outlook, Mobile email via Blackberry and Windows mobile devices * Back-up software including Arc serve and Backup Exec * An ti-virus solutions including Trend Micro * Content Checking technology such as Minesweeper and Super Scout * Supply and configuration of server and PC hardware. Operating system of network: Net work operating system: It is an operating system which has components and programs to allow a computer on a network to serve request from other computer in term of data providing access to other resources such as printer and file systems Some steps of simple file and print sharing: Content 1. File Sharing Basics 2. Naming Computers 3. Install File and Print Sharing 4. Disable Simple Sharing 5. Disable Firewalls and Other Software 6. Create User Accounts 7. Sharing the Folder 8. How to Check Which Folders are Shared 9. Mapping a Network Drive 10. How to Remove File Sharing 11. Sharing Printers with Others on Your Network 12. Troubleshooting File and Print Sharing Install file and print sharing: Our task is to go into your Network contractions under the Local Area Connection Properties window, and need check whether S the General tab is included or not. We can use the following items for this connection. Or the Components are checked by this connection section, we can check that File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks can list we have to be aware about that the checkbox is checked. If it is listed, the computer is already configured for file sharing; click Cancel. If it is not listed, then Click Install button. Click on Service. Click Add. What we need for instillation: . Click OK. We might need your Windows install CD and if the computer asks to restart, click yes. We can use the following operating system: We can use the following operating system: 1. JUNOS. Used in routers and switches from Juniper Networks. Cisco JOS (formerly ‘Cisco Internet work Operating System’) is a NOM having a focus on the internetworking capabilities of network device. It is used on Cisco System router and some network switches. 2.

My Summer Narrative Essay Essay Example for Free

My Summer Narrative Essay Essay Narrative Essay It was a hot summer day in the year 2002 when I went camping with my family in Savannah, Georgia. I will never forget this day because it’s the day I learned the lesson that if I don’t obey my parents the consequences will be large. I was only about six years old when we first pulled into the campground. Of course being a young child the first thing I noticed was this extravagant playground out near the road. When me and my sister, Natalie who was around seven at this time, saw it we both looked at each other and knew we were going to go play on that playground. We pulled into our campsite that was located near the very back of the park and our parents started unpacking everything and setting up the motorhome. They were making it obvious they wanted us out of their way. They grabbed our dolls, bikes and chalk out of the car and told us to go play. Natalie and I knew this was the perfect time to go play on the playground that we saw on our way in. It just so happened there was a playground right by our campsite as well. We came up with the perfect plan. We would tell our parents we were going to go play on the playground and trick into them into thinking we meant the one right near our campsite. In reality we planned on going to the big one near the front of the campground and not have to lie in the process. So we grabbed our bikes and asked our parents if we could ride over to the playground and play. They both said yes, so we rode off towards what we thought was the most beautiful playground weve ever saw. It was probably about a fifteen minute bike ride for us to get there. We dropped our bikes and ran to the playground and started playing. About a half hour passed when my sister Natalie decided she had to use the restroom. So she went around to the other side of the playground away from the road and decided to go. By this point we noticed there was this blue truck that drove past a few times while we were there. We began to get a little scared and thought maybe we should start going back to the camper. No sooner than we got back on our bikes our mom and dad came driving up with anger in their eyes. Me and Natalie knew we were about to be in some big trouble. Just as my parents got out of the car the man in the blue truck stopped and walked over. He started reprimanding my parents and told them they can’t let their kids run around without any supervision. He also said he was the manager and told my parents Natalie sed the restroom right out in the open. My parents apologized to the man and then made us apologize as well. The manager accepted our apology and told us we werent allowed back on that particular playground for the rest of our stay. By this point my our parents were livid and gave me and Natalie a 10 minute lecture about the dangers of them not knowing where we were and not bei ng able to see us. They grabbed us and our bikes and we headed back to the campsite. When we got back they took all our toys and our bikes and we were told we werent allowed to join any of the activities the rest of the week. That week my family went swimming, horse back riding and hiking. Natalie and I didn’t get to do any of it and our siblings made sure they told us after every activity how fun it was. It was a time I’ll never forgot. It seems everything seems so much more traumatic when you are young. I learned the lesson that I should obey my parents even if I don’t necessarily want to. I’m not saying there arent times I don’t go against their will; but ever since that day I think to myself and analyze if the rule that I am about to break is worth the consequences I’ll have to pay if I get caught.

The Purpose Of Research In Social Work Social Work Essay

The Purpose Of Research In Social Work Social Work Essay This essay will focus on how EBP and practice wisdom should be combined and not seen as opposing opposites as together they have great value for social work practice. Also both should determine the practitioners decision making processes in practice because failing to do so could actually be oppressive to both service users and practitioners. Also this integration could facilitate and encourage the use of research amongst social work practitioners in day to day practice. EBP in social work has been implemented at a slow pace and has not been greatly embraced and valued by practitioners (McNeill, 2006; Pignotti and Thyer, 2009; Mitchell 2011, Nevo and Nevo, 2011). Epstein (2011) highlights how practitioners have voiced that they resent EBP as it presents as a threat to their autonomy and creativity. This idea of EB knowledge solely determining practice could be perceived by practitioners as disempowering. An approach that devalues practice wisdom and professional judgement in favour of objective, manualised, and empirically supported interventions (Webb, 2001; Nevo and Nevo, 2011) can be seen to undermine professional autonomy as it places authority of science over the authority of the practitioner (Nevo and Nevo, 2011). Furthermore it can actually be seen to oppress practitioners as it seems to be controlling their decision making process that may often conflict with their practice wisdom. An approach that alongside EB knowledge also embraced practic e based knowledge may be of more use and value to practitioners and may be more likely to be used in practice as it detaches EBP from its solely scientific and thus its oppressive nature. It is now increasingly being recognised in the EBP literature that social work values and practitioner wisdom need to be integrated with practice; however this integration is often unclear (Epstein, 2009; Mitchell, 2011; Nevo and Nevo, 2011). A shift towards evidence informed practice (EIP) rather than evidence based practice is now being recognised (Epstein, 2009; Haight, 2010; Nevo and Nevo, 2011). However practice is wisdom is still not acknowledged amongst some EIP advocates for example Haight (2010) but is greatly valued amongst others such as Nevo and Nevo (2011). Stoesz (2010) argues that the social work profession is too subjective and reflexive and argues that only scientific evidence is acceptable and ethical as anything else could be depriving an individual of effective treatment (Stoesz, 2010; Gambrill, 2010). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are seen to provide gold standard evidence for practice to be based on. Qualitative research and practice wisdom or clinical judgments are valued the least as are less scientific (Corby, 2006; Epstein, 2002; Dodd and Epstein, 2012). Epstein (2009) rejects the use of RCTs on ethical grounds as the methodology deprives the one group of intervention. RCTs may have value for research findings and in turn practice but its research methodology is unethical to some service users. Ethics is of great importance within social work as it is of importance that social workers be ethical professionals and work anti oppressively. And also be guided by research (Nevo and Nevo, 2011). BASW (2012) code of ethics states that evidence informed knowledge derived from research and practice evaluation is the basis of methodology in social work. However if practitioners are not using EB knowledge and are using only practice wisdom this could be depriving service users from an effective treatment and is not integrating evidence into practice. What would be of more value is to encourage and accept EB knowledge and practice wisdom so that not one or the other, but both are valued and used by practitioners so that research is being incorporated into and informing social work practice as BASW (2012) states. Also BASW (2012) states that knowledge should also come from practice evaluation and mentions acknowledging context but does not mention practice wisdom. This evidence informed approach whereby acknowledging being specific to context but that does not mention practice wisdom is similar to EIP advocated by Haight (2010). To ignore the existence of practice based wisdom and its perceived value by practitioners in influencing their decision making process will only further limit the potential of integrating EB research into practice. McNeill (2006) highlights how practitioners decision making is not driven by research findings, even when provided with evidence of intervention effectiveness. Gambrill (2006) acknowledges how in social work practice a number of unsupported interventions are conventionally used and accepted in practice that are based on professional authority and clinical experience and not research evidence. Pignotti and Thyer (2009) concluded that just because social workers valued and used EBP interventions they also valued and used Novel unsupported therapies (NUTs) in practice. This could suggest that practice wisdom is valued in the decision making process and could be of priority even when provided with evidence of an interventions effectiveness (Gambrill, 2006; McNeill, 2006). It also could suggest that both EBP and practice wisdom are also co-existing in the decision making process in practice (Pignotti and Thyer, 2009). Pignotti and Thyer (2009) highlights how little is known about why social work practitioners choose NUTs. Similar Research could be of value in potentially identifying how Practice wisdom as well as EB knowledge together both are being used and are of value to practice. Mitchell (2011) illustrates how the sole use of EBP had limited valuable application in real world practice. Mitchell (2011) found that when attempting to implement EB services for young people with complex needs, this was limited without the integration of practice wisdom. As most research focuses on a single disorder or problem it is difficult to implement such research when faced with complex factors that interact in complex ways in real world settings. Also it could be seen as unethical and oppressive to arrange and reduce human beings using solely scientific EB interventions. Corby (2006) states how human beings are too complex to assume a one size fits all approach. In such complex cases as encountered by Mitchell (2001) practice wisdom and EBP were integrated in order to make a decision based not only on evidence but of relevance to the case at hand. Fook (2012) describes how a reflective practitioner situates themselves and their knowledge in the specific context of a situati on, looking at the situation as a whole and in relation to their own experiences. Although the term of practice wisdom is not used this seems to reflect some of the nature of practice wisdom and how it can be of use to each individual case. With exclusion of their own experiences Fook (2012) also seems to reflect BASW (2012) concerning Evidence informed knowledge. It seems to be now increasingly acknowledged that practitioners are not passive recipients or implementers of information, however in addition to this practice based wisdom should also be acknowledged as of value. The understanding of the processes of how EB knowledge and practice based knowledge are integrated into practice is of importance to the purpose of research in social work. The integration of research and practice may then be of perceived value to practitioners. One of Mitchells (2011) main arguments was that the main barriers to implementation and value of EBP in real world practice is the oppositional construction that remains concerning EBP verses practice based wisdom. Fook (2012) describes the notion of dichotomous thinking whereby most phenomena are seen to fit into binary and oppositional categories, with one being devalued in relation to the other. This dichotomous thinking appears to be occurring within social work research and practice in relation to EBP and practice wisdom.

Ancient Astronomy Essay -- science

Ancient Astronomy Astronomy has been a source for myriad ideas influencing every subject. The stars have existed since the dawn of man. People have looked to the universe to determine physical location, gain spiritual direction and to track time. Many early scientists used astronomy to make careers for themselves and print their names in all the history books of time. Since the beginning of time, the stars and all of the heavens have been used not only as a tool to aid in basic living but also to reveal new and undiscovered things about the time and world people lived in. The times leading up to the 17th Century were filled with many discoveries not only in astronomy but also in mathematics and science. These discoveries lead to many uses from the learned knowledge of these newfound discoveries. The view of the universe at the time of the 17th Century was referred to as the Ptolemaic system. They also believed that all things around the earth were perfect and unchanging. Another popular theory at the time was the Copernican system. This is where the sun is the center, rather than the sun. One of the main scientists during the 17th Century was Galileo. He believed in the Copernican system. When Galileo pointed his telescope to the sky, he made many discoveries that confirmed the Copernican system. One thing he found was that the moon was not a perfect sphere as thought of in the Ptolemaic system; it had craters and mountains not visible to the human eye. Another d...

Scandals :: essays research papers fc

Imagine a boardroom of these corporate executives, along with their lawyers, accountants, and investment bankers, plotting and planning to take over a public company. The date is set; an announcement is only weeks away. Once the meeting is over, several phone their brokers and instruct them to purchase tons of stock of the Target Company. When the buyout is announced, the share price zooms up and the investors drop these stock shares for millions of dollars in profits. Insider trading is perfectly legal. The officers and directors who owe a duty to stockholders have the same right to trade and purchase the security as the next person does. The primary difference between legal and illegal insider trading lies in the motive. What I plan to explain in this paper is investigating the illegal aspects of insider trading and the scandal of it. What is insider trading? According to Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, it is "any manipulative or deceptive device in connection with the purchase or sale of any security." This ruling served as a deterrent for the early part of this century before the stock market became such a vital part of our lives. But as the 1960"s arrived and illegal insider activity to be a lot, courts were chained by the vague definition. So members of the judicial system were now forced to interpret "on the fly" since Congress failed to resource them with a concrete definition. This resulted in two theories of insider trading liability that have evolved over the past three decades through judicial and administrative interpretation. The classic and the misappropriation theory, is the classic concept is the type of illegal activity one usually thinks of when the words "insider trading" are said. This theory started from the 1961 SEC administrative case o f Cady Roberts. This was the Sec’s first time to regulate these security trading’s by corporate insiders. The ruling basiacally brought about the way that we define insider trading - "trading of a firms stock or derivatives assets by its officers, directors and other key employees on the basis of information not available to the public." The Supreme Court officially recognized the classical theory in the 1980 case U.S. v. Chiarella. U.S. v. Chiarella was the first criminal case of insider trading. Vincent Chiarella was a printer who put together the coded packets used by companies preparing to launch a tender offer for other firms.

Mikes Fish Market :: essays research papers

Case Study Philips NV 1. Describe changes in Philips environment occurring during the 1960’s and 1970’s (a)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Philips operates in a very competitive market domestic and internationally. There have been various changes over the last decade, with the emergence of the company from a position near economic failure to a well-known brand that is still lacking in performance. From the 1960’s onward, a number of significant changes took place. Due to the efforts of the GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade barriers fell worldwide. There have been many attempts at designing models which describe the competitive environment and the determinants of profitability from Western competitors. The first element is that of the existing competition. Philips market for their products are elevating domestically and emerging internationally, however the environment in which it operated in for both of these markets is highly competitive. The way in which the products are perceived had changed over the last decade may have been seen as a luxury by the domestic markets are now seen as becoming more and more a necessity as technology moves into the home internationally. According to Cahners, the name Philips s is well known, indeed it is ranked as the global brand leader in electronics Cahners Research and in terms of Inter-brand's World's Most Valuable Brands 2000. However, there are also some problems with this and the way that it has been competing and brand awareness alone does not create sales, socially in a market where there is firm competition. 2. Describe why Philips had low profits durng the 1970’s and 80’s (a)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem faced by the company may be seen as a result of the lack of change and the inability to identify the way the market was moving. In the 1970‘s and the 1980’s there were different market drivers and challenges. Philips has many different products, and with such a diversified portfolio there has been a spread of risk, but this has also lead to a lack of specialization. This is partly being corrected with a concentration on video cassette recorders. However, unlike many other companies in the market, there is not a single association with the brand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other companies have had a higher level of differentiation due to the way in which they have been able to identify with a single product, and this has enhanced their reputation, such as Sony and Matsushita initiating VHS. This is an industry where reverse engineering is extensive and many competitors will be working on similar technologies.

Owen’s war poetry Essay

It is a widely acknowledged truth that war is contemptible and cruel, but it takes the poetic opulence and the lively experience of the war to effectively convey one’s strong attitude against the reality of war. With his frequent use of contrast, para-rhyme and vivid imagery especially of blood and light in his collection of war poems, Wilfred Owen successfully portrays the brutal reality in battle thus stirs the readers’ sympathy for the soldiers, expresses his anger at the futility of war, demonstrates the disdain for ignorant people back at home and voices his anguish at the condemnation that these soldiers have to endure. The horrendous experience Owen has gone through as a soldier in the British Army in World War I explains why the tremendous sufferings by the soldiers stands as the most predominant idea in almost all his poems in the anthology. From the passive suffering of cold winds that â€Å"knife us† (Exposure) to the disturbing death of an unlucky fellow comrade in gas warfare (Dulce et Decorum est) â€Å"flound’ring like a man in fire or lime†, Owen presents a wide range of pains that blurs the boundary between life and death. Although the type of destruction portrayed in each poem is not the same as any other, they all highlight the frightening cruelty of the war, most obvious of all the deterioration of a man’s physical appearance and strength. They are all â€Å"knock-kneed, coughing like hags† before someone was caught in the toxic gas â€Å"guttering, choking, drowning† (Dulce et Decorum est), having â€Å"old wounds save with cold that can not more ache† (Insensibility) that escalate into â€Å"a thousand pains† (Strange Meeting), or even losing their sight â€Å"eyeballs, huge-bulged like squids† that brings them to such a total breakdown that â€Å"he sobbed† (The Sentry). â€Å"All went lame, all blind† because the merciless war gives no exception whatsoever, and that they had lost their boots makes no difference, they still â€Å"limped on, bloodshod†. Using factual vocabulary and vivid imagery which might at some point become grotesque, Wilfred Owen exposes the ugly truth of the war. Blood is an effective image conveying the sense of suffering in the battle, all of which is disturbing and brutal. It bears the connotation both of the death of soldiers and their guilt of shedding the lives of other human beings. The blood either â€Å"come gargling from the froth-corrupted lung† (Dulce et Decorum est) or even gets â€Å"clogged their chariot wheels† (Strange Meeting). Also, if one notices he would see that the word â€Å"blood-shod† in Dulce et Decorum est which echoes â€Å"blood-shed† fully conveys the hellish nature of the war. So much blood has poured that â€Å"the veins ran dry† (Disabled). Owen also successfully utilizes the effect of sounds and pace. By breaking lines into short fragments, he depicts the exhaustion and the limping of these men through the night. Also, whenever he talks about sufferings, Owen uses harsh sounds such as â€Å"k† (knock-kneed), â€Å"d† (drunk with fatigue, deaf to the hoots)†, â€Å"b† and â€Å"p† (what we spoiled/ Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled†) which are either naturally unpleasant sounds or are even reminiscent of the sounds that rifles make. Death is prevailing in these poems and we see most clearly in â€Å"Strange Meeting† that the para-rhyme with the second rhyme lower in pitch than the first demonstrates the dying that these soldiers are going through. They start of as enthusiastic youth only to see themselves slowly rotten away to death. That is the brutal reality of war that Owen brings to readers. Through this we can see clearly that he is strongly anti-war. Together with depicting the physical pain, Owen also highlights the trauma that war leaves on any single soldier and the disparaging effect on their mentality. The idea of seeing their wretched comrade in their dreams is so haunting that it either gets so real-â€Å"guttering, choking, drowning†(Dulce et Decorum est) or keeps coming back like the â€Å"eyeballs† that â€Å"watch my dream still†(The Sentry). The use of continuous verb tense conveys the actuality of a nightmare and also emphasizes on the on-going nature of such horrendous suffering that will definitely traumatize the on-lookers that survive. Also, the idea of being â€Å"watched† adds the survivor guilt that disturbs them. It is so callous an experience, seeing human beings â€Å"die as cattle† that at one point a veteran â€Å"try not to remember these things†. However, â€Å"whenever crumps pummeled the roof and slogged the air beneath†, the hurtful sight in which his comrade â€Å"moans and jumps† and make â€Å"wild chattering of his broken teeth† reappears (The Sentry); there is purely no way out because even the sounds of nature brings back such distressing memory. The description of hostility in nature is also used to further accentuate the enormous psychological suffering of the soldiers. The â€Å"shrieking air† that chases the soldiers running from post to post and the constant rain which â€Å"kept slush waist high, that rising hour by hour, choked up the step† (The Sentry) induces the sense of threat, that any moment the soldiers would all be swallowed up. The soldiers are too discouraged that they slowly give up fighting for their lives in the harshness of nature where â€Å"the merciless iced east winds† â€Å"knife us† (Exposure) or when they are about to be â€Å"jabbed and killed†, all they would do is â€Å"parry† (Strange Meeting). The personification of nature makes it obvious as well how all these soldiers have ceased to consciously distinguish the unloving nature from the human army that they have to fight against in the battle. The sense of pervasive pessimism in the battle is also demonstrated by the pejorative image of â€Å"dawn massing in the east her melancholy army† (Exposure). Dawn, the traditional imagery of hope and new beginning, has been distorted to become a signal of â€Å"melancholy† despair that â€Å"attacks† on â€Å"shivering ranks of gray†. The gloomy dawn blends in with the color of the enemies’ uniform, which further stresses the disheartened spirit of the soldiers in war. Even in their dreams in which they catch a vision of their beloved hometown, they remain skeptic, wondering whether it is just a precursor to death, asking â€Å"Is it that we are dying?† The pararhyme â€Å"snow-dazed faces† and â€Å"sun-dozed† establishes the wispy link between their suffering and their home but also brings out their discouragement at the incomplete and unreal vision of their dreams. Although Owen intends to draw sympathy from the readers for the soldiers thus the anger at the war, he does acknowledge all these sufferings as the condemnation that the soldiers are inclined to suffer once they have gone to war. His frequent reference to Hell is an allusion to The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri which details his visionary progress through Hell and Purgatory. With the description of fire in battlefield, Owen induces a sense of the â€Å"haunting flares† in Hades’ world (Dulce et Decorum est). In Strange Meeting, the soldier â€Å"stood in Hell† after he â€Å"escaped† from the vicious battle. The image of â€Å"purgatorial shadows† (Mental Case) is typically Dantean that emphasizes the tortuous experience of the veterans. By doing this, Owen is both trying to convey the hellish experience of being in the war as if they were punished for their guilt and expressing his certainty of arrival in Hell even after the soldiers have escaped from the battlefield. This implicitly disapproves the participation of these soldiers in the war, saying that their sufferings is the condemnation for their crime, because by the time a soldier is killed, he is already a â€Å"devil’s sick of sin† (Dulce et Decorum est). Born into an Evangelical family, Owen unsurprisingly echoes some religious reference in his poems. The â€Å"devil’s sick of sin† above is a good example. Besides that Owen also acknowledges that the soldiers are going through adversity because â€Å"love of God seems dying† (Exposure). To him, war is a sin against the will of his God which angers Him so much that he ceases to be benevolent to the small creatures of his Creation. In The Sentry, the exclamation â€Å"I see your lights!† and the reply â€Å"But ours had long died out† opens itself to some interpretations. The lights that the ill-luck soldier has seen bear the connotation of the light at the end of the tunnel, an escape from the despicable life into death. But the others’ lights, their hope and faith, have ceased to exist. Thus we can see in Owen’s eyes, war is a crime that defies the will of God and is worth condemning as it brings all the soldiers under the curse as well. Such pains are so enormous that the only way to stay alive is to suppress all emotions and become insensitive. The ironic use of the word â€Å"happy† which recurs in the poem â€Å"Insensibility† conveys the bitter resignation to the fact that soldiers can only live in war if they â€Å"let their veins run cold† before they die and from whom no â€Å"compassion† â€Å"makes their feet sore on the alley cobbed with their brothers†: they are allowed no more space for emotions once their comrades fall in the battle and they have to step on the corpses to make their way out. â€Å"Wading sloughs of flesh† and â€Å"treading blood† (Mental Cases) have become a usual occurrence that if the soldiers do not grow empathetic towards, he would be robbed off his sanity. War takes away so many lives-the soldiers â€Å"dies as cattle† that they â€Å"keep no check on Armies’ decimation† as it is ultimately pointless. However ha unting and hurtful it is to witness a comrade’s death, the soldier â€Å"forgot him there† (The Sentry). War dehumanizes people to such an extent that a little bit of care for anyone else would be a luxury. They have to adapt by turning their eyes â€Å"rid of the hurt of color of blood† and keep â€Å"their hearts remain small drawn†, otherwise it would be too painful to keep moving on. This is a development on the depiction of blood, which now adopts implication of heart-feelings of pity. It has to be constricted to resist all feelings just as their senses become dulled in the way a military surgeon might burn flesh to stop the loss of blood from a wound by â€Å"cautery†. The advantage-that they can â€Å"laugh among the dying† is, in its cruelty, an outright criticism of the effect of war on human decency (Insensibility). Gradually, they lose the feeling for themselves as well. Also, Owen brings the response of the people back home into some of these poems to further highlight the destruction of war in the sense that it brings out the insensitivity of those who do not go to war. Surely, the death of young soldiers would dwell on the forehead of girls who love them for the rest of their lives as â€Å"The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall†¦and each slow duck a drawing-down of blinds† (Anthem for Doomed Youth), but most of the time, all that the soldiers perceive, as Owen depicts, is indifference and ignorance. There is a strong echo between â€Å"But nothing happens† (Exposure) and â€Å"but no one bothers† (Insensibility). War has made such a difference in the lives of those who went to the front and those who did not that it actually divides and weaken the link between human beings and Owen voices his rage in damning words â€Å"By choice they made themselves immune to pity†. Characterizing the insensitivity that is slowly engendered in human beings, Owen has successfully brought out the insensitive and merciless nature of the war. The suffering does not end once the last gun ceased to fire. Instead it drags on and becomes an incurable wound in the veterans’ mind after they return home. The sharp contrast between the life before and after the war of the young soldier in â€Å"Disabled† exemplifies the destruction that war makes on the lives of these soldiers. Once a football player that got â€Å"carried shoulder-high† for his excellent performance, the young man is now â€Å"legless, sewn short at elbow†, helpless and dependent. The juxtaposition of â€Å"crowds cheer goal† against â€Å"some cheer him home† shows the marked difference between the life of an admired footballer with that of a veteran who receives only spared sympathy from â€Å"some† people back home. There is a decrease in the degree of respect and recognition that the soldier gets before and after the war, and Owen severely despises war for that truth. The soldier’s social life is also worsened where he notices the â€Å"lovelier† glances that girls gave him as a young handsome guy have â€Å"passed from him to† others â€Å"that were whole†. The girls that have allowed him to â€Å"feel† their waists and hands now merely â€Å"touch him like some queer disease†. Again sharp contrast between â€Å"touch† and â€Å"feel† demonstrates the disappearance of emotions that were once present. Lack of emotions is accompanied by a sense of disgust for a â€Å"queer disease †. If in â€Å"Disabled†, Owen depicts the contrast between the life of a soldier before and after the war, in â€Å"Mental Cases† he focuses on the trauma that robs these soldiers off their sanity once they step out of the war. Not only physically destroyed, â€Å"chasms round their fretted sockets†, â€Å"stroke on stroke of pain†, they also suffer from insanity which resulted from witnessing â€Å"multitudinous murders†, â€Å"wading sloughs of flesh† and â€Å"treading blood† of their own comrades. To link this with a point previously made, war makes the soldiers either bitterly insensitive or makes them lose their minds. These men did not withstand and grow that insensibility; instead they have given in to the inhumanity of the war and thus become traumatized-â€Å"their hands are plucking at each other†. This is a strong allusion to Lady Macbeth who is overwhelmed with a sense of guilt in Act 5 Scene 1, thus it is reasonable to deduce that the haunting experience of killing massive number of people has rooted in these soldier’s minds causing them to lose their minds. Owen unceasingly points out the damaging influence of the war and finally comes to his firm conclusion that war is futile and contemptible. All these pains and suffering do not bring anyone anywhere. It only turns a â€Å"brother† into an enemy which gets â€Å"jabbed and killed† (Strange Meeting). It involves lengthy days of waiting although it is clear that â€Å"nothing happens†. The question â€Å"What are we doing here?† (Exposure) can be taken as both the query for the purpose of their night duties or the questioning of the point of the war itself. The suffering in the middle of the war, the post-war sense of loss for such futile dispute makes a complete picture of the â€Å"pity of war† that Owen tries to depict in his collection of poems. He forthrightly dismisses the sentimental description of the soldiers as â€Å"flowers for poets’ tearful fooling† or merely â€Å"gaps for filling† (Insensibility). Neither does he approve of such false promises as â€Å"jeweled hilts, daggers in plait socks, smart salutes† (Disabled) or â€Å"the old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori†. It is ultimately deception which lures â€Å"innocent† civilians into the horrendous battle. He is convinced that the propaganda can only fool â€Å"children ardent for some desperate glory† and the deception is too thin a mask for the callous reality of war. All in all, Owen is a strongly anti-war poet who has clearly establishes his stance on the distressing and repugnant reality of war. With a combination of various devices, notably para-rhyme, contrast and vivid imagery, Owen has both offered a factual account of war and voiced his anger towards war-the crisis, the crime of humankind.

Chem Answers Essay

Exercise 1. What safety equipment is available to you while you do your experiments? How far are they from you while you are conducting your experiments?This includes fire extinguishers, phones, showers, etc. The safety equipment that I have access to while performing my experiments are as follows; shower, fire alarms and a telephone. They are all within ten feet from where the experiment will take place. 2. What is an MSDS? MSDS is a document that is required by Osha’s â€Å"Hazard Communication† for all existing chemicals that are currently sold. 3. What can make glassware unusable? Glassware is unusable in an experiment when it is chipped, broken, or cracked. 4. When should you wear goggles in the lab? You should wear safety goggles at all time. 5. How long should you wash your eyes if you get a chemical in them? If you have contact with chemicals in your eye, it should be rinsed for ten minutes. 6. What should you do if your clothing catches on fire? If your clothes should catch on fire during your experiment, you should use the safety shower if you have one. Otherwise, stop-drop-roll and yell or use a fire blanket. 7. How should you heat the liquid in a test tube to a temperature less than 100 C? If you are heating liquid in a test tube to a temperature less than 100 degrees. You should use a test tube holder, clamp and hot water. 8.   What do the following symbols mean? DangerousOxidizerRadioactiveCorrosive ________________ _________________ _______________ ______________ 9. What does each of the small diamonds in the NFPA fire diamond mean? Blue- Health section Red- Flammability Yellow- Reactivity White- Special condition 10. Why should you remove jewelry prior to entering the lab for an experiment? Jewelry should always be removed prior to an experiment. Rings can trap the chemical that you are working with against the skin. Necklaces can dangle and knock dangerous chemical over. 11. What type of clothing should you wear in lab? The type of clothing that you should wear would be; leather shoes, long pants or skirts, sturdy cotton fabric, and older clothes are advised. 12. If your Bunsen burner goes out or you smell gas, what should you do? If you should be working with a Bunsen burner and the flame should extinguish or you smell gas, turn the gas off.

Naturally Occuring Earth Quakes

————————————————- Naturally occurring earthquakes Fault types Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a  fault plane. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and  aseismically  only if there are no irregularities or  asperities  along the fault surface that increase the frictional resistance. Most fault surfaces do have such asperities and this leads to a form of  stick-slip behaviour.Once the fault has locked, continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the  stored energy. This energy is rel eased as a combination of radiated elastic  strain  seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an earthquake.This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the  elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake  fracture  growth or is converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available  elastic potential energy  and raise its temperature, though these changes are negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the  Earth's deep interior. 2] Earthquake fault types Main article:  Fault (geology) There are three main types of fault that may cause an earthquake: normal, reverse (thrust) and strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting a re examples of dip-slip, where the displacement along the fault is in the direction of  dip  and movement on them involves a vertical component. Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is being  extended  such as a  divergent boundary. Reverse faults occur in areas where the crust is being  shortened  such as at a convergent boundary. Strike-slip faultsare teep structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other; transform boundaries are a particular type of strike-slip fault. Many earthquakes are caused by movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip; this is known as oblique slip. Reverse faults, particularly those along  convergent plate boundaries  are associated with the most powerful earthquakes, including almost all of those of magnitude 8 or more. Strike-slip faults, particularly continental  transforms  can produce major earthquakes up to about magnitude 8.Earthquakes associated with nor mal faults are generally less than magnitude 7. This is so because the energy released in an earthquake, and thus its magnitude, is proportional to the area of the fault that ruptures[3]  and the stress drop. Therefore, the longer the length and the wider the width of the faulted area, the larger the resulting magnitude. The topmost, brittle part of the Earth’s crust, and the cool slabs of the tectonic plates that are descending down into the hot mantle, are the only parts of our planet which can store elastic energy and release it in fault ruptures.Rocks hotter than about 300 degrees Celsius flow in response to stress; they do not rupture in earthquakes. [4][5]  The maximum observed lengths of ruptures and mapped faults, which may break in one go are approximately 1000  km. Examples are the earthquakes in  Chile, 1960;  Alaska, 1957;  Sumatra, 2004, all in subduction zones. The longest earthquake ruptures on strike-slip faults, like the  San Andreas Fault  (1 857, 1906), the  North Anatolian Fault  in Turkey (1939) and theDenali Fault  in Alaska (2002), are about half to one third as long as the lengths along subducting plate margins, and those along normal faults are even shorter.Aerial photo of the San Andreas Fault in the  Carrizo Plain, northwest of Los Angeles The most important parameter controlling the maximum earthquake magnitude on a fault is however not the maximum available length, but the available width because the latter varies by a factor of 20. Along converging plate margins, the dip angle of the rupture plane is very shallow, typically about 10 degrees. [6]  Thus the width of the plane within the top brittle crust of the Earth can become 50 to 100  km (Tohoku, 2011;  Alaska, 1964), making the most powerful earthquakes possible.Strike-slip faults tend to be oriented near vertically, resulting in an approximate width of 10  km within the brittle crust,[7]  thus earthquakes with magnitudes much larger than 8 are not possible. Maximum magnitudes along many normal faults are even more limited because many of them are located along spreading centers, as in Iceland, where the thickness of the brittle layer is only about 6  km. [8][9] In addition, there exists a hierarchy of stress level in the three fault types. Thrust faults are generated by the highest, strike slip by intermediate, and normal faults by the lowest stress levels. 10]  This can easily be understood by considering the direction of the greatest principal stress, the direction of the force that ‘pushes’ the rock mass during the faulting. In the case of normal faults, the rock mass is pushed down in a vertical direction, thus the pushing force (greatest  principal stress) equals the weight of the rock mass itself. In the case of thrusting, the rock mass ‘escapes’ in the direction of the least principal stress, namely upward, lifting the rock mass up, thus the overburden equals the  least  p rincipal stress.Strike-slip faulting is intermediate between the other two types described above. This difference in stress regime in the three faulting environments can contribute to differences in stress drop during faulting, which contributes to differences in the radiated energy, regardless of fault dimensions. Earthquakes away from plate boundaries Main article:  Intraplate earthquake Where plate boundaries occur within  continental lithosphere, deformation is spread out over a much larger area than the plate boundary itself.In the case of the  San Andreas fault  continental transform, many earthquakes occur away from the plate boundary and are related to strains developed within the broader zone of deformation caused by major irregularities in the fault trace (e. g. , the â€Å"Big bend† region). The  Northridge earthquake  was associated with movement on a blind thrust within such a zone. Another example is the strongly oblique convergent plate boundary bet ween the  Arabian  and  Eurasian plates  where it runs through the northwestern part of the  Zagros  mountains.The deformation associated with this plate boundary is partitioned into nearly pure thrust sense movements perpendicular to the boundary over a wide zone to the southwest and nearly pure strike-slip motion along the Main Recent Fault close to the actual plate boundary itself. This is demonstrated by earthquake  focal mechanisms. [11] All tectonic plates have internal stress fields caused by their interactions with neighbouring plates and sedimentary loading or unloading (e. g. deglaciation[12]).These stresses may be sufficient to cause failure along existing fault planes, giving rise to  intraplate earthquakes. [13] Shallow-focus and deep-focus earthquakes Main article:  Depth of focus (tectonics) The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70  km are classified as ‘shallow-focus' earthquakes, while those with a focal-depth between 70 and 300  km are commonly termed ‘mid-focus' or ‘intermediate-depth' earthquakes.In  subduction zones, where older and colder  oceanic crust  descends beneath another tectonic plate,  deep-focus earthquakes  may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 up to 700  kilometers). [14]  These seismically active areas of subduction are known as  Wadati-Benioff zones. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth where the subducted  lithosphere  should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep-focus earthquakes is faulting caused by  olivine  undergoing a  phase transition  into a  spinel  structure. 15] Earthquakes and volcanic activity Earthquakes often occur in volcanic regions and are caused there, both by  tectonic  faults and the movement of  magma  in  volcanoe s. Such earthquakes can serve as an early warning of volcanic eruptions, as during the  Mount St. Helens  eruption of 1980. [16]  Earthquake swarms can serve as markers for the location of the flowing magma throughout the volcanoes. These swarms can be recorded by seismometers and  tiltmeters  (a device that measures ground slope) and used as sensors to predict imminent or upcoming eruptions. [17] Rupture dynamicsA tectonic earthquake begins by an initial rupture at a point on the fault surface, a process known as nucleation. The scale of the nucleation zone is uncertain, with some evidence, such as the rupture dimensions of the smallest earthquakes, suggesting that it is smaller than 100 m while other evidence, such as a slow component revealed by low-frequency spectra of some earthquakes, suggest that it is larger. The possibility that the nucleation involves some sort of preparation process is supported by the observation that about 40% of earthquakes are preceded by fo reshocks.Once the rupture has initiated it begins to propagate along the fault surface. The mechanics of this process are poorly understood, partly because it is difficult to recreate the high sliding velocities in a laboratory. Also the effects of strong ground motion make it very difficult to record information close to a nucleation zone. [18] Rupture propagation is generally modeled using a  fracture mechanics  approach, likening the rupture to a propagating mixed mode shear crack. The rupture velocity is a function of the fracture energy in the volume around the crack tip, increasing with decreasing fracture energy.The velocity of rupture propagation is orders of magnitude faster than the displacement velocity across the fault. Earthquake ruptures typically propagate at velocities that are in the range 70–90% of the S-wave velocity and this is independent of earthquake size. A small subset of earthquake ruptures appear to have propagated at speeds greater than the S-w ave velocity. These  supershear earthquakes  have all been observed during large strike-slip events. The unusually wide zone of coseismic damage caused by the  2001 Kunlun earthquake  has been attributed to the effects of the  sonic boom  developed in such earthquakes.Some earthquake ruptures travel at unusually low velocities and are referred to as  slow earthquakes. A particularly dangerous form of slow earthquake is the  tsunami earthquake, observed where the relatively low felt intensities, caused by the slow propagation speed of some great earthquakes, fail to alert the population of the neighbouring coast, as in the  1896 Meiji-Sanriku earthquake. [18] Tidal forces See also:  Earthquake prediction#Tides Research work has shown a robust correlation between small tidally induced forces and non-volcanic tremor activity. 19][20][21][22] Earthquake clusters Most earthquakes form part of a sequence, related to each other in terms of location and time. [23]  Mos t earthquake clusters consist of small tremors that cause little to no damage, but there is a theory that earthquakes can recur in a regular pattern. [24] Aftershocks Main article:  Aftershock An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock but always of a smaller magnitude.If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a  foreshock. Aftershocks are formed as the crust around the displaced  fault plane  adjusts to the effects of the main shock. [23] Earthquake swarms Main article:  Earthquake swarm Earthquake swarms are sequences of earthquakes striking in a specific area within a short period of time. They are different from earthquakes followed by a series of  aftershocks  by the fact that no single earthquake in the sequence is obviously the main shock, therefore none have notabl e higher magnitudes than the other.An example of an earthquake swarm is the 2004 activity atYellowstone National Park. [25] Earthquake storms Main article:  Earthquake storm Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in a sort of  earthquake storm, where the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or stress redistribution of the previous earthquakes. Similar to  aftershocks  but on adjacent segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, and with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones.Such a pattern was observed in the sequence of about a dozen earthquakes that struck the  North Anatolian Fault  in Turkey in the 20th century and has been inferred for older anomalous clusters of large earthquakes in the Middle East. [26][27] ————————————————- Size and frequency of occurrence It is estimated that aro und 500,000 earthquakes occur each year, detectable with current instrumentation. About 100,000 of these can be felt. [28][29]  Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places like  California  and  Alaska  in the U. S. , as well as n  Mexico,  Guatemala,  Chile,  Peru,  Indonesia,  Iran,  Pakistan, the  Azores  in  Portugal,  Turkey,  New Zealand,  Greece,Italy, and  Japan, but earthquakes can occur almost anywhere, including  New York City,  London, and  Australia. [30]  Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being  exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are: an earthquake of 3. –4. 6 every year, an earthquake of 4. 7–5. 5 every 10  years, and an earth quake of 5. 6 or larger every 100  years. [31]  This is an example of the  Gutenberg-Richter law. The  Messina earthquake  and tsunami took as many as 200,000 lives on December 28, 1908 in  Sicily  and  Calabria. [32] The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an increase in the number of earthquakes.The  United States Geological Survey  estimates that, since 1900, there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7. 0–7. 9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8. 0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable. [33]  In recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has decreased, though this is probably a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend. [citation needed]  More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes is available from the  United States Geological Survey  (USGS). 34]  A recent increase in the number of major earthquakes has been noted, which could be explained by a cyclical pattern of periods of intense tectonic activity, interspersed with longer periods of low-intensity. However, accurate recordings of earthquakes only began in the early 1900s, so it is too early to categorically state that this is the case. [35] Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000  km long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, known as the  Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the  Pacific Plate. 36][37]  Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the  Himalayan Mountains. [38] With the rapid growth of  mega-cities  such as  Mexico City,  Tokyo  and  Tehran, in areas of high  seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single quake may claim the lives of up to 3  million people. [39] ————————————————- Induced seismicity Main article:  Induced seismicity While most earthquakes are caused by movement of the Earth's  tectonic plates, human activity can also produce earthquakes.Four main activities contribute to this phenomenon: storing large amounts of water behind a  dam  (and possibly building an extremely heavy  building), drilling and injecting liquid into  wells, and by  coal mining  and  oil drilling. [40]  Perhaps the best known example is the  2008 Sichuan earthquake  in China's  Sichuan Province  in May; this tremor resulted in 69,227 fatalities and is the  19th deadliest earthquake of all time. The  Zipingpu Dam  is believed to have fluctuated the pressure of the fault 1,650 feet (503  m) away; this pressure probably increased the power of t he earthquake and accelerated the rate of movement for the fault. 41]  The greatest earthquake in Australia's history is also claimed to be induced by humanity, through coal mining. The city of Newcastle  was built over a large sector of coal mining areas. The earthquake has been reported to be spawned from a fault that reactivated due to the millions of tonnes of rock removed in the mining process. [42] ————————————————- Measuring and locating earthquakes Main article:  Seismology Earthquakes can be recorded by seismometers up to great distances, because  seismic waves  travel through the whole  Earth's interior.The absolute magnitude of a quake is conventionally reported by numbers on the  Moment magnitude scale  (formerly Richter scale, magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas), whereas the felt magnitude is reported using the modifiedMercalli intensity scale  (intensity II–XII). Every tremor produces different types of seismic waves, which travel through rock with different velocities: * Longitudinal  P-waves  (shock- or pressure waves) * Transverse  S-waves  (both body waves) * Surface waves  Ã¢â‚¬â€ (Rayleigh  and  Love  waves) Propagation velocity  of the seismic waves ranges from approx.   km/s up to 13  km/s, depending on the  density  and  elasticity  of the medium. In the Earth's interior the shock- or P waves travel much faster than the S waves (approx. relation 1. 7  : 1). The differences in  travel time  from the  epicentre  to the observatory are a measure of the distance and can be used to image both sources of quakes and structures within the Earth. Also the depth of the  hypocenter  can be computed roughly. In solid rock P-waves travel at about 6 to 7  km per second; the velocity increases within the deep mantle to ~13  km/s.The velocity of S-waves ranges from 2–3  km/s in light sediments and 4–5  km/s in the Earth's crust up to 7  km/s in the deep mantle. As a consequence, the first waves of a distant earthquake arrive at an observatory via the Earth's mantle. Rule of thumb: On the average, the kilometer distance to the earthquake is the number of seconds between the P and S wave  times 8. [43]  Slight deviations are caused by inhomogeneities of subsurface structure. By such analyses of seismograms the Earth's core was located in 1913 by  Beno Gutenberg.Earthquakes are not only categorized by their magnitude but also by the place where they occur. The world is divided into 754  Flinn-Engdahl regions  (F-E regions), which are based on political and geographical boundaries as well as seismic activity. More active zones are divided into smaller F-E regions whereas less active zones belong to larger F-E regions. ———————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Effects of earthquakes 1755 copper engraving depicting  Lisbonin ruins and in flames after the  1755 Lisbon earthquake, which killed an estimated 60,000 people. A  tsunami  overwhelms the ships in the harbor.The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following: Shaking and ground rupture Damaged buildings in  Port-au-Prince,Haiti, January 2010. Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures. The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake  magnitude, the distance from the  epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may amplify or reduce  wave propagation. [44]  The ground-shaking is measured by  ground acceleration.Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce high levels of shakin g on the ground surface even from low-intensity earthquakes. This effect is called site or local amplification. It is principally due to the transfer of the  seismic  motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and to effects of seismic energy focalization owing to typical geometrical setting of the deposits. Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several metres in the case of major earthquakes.Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as  dams, bridges and  nuclear power stations  and requires careful mapping of existing faults to identify any which are likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure. [45] Landslides and avalanches Main article:  Landslide Earthquakes, along with severe storms, volcanic activity, coastal wave attack, and wildfires, can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a major geological hazard. Landslide danger may persist while emergency personnel are attempting rescue. [46] FiresFires of the  1906 San Francisco earthquake Earthquakes can cause  fires  by damaging  electrical power  or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, more deaths in the  1906 San Francisco earthquake  were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself. [47] Soil liquefaction Main article:  Soil liquefaction Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated  granular  material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a  solid  to a  liquid.Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits. This can be a devastating effect of earthquakes. For example, in the  1964 Alaska earthquake, soil liquefaction caused many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing upon themselves. [48] Tsunami The tsunami of the  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake A large ferry boat rests inland amidst destroyed houses after a 9. 0  earthquakeand subsequent tsunami struck Japan in March 2011. Main article:  Tsunami Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water.In the open ocean the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 kilometers (62  mi), and the wave periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600-800  kilometers per hour (373–497 miles per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them. [49] Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7. on the Richter scale do not cause tsunamis, although some instances of this have been recorded. Most destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7. 5 or more. [49] Floods Main article:  Flood A flood is an overflow of any amount of water that reaches land. [50]  Floods occur usually when the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, exceeds the total capacity of the formation, and as a result some of the water flows or sits outside of the normal perimeter of the body. However, floods may be secondary effects of earthquakes, if dams are damaged.Earthquakes may cause landslips to dam rivers, which collapse and cause floods. [51] The terrain below the  Sarez Lake  in  Tajikistan  is in danger of catastrophic flood if the  landslide dam  formed by the earthquake, known as the  Usoi Dam, were to fail during a future earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood could affect roughly 5  million people. [52] Human impacts An earthquake may cause injury and loss of life, road and bridge damage, general  property damage  (which may or may not be covered by  earthquake insurance), and collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings.The aftermath may bring  disease, lack of basic necessities, and higher insurance premiums. ————————————————- Major earthquakes Earthquakes of magnitude 8. 0 and greater since 1900. The apparent 3D volumes of the bubbles are linearly proportional to their respective fatalities. [53] Main article:  List of earthquakes One of the most devastating earthquakes in recorded history occurred on 23 January 1556 in the  Shaanxi  province, China, killing more than 830,000 people (see  1556 Shaanxi earthquake). 54]  Most of the population in the area at the time lived in  yaodongs, artificial caves in  loess  cliffs, many of which co llapsed during the catastrophe with great loss of life. The  1976 Tangshan earthquake, with a death toll estimated to be between 240,000 to 655,000, is believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death toll. [55] The  1960 Chilean Earthquake  is the largest earthquake that has been measured on a seismograph, reaching 9. 5 magnitude on 22 May 1960. [28][29]  Its epicenter was near Canete, Chile.The energy released was approximately twice that of the next most powerful earthquake, the  Good Friday Earthquake, which was centered in  Prince William Sound, Alaska. [56][57]  The ten largest recorded earthquakes have all been  megathrust earthquakes; however, of these ten, only the  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake  is simultaneously one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Earthquakes that caused the greatest loss of life, while powerful, were deadly because of their proximity to either heavily populated areas or the ocean, where earthquakes often crea te  tsunamis  that can devastate communities thousands of kilometers away.Regions most at risk for great loss of life include those where earthquakes are relatively rare but powerful, and poor regions with lax, unenforced, or nonexistent seismic building codes. ————————————————- Prediction Main article:  Earthquake prediction Many methods have been developed for predicting the time and place in which earthquakes will occur. Despite considerable research efforts by  seismologists, scientifically reproducible predictions cannot yet be made to a specific day or month. 58]  However, for well-understood faults the probability that a segment may rupture during the next few decades can be estimated. [59] Earthquake warning systems  have been developed that can provide regional notification of an earthquake in progress, but before the ground surface has begun to move, potentially allowing people within the system's range to seek shelter before the earthquake's impact is felt. ————————————————- Preparedness The objective of  earthquake engineering  is to foresee the impact of earthquakes on buildings and other structures and to design such structures to minimize the risk of damage.Existing structures can be modified by  seismic retrofitting  to improve their resistance to earthquakes. Earthquake insurance  can provide building owners with financial protection against losses resulting from earthquakes. Emergency management  strategies can be employed by a government or organization to mitigate risks and prepare for consequences. ————————————————- Historical views An image from a 1557 book From the lifetime of the Gre ek philosopher  Anaxagoras  in the 5th century BCE to the 14th century CE, earthquakes were usually attributed to â€Å"air (vapors) in the cavities of the Earth. [60]  Thales  of Miletus, who lived from 625–547 (BCE) was the only documented person who believed that earthquakes were caused by tension between the earth and water. [60]  Other theories existed, including the Greek philosopher Anaxamines' (585–526 BCE) beliefs that short incline episodes of dryness and wetness caused seismic activity. The Greek philosopher Democritus (460–371 BCE) blamed water in general for earthquakes. [60]  Pliny the Elder  called earthquakes â€Å"underground thunderstorms. â€Å"[60] ————————————————- Earthquakes in culture Mythology and religionIn  Norse mythology, earthquakes were explained as the violent struggling of the god  Loki. When Loki,à ‚  god  of mischief and strife, murdered  Baldr, god of beauty and light, he was punished by being bound in a cave with a poisonous serpent placed above his head dripping venom. Loki's wife  Sigyn  stood by him with a bowl to catch the poison, but whenever she had to empty the bowl the poison dripped on Loki's face, forcing him to jerk his head away and thrash against his bonds, which caused the earth to tremble. [61] In  Greek mythology,  Poseidon  was the cause and god of earthquakes.When he was in a bad mood, he struck the ground with a  trident, causing earthquakes and other calamities. He also used earthquakes to punish and inflict fear upon people as revenge. [62] In  Japanese mythology,  Namazu  (? ) is a giant  catfish  who causes earthquakes. Namazu lives in the mud beneath the earth, and is guarded by the god  Kashima  who restrains the fish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes. Pop ular culture In modern  popular culture, the portrayal of earthquakes is shaped by the memory of great cities laid waste, such as  Kobe in 1995  or  San Francisco in 1906. 63]  Fictional earthquakes tend to strike suddenly and without warning. [63]  For this reason, stories about earthquakes generally begin with the disaster and focus on its immediate aftermath, as in  Short Walk to Daylight  (1972),  The Ragged Edge  (1968) or  Aftershock: Earthquake in New York  (1998). [63]  A notable example is Heinrich von Kleist's classic novella,  The Earthquake in Chile, which describes the destruction of Santiago in 1647. Haruki Murakami's short fiction collection  after the quake  depicts the consequences of the Kobe earthquake of 1995.The most popular single earthquake in fiction is the hypothetical â€Å"Big One† expected of  California's  San Andreas Fault  someday, as depicted in the novels  Richter 10  (1996) and  Goodbye California  (1977) among other works. [63]  Jacob M. Appel's widely anthologized short story,  A Comparative Seismology, features a con artist who convinces an elderly woman that an apocalyptic earthquake is imminent. [64]  In  Pleasure Boating in Lituya Bay, one of the stories in  Jim Shepard's  Like You'd Understand, Anyway, the â€Å"Big One† leads to an even more devastating tsunami.In the film  2012  (2009), solar flares (geologically implausibly) affecting the Earth's core caused massive destabilization of the Earth's crust layers. This created destruction planet-wide with earthquakes and tsunamis, foreseen by the  Mayan  culture and myth surrounding the last year noted in the  Mesoamerican calendar  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  2012. Contemporary depictions of earthquakes in film are variable in the manner in which they reflect human psychological reactions to the actual trauma that can be caused to directly afflicted families and their loved ones. 65]  Disaster mental health response research emphasizes the need to be aware of the different roles of loss of family and key community members, loss of home and familiar surroundings, loss of essential supplies and services to maintain survival. [66][67]  Particularly for children, the clear availability of caregiving adults who are able to protect, nourish, and clothe them in the aftermath of the earthquake, and to help them make sense of what has befallen them has been shown even more important to their emotional and physical health than the simple giving of provisions. 68]  As was observed after other disasters involving destruction and loss of life and their media depictions, such as those of the 2001 World Trade Center Attacks or Hurricane Katrina—and has been recently observed in the  2010 Haiti earthquake, it is also important not to pathologize the reactions to loss and displacement or disruption of governmental administration and services, but rather to validate these reactions, to support constructive problem-solving and reflection as to how one might improve the conditions of those affected. [69]