Logistical issues in the Brazilian coffee supply chain Thesis

Logistical issues in the Brazilian coffee supply chain - Thesis Example is has been facilitated through an in-depth analysis of facts and figures related to production, exports, quality, logistics processes and problems associated with the coffee industry in Brazil. 1. Coffee Production in Brazil 1.1 Production Quantity & Trends Coffee is classified into two types of beans: arabica and robusta. Arabica is cultivated in majority of the coffee producing nations with its share accounting for about 80% of the production. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Brazilian coffee production is expected to reach about 3.78 million metric tons in 2012 (sfgate.com). Based on estimates for the year 2012 and actual figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the coffee production quantities (in million Metric Tons) are shown in the form of a graph below: Figure 1: Coffee Production: Brazil – 10 year trend (Source: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012) As it can be seen, the coffee production in Braz il has not changed significantly over the years. While the growth rate has been in the region of 2 to 4% annually, the only surprising spike observed (estimates for 2012) is for the year 2012, where almost 30% gain is expected to be reported over the previous year. It also helps to have an overview of the state wise coffee production in Brazil. Refer Table 1 for the state-wise production. (The values are in million 60-kg bags). Table 1: Brazil’s state-wise Coffee production trend (in million 60-kg bags) Â   MY 2001/02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Minas Gerais 16.20 26.70 14.40 21.40 16.30 23.70 18.10 25.75 21.00 Espirito Santo 9.70 11.50 7.90 8.10 8.40 10.00 10.40 11.80 10.40 Sao Paulo 3.20 5.90 3.10 4.90 3.30 4.90 3.10 4.85 4.20 Parana 0.50 2.60 2.20 2.60... This research will begin with the presentation of coffee production in Brazil. Coffee is classified into two types of beans: arabica and robusta. Arabica is cultivated in majority of the coffee producing nations with its share accounting for about 80% of the production. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Brazilian coffee production is expected to reach about 3.78 million metric tons in 2012. Based on estimates for the year 2012 and actual figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the coffee production quantities (in million Metric Tons) are shown in the paper. According to the research findings the coffee production in Brazil has not changed significantly over the years. While the growth rate has been in the region of 2 to 4% annually, the only surprising spike observed (estimates for 2012) is for the year 2012, where almost 30% gain is expected to be reported over the previous year. It also helps to have an overview of the state wise coff ee production in Brazil. Refer Table 1 for the state-wise production. (The values are in million 60-kg bags). It can be observed that the ratio of Arabica to Robusta is in the region of 70% to 77%. While Arabica is higher quality coffee beans grown at high altitudes, robusta is lower grade coffee beans which can flourish on medium and lower altitudes also. The state of Minas Gerais has accounted for maximum production of coffee, largely on account of its geography. Moreover, it was one of the earliest states to start production of coffee.

US-China Trade History 1980-Present Essay Example for Free

US-China Trade History 1980-Present Essay US -China relations became a breakthrough in history in 1979 when both countries came together and diplomatically ensued a positive political and economic future. A small but well beginning started in 1980 when U. S. -China trade was $2 billion, which was the summation of both imports and exports. At the time China was the United States’ 48th largest source of imports and 23rd largest export market. U. S. -China trade in the past 30 years has dramatically increased ever since. U. S. -China trade in 1981 rose from $5 billion to $503 billion in 2011. As of now China is the United States’ second biggest trading partner (behind Canada), third biggest export market (Canada being first, Mexico second), and number one source of imports. In 1985 the U. S. trade deficit with China was $0 billion with U. S. imports equaling U. S. exports to China. Being that U. S. imports from China are higher and are now increasing more than U. S. exports to China; the U. S. merchandise trade deficit has risen from $10 billion in 1990 to $296 billion in 2011. Today China currently now owns the title of having the single highest U. S. rade balance deficit (with the combined world economy leading ahead China). With OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) being second the highest, and the European Union with its 27 members being third; their combined U. S. trade balance deficit being $237. 8 billion is still no match for China’s nearly $296 billion in today’s economy. China is trading more than ever and has become a big player in the global export market. At their peak of economic growth, cheap labor is their primitive and the key to what makes their exports so attractive to foreigners. The United States, once the world’s leader of exports is now the third largest global exporter following behind Germany and China. The United States and other advanced countries are now struggling to compete with China and those other developing nations who utilize their low wage comparative advantage in manufacturing. From what looked like an unpredictable beginning for the United States and China now appears to be an economic complexity for both parties and the global economy. Beneficiaries of U. S. -China Current and Potential Trade As China’s rapidly economy grows, the standard of living of its people dealistically will too. With a determined future full of growth China is aiming to modernize and innovate itself as an advanced nation. According to the Boeing Corporation â€Å"Boeing Corporation predicts that over the next 20 years (2011-2030), China will buy 5,000 new commercial airplanes valued at $600 billion and will be Boeing’s largest commercial airplane customer outside the United States†. Besides purchasing American prestige airlines, China will also have to improve its infrastructure. In the process it must buy raw materials from the global market in order to build new roads, buildings, and etc. New homes will be built along with suburban neighborhoods filled with middle income citizens. Their demand for home appliances and personal entities will increase private consumption among the population. According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, â€Å"in 2009, China had 148 million middle class and affluent consumers, defined as those whose annual household income was 60,000 RMB ($9,160) or higher, and that level is projected to rise to 415 million by 2020†. The rise in China’s middle class will be a targeted market for American companies thus creating future export opportunities for the United States. As stated on the GM website â€Å"For the first time in its history, General Motors (GM) in 2010 sold more cars and trucks in China (at 2. 35 million units) than it did in the United States (2. 21 million units). In 2011, GM sold 2. 55 million vehicles in China (up 8. 3% over 2010 levels) versus 2. 50 million in the United States. GM in China currently has 11 joint ventures and two wholly owned foreign enterprises and employs more than 35,000 workers†. China’s growing economy and large population of over 1. 3 billion people make it a potentially enormous market for the world and most importantly the United States. China is currently a $200 billion market for U. S. firms making it a crucial part of the U. S. economy. The top Chinese exports to the United States in 2011 were communications equipment, computer equipment, clothes, semiconductors, and manufactured goods such as toys and games. American businesses that receive Chinese imports thrive and maximize their profits because of their ability produce their product cheap at the expense of low wage labor in China. This allows them to lower costs of their product giving them a more competitive edge in the global market. Not only has trade with China over recent history benefitted entrepreneurs but American consumers as well. Wal-Mart for example sells mostly Chinese made products at a very low price. American consumers benefit greatly because of this and it allows them to buy more for less. As a result, United States trade with China has benefitted both economies throughout the course of their trading history. According to some economist, if there are economic reforms in China the United States will soon benefit from an upcoming available Chinese middle class market. World Trade Organization After 15 years of diplomatic issues that started in 1986, China in 2001 finally became a member of the international trading system. Once a member, China agreed to: a) Reduce the average tariff for industrial goods from 17% to 8. 9% and average tariffs on U. S. priority agricultural products from 31% to 14%. b) Regularly address the WTO of government subsidies it provides. c) In three years’ time after becoming a member it must give full trade and distribution rights to foreign enterprises. ) Provide equal treatment to all WTO members by treating foreign firms in China the same as to those domestic firms in China. e) End discriminatory trade policies against foreign invested firms in China regarding domestic content rules and technology transfer requirements f) Implement the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement upon entry g) Fully open its banking system to foreign financial institutions by the end of 200 6 and h) Allow joint ventures in insurance and telecommunication. In all, the intention for Chinas’ entry was good, giving hope that it would become a more dependable and secure trading partner for the United States. U. S. trade officials argue that in the first years after its entry to the WTO, China made steady progress in adopting economic reforms that promoted its conversion toward a market economy by increasing openness to trade. Nevertheless in 2006 China’s improvement towards a free market appeared to have digressed. U. S. government and business officials realized that by 2008 China began implementing a more restrictive trade strategy among its regime. Signs of China’s failure to implement WTO agreements were noticed as China began: a) discriminating against foreign firms, while continuing to promote Chinese industrial policies and national standards b) failing to meet restrictions regarding trading and distribution rights and c) discriminating on which imports to enforce health and safety rules. In May of 2012 President Obama proposed to create a new trade enforcement unit that will facilitate unfair trading practices in major exporting countries such as China. This may eventually give rise to the amount of dispute settlement cases in the WTO against China. Conclusion The emergence of developing nations as well as some advanced nations created a window of opportunity for United States’ exports. The world’s global capitalism movement lead by the United States has helped those who wanted an American style of living by obtaining it through China’s contirbution to manufacture American goods at a low cost. The growth and expansion of American multinational corporations is due to outsourcing U.  S. manufacturing jobs to China. This has benefitted the Chinese rural population by the creation of jobs in poverty stricken areas. Even though the jobs created are low waged and offer little to no worker safety, one must realize opportunity for a better life for those who are willing to work in China. Over the course of 30 years of U. S –China trade, Americans have gained more than they have lost as a result of China’s low cost exports (whether some Americans they like to admit it or not). Analysts around the world are now providing evidence that China’s middle class is growing as rapid as its economy. With U. S. -China trade expected to grow in the next 20 years, many economic reforms in China must first be dealt with in order to secure the stability of China’s demanding middle class. China is now being seen as a potentially huge U. S. export destination and because of this Americans will soon benefit from the creation of the millions of capital based jobs in the United States in the upcoming future.

new zealand politics 1984-1993 Essay example -- essays research papers

On July 6 1984, the fourth Labour government were elected into parliament after defeating the National party in a snap election. 1984 can be regarded as a major turning point in New Zealand political history in the sense that significant political changes affected the whole of the New Zealand society, economy and political structure. New Zealand government’s experimented with radical Neoliberal policy programmes to achieve economic and social progress during this period. The essay shall discuss the central features of the process of policy change over the period of 1984 to 1993 in New Zealand. These reforms were among the most sweeping in scope and scale within any industrialised democracy. There are a significant number of historical and institutional similarities between Australia and New Zealand which make them a fertile ground for comparative analysis. This essay shall compare industrial relations reform in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s, integrating both institutionalist and interest-based approaches. Within comparative politics there are two main approaches to the impact of economic change on national policy patterns. The first, new institutionalism has been very influential in comparative industrial relations. The second, which focuses on the role of interests, has also been significant in New Zealand and Australian politics. The concept of institutionalism is central to the analysis of the reform episode that took place in New Zealand. Institutions are the rules of the game in a society or, more formally, are the humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction (North,1990:3). Zucker defines Institutionalism as a fundamentally cognitive process (1983:25). In comparison, Immergut argues that the theoretical core of the new institutionalism is the view that there is a tendency for certain arrangements in social life to persist over institutions and for these institutional arrangements to affect not just strategic actions but also the preference formation of social actors (1998:7). Immergut stresses the fundamentals of the concept of institutionalism can be problematic as there are many conflicting definitions and analysis. â€Å"Since the common research interest is in the black box between potential political demands and ultimate outcomes, it does not make sense to predefine the contents of this box. A standard definit... ...liams Books. Kasper, W. (1996) ‘Free to Work: The Liberalisation of New Zealand's Labour Market,’ Policy Monograph 32, Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney. Maloney, T. (1997). Benefit Reform and Labour Market Behaviour in New Zealand.’ Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University: Wellington. McClure, M. (1998). ‘The Reluctant State: 1984-1998’ in ‘A Civilised Community: A History of Social Security in New Zealand 1898-1998’. Auckland University Press: Auckland. North, D. (1990) ‘Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance.’ New York: Cambridge University Press. Rankin, S., St John, S. (1998). ‘Quantifying the Welfare Mess’ (Policy Discussion Paper 22) Department of Economics: University of Auckland. Schwartz, H. (2000). ‘Internationalization and Two Liberal Welfare States Australia and New Zealnd’ in Scharpf, Fritz & Schmidt, Vivien, (eds). ‘Welfare and Work in the Open Economy’ (vol 2), Oxford University Press: New York. Shipley, J. (1991). ‘Welfare That Works,’ Minister of Social Welfare, Wellington Zucker, L. (1983) ‘Organizations as Institutions’, in Bacharach, S (ed). ‘Research in the Sociology of Organizations,’ Greenwich: JAI Press.

Essay --

Mise en scene is a French term, which refers to the visual and design elements of a film. Literally, it is what we actually see on the screen – locations, sets, background details, costumes, even the use of colour and lighting. Mise en scene is used to describe every scene, including framing, composition, costuming, setting, objects, lighting, sound and camera angles. Everything is done purposely and intentionally. Setting of a film can be shot either in a studio or on location, depending on the film’s budget, and how realistic or natural the director wishes the film to look. Setting is about the time, place and social environment in which the main backdrop and mood of the story is. In this film, we have a few settings, such as the idyllic Seahaven and the â€Å"real† world in the film. This show is about a man, Truman Burbank who lived in an idyllic town of Seahaven. However, he was unaware that he was placed on a stage setting complete with a false sky, that everyone else was an actor and that his entire life was being broadcast to the millions of people who tuned in everyday. â€Å"The Truman Show† was directed by the TV director Christof – from his vantage point in the sky (Propagandee, 2012). Thus, when he saw a light fall from the sky and he heard the director’s voice on the radio, Truman began to become suspicious. He remembered Lauren, an actress who had told him that it was just a TV show and so, he went to find her. He travelled across the sea, talked to Christof and then climbed a flight of stairs in the sky, escaping into the outside world. Unbeknownst to him, Truman Burbank's whole life has been the subject of a hugely popular 24-hour-per-day television show entitled â€Å"The Truman Show† (Propagandee, 2012). Camera Shots In the ... ... was talking to. The non diegetic sound of a violin added a creepy effect to what was happening on screen. Meryl said ‘it’s unprofessional’ when she was talking to the studio and the crew members directly. (Seb Patrick, 2011). The creator of the Truman show said ‘easy on the fog’ showing that the father son reunion was being played out perfectly for the viewers of the world. The timing and dramatic piano music being played perfectly coincide to what was on the screen, which on the other hand, it was a non diegetic music being played. Truman said, ‘I never stopped believing’ because he truly believed his ‘father’ had come back from the dead, yet we knew as an audience it had been set up deliberately and perfectly to coincide with the previous events. At the end the diegetic cheers from the crew of the TV show and watchers allowed the audience to see it was a success.

Information Technology Ethics Issues Article Summary Essay

Message With today’s advances in technology, software development and usage is paramount. Software connects computer’s hardware to users. Without software, computers would be useless. Unfortunately due to the complex nature and high demand for many software systems, the prices have sharply risen. A Seattle man, Rex Yang and a few friends decided they could capitalize on this high demand, high price market. To keep their overhead down and maximize on profits, the group chose a less than ethical route. According to an article in Forbes, Yang and the other participants in the software scam worked since 2009, obtaining and selling fraudulent product activation keys for Microsoft and other software programs through e-commerce websites. The participants traded product key codes over email and wired money to each other between different bank accounts. They allegedly operated a series of ecommerce sites, claiming to be selling the product activation keys legally, and received many â€Å"cease and desist† letters from Microsoft. It is thought the group may have made at least $30 million in profits over the years. That surge in profit from pirated software began to fall apart in 2013. In April 2013, Homeland Security Investigation Agents, received a tip that the owner of a company called â€Å"Software Slashers† was selling counterfeit computer software and DVDs, mostly from China. Through the investigation, Yang’s wrongdoing was uncovered. Although no criminal charges have been filed to date, the process of seizing property has begun. At the end of 2014, HSI Special Agents began seizing bank accounts and assets connected to the pirated software. Over $7 million in liquid assets (as shown in the table below) were taken; CASH BITCOIN LITECOIN 7,000,000 105 900 In addition, the following items were also seized; Vehicles, including a Porsche Gold and Silver Four Rolex watches (one studded with diamonds) A Diamond ring The seizure of property is often the first step in these investigations, eventually leading into criminal preceding. Software piracy is taken very seriously in the United States, and companies do not take kindly to others stealing their software and activation codes. This group of unethical individuals will most certainly face a legnthy prison term and possible the liability of restitution.

MADAME BOVARY Essays - Films, Madame Bovary, English-language Films

MADAME BOVARY Essays - Films, Madame Bovary, English-language Films MADAME BOVARY - The story starts as we see Charles Bovary entering a new school in the town of Rouen in France. People laugh at him because he isn't sure what to do and how to act. He is the son of a doting mother and a very strict father. Charles isn't sure what to do with his life and therefore does as his mother advices him; to go to medical school. He fails at first because he didn't work for it in class, but the second time he does and he passes the exam and becomes a doctor in the town of Tostes. He is well liked in town because people see him as a hard working man. Because he is still single and his mother thinks he shouldn't be, she arranges a marriage only for the money with an ungly widow, Heloise Dubuc. One day Charles is called to a farm because someone has broken his leg. On the farm he meets Emma Rouault, the daughter of the farm owner. He likes her very much and keeps coming back to her father to check up on his leg, even after his leg has fully healed. They get on very well and they dicide to get married, even with protest of his former wife which dies soon after because of a stroke. They arrange a huge wedding and loads of people are invited to it. They party on for days and days and there's food enough for a whole army. Because his practice isn't where the farmer lives, they return to Tostes. And this is where are the misery starts for Emma. When Charles is out in the country for house visits, Emma just sits at home doing nothing. All she does is read, watch the rain and she used to play the piano, but quit because she feels that nobody listened to her anyway. She hoped to get the love from her husband in the same way that the main characters in the novels she read get love, but that doesn't happen. She is bored to death. She is starting to get irritated by Charles' way of living and the way he behaves sometimes. One day they go to a party of the maquis and there she meets the life that she wants to live. She doesn't want Charles to dance because she feels that it would embarras her and instead dances the night away with a Viscount and meets all the rich. When they return back home, she becomes even more miserable because she misses all those things now. Charles notices this and talks with another doctor and together they conclude that a change of scenery might be good for her and they decide to move to Yonville. At the time that they move, Emma discovers that she is pregnant. In Yonville, life isn't that much different from the life she'd lived before, but now she meets someone who is interested in the same things as she is; Leon Dupuis, a clerk. Emma is now close to giving birth to a baby and she is hoping that it's going to be a boy so that he can be strong and free, but her hopes are lost when it turns out that it is a boy; Berthe. As time passes, Emma continues her life and finds out that she is in love with Leon, but they don't start any relationship. Eventually, Leon moves to Paris to study there and Emma is again left in misery. Rodolphe meets Emma and she really is attracted to her, but in a sexual way; he thinks that Emma is beautiful. He manages to talk Emma into seducing her and it works. Emma starts to get more and more interested in Rodolphe and they start spending more and more time togeter, for example, they go to the agricultural show together. Emma starts meeting him in secret and he even comes to their house where they make love. Rodolphe decides that to keep the love going, he should leave for a few weeks and that's what he does. And it seems to work, because after six weeks, Emma can't wait to see him again. One day when Emma decides to go back to Rodolphe, she passes passed by Bines, who knew that she had nothing to

A Guide to Internal Punctuation

A Guide to Internal Punctuation A Guide to Internal Punctuation A Guide to Internal Punctuation By Mark Nichol This post outlines the functions of punctuation marks employed within a sentence: the comma, the semicolon, the colon, and ellipses. Comma A comma performs a number of functions, including setting off elements of a list (â€Å"I’m going to order soup, salad, and an entrà ©e†) combining with a conjunction to separate two independent clauses (â€Å"She ordered dinner, but she declined the dessert menu†) separating a preceding dependent clause from the main clause (â€Å"Depending on the size of the entrà ©e, I might not order dessert†) separating a nonrestrictive relative clause from the main clause (â€Å"We were overwhelmed by the menu, which was six pages long†) setting off an adverb from the main clause (â€Å"Ordinarily, I would not order dessert†; â€Å"I would, ordinarily, not order dessert†; â€Å"I would not order dessert, ordinarily†) framing parenthetical phrases (â€Å"I will, just this once, order dessert†) setting off an appositive (â€Å"My favorite dessert, cheesecake, is missing from the menu†) setting off coordinate adjectives (â€Å"I feel like having a big, thick slice of cheesecake for dessert†) setting off an attribution from a quotation (â€Å"My friend said, ‘I’m going to order dessert’†) setting off one or more words identifying the subject of direct address (â€Å"John, are you going to order dessert?†) setting off a date from a year and parenthesizing the year (â€Å"January 1, 2018, dawned just like any other day†) setting off a city name from a state or country name and parenthesizing the state or country name (â€Å"Lebanon, Kansas, is the geographic center of the contiguous United States†) setting off a surname from a given name when the first-name, last-name order is inverted (â€Å"She is listed as ‘Doe, Jane’†) indicating ellipsis of one or more words (â€Å"Everything was as I remembered it- the church was white, the barn, red†). A comma should not separate a subject and a verb (as in the erroneous sentence â€Å"The tiramisu, is sublime†) except when it is closing a parenthetical phrase (â€Å"The tiramisu, as expected, is sublime†) or setting off repetition of a verb (â€Å"What it is, is sublime†). Likewise, a verb and its direct object should not be split asunder (as shown in the incorrectly punctuated sentence â€Å"She intuitively grasped, that she was in trouble.†) Another error that involves a comma is a comma splice, in which a comma, rather than a stronger punctuation mark such as a semicolon or a dash, appears between two independent clauses not separated by a conjunction, as in â€Å"You see a half-empty glass, I see a half-full one.† (An exception can be made for brief declarations, as in Julius Caesar’s famous summary â€Å"I came, I saw, I conquered.†) Semicolon The semicolon has two primary functions. First, it unites two closely related independent clauses, as in â€Å"You see a half-empty glass; I see a half-full one.† (In such cases, it takes the place of a period or a conjunction; including both a semicolon and a conjunction is an error.) Second, it replaces two or more commas in an in-line list (a list with a sentence) when one or more of the list items itself includes commas, as in â€Å"The names, as listed, are Doe, Jane; Jones, William; and Smith, John† or â€Å"I spotted many squirrels; several deer; and a hawk, an osprey, and a heron.† (If the list organization is obvious, as when list items begin with distinct verbs, commas may be employed, as in â€Å"She shopped at the supermarket, visited the bank and the credit union, and ran errands at the hardware store, the drugstore, and the dry cleaner’s.†) Earlier usage included setting off coordinate clauses in complex sentences or to otherwise signal a more pronounced pause than a comma would suggest, but these approaches, especially the former, are outdated. In quoted material, a semicolon always follows a close quotation mark. Also, the mark may seem too formal in the midst of a sentence in quotation marks; a dash more clearly conveys a transition to a separate assertion or idea, as in â€Å"Mary said, ‘Don’t go in the abandoned house- it’s not safe in there’† rather than â€Å"Mary said, ‘Don’t go in the abandoned house; it’s not safe in there.’† Colon A colon precedes quoted material set up by a complete statement rather than an attribution (â€Å"His reply was succinct: ‘Not a chance’†) an explanation (â€Å"We declined the invitation primarily for one reason: He insists on driving, and we don’t feel safe as his passengers†) a list (â€Å"The meal consists of the following courses: appetizer, salad, entrà ©e, and dessert†). It is also employed between pairs of numbers to represent ratios (â€Å"The results indicate a 5:3 ratio†) in references to time (â€Å"The next train is at 1:35†) in numerical representations of elapsed time (â€Å"The record stands at 3:26.00†) when citing biblical verses (â€Å"John 3:16 expresses the same sentiment†). A colon also separates a book’s title and subtitle or, in bibliographies, the city where a publisher is located and the name of the publisher. In formal writing, it follows the salutation. A colon always follows a close quotation mark. Ellipses Ellipsis means omission, but it primarily refers to a succession of three periods, called ellipses, usually interspersed with letter spaces, or a single symbol representing three periods. Style guides differ in which form is preferred, but the ellipsis symbol looks cramped, and use of ellipses (a series of periods) is more visually pleasing. Ellipses represent omission of one or more words in the middle of a sentence (â€Å"A friend . . . knows all about you and still loves you†); generally, they are unnecessary when omitting what precedes a partial quotation. The use of ellipses as terminal punctuation will be discussed in a separate post. Dash Uses of the dash are detailed in this post. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before Words"Confused With" and "Confused About"10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing

Vis-à-vis Has More Than One Use

Visvis Has More Than One Use Visvis Has More Than One Use Visvis Has More Than One Use By Maeve Maddox A French borrowing, visvis [VEEZ-uh-VEE] means literally, â€Å"face to face.† Visvis as a noun One meaning of visvis is â€Å"a political or diplomatic counterpart.† For example, a commenter in a Thai political forum refers to the US president as â€Å"Putin’s vis-a-vis in the White House.† Other meanings for visvis as a noun include â€Å"dancing partner,† â€Å"person seated opposite,† â€Å"conversational partner,† etc. Here are examples: No, replied  his vis-a-vis, with a falling inflection The man looked suspicious, and exchanged glances with  his vis-a-vis: both were middle-aged, and of the very middle class. She did not wish to  dance; she was faint- she had no  vis-a-vis. As a noun, visvis can also mean meeting, interview, or rendezvous: Thus, a  suitor  having a discreet  vis-a-vis with  his beloved would cautiously ascertain her fathers whereabouts Visvis as an adverb The literal meaning is implicit in the use of visvis as an adverb, like this example from a movie site: All the star teams dancing efforts are honeys. Miss Rogers in this one goes beyond the role of dancing vis-a-vis for Astaire and emerges as a corking stepper in her own right. Note: This quotation uses for, but to and with are more common when the adverb takes a preposition: â€Å"dancing vis-a-vis to Astaire,† â€Å"seated vis-a-vis with her uncle.† Here are two more examples of adverbial use: Dancing vis-a-vis  they again sidestepped and each position was repeated five or six times. The design represents two females,  seated, vis-a-vis, upon chairs without  backs. Visvis as an adjective In cruising the Web for examples to use in this post, I came upon a Mercedes advertisement for the Ares Atelier, S Class XXL. The description boasts â€Å"Vis-a-vis first class seats.† These are seats arranged so that passengers face one another. Visvis in corporate-speak Visvis is frequently met in writing about government and business, in which the term is used to mean regarding, concerning, relating to, compared with, with respect to, or re. Here are examples of this usage: History of US policy vis-a-vis Cuba inconsistent at best That’s one of the reasons the President made the decision he made vis-a-vis US companies in the telecommunications area. Moscow has visibly hardened its stance vis-a-vis the West even as President Vladimir Putin arrived in Milan late Thursday for the ASEM summit With the rise of Spender and Whitlam as dominant influences in the early 1950s, Australia’s policy became marked by an emphasis on the distinct nature of moral human rights  vis-a-vis  legal human rights. Note: The OED, Merriam-Webster, and The Chicago Manual of Style all show visvis with the accent, but most of the examples I found were written without an accent. The expression is not italicized. The use of visvis to mean â€Å"with respect to† seems to me to be an unnecessary obfuscation and waste of the â€Å"face-to-face† sense. Writers who desire to decorate their writing with a French expression that means â€Å"with regard to† or â€Å"in respect of,† can always fall back on apropos. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)In Search of a 4-Dot Ellipsis20 Clipped Forms and Their Place (If Any) in Formal Writing

Leadership Style for R&D Head of Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Style for R&D Head of Apple - Essay Example Apple is a well known name in computers, cell phone and other electronic devices. The company is best known for ties innovation in electronic devices. Their cell phone I phone 4 was named as the smartest cell phone in the world[1]. The name of Apple is associated with products that are innovative and provide a wide range of services at affordable prices. This is one reason why sales of Apple occur on a global level. The company faced some problems when it launched its I Phone 4 version. People were having problems with the antenna[2]. Now the company is preparing to launch another advance model of I Phone and it wants to make sure that problems of last year are not repeated. This is a big issue company is facing today and a Research and Development has a lot to do with it. They have to ensure through testing and retesting that all of the parts are working properly before the launch so that the company should not face embarrassment. The crisis of leadership is also a problem in Apple because its CEO Steve Jobs is a charismatic leader towards whom everyone looks up to. Now he cannot solve all the problems that employees experience and therefore many problems occur. The figure of Steve Jobs has done wonders for the company but it is important that leadership is strong at all levels.Only then an organization can function in a better way. This is lacking in the organization and this ought to change. Â  

Earned value management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Earned value management - Coursework Example Work should be broken down into small elements that are appropriate for planning, scheduling, budgeting, progress measuring, cost accounting, and management control. According to Paul & Young (2006), earned value management is aimed at measuring the progress of an activity against a clear baseline. There are three main values calculated for an activity in earned value management. These include; the planned value (PV), the actual cost (AC) and the earned value (EV). To start with, the planned value is referred to as the budgeted cost of the project’s work scheduled. The portion of the cost approved is used for a given activity within a specified period of time. Suppose there is an activity that entails installing of a new server after purchasing. If for instance, it will take one week according to the plan and cost $30,000 for the hardware, labor hours and the software that is involved. The planned value in this case will therefore be $30,000 for that week. The actual cost (AC) on the other hand is referred to as the actual cost of work performed. According to Ray (2006), actual cost precisely refers to the total costs incurred in completing the entire work on an activity for a given period of time. This cost ought to correspond to the budget for the planned value in terms of equipment, material, labor, and the indirect costs. If an activity of installing electricity in a business building costs $80,000 after its completion then the actual cost is $80,000. The earned value (EV) is referred to as the budget cost of work performed (Gary 2001). This is the value of a project that is actually completed. Let’s say for example, a project has a budget cost of $200, and by a given time it is 40 percent finished. The earned value is therefore $80 but scheduled value at that point is $100. This

Research Narrative Sir Isaac Newton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Narrative Sir Isaac Newton - Essay Example To begin my search, I went to the Internet and entered 'Sir Isaac Newton' into Google. As was to be expected, the number of entries was enormous. I began by looking at Wikipedia and a short biography by Alfred Hall. In reading these two web site entries, I became interested in Newton's religious views and how these compared to his scientific understanding. Newton lived in an age of considerable discord between the church and science and it seemed like a topic worthy of further research. Though the information I had gained from Wikipedia and the biography were helpful, they were simply web sites and the information's accuracy may be questionable. There was also simply not enough information on his religious views to be very helpful. I planned my next phase of research to be focused on finding credible resources that dealt with Newton's seemingly contradictory religious and scientific views of the universe. I again went to Google.com and entered 'Isaac Newton religion'. Again, there were a vast number of entries. I went to the web site Newton.org and found some writings by a professor of History of Science and Technology at University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In one of his writings he comments on some recently discovered writings of Newton and says, "Leaving behind four million words on theology, Newton was one of the greatest lay theologians of his age. A study of Newton's theology and prophetic views illuminates the life of this great thinker and helps us understand his science" (Snobelen b.). These words directed me towards the newly discovered works of Newton and the site provided several links to articles. In reviewing the links from the web site, I decided to look for articles that were focused on the topic and were from reliable sources. I would restrict my searches to journals, university papers, and edited material that had been professionally reviewed. I was looking for fact and not opinion. I wanted articles that quoted Newton or gave some factual basis for the information they offered. I reviewed a 1999 article that appeared in the British Journal of History and Science. It was a lengthy article that spoke about Newton's dual nature of science and religion. The author claimed that Newton was a devout Christian that believed the church should be reformed and returned to its roots. Yet, we only have recently discovered that Newton was very religious. Why had he not made this known during his lifetime According to Haynes writing in the Religion of the Bible and the Religion of the Pulpit Compared, published in 1747 in London, "...it was fear of persecution and pressures from orthodoxy that stilled Newton's tongue, weakened his zeal and prevented him from leading this return to primitive Christianity" (qtd. in Snoleben a. 391). This was evidence that was written in the age of Newton that suggested he was under pressure from the church to not create a controversy. I had found and verified that Newton was a religious scientist and wanted to find out more specifically what his viewpoint of the universe and creation was. On the Isaac-Newton.org website I found a link to the Newton Project Canada. This was a web site sponsored by King's College in Canada that had made Newton's private manuscripts available to the public. At the Newton Project, there were numerous original works by Newton available. I found

Who Are Stakeholders Stakeholder Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Who Are Stakeholders Stakeholder Theory - Essay Example "the social community (state authorities;..and civil society)." From this definition we see that shareholders are both internal and external members of the organisation community. Milton Friedman's (1912) stipulated that the only social responsibility of corporations is to provide a profit for its owners stands in direct contrast to those who claim that a corporation's responsibilities extend to non-stockholder interests as well. Such a broad conception would include suppliers, customers, stockholders, employees, the media, political action groups, communities, and governments. A more narrow view of stakeholder would include employees, suppliers, customers, financial institutions, and local communities where the corporation does its business. But in either case, the claims on corporate conscience are considerably greater than the imperatives of maximizing financial return to stockholders. Today, a handful of researchers have gone as far as arguing that, the reasons for corporate restructuring or change are either competitive pressures, changing outside environments which in most cases is made up of mostly the stakeholders (Anderson et al. 2001). In the changing company environment, researchers have even gone as commending stakeholder approach as a key factor of organisational survival and success. Therefore, our caution to organisation management is that, they should skillfully consider how to treat particular groups of stakeholders and how to communicate with them responsively, being aware of the consequences of an omission or mistreatment. Having said this, this paper seeks to identify and analyse the issue of power and interests of stakeholder groups for the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). In the section that follows, using the stakeholder theory and framework I will analyse the interest and power of the various stakeholders on the activities of the University of Central Lancashire. Stakeholder Theory Friedman (1963) as sited in Anderson et al. (2005) argues that a corporation is socially responsible only to its shareholders. In this regard, other corporate constituencies (stakeholders) can easily be overlooked. However, stakeholder theory strongly suggests that overlooking these other stakeholders is unwise and ethically unjustified. To this extent, stakeholder theory participates in a broader debate about business and ethics (Algas et al. 2006, Donaldson & Preston 1995) Descriptively, some research on stakeholder theory assumes that managers who wish to maximize their firm's potential will take broader stakeholder interests into account. This gives rise to a number of studies on how managers, firms, and stakeholders do in fact interact (Friedman 1970, Steiner & Steiner 1997).Stakeholder theory has been articulated in a number of ways, but in each of these ways stakeholders represent a broader constituency for corporate responsibility than stockholders (Friedman 1970, Steiner & Steiner 1997). In sharp contrast, according to stakeholder theory, managers should make decisions so as to take

Interpreting Films and Analyzing Film Elements Essay

Interpreting Films and Analyzing Film Elements - Essay Example Indeed, when many people read lists of the 100 best movies they are often dumbfounded at the inclusion of many films they deem boring or plain bad. Similarly, many film critics will pan Hollywood blockbusters that go on to make millions of dollars. However, in film analysis the writer must go beyond these simple constructs and delve into the filmmaker’s thematic and stylistic intentions. This essay considers varying means by which academic film analysis can be achieved, with specific emphasis on thematic elements, visual elements, and editing, and also posits a personal perspective on the task of analyzing a film for its artistic qualities. One of the central areas of importance in film analysis concerns the examination of a film for its thematic elements. In these regards, films can be read similar to the means by which one would analyze a work of literature. While there are undeniable similarities between film and novels, writers (Boggs 2006) have argued that there is a distinct difference between examining theme in terms of a film and theme in terms of a novel; while the novel represents theme through an idea, for film the theme is understood as the central unifying concept of the entire text. Another feature that is notable when examining films are the varying stylistic devices that the filmmaker has at their disposal. They include, â€Å"1) plot, 2) emotional effect or mood, 3) character, and 4) style or texture† Boggs (2006, pg. 20). Indeed, it’s understood that while all these elements will exist within a film, the filmmaker will choose to emphasize one specific element over the others. It follows that in analyzing a film, one must determine which elements the filmmaker has chosen to analyze and for what purpose. While these theme elements seem like simple distinctions, the difference between a film that emphasizes plot over style or texture can be drastic; consider for instance the plot driven narrative in a film such as Raiders

Who Are Stakeholders Stakeholder Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Who Are Stakeholders Stakeholder Theory - Essay Example "the social community (state authorities;..and civil society)." From this definition we see that shareholders are both internal and external members of the organisation community. Milton Friedman's (1912) stipulated that the only social responsibility of corporations is to provide a profit for its owners stands in direct contrast to those who claim that a corporation's responsibilities extend to non-stockholder interests as well. Such a broad conception would include suppliers, customers, stockholders, employees, the media, political action groups, communities, and governments. A more narrow view of stakeholder would include employees, suppliers, customers, financial institutions, and local communities where the corporation does its business. But in either case, the claims on corporate conscience are considerably greater than the imperatives of maximizing financial return to stockholders. Today, a handful of researchers have gone as far as arguing that, the reasons for corporate restructuring or change are either competitive pressures, changing outside environments which in most cases is made up of mostly the stakeholders (Anderson et al. 2001). In the changing company environment, researchers have even gone as commending stakeholder approach as a key factor of organisational survival and success. Therefore, our caution to organisation management is that, they should skillfully consider how to treat particular groups of stakeholders and how to communicate with them responsively, being aware of the consequences of an omission or mistreatment. Having said this, this paper seeks to identify and analyse the issue of power and interests of stakeholder groups for the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). In the section that follows, using the stakeholder theory and framework I will analyse the interest and power of the various stakeholders on the activities of the University of Central Lancashire. Stakeholder Theory Friedman (1963) as sited in Anderson et al. (2005) argues that a corporation is socially responsible only to its shareholders. In this regard, other corporate constituencies (stakeholders) can easily be overlooked. However, stakeholder theory strongly suggests that overlooking these other stakeholders is unwise and ethically unjustified. To this extent, stakeholder theory participates in a broader debate about business and ethics (Algas et al. 2006, Donaldson & Preston 1995) Descriptively, some research on stakeholder theory assumes that managers who wish to maximize their firm's potential will take broader stakeholder interests into account. This gives rise to a number of studies on how managers, firms, and stakeholders do in fact interact (Friedman 1970, Steiner & Steiner 1997).Stakeholder theory has been articulated in a number of ways, but in each of these ways stakeholders represent a broader constituency for corporate responsibility than stockholders (Friedman 1970, Steiner & Steiner 1997). In sharp contrast, according to stakeholder theory, managers should make decisions so as to take

Financial Derivative Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Financial Derivative - Literature review Example Experts state that market reactions are caused due to market reactions (Blanco, Brennan and Marsh, 2005). It is expected that default rates on bonds are possible due to market volatility, and as a result the cost of protection gets inflated on the bond values. The credit derivative markets during such a period had overreacted causing a contagion effect. The close relationship existing between the bond and CDS paves way towards the issue of estimating which market has the lead in the price discovery (Hull, Predescu and White, 2004). If the CDS market is leading, then it is expected that the bond market would adjust itself. In case, if the bond market is leading then the CDS market would simply follow the suit. Most researchers have opined that the impact of CDS upon the bond market is higher than that of the bond market upon the CDS. Innovations which occur in the CDS market are seen to spill over to the bond market. However, changes in the bond market impacts the CDS market in a much slower manner (Longstaff, Mithal and Neis, 2005). Nevertheless, during the crisis scenario it is seen that the influence of the CDS market upon the bond values is significantly slow and lees powerful as other market situations also impact the movement of the bond values. The relation between the two markets can be ascertained using statistical measures (Zhang, H. Zhou and H. Zhu, 2009). The main objective of the CDS derivative instrument is to cover the investor’s loss if the borrower fails to repay. Hence, both CDS and the bond depend upon the same determinants which are the probability of default on behalf of the borrower, the expected rate of recovery and the factors of risk aversion (Lipton and Sepp, 2009). Although the bond and the CDS market are interrelated deeply, their spreads are never the same. This can be understood through the statistical analysis of the spread. In a portfolio

Act Four of the Crucible Essay Example for Free

Act Four of the Crucible Essay How does Miller present John Proctor as a heroic figure in Act Four of The Crucible? Does the play have any relevance for us watching it today?  A hero is a person who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something great according to www.dictionary.co.uk. I also think a hero is a person who doesnt necessarily have to be of a pure soul, who has never done anything wrong. For example, in The Crucible, a person like Rebecca Nurse who never did anything wrong wasnt portrayed as a hero to us. We see John Proctors actions as more heroic and they are similar to Linford Christies actions (where he was accused for taking drugs and now acts as a senior mentor for athletes) which a modern audience watching it today would see as a comparable, if a less serious, situation. Miller presents Proctor as a heroic figure in Act Four of The Crucible by John Proctors actions. These include John refusing to sign the document, which would save his life. However, at the same time it would mean he would lie and Proctor would rather die than sign a document, which condemned him to working with the devil. I feel this shows John as a hero because he has not only done something very brave by giving his life, which people will admire, but because he has struggled through and done the right thing which will ultimately lead to an end in the accusations of witchcraft in Salem. This part of the play deserves a lot of attention as it shows the greatest act of heroism in the play by Proctor. It also reflects the most relevance for an audience watching today, who would relate Johns example to their own lives. In the earlier acts of the play Miller shows John Proctor resisting temptation from Abigail. The reader sees this as heroic because we know that John has already had an affair and he doesnt want to cheat again. The reader also knows that it is hard for John Proctor and when he does resist Abagail the reader sees this as a heroic action. The way other characters respond to John Proctor also shows us that John is a hero. Miller shows other characters, for example Mary Warren, respecting him. The first time Miller introduces John into the play we see how other characters respect his authority. MARY WARREN leaps in fright. Mary was doing wrong and Proctor discovered her. The fact that we see her leaping in fright shows how she respects Johns authority. She admires him enough to feel ashamed of her wrong doing and a hero is someone who is admired by other people. In Act 4 Proctor knows he has made mistakes in the past and doesnt think that people will see him as a hero if he is hung. I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. By John saying this it shows he is not arrogant. The audience see arrogance as an unheroic action. John Proctor says he refuses to testify because he detests authority. It is hard to give a lie to dogs. Miller makes John refer to authority figures as dogs because they are hanging people for incorrect and false acusations. Proctor refuses to lie because he wants to stand up to a corrupt justice system. The audience sees this as a heroic action because he is prepared to sacrifice himself in order to abolish the justice system in the future. For John to give his life it is the biggest act of bravery a man can do and we see this bravery as a noble action. In this final act Miller suggests to us that John is performing actions with other people in mind rather than himself. If he confesses he wants to know if other people will be able to forgive him for lying. What would you have me do? Proctor is thinking about confessing and he does not want Elizabeth, or any other person, to think badly about him for lying. This is because he is feeling guilty. This guilt shows human emotions and the audience sees this as something they can relate to in their everyday life, because John is a person like us. However, John leads by example and, although he is human, he is a role model who always tries to do the right thing even if it is difficult and may have consequences for him. An earlier example of this is John attempting to save Elizabeth in court by confessing his act of adultery. I have known her, sir. This is what makes him heroic for the audience as he tries to do the right thing, for other people not just him, when it is sometimes difficult because of the resulting consequences. Another way in which we see John as heroic is because he physically tears up the confession slip. PROCTOR tears the paper and crumples it. This action by Proctor is heroic because he is trying to correct his mistakes. Proctor isnt perfect but he tries to make up for what he has done wrong in the past. Proctor doesnt want to return to his old ways of doing wrong as he felt contrite and ashamed of his affair with Abigail. The audience admires his attempt to correct his wrong doing and in doing so Miller gains the audiences respect for Proctor. Our admiration for Proctor makes us relate John to being a hero because by definition a hero is admired by other people because of their actions.

Water Purification In The Coming Decades Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Purification In The Coming Decades Environmental Sciences Essay This article was written by six academicians related to a work for The Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems (NSF STC WaterCAMPWS, University of Illinois, USA). They are working for various departments which are suitable for this research at different universities. The WaterCAMPWS works for new technologies for water treatment. (1) This article focuses on recent technology for disinfection, decontamination, re-use and desalination methods to improve water quality. It describes the importance of water and water problems, moreover it gives information about the water treatment systems using today and will be used in the future. It also makes comparisons to identify the advantages and the disadvantages of water treatment systems. It is suitable for anyone who wants to be informed about water purification techniques. A person who has the technical infrastructure about water and water treatment can understand more easily this article. While reading sometimes difficulties may be encountered to understand this article but in general language of the article was clear. At the first part of the article authors mention the importance of the water, pollutants water problem and new water treatment technologies. Water problem is explained clearly by using remarkable numbers but they do not give the date and sources about numbers. In addition to the situation at the article, developed and developing countries are provided the examples of the water situations to make the water problem more understandable. Water is needed for living organisms to survive and there is life on the Earth thanks to water.(2) According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) water may contain bacteria, suspended particles, parasites, viruses, organic chemicals, heavy metals and solvents above the allowed amount for example, Escherichia coli and arsenic level limit is should be less than 10 ÃŽÂ ¼g/l (WHO report, 2008) (2-3) The elimination of unwanted materials, chemicals, contaminants, impurities, micro-organisms is called water purification which is a cleaning process. (4) Clean water demand is rising day by day because of increasing in population, water shortage and users competition. (5) If people accessed clean potable water easily, it would be a completely positive effect on health. Unfortunately, WHO report in 2007 shows that 1.1 billion people cannot reach the clean water and 1.8 million people die dehydration from diarrheal because of safe water problem each year. Hearth problems, brain stokes, HIV /AIDS, acute respiratory diseases, chronic lung diseases are some health problems which are caused by diarrheal.(3) The recent water treatment activities are not safe, sustainable and sufficient enough but they can be develop such as energy efficient systems, renewable purification.(2) New generation water treatment systems, which are based on such as disinfection, flocculation, sedimentation and decontamination technologies, should be developed to remove bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens more effectively.(9) At the beginning of 4000 B.C. people tried to make drinking water better in taste and smell. Some treatment methods were developed such as sand filtration, disinfection by sunlight and boiling after 1500 B.C. (9) At 1600à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s desalination experiments began and around 1800à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the first water purification plant was built in Scotland. During the 20th century, people focused on drinking water quality especially removing the pathogens. In 1914 The U.S. Public Health Service prepared standards about drinking water and which were revised by the Public Health Service in 1925, 1946 and 1962. (9-3) Disinfection is the process of the deactivating or destroying of pathogenic microorganisms present in water. (10) In the paper, extensive information about disinfection methods and the comparison between disinfectants were written. Authors give information about how the disinfection processes can control the viruses but I think this is unnecessary detail about the subject. Using sunlight (solar) was the first application of disinfection. (10) The most common disinfection methods are free chlorine and chlorine related chemicals because of cost and easy accessibility, they eliminate the living materials by oxidation of cell wall compounds. Free chlorine (Cl2) is so effective method but chlorine is a very dangerous chemical and it produces toxic disinfection by-product DBPs for example trihalomethanes. (11) The method of using solid calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)2.4H2O 65% chlorine) as a disinfectant has a lot of limitations such as corrosion and taste problems. Another disinfectant is sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution (5-15% chlorine) which cannot be stored easily. (11) Viruses, yeast, spores, bacteria, and molds can be killed by ozone disinfection method. Ozonation method is more effective than chlorine method and it does not produce any danger by-products. (10) There are some disadvantages of this method for example, it is not easy technology, low dosages are not enough to kill pathogens and it is costly. (11) Ultraviolet light (UV) can be used for inactivating pathogens by photochemical reactions in the RNA and DNA which is the result of light absorption. (10) It is effectively and for this method the contact time is short, there are not toxic or non-toxic by-products but it cannot use water which includes suspended material. The new method is use chlorine with UV and ozone which is very effective method to eliminate bacteria, protozoa cysts and some vital pathogens. The solar photocatalysis disinfection which means killing of pathogens by using the photoca talysis of TiO2 is the future method for water disinfection.(12) The use of nanoscale science in the water treatment systems, which includes nanocatalysts, nanostructure membranes, bioactive nanoparticles, nanoparticles filtration, nanosorbants, is the futuristic disinfection method. Nanoparticles which have large surface areas will be the best materials for water purification systems in the near term. Today, the major challenges of nanomaterials are the integration of water purification process, cost effective and design problems. (5) In the article another method is described called, the water decontamination which is the process of eliminating the harmful substances (chemicals, organisms, heavy metals, radioactive materials) from the water. In this section of article, authors try to explain some problems about measuring and detection of compounds concentrations, modelling, and remediation strategies. Reverse osmosis, synthetic resins, activated carbon, sand filtration are the some methods to remove contaminants from the water.(13) The best treatment method which supplies the most purified water is not clear. The determination of contaminant type and concentration are as important as the decontamination technology. The advanced laboratory technology is necessary for measuring of low concentration of toxic compound for example Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrophometery and UV-Spectrophometry can be used to analyse arsenic. (13) Chromatography and mass spectroscopy which have the drawbacks such as cost, sensitivity and efficient; are the old but the most common technologies. Catalytic DNA is the recent system for testing heavy metals in the water and the traditional methods for this are X-Ray Fluorescence, some chemical tests and Inductively Coupled Plasma.(13) The biosensoring technology is defined as the usage nanoscale or microscale biological sensors to detect contaminants with high sensitivity. The technological development about biosensors is necessary to determine the toxicity of water treatment process.(14) Highly treated water can be called reclaimed water which is the low cost alternative of potable water. If we consider the amount of consumed water per day, remained water on the Earth and the growth of population, the reuse of reclaimed water is absolutely necessary. Some of the uses of reclaimed water are irrigation, industrial activities and groundwater recharge.(15) Since historical times wastewater has been used but it became attractive two or three decades ago. (16) There are several methods for reclaimed water, such as chlorination, filtration and biological systems which have been used since early 1800s. (15) Authors give information about some recent methods such as membrane bioreactors and filtration. For the biological treatment ultrafiltration and microfiltration technologies have been understood to provide high quality purified water. (17) Today activated sludge process, which is another biological treatment method, are designed for high performance. (18) The membrane bio reactor (MBR) method is relatively new treatment technology which is based on liquid-solid separation and its applications are becoming acceptable day by day for small scale with high quality of water. (17-18) Membrane bioreactor process has some advantages compared to the activated sludge process such as more compact reactor, smaller footprint for high concentration, higher mixed liquor suspended solids concentration (for MBR process average concentration 8-12 g/l). The most important drawback of MBR method is some terms such as flow issues should be developed. (18) The cleaning of membrane and dynamic effects such as aeration loss, saline intrusion and backflush loss are the two parameters which affects the performance of MBR technology. The improvements about material characteristics, permanent fouling, cost and membrane cleaning process should be done for this process. The average annual growth rate 10.9 % is estimated for the global MBR market. (19) Reverse osmosis (RO) is a li quid membrane method which removes dissolved materials. The combination of MBR and RO is highly efficient which provides 67% water recycling at the lowest cost. (20) Desalination is a method that separates the salt from water. The oldest process to remove salt from water is boiling. Thermal distillation method and natural the hydrologic cycle work same way and in the early 1900s, membrane system was developed. There are three types of thermal methods namely; multi-stage flash distillation, multi-effect distillation and vapour compression distillation. (21) The advantages of desalination by distillation are low operating and maintenance cost, minimal environmental effect and the highly purified water production, the disadvantages are high level knowledge and large capacity plants.(22) Electrodialysis, Electrodialysis reversal and reverse osmosis are the three main membrane processes for desalination. (21) Simple systematic structure, removing organic and inorganic contaminants and high production/capacity ratio are the advantages on the other hand the necessity of pre-treatment step, the difficulty of cleaning membrane and decreasing in flow rate are the drawbacks of membrane processes. (22) Total number of desalination plant is nearly 1400 (80% Membrane desalination, 20% Thermal desalination). Reverse osmosis desalination process includes four parts; pre-treatment, high-pressure pumps, membrane systems and post-treatment. (21) Hybrid desalination method can be defined as the comparison of thermal and membrane desalination process which generates power. The advantages of this process are using less energy, low cost of construction and high plant efficiency. Nowadays the RO and simple hybrid multistage flash configuration are very popular. The advantages of integrated systems are good thermal efficiency and high quality purified water. (23) The Affordable Desalination Collaboration process is newly design of reverse osmosis process which demonstrates the water with a good design. (21) Carbon nanotubes have the specific electrical, chemical and mechanical features. In the future, nanotubes will allow us to desalinate cheaply b ut there are some challenges, we have to face about this method like capital cost and difficult mechanism. Carbon nanotubes, Biomimetic membranes and forward osmosis are next generation systems for desalination. (8-21) In this section of the article the figure about reverse osmosis and activate desalination (figure 5) makes understandable the processes. The information in the book related to entropy and energy calculation is the high-level information about the subject. This article contains extensive knowledge about the water treatment systems. Authors clearly conclude solutions of water treatment systems. I have some knowledge about water purification before preparing this report but while writing I learned lots of information about new water treatment techniques from article and references. This research was made in 2008, it is a technological subject because of this when research is carried out is very important. Some current water treatment techniques need intensive energy and chemicals. We should improve the not only water treatment systems but also monitoring, measuring, modelling and management systems to deliver safe and clean water to everybody. As a result, we need new, sustainable, environmental and inexpensive purification methods. Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades by M.A. Shannon, P.W. Bohn, M. Elimelech, J.G. Giorgiadis, B.J. Marinas, A.M. Hayes, Nature 452 (2008) 301-310ÃÆ' ¶

Mars and the Earth Essay -- Astronomy Space Essays

Mars and the Earth Geologists study the surface of both Mars and Earth by using interplanetary comparative analysis to further their understanding of the two planets. In some ways, Mars resembles Earth. Features on Mars such as an atmosphere, a wind-modified surface, near-surface water, volcanism, seasons, ice caps, dust storms, and channels can be found on Earth as well, albeit slightly different in origination or intensity. Despite their similarities, their differences are profound. Their acute differences in their tectonic framework and their quantities of liquid water affect the geological theories behind the formation of the surface of Earth and Mars. By investigating these similarities and differences, geologists can grasp and acquire a better understanding of the evolution of these two planets. Mars, named after the Roman war god, is known as the Red Planet due to its’ red or pink appearance as it glows in the night sky. Galileo first saw Mars around the year 1610, since then numerous others have viewed the mysterious planet. Just to name a few, Michael Carr in The Surface of Mars (1) describes the trail of Mars’ historical observations; starting with Huyghens in 1659 who verified that Mars, like Earth, had a north-south rotation in a 24-hour period, Cassini who observed polar caps on Mars in 1666, and Herschel who, in the late 1700’s, determined that Mars had seasons much like Earth. According to Cross and Moore, Mars is much smaller and less massive than Earth (8). They also argue that Mars and the Earth move around the Sun in different periods, making observation of geological features extremely difficult since sightings are limited to a few months every other year (12). As difficult as Mars is to obse... ... Editors of Life. The Earth. New York, NY: Time Inc. Book Division, 1962. Carr. Michael H. Images of Mars. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1980. Carr, Michael H. The Surface of Mars. Westford, Mass: The Murray Printing Co., 1981. Gornitz, Vivien. Geology of the Planet Mars. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc., 1979. Guest, John. The Earth and Its Satellite. New York, NY: David McKay Company, Inc., 1971. Michaux, C. M. Handbook of the Physical Properties of the Planet Mars. Washington, D. C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1967. Mutch, Thomas A. The Geology of Mars. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976. Moore, Patrick, & Charles A. Cross. Mars. New York, NY: Crown Publishers Inc., 1973. â€Å"Poles Apart: North and South on Mars.† Valley News [Hanover] 6 May 2002, first ed:

Moving Towards Totalitarianism in Our Pursuit of Social Justice Essay

Moving Towards Totalitarianism in Our Pursuit of Social Justice Pursuit of various visions of social justice probably accounts for most human misery. What's more, the historical pattern that has emerged has been one whereby one form of injustice is replaced by one that is far worse. Russia's 1917 revolution expelling the Czars, and their injustices, ushered in Lenin, Stalin and a succession of brutal dictators who murdered tens of millions in the name of the proletariat revolution. The injustices of Chiang Kai-shek were replaced with those of Mao Tse-tung; Castro's ousting of Batista or Ayatollah Khomeini's toppling of the Shah of Iran produced regimes far more brutal. In Africa, after independence, the injustices of colonial powers were replaced with those of brutal dictators. The slaughter of nearly 200 million poor souls, not including war deaths, during the 20th century, was a direct result of pursuit of visions of social justice such as income equality, promoting the common good and fighting the so-called evils of capitalism. As if by design , measures taken to produce what was seen as the good society lowered both the common man's human rights protections and his standard of living. By contrast, after the American revolution, we laid the groundwork that produced the world's freest people. However, for most of the 20th century, we have been losing ground. If you ask the question which way are we heading - away from totalitarianism or towards it - there is no question that, by tiny steps at a time, we are heading towards totalitarianism and arbitrary governmental abuse and control. Some Americans are naive enough to think that the oppression seen in other countries can't happen here. But let's not forget that the countr... ...t determine what is or is not moral conduct. In Nazi-Germany, there were laws that required the reporting of a person hiding a Jew. In our country, the Fugitive Slave Act made assisting runaway slaves a crime. In apartheid South Africa, hiring blacks for certain work was illegal. In the former East Germany, assisting people in their efforts to escape to the West was illegal. Would any decent person demand that any of these laws be obeyed? Decent people must always ask: Does the law have a moral basis? Liberty is not mankind's normal state of affairs. Liberty is fragile. Our liberties are under siege because most Americans are ignorant about our Constitution and its philosophical underpinnigs. Thus, we fall easy prey to political charlatans and quacks all too ready to exploit this ignorance in their quest for power and to satisfy popular visions of social justice.

Helping or Hindering? Essay

Thanks to technology we have never been more connected-or alienated. † Have you ever noticed when there is a family gathering the majority of the time the family members are spending their time using technology rather than socializing? One will notice that almost every person will be using technology whether it is cell phones, iPods, tablets or the television. After reading Sherry Turkle’s â€Å" Can You Hear Me Now† essay it got me thinking, is technology the one to blame for us bring so alienated? Sherry Turkle is a professor who teaches the Social Studies of Science and technology at MIT. In her essay I feel she focuses mainly on the negative points of technology, such as how it alienates us. She does not refer to the positive points of living in a world of technology. Although I agree with Sherry Turkle that we have never been more connected or alienated, Turkle fails to see the benefits of technology. To support her argument, Turkle contends that everyone is mainly virtually connected. According to Turkle, â€Å"Consultants used to talk to one another as they waited to give presentations; now they spend that time doing emails. † (271). this is an example of how technology has changed society. In society I think people are trying to escape reality. To accomplish that one plays online games, such as Sims, City Ville, Farmville, and other virtual games. In online games one can have a completely different life. One can have the biggest house, the best job, and the best cars. I believe that by playing all these virtual games it makes people lose their social skills. I feel that it makes one forget how to socially interact with other people. Technology definitely poses a threat to the upcoming generations. Now people are always using their phones while driving whether it is texting, Face booking or changing the music. According to USATODAY Robert Sanchez, the train operator, was texting while driving a train, which later that day crashed. It was proven that the crash was caused by the train operator’s negligence. He was texting while operating the train. The California law states, one cannot use a cell phone while driving, unless one is using a hands free device that does not involve them taking their concentration of the road. Aside from texting and driving, there are other scenarios were technology is life threating. It can come down to being bullied over the internet, which would fall under cyber bullying. There are many cases that talked about children being cyber bullied. The story that really touched my heart is the Megan Meier’s story. In this story a thirteen year old girl named Megan committed suicide in October of 2006 due to cyber bullying. Megan committed suicide because there was a boy, Josh Evans, on the internet who was calling her very hurtful names such as slut, or he would call her fat. After Megan’s suicide the truth came out about boy. The boy was really a mother of one of Megan’s ex friends. The mother claims she only did it because her daughter was being picked on. Although this issue may seem trivial to some, it is in fact crucial because there are children taking their lives due to cyber bullying. This story took place in Missouri. In Missouri cyber bullying laws state that if a person twenty-one years or older commits cyber bullying crimes on a person seventeen years or younger they are faced with a class D felony. The mother now has a class D felony on her record. Turkle, like many other people may argue that technology alienates us. Although I agree with Turkle, I also believe it keeps us very connected. One should recognize that it helps us to stay connected with our education and finances. It is very beneficial for us because technology helps us to stay globally connected with the news and advertisements. Although it is important to stay connected globally. It is also very important to realize technology also helps to stay connected with ones relatives. It is important to stay connected with ones job because some jobs require traveling around the world. So if one has to be in a meeting in Japan for work but they are stuck in the United States, one can simply use a source of technology like video chatting. Then they are at the meeting, yet they never left the place they started off from. Technology also helps with school work. Today everything for school is done over the internet. Now some teachers give you the option of turning your assignments via email. In college people actually have the option to take their classes online. Technology I believe is beneficial for ones jobs and also for educational purposes. Being globally connected can also refer to knowing what is going on in the world. For instance when the Colorado shooting happened the entire country knew about it and all the schools were doing preoperational drills in case anything happened. Without technology it would have taken more than a week to get the news to the entire country. There are also advertisements that happen all over the world. I have observed that on New Year’s Eve they do a televised advertisement of the celebration. Without technology the entire world would not be able to be seeing the other countries when their New Year’s begins. As one can observe they will notice technology is very valuable in circumstances such as the ones stated above. Technology also helps a lot when one needs to communicate with someone from their family in other countries. I know from my own personal experience technology helps out a lot when I need to talk to a family member that does not live around me. Such as my cousins that live Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Florida, and with my cousin that was stationed it Iraq. It helps when you can get on Facebook or video chat with family that you do not get to see every day. Technology also helps in cases of emergencies. For instance when my aunt passed away it was very important to get ahold of my family members. Without technology I would not have been able to get ahold of them as quickly. After I read Turkle’s essay on technology it persuaded me to write my own views on technology. Ultimately what is at stake here is the risk of everyone relying on technology. Although technology is very beneficial to my generation, I also believe it is important for us to know how to function without it. What would someone from my generation do if there was a black out and no one’s phones worked? How would they get ahold of someone? What would they do if there was not any type of internet? How would they communicate with family? What would they do if video chatting did not exist and could not do work in other countries? Although technology helps with a wide range of situations, I believe it would be very beneficial for everyone to know how to do things the old fashioned way. A question came to my mind; does anyone from my generation still know how to use a phonebook or write a handwritten letter and take it to the post office to be sent? To conclude my views on technology I do believe technology connects us, but most definitely alienates us.? Work Cited â€Å"Authorities: Engineer texting on day of calf. Train wreck† USATODAY. com. USATODAY, 18 September 20087. web. 13 February 2013 â€Å"Parents: Cyberbully Led to Teens Suicide† ABCNews. com. ABCNews. go. com, 19 November 2007. web. 13 February 2013.

Improving Performance of the Work Team Essay

1.1 My company has defined expectations of Team Members which are given to each employee in the form of a job description backed up with a work contract signed by each employee when they join the company. These expectations include, a timekeeping policy which requires the individual to be at work at the stated shift start times and to contact the Team Leader within 30mins of that start time with any reasons why this can’t be achieved. This will allow the Team Leader time to call in help to keep production on target. Absenteeism and sickness are also closely monitored using a system called the Bradford Scale. This concentrates more on the number of occasions when an employee is off rather than the number of days as regular short periods of time off are more disruptive to the working team. If the number of points on the scale reach a certain level then the disciplinary process is used. Personal conduct is also expected to be appropriate as disruptive or aggressive conduct will affect the performance of the work team meaning targets may be missed or team members will be in conflict. Employees are also expected to reach certain levels of performance depending on the job they do. Training needs to be completed and personal objectives which are set annually by the area manager during appraisals are used to keep a continuous improvement mentality within each employee. Completion of set objectives also help towards future promotion and possibly pay increases. All these expectations help the company keep well motivated work teams who are self driven with good moral. 1.2 The objective for my team is to ensure we supply our customers (the other departments in our company) with enough optical fibre to meet the order demand for all the different types of fibre laser we manufacture. To help us meet this objective we use a system of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to indicate to us the current level of various indicators throughout the manufacturing process. These Include stock levels against the stock plan, current fibre yields, amount of work in the process at any given time, fibre consumed, fibre in validation, validated fibre, number of man hours available, shipped fibre. All these indicators are passed down through the organization as Laser orders are placed with our company. On the shop floor we break them down to a weekly plan of work depending on the position of current fibre stocks and yields. Each Friday the next weeks plan will be decided at a joint meeting between the area manager and team leader. Once the plan is drawn it is communicated to all the team members and then checked daily during the following week to report progress and any concerns or adjustments that need to be made. In turn the departments we supply with fibre will also have been set there weekly targets and depending on the work that they have in process will determine what target is given to us to supply. Our company works on a Lean basis meaning that no work will be in the line that has not been already ordered and this keeps online stock costs to a minimum. Due to the nature of our production process However, optical fibre is only confirmed as good quality once it is built in product, so to keep supply of good (Validated) fibre between us and our customers my department has to go against the lean principles and hold a stock of fibre on the shelf waiting for Laser orders. This ensures if a fibre fails in build we have enough stock to react quickly and replace the fibre without holding up the laser build line. 1.3 Individual team member performance has a very great effect on a teams overall performance, especially if the Individual is under performing. For instance if a team member was not completing the required amount of work each day this would put extra pressure on the remaining members of that team to meet production targets. This puts the team in a position of possibly not meeting realistic targets which are set on the basis that all team members perform to a set level. Team targets are also set around the number of available man hours per week. If a team member is constantly late or sick this will also put the team under unplanned pressure to meet any set targets. A four man team with one man out sick is down 25% in man hours which usually means most targets will need to be adjusted or missed. This then has a knock on effect in the next department who will be only receiving 75% of the product that they were planning for, and that effect depending on the ability to catch up on lost hours may go all the way to a customer in the form of a late delivery of a promised order. This reflects badly on customer relations and could at worse mean lost or cancelled future orders. Also a team member who does not put enough effort into their work can cause ill feeling and conflict in the team possibly leading to arguments and low team moral. This will have a drastic effect on the capabilities of the team sometimes causing other team members to reduce their efforts also. Underperformance of team members is a serious issue in a target driven environment and needs to be taken seriously by team leaders. It may be the case that outside of work influences are causing a team member to under perform so a friendly chat and understanding approach may be all that’s needed to encourage the team member to improve. Team members who perform above expectations can also boost the performance of a team in a positive way. These team members can motivate others to increase there efforts also. This results in better overall team results against target, which brings praise from management, improving team moral. This then means happy customers, more orders and longer term job security. 2.1 My own team has many indicators that we use to measure under performance. These include, Product Yield Charts, Disruption Reports, Weekly Targets, Scrap Reports and annual appraisals. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. Yield Charts give indications of process and operator performance. Product failure codes are recorded and investigated. Process detractors can be used to highlight improvement areas, and operator caused defects can be feedback to the team or individual concerned. Scrap reports are also used to put a financial value on product scrap allowing prioritizing of the most expensive problems first. An annual appraisal is given to each employee by the line manager. If a team member has been under performing, the reasons will be discussed and a plan will be drawn to encourage the employee to improve. 2.2 Underperformance needs to be constantly monitored in the manufacturing environment. It could just be that a team is not meeting targets because the target is set to high which puts to much pressure on them, causing mistakes due to rushing. Team moral is an important factor regarding Team performance. If you have conflict between certain team members it will cause them to take their mind off the workload resulting in reduced production and quality issues. This can have a knock on effect and eventually spread across all team members unless it is dealt with promptly. Poor training can also be a reason why an individual or Team are not able to meet targets. Inadequate training will not only increase scrap costs it can frustrate operators who cant do the work properly and even put them in harms way if Health and Safety measures regarding the work they do are not included in the training. Sometimes people may have domestic or personal worries regarding health problems which affect their performance at work. These need to be discussed with supervisors or managers and depending on the circumstances help may be given to the individual. 2.3 The different causes of underperformance require different actions to rectify them. If a team member is underperforming for no other reason than being lazy then a quiet chat from the Team Leader away from the ears of other team members usually helps re motivate them. If the poor results continue then a disciplinary route of verbal and written warnings may be needed. Re training or extra training will help someone who is falling behind due to lack of process knowledge. If a Team is underperforming they can have a meeting and discuss the reasons as a team, and with all the ideas on the table from all team members, come up with a plan of action to improve their results. In my place of work underperformance can come in the form of a disruption report. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. 3.1 Motivated employees are more productive than those who are unmotivated. They enjoy their work more and are usually less stressed. Companies work hard to find ways to motivate their staff. Motivation is the driving force behind all people’s actions. Psychologists have developed various theories about motivation in an attempt to better understand and control human behavior. This theory of motivation is based on the idea that people have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions. This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which presents different motivations at different levels. First People are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love and esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met , the primary motivator becomes the need for Self-Actualization, or the desire to fulfill one’s individual potential. Maslow believed employers would see better results from workers if they recognized the various needs of individual workers and if they varied the rewards offered to them.

Project Management - Project Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Management - Project Report - Coursework Example This entailed gathering of the necessary information needed to begin the project as well as the features that it would have to meet the needs of the stakeholders. For this reason, the team established a proper communication system that aided in collecting relevant information. The scope of the project geared towards addressing the structural, technological and environmental challenges. In terms of schedule management, the work on the project was under strict timeframe with every activity having a deadline. This ensured listing of the activities, milestones and deliverables of the project with the intended commencement and completion dates. Cost management ensured that the completion of the project happened within the budget. Thus, the project underwent regular budgetary reviews that enabled better planning and allocation of funds (Airport-technology.com, 2015). Risk management was necessary to ensure that there were intervention plans in case of any need. The project considered the asbestos and electric risks. During the entire project, there were some energy saving measures that came into consideration. The management provided that a competitive and open tender process occurred so that the ideal people received contracts (‘Project Management Institute’, n.d). The planning and project execution team carried out their responsibilities with a high level of professionalism and effectiveness. Some budgetary changes happened to ensure that everything went as planned. The entire project team was able to handle all the challenges correctly, and all issues of contentment received consideration. The delivery of the project happened within the scheduled timeframe and to the standards that applied for the entire project. This ensured that the project was a

Financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial management - Essay Example Dividends are the consequences of performances actual or expected. The market’s perception with regard to the change in dividend policy will have impact on the investment decisions of the investors which will reflect in stock prices. Therefore, dividend per se is not the dominant determinant factor, but it constitute as a signal to the performance of the company when it is changed and this perception is the key driver for performance of the stocks in the markets. Dividend policy The dividend decisions are guided by various factors relating to the business at the discretion of the management. Similarly, the motives behind the change in dividend policies could be influenced by taxation policies of the government, influence of major shareholders in dividend decisions, structure of the management, retention of management control, fulfilling the expectations of the market or simply meeting the guidelines already given. On many occasions the process of price discovery in market is f rustrated by earnings management or insider trading in relation to declaration of dividends. However the fundamental factors governing dividend policy in a company are stability in earnings, growth in profitability, opportunities available for reinvestment of the profits made based on marginal efficiency of additional capital and type or composition of the shareholders and their expectations. However, any increase in the rate of dividends is generally appreciated by the market and the prices of the shares react positively to such announcements. For a meaningful analysis of dividend policy the dividend history of the companies in relation to earnings (EPS) and dividend yield over years, leverage or debt to equity ratio and the management policy in distribution of earnings needs to be studied. Also, comparison with the industry standards will reveal the relative position of the company in the industry. Different types of investors will react differently to the dividend policy. For exa mple, retired people expect consistency in payment of dividends since they need regular income from their investments in the absence of earnings from employment or other sources. Therefore, any negative change in dividend payout will adversely affect the stock prices. Relevance of dividends to market value of the stocks highly correlated in such cases. Determinants of dividend policy The question of whether a company's dividend policy is relevant or irrelevant to its market value has implications in firming up the dividend policy of a company. Primarily the question has to be analyzed with regard to the motives behind the changes in dividend policy from the perspective of the management of the companies taking into account the market expectations, future capital investments proposed, the earnings guidance already given and the tax considerations involved. The companies have to formulate their dividend policies in tune with the needs for the development of the business since the shar eholders are the most important stakeholders in the business. Future expansions, mergers & acquisitions could be easily managed if the shareholders’ confidence on the company is maintained at the highest level. It is very important to note that the policy does not focus primarily on distribution of dividends per se. It is