Deception Point Page 83

Tolland turned to her. â€Å"You okay? You could have stayed onshore. I told you that.† I should have stayed onshore, Rachel thought, knowing pride would never have let her. â€Å"No thanks, I'm fine.† Tolland smiled. â€Å"I'll keep an eye on you.† â€Å"Thanks.† Rachel was surprised how the warmth in his voice made her feel more secure. â€Å"You've seen the Goya on television, right?† She nodded. â€Å"It's a†¦ um†¦ an interesting-looking ship.† Tolland laughed. â€Å"Yeah. She was an extremely progressive prototype in her day, but the design never quite caught on.† â€Å"Can't imagine why,† Rachel joked, picturing the ship's bizarre profile. â€Å"Now NBC is pressuring me to use a newer ship. Something†¦ I don't know, flashier, sexier. Another season or two, and they'll make me part with her.† Tolland sounded melancholy at the thought. â€Å"You wouldn't love a brand-new ship?† â€Å"I don't know†¦ a lot of memories onboard the Goya.† Rachel smiled softly. â€Å"Well, as my mom used to say, sooner or later we've all got to let go of our past.† Tolland's eyes held hers for a long moment. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† 98 â€Å"Shit,† the taxi driver said, looking over his shoulder at Gabrielle. â€Å"Looks like an accident up ahead. We ain't going nowhere. Not for a while.† Gabrielle glanced out the window and saw the spinning lights of emergency vehicles piercing the night. Several policemen stood in the road ahead, halting traffic around the Mall. â€Å"Must be a hell of an accident,† the driver said, motioning toward some flames near the FDR Memorial. Gabrielle frowned at the flickering glow. Now, of all times. She needed to get to Senator Sexton with this new information about PODS and the Canadian geologist. She wondered if NASA's lies about how they found the meteorite would be a big enough scandal to breathe life back into Sexton's campaign. Maybe not for most politicians, she thought, but this was Sedgewick Sexton, a man who had built his campaign on amplifying the failures of others. Gabrielle was not always proud of the senator's ability to put negative ethical spin on opponents' political misfortunes, but it was effective. Sexton's mastery of innuendo and indignity could probably turn this one compartmentalized NASA fib into a sweeping question of character that infected the entire space agency-and by association, the President. Outside the window, the flames at the FDR Memorial seemed to climb higher. Some nearby trees had caught fire, and the fire trucks were now hosing them down. The taxi driver turned on the car radio and began channel-surfing. Sighing, Gabrielle closed her eyes and felt the exhaustion roll over her in waves. When she'd first come to Washington, she'd dreamed of working in politics forever, maybe someday in the White House. At the moment, however, she felt like she'd had enough politics for a lifetime-the duel with Marjorie Tench, the lewd photographs of herself and the senator, all of NASA's lies†¦ A newscaster on the radio was saying something about a car bomb and possible terrorism. I've got to get out of this town, Gabrielle thought for the first time since coming to the nation's capital. 99 The controller seldom felt weary, but today had taken its toll. Nothing had gone as anticipated-the tragic discovery of the insertion shaft in the ice, the difficulties of keeping the information a secret, and now the growing list of victims. Nobody was supposed to die†¦ except the Canadian. It seemed ironic that the most technically difficult part of the plan had turned out to be the least problematic. The insertion, completed months ago, had come off without a hitch. Once the anomaly was in place, all that remained was to wait for the Polar Orbiting Density Scanner (PODS) satellite to launch. PODS was slated to scan enormous sections of the Arctic Circle, and sooner or later the anomaly software onboard would detect the meteorite and give NASA a major find. But the damned software didn't work. When the controller learned that the anomaly software had failed and had no chance of being fixed until after the election, the entire plan was in jeopardy. Without PODS, the meteorite would go undetected. The controller had to come up with some way to surreptitiously alert someone in NASA to the meteorite's existence. The solution involved orchestrating an emergency radio transmission from a Canadian geologist in the general vicinity of the insertion. The geologist, for obvious reasons, had to be killed immediately and his death made to look accidental. Throwing an innocent geologist from a helicopter had been the beginning. Now things were unraveling fast. Wailee Ming. Norah Mangor. Both dead. The bold kill that had just taken place at the FDR Memorial. Soon to be added to the list were Rachel Sexton, Michael Tolland, and Dr. Marlinson. There is no other way, the controller thought, fighting the growing remorse. Far too much is at stake. 100 The Coast Guard Dolphin was still two miles from the Goya's coordinates and flying at three thousand feet when Tolland yelled up to the pilot. â€Å"Do you have NightSight onboard this thing?† The pilot nodded. â€Å"I'm a rescue unit.† Tolland had expected as much. NightSight was Raytheon's marine thermal imaging system, capable of locating wreck survivors in the dark. The heat given off by a swimmer's head would appear as a red speck on an ocean of black. â€Å"Switch it on,† Tolland said. The pilot looked confused. â€Å"Why? You missing someone?† â€Å"No. I want everyone to see something.† â€Å"We won't see a thing on thermal from this high up unless there's a burning oil slick.† â€Å"Just switch it on,† Tolland said. The pilot gave Tolland an odd look and then adjusted some dials, commanding the thermal lens beneath the chopper to survey a three-mile swatch of ocean in front of them. An LCD screen on his dashboard lit up. The image came into focus. â€Å"Holy shit!† The helicopter lurched momentarily as the pilot recoiled in surprise and then recovered, staring at the screen. Rachel and Corky leaned forward, looking at the image with equal surprise. The black background of the ocean was illuminated by an enormous swirling spiral of pulsating red. Rachel turned to Tolland with trepidation. â€Å"It looks like a cyclone.† â€Å"It is,† Tolland said. â€Å"A cyclone of warm currents. About a half mile across.† The Coast Guard pilot chuckled in amazement. â€Å"That's a big one. We see these now and then, but I hadn't heard about this one yet.† â€Å"Just surfaced last week,† Tolland said. â€Å"Probably won't last more than another few days.† â€Å"What causes it?† Rachel asked, understandably perplexed by the huge vortex of swirling water in the middle of the ocean. â€Å"Magma dome,† the pilot said. Rachel turned to Tolland, looking wary. â€Å"A volcano?† â€Å"No,† Tolland said. â€Å"The East Coast typically doesn't have active volcanoes, but occasionally we get rogue pockets of magma that well up under the seafloor and cause hot spots. The hot spot causes a reverse temperature gradient-hot water on the bottom and cooler water on top. It results in these giant spiral currents. They're called megaplumes. They spin for a couple of weeks and then dissipate.† The pilot looked at the pulsating spiral on his LCD screen. â€Å"Looks like this one's still going strong.† He paused, checking the coordinates of Tolland's ship, and then looked over his shoulder in surprise. â€Å"Mr. Tolland, it looks like you're parked fairly near the middle of it.† Tolland nodded. â€Å"Currents are a little slower near the eye. Eighteen knots. Like anchoring in a fast-moving river. Our chain's been getting a real workout this week.†

Economic Growth in Nigeria Essay

The agriculture sector was the focus of intense development interest during the 1990s, with food self-sufficiency the goal. In 1990, agriculture was the subject of a separate three-year development plan involving public and private spending targets concentrating on the family farmer. The program  included price stabilization plans and schemes to revitalize the palm oil, cocoa, and rubber subsectors. The Agricultural Development Projects continued through the decade, but implementation of goals was difficult. The country still imports most of its wheat from the United States. An integrated petrochemical industry was also a priority. Using the output of the nation’s refineries, Nigeria produced benzene, carbon black, and polypropylene. The development of liquid natural gas facilities was expected to lead to the production of methanol, fertilizer, and domestic gas. Nigeria’s refineries operated at less than optimal rates throughout the 1990s. In the manufacturing sector, the government was backing a policy of local sourcing whereby locally produced raw materials were converted into finished products. By 1999, manufacturing accounted for less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). By the beginning of the 2000s, the government was more concerned about halting corruption and reigning in the state budget than economic development. Nevertheless, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was created to coordinate economic and social development in the oil-producing region. Nigeria’s foreign debt stood at around $28.5 billion in 2001, a large portion of which was interest and payment arrears. The Obasanjo administration in the early 2000s was supporting private-sector-led, market-oriented economic growth, and had begun economic reform programs. Privatization of state-owned enterprises continued. A Stand-By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), approved in 2000, lapsed in 2001 as the government’s economic reform program went off track. There were indications a new IMF program for the country would be negotiated in 2003–04. Read more: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Nigeria-ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT.html#ixzz2HUrqN4ZB

Compare and contrast Grand Odalisque and Velazquez's Princess Essay

Compare and contrast Grand Odalisque and Velazquez's Princess - Essay Example The painting also represents an eclectic mix of styles that combine classical form with Romantic themes, which is a contrast to contemporary style and content. â€Å"Las Meninas† (1656) represents a masterpiece of Spanish painting by Diego Velazquez, and one of the most prominent paintings. The painting also doubles up as one of the most controversial and imitated painting in history. The painting depicts a scene from daily life within the palace of Felipe IV in which the Princess is at the centre in the company of her ladies-in-waiting (â€Å"Meninas†). Naturalism of the painting with its impact of spontaneity and relative informality should be understood within the context of Velazquez’s identity as a court painter and a member of the court of Philip IV (Mitchell 58). The painting demonstrates Velazquez skill in the utilization of â€Å"claroscuro† in which the point of light lights up the characters and establishes an order within the composition. I am drawn to these art works owing to the praise and criticism that they draw. Grande Odalisque, for instance, remains one of the Ingres’ most popular nudes given that the anatomical distortions of the odalisque persist to fascinate art fans. The paper compares and contrasts two masterpiece paintings belonging at diverse artistic periods and detailing distinct characteristics of artists’ distinct styles, namely: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Diego Velazquez. Grande Odalisque/Une Odalisque Stylistic Characteristics: Grand Odalisque The painting contains a clear outline and linear style highly typical of the Neoclassic movement; hence, the female figure within the painting is accentuated by light and possess a distinct contour highlighted by the setting of the darker movement. This renders the painting to be highly sensual, realist, and romanticized. Use of space: The body of the nude occupies the entire frame of the canvas in which her head, elbow, and buttock are only few inches away from the edge of the canvas, and her toes extend beyond the bounds of the edge. Techniques: One of the techniques that Ingres employs features his anatomical distortion as seen in the female nude. In Grand Odalisque Ingres drew extended sinuous lines to lengthen her back and pelvis area. Critics claim that the lack of anatomical realism makes her body appears boneless. Use of color: Ingres use of color is carefully planned, whereby he differentiates the warm tones vis a vis the cool colored silk. Lighting: The foreground of painting remains completely unlit heralding focus to the long and affective body of the odalisque. It appears that major spotlight awarded to her body, especially lighting and drawing attention to the areas that he elongates (her arm, back, and pelvis area). Tone: The Grand Odalisque is sensual and erotic, whereby the odalisque is offering herself to the sultan, but offers just a small preview of her body. Brushstroke: Ingres employs tight brushwo rk to attain his near photographic realism. Ingres incorporates the likeness of the texture of the model’s skin, the velvet, and the silk. Cultural Context: Grand Odalisque In the artwork, Ingres has generated a fresh aloof eroticism emphasized by its exotic context. The painting reflects sensual fascination with the orient and portrays his attraction for foreign eroticism. Some art historians cite the elongation of the Odalisque’

Impact of Reservoirs in the UK on the Surrounding Community Dissertation

Impact of Reservoirs in the UK on the Surrounding Community - Dissertation Example Center of discussion in this paper are reservoirs, man-made bodies of open water serving as public water supply sources, as winter storage for crop irrigation or as flood storage facilities in association with river corridors. FWR describes two types of reservoirs – upland reservoirs and lowland reservoirs. Upland reservoirs are built across river valleys and so they are described as upland reservoirs. Reservoirs such as those to which water is pumped from a nearby river source rather than filling naturally as with impounding reservoirs are known as lowland reservoirs. According to FWR much of the water supply infrastructure in the UK was developed at the end of the 19th century when impounding reservoirs were constructed in upland locations in order to provide water supply to conurbans which were often many miles away. Reservoirs were often located in areas where the catchment encountered little or no disturbance and so the quality of water supplied was in most cases fully ac ceptable without any need for either filtration or disinfection. However, as the standards relating to public hygiene evolved, many of these supplies were improved with the provision of chlorination systems. The regulation in relation to water quality ensures that all supplies are now provided with full treatment, including coagulation and filtration. FWR points out that in England and Wales two-thirds of drinking water comes from surface water, including reservoirs, lakes and rivers, and the rest from ground waters. There are also areas that receive water from mixed sources. Water is treated and tested along the way to ensure the highest quality. As it is with lakes reservoirs support rich and diverse flora and fauna and some rely on these habitats for their entire lifecycle. The classification is based on their nutrient status. Eutrophic standing waters are usually highly productive as they consist of lot plant nutrients. Legislation relating to Dam Safety Reservoir safety is crit ical to the British Dam Society which they indicate as the driving force behind many of the meetings, events and research work that they undertake (British Dam Society 2011). The Reservoir Act 1975 provides the legal framework to ensure the safety of dams with capacity of 25,000 cubic metres of water above natural ground level. Safety legislation in the UK was first introduced in 1930 after several reservoir disasters which resulted in loss of life. This was later superseded by the Reservoir Act 1975 (Environment Agency 2011). The Act indicates that reservoir owners have ultimate responsibility for the safety of reservoirs. They are also required to appoint a Panel Engineer – a specialist civil engineer who has qualifications and experience in reservoir safety to continuously supervise reservoirs and carry out periodic inspections. Supervision and inspection will be provided by qualified persons performing in the capacity of supervising and inspecting engineers respectively. Those reservoirs that are below the 25,000 cubic metres capacity are managed by the Health and Safety Executive and the Local Authorities under the Health and safety at Work, etc Act 1974 and the Building Act 1984 respectively. The Flood and Management Bill was given Royal Assent in April 2010, thus making it possible to bring aging reservoir safety legislation up to date by providing clarity on roles and responsibilities of those persons who manage flood and coastal risks in England and Wales (Environment Agen

Renaissance Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Renaissance Art - Research Paper Example The other monumental form of Gothic architectural style is the Bourges Cathedral in Bourges, France. The two works of art exhibits unique style and details, though similar in most ways, they also differ in many aspects, which forms the main basis and argument of this paper. Gothic style came into existence at around 1145 BC, a time when cathedral stylists were transforming from circular arches. The style was an expression and symbol of new faith growing out of medieval Christianity and mysticism (Monteith, nd) .Abbot Suger being the father of Gothic architecture had an intention of creating a church in honor of God by use of light to illuminate the building through tinted glasses. Suger knew that the beauty of the structure could in the mind of a viewer be viewed as symbolizing heaven. The tinted or colored glasses were considered to stand for precious gems. The two Cathedrals that depict Suger’s ideas are the Notre Dame de Chartres and Bourges Cathedrals. The Notre Dame de Ch artres Cathedral was build between 1146 and 1512 BC in France by Guy Nicot. Since the architectural style of the building is considered three dimensional, it was built with bearing stone and masonry. In the construction of Chartres Cathedral the masons used butters and vault style design. ... The Cathedral too had all its one hundred and seventy windows tinted. The tinted windows created a dark and rich colored interior with the balance between the light and the darkness giving a unique style illuminating the building. Other details of the Chartres Cathedral are Christ sculpture and pointed spires which were new design to Gothic architecture, with Chartres Cathedral mainly exhibiting this style. Like the Chartres Cathedral, the Bourges Cathedral portrayed most of the same designs and techniques. Being build between 1196 and 1250, Bourges Cathedral is a three dimensional building made from masonry and stone. Advanced techniques were employed through construction of sexpartite designs. The cathedral had two dimensional ribs and six bays for support, this contrasted with Chartres cathedral that had only four bays for support. The builders of Bourges Cathedral also used arcades and flying buttresses acting as arches in an innovative way to support the wall structures. Compari son of Bourges to Chartres Cathedral reveals that both structures had tinted windows with the Bourges’s windows having a design of hagiographic circles and stories of last judgment and the Old Testament (Ma?le, 1958). Both Cathedrals portrayed an expression of new faith growing out of medieval Christian mysticism and theology. Chartres cathedral was used for concerts, meetings and religious plays. It was the sole building that could hold large crowds and most importantly, it was a place of worship. Bourges Cathedral also was used as a place of worship and was dedicated to Saint Stephen. In the construction of both cathedrals, sculptures were used to symbolize mysticism and theology. Architects of the structures had a sole

Diglossia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diglossia - Research Paper Example Keywords: Arabic, diglossia, Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Iraqi/Syrian dialect Arabic is among the diglossic languages of the world because two formal varieties exist in concurrent use. These varieties are Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Both are referred to as al-lugha al-fusha or simply fusha for short, the latter part being pronounced as al-fuS-Ha and meaning ‘pure’ or ‘most eloquent’. Badawi however, distinguishes between al-fusha al-turath for CA and al-fusha al-‘asr for MSA (Ryding, 2005: 4). This distinction reflects the historical and cultural differences as CA pertains to Arab heritage (al-turath) and MSA pertains to the modern era (al-‘asr). Vincent Monteil (1960) thus regarded MSA as a modern development of the old classical form of CA. There are also colloquial forms and various dialects but the main distinction is drawn between the two aforementioned literary forms. Many Arabs and indeed Muslims r egard CA as the pure form, as it is the form used in the Holy Quran and the form used in heaven, and therefore regard all other varieties as inferior. The syntax and morphology of CA have thus remained intact but the lexicon present in MSA is changed. This classical form is the same globally although it has few fluent speakers whereas the other varieties are distinct enough â€Å"so as to impede mutual intelligibility† (Tan, 1999: 264). Nonetheless, the spoken varieties tend to be of greater practical benefit in the present age, as shown in a study by Palmer (2008). On the other hand, MSA, which functions as a global lingua franca, is used by the media and â€Å"stirs pan-Arab nationalistic feelings in the Arab world† (Palmer, 2008: 93). Above all, it also allows for greater intelligibility of the Holy Quran from being closer to CA and is the more respected and educated variety. It functions as educated Arabic speech because it is â€Å"characterized by general intell igibility among great regional and stylistic diversity† (Mitchell, 1986). Essentially therefore, despite a multiplicity of forms and dialects, Arabic is a prime example of diglossia. The term ‘diglossia’ was first used by the Greeks to describe two different varieties of their language, namely Dhimotiki and Katharevousa. Diglossia was more recently examined by Charles Ferguson (1959) in his book ‘Diglossia’ in which three other diglossic languages were identified including Arabic. It â€Å"describes any stable linguistic situation, in which there exists a strict functional differentiation between a (socially) ‘L(ow)-variety’ and a distinct ‘H(igh)-variety’† (Bussmann, 2006: 345). The latter is differentiated from the former by being more grammatically complex, standardised and formal. Gumperz (1964) considered linguistic societies as diglossic if functionally distinct varieties were found, but did not regard them as bi lingual because of their close relationship whereas Fishman (1967) related diglossia closely to bilingualism. Other scholars who have studied diglossia include Kremnitz (1987) and Willemyns & Bister (1989). As far as the various dialects of Arabic are concerned, the present day dialects can be roughly divided according to four geographical regions, which are: (1) Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, (2) Levantine, (3)

The Federal Reserve Bank Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The Federal Reserve Bank - Research Paper Example ng saving money foundations, keeping up the steadiness of the budgetary framework and giving monetary administrations to depository organizations, the U.S. government, and foreign official establishments. This paper explores numerous issues such as the history, purposes, structure and the available tools for the Fed. The Fed traces its inceptions to 1791, when Congress urged the Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton to establish the first U.S. bank. The first bank was headquartered in Philadelphia; the bank was given a twenty-year contract; however, numerous agrarian-minded Americans were uncomfortable with the ideology as they suggested this would affect the management of the central bank. They decided to restrict it, but the Congress declined through a single vote, and it was renewed in 1811 (Paul, 1996). Congress later created a national bank in 1816, in light of the expansion that came about because of the increment in banknotes printed to pay off the obligation occasioned by the War of 1812. Somewhat more than ten years after its opening, nonetheless, the new bank came into the line of sight of Andrew Jackson, who attempted to slaughter it after he was chosen president in 1828. After the second bank collapsed, state-sanctioned and uncharted â€Å"public banks† flourished. These banks issued their own notes, redeemable in gold or silver. Given that the National Banking Act, passed in 1863, attempted to provide a measure of cash strength, bank runs and money related frenzies stayed necessary into the mid-twentieth century. This was an episode of theory on Wall Street that bottomed out in 1907 (Paul, 1996). The advanced Fed follows its establishing to President Wilson, who came up with a group of counsels that created the proposition which eventually turned into the Federal Reserve Act, passed by Congress in 1913. The seven unique individuals from the FRB sit for a gathering representation, soon after being confirmed. They incorporate the first Chairman of the

Challenges and Drawbacks of a Non-Traditional Student Research Paper

Challenges and Drawbacks of a Non-Traditional Student - Research Paper Example But while there is a great influx of non-traditional students on the college campus, much of the higher education system is regrettably still not fully developing this non-traditional population (Beicastro & Purslow, 2006, p. 2). Unfortunately as well, there is still relatively little actual academic research on nontraditional students on college campuses (Kortesoja, 2005). The growth in the non-traditional undergraduate population is also found in the graduate school population in the United States. It is estimated that 50% of all graduate students are older than age 30 years (United States Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, 1998, p. 55). Graduate schools are now facing the same issues as the undergraduate programs in working with these typically older students. Regrettably, there is very little research on non-traditional graduate students either (Kasworm et al., 2000, p. 453). According to the United States Department of Education, a non- traditional higher education student is a student who has one of the following characteristics: delays enrollment, attends part-time for at least part of the academic year, works full-time while enrolled, is considered financially independent for purposes of determining eligibility for financial aid, has dependents other than a spouse, is a single parent, or does not have a high school diploma. According to information from the Department of Education for the year 2000, 73% of all higher education students in the United States have at least one of these non-traditional characteristics. (United States Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics, 2002, p. 25). When only focused on the characteristic of age, it is currently estimated that as many as 45% of college students are older than age 25 years (Beicastro & Purslow, 2006, p. 2). Talking about theological education, the same

Customer Service Excellence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Customer Service Excellence - Essay Example More specifically, organizational culture is an established set of mutual mental conventions that guide understanding and action in organizations by outlining appropriate behaviour for various circumstances (Ravasi & Schultz, 2006). From organizational values advance organizational norms, procedures, or expectations that recommend appropriate manners of behaviour by employees in specific situations and govern the behaviour of organizational members towards each other. Strong culture is said to occur where staff respond to stimulus because of their placement with the organizational values. In such surroundings, strong cultures aid firms function like well-oiled machines, voyaging along with outstanding performance and perhaps minor modification of prevailing procedures here and there. Equally, there is weak culture where there is slightarrangement with organizational values and control must be implemented through extensive measures as well as a culture of bureaucracy. Research indicat es that organizations that nurture strong cultures have clear ideals and values that give employees a motive to embrace the culture. A ‘strong’ culture may be particularlyadvantageous to firms operating in the service sector because members of these establishments are responsible for carrying out the service and for evaluations significantcomponents make about firms. Research specifies that organizations may develop the following benefits from sustaining strong as well as dynamic cultures: Better supporting the company towards attaining its mission, vision and goals High employee enthusiasm and devotion Elevated team cohesiveness amongst the company’s various units and departments Encouragingreliability and inspiringmanagement and control within the company Influencing employee behaviour at work, empowering the organization to be more resourceful (Hofstede, 1980) Businesses are gradually adopting customer-focused business processes to increase competitive advanta ge. Especially predominant in industries where product offerings and price do not provide adequate differentiation, this new focus compromises numerous assistances. Customer involvement is the battleground, and a business can't triumph with a culture that doesn't truly clasp the concept. Culture can neither be simply forced on a business nor fashioned by flicking a switch. However, there are a few key steps can assistance put a business on the path towards a customer-focused philosophy. To shape your business around customers, an organization should aim to comprehend them, and create a regular discussion. If a business arms itself with the gears to better comprehend your customers, you will be better able to perform in their best benefits. A business’s employees possess great understanding in their customer base and how todelight them. Tap this knowledge base to better appreciate employee views. It is important not to limit this outreach to customer-facing employees only. A c ustomer-focused culture is not just about giving better customer service at the front desk; it is about permeating all the actions as a business with a sagacity of how the customer is influenced by those actions (or absence of them).Corporate culture is a long-term deliberation, and representing that you're truly investing in change will help to drive additional change and involve your employees in the process (Schein, 1985). Customer feedback is not always applauded by employees, so it

Hotel Human Resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hotel Human Resource - Essay Example ty industry has enhanced the overall productivity of the industry as more innovative and competent workers are being engaged in tour companies and hotels. This paper discusses current issues regarding human resources in the hotel sector. Human resource development in the tourism sector is the foundation for successful business. Hotels offer a package of services in contrast to many other businesses that offer a single product. A customer may require accommodation and catering services, transport as well as links to experienced tour guides. Each of the departments must be equipped with competent employees that contribute to the overall quality of customer experience. Failure in the provisions of any of the departments may negatively affect the entire package offered by the hotel and hence the recent efforts by hotels to engage in strategic human resource management practices. According to (Busquets, 2010), tourism is expected to employ more than 290 million people by 2020 and is currently contributing 30% of global export services. The hotel sector needs to enhance human resource development to cope with the rising demand for quality services. Competition is constantly increasing as more business people continue investing in the sector thereby offering customers a wide range of choices. Hotel managers have to ensure that they attract as many customers as possible through offering quality services and maintaining innovativeness to preserve market leadership. However, Clark and Chen (2007) observe that competitiveness in the sector significantly depends on the ability to satisfy customers, which in turn is associated with staff competence, especially at the customer contact zone. The managers need to maintain a supportive role to ensure that front line employees maintain the expected standards to attract and retain customers. Employee satisfaction is critical to the accomplishment of the goals of the hotel sector. Human resource managers may be wrong to expect

Seaworld Water Conservation in Sanantoino Essay Example for Free

Seaworld Water Conservation in Sanantoino Essay Many of us have been to water parks/ theme parks and probably never thought about how much water is being used. I especially have been intrigued with the fact that San Antonio has a Seaworld, because the other cities that have one are San Diego and Orlando. San Diego and Orlando both are by many beaches and land of water compared to San Antonio. So to me I felt that San Antonio having a Seaworld would have a major impact on our city water supply. How much water does Seaworld consume and or try to conserve? I talked to Melissa, an educator at Seaworld, and she discussed with me that several of Seaworld’s management had already developed the park’s Water Conservation Plan and had submitted the plan to the San Antonio Water System. The drought restrictions for San Antonio are quit stringent. Many of the restrictions, however, are everyday practices for their park. Under restrictions, water waste is prohibited; Melissa quoted, â€Å" At Seaworld we are always watching how our water is being used and we are always finding new ways to reuse our water or reduce consumption. I also found out that the park reduces their landscape watering by about 20% in their formal park area, and their back area of the park goes without water. Another way the park conserve water is by collecting water condensation from air conditioning units in two condensation tanks found in back areas of the park. The water collected in these tanks is used to irrigate landscaping throughout the park and is also used to pressure wash pathways. Low-flow toilets have been installed in the park restrooms to reduce the amount of waste water used. In addition to conservation reclaimed water is used to water the plants and grass at Seaworld. They’ve also cut their monthy water use from eight million gallons to four million gallons in the last three years, according to Wade from the NPR organization,who had wrote an article about recycled water in San Antonio. When Shamu splashes the lower rows with fountains of water from his 5 million gallon tank, the water that looks like its going the drain is actually headed for capture. In fact, Seaworld has built its own on-site water filtration system. Seaworld San Antonio has made conservation a top priority over the years and are continuously working on innovative ways to improve the environment. The team at the park workhard every year to improve and reduce the park’s overall energy consumption through water and energy cconservation, sustainability and recycling. In 2009 they were presented with â€Å" Going Green Award† in the Conservation Program category by the San Antonio Business Journal. The award program recognizes individuals, companies and programs making an effort to save our planet. The parks water and energy conservation and recycling efforts were key factors in winning this award. As important as conservation is, whats really saving San Antonio right now is its aquifer-storage system. During times when the rains are plenty and the Edwards Aquifer is full, San Antonio aggressively pumps the water out and stores it forty miles away in a sand formation called the Carrizo. Nobody knows how much water the Carrizo could ultimately store, perhaps as much as sixty-five billion gallons. Now, in the midst of this devastating drought, the Carrizo’s massive pumps are sending this rainy day water back to the thirsty city from whence it came. I talked with Jeff, director of production, and he stated that he feels it’s a huge benefit and that it cuts down on the amount of water that San Antonio uses from the Edwards during a critical time , which is good for the entire region. San Antonio’s approach to its water has saved it in the past but like Wlliam Alley discusses in his essay, Tracking U. S.  Groundwater, no one knows how much water is actually available. Its all estimates. Its almost impossible to keep record of and exact figure when it comes to water consumption. Alley goes to explain how the aquifer can be estimated more accurately than global ground water. So the Carrizo obtains most of its water from rain. If the rain don’t come, San Antonio and the rest of Texas are going to learn what the word â€Å"drought† really means. Seaworld San Antonio does not have a major impact on the city water supply. Karen the water system’s director of conservstion stated that seaworld amongst other customers have helped them reach their goal to save a billion gallons of water every single year. Like Mark Holston, the author of â€Å"Where Has All The Water Gone†, discusses how water is being reused to our benenfit. That to me is where the Carizzo comes into play for the city and the main ways Seaworld reuses water as well. Both ways have helped the community figure out that it is better to save watere than to worry about having to always just acquire more water.

Best Practices Manual for Supervisors Essay Example for Free

Best Practices Manual for Supervisors Essay There are no magic bullets to solve daily problems and the road to reform will be rough, however the solution could be easy when any organization (or even an individual) decide to take advantage of some best practices. â€Å"Supervisors form the backbone of a strong organization because supervisors are the front-line leaders who ensure that the strategy is being achieved on a daily basis. (United Services, Inc. , p. 7)†. Also, according to Hays, S. W. (2004), â€Å"a significant investment in front-line supervisory development is a key aspect of a successful program† (p. 271). Because, â€Å"time and research has shown that poor supervision is a primary source of worker dissatisfaction, attrition, and failure of merit pay plans. † (Hays, S. W, 2004, p. 272) Also, â€Å"a reform’s success depends on leadership† (Hays, S. W, 2004, p. 274). After realizing the importance of the supervisors’ role and how crucial could knowledge and training be for them, the aim of this manual is to provide our supervisors with the necessary knowledge that enables them to succeed in their job. In another word, this manual is considered to be a guide for supervisors to ease their responsibilities. II. Best Practices This section of the manual presents some of the best practices that could help our supervisors in their different responsibilities such as: demonstrating communication skills, determining effective orientation and training methods, improving productivity for teams, conducting performance appraisals, resolving conflict, and improving employee relations. 1. Demonstrating Communication Skills Communication with employees will guarantee alignment with the organization’s overall strategy (mission- vision- goals). Supervisors could use internal communication to provide a supportive working environment with a clear set of expectations for all staff. As a result employees will have a better understanding of the decisions made by the organizations, so supervisors could avoid miss expectations by developing and maintaining communication channels with employees. Figure (1) shows some channels to communicate strategic information 1. 1 Efficient Intranet â€Å"The intranet is one of the best and most valuable tools available for employee communication. A company intranet can help employees and HR save time by giving employees instant access to contact lists, company policies, announcements, training opportunities, and benefits information. † (Business Legal Reports, 2007a1, p. 1). However, â€Å"the company should take some steps to achieve this communication channel such as: update frequently, make it simple and easy, provide a search feature, track the usage, organize locally according to departments ad teams, provide a starting page for each department, include files, documents, policies, and procedures, list phone extensions and contact lists, allow for feedback forms, use a content management. † (Business Legal Reports, 2007a1, p. 1-2) 1. 2 Open Book Management Style or Dissemination of strategic information Rubin, L. and Merripen, C. (2003) presented this practice which includes sharing information with employees for better understanding of management decisions. Employees became better informed about the business and feel more inclusive and entrepreneurial about their contribution and impact. Then employees moved their focus from just their job to looking at the company as a whole. † (p. 4) Collins, R. and Druten, K. V. (2003) â€Å"found a strong link between organizational performance over the past three years and the emphasis placed on communicating information to all members about the organization’s purpose, aspirations, strategy and performance. † Figure (1) shows some communication channels that managers and supervisors could use to communicate strategic information with employees. Figure (1): Channels to communicate strategic information Source: Collins, R. and Druten, K. V. (2003). Human Resources Management Practices 2. Determining Effective Orientation and Training Methods 2. 1 Best practices for effective orientation New employees orientation is important to facilitate the integration of new employees in the organization with understanding the organization’s culture, mission, vision and values. Orsini, B. (2000) presented some best practices for new employees orientation such as: â€Å"sessions for new employees to introduce them to the organization and provide them with an overview of the organizational mandate and structure, mentoring new employees by a staff member, profile of employee new to group by within a local newsletter or e-mail, and office tours as an opportunity to meet staff face-to-face and get a sense of what they do†. 2. 2 Best practices for effective training methods Training nowadays is not a luxury anymore. Due to the competitive marketplace and the complexity of jobs, training became a necessity for surviving and competing for both organizations and employees. Recently. There is â€Å"much greater emphasis on training as a means to cultivate, motivate, and retain quality workers†. (Hays, S. W. , 2004, p. 261) â€Å"Operationally, supervisors and managers are responsible for ensuring their employees get the training they need and/or the opportunity to attend the training classes. † (Bjomberg, L. , 2002) 2. 2. 1 Learning for life Program To show how could such practice help the organization, it’s useful to mention a real case study. For example, â€Å"Honeywell Limited’s Scarborough factory developed a learning for life program to improve productivity and quality and reduce costs in an effort to remain competitive in the global economy. Eighty percent of the factory participated in this program and Honeywell has increased its factory throughput by 180% and improved the quality of its products by 92%†. (The Conference Board of Canada, 1998, p. 5) This innovative program â€Å"developed more productive employees, increased productivity, improved quality, effective collaborative decision-making, improved communication skills. † (The Conference Board of Canada, 1998, p. 5) 2. 2. 2 Other best practices The Conference Board of Canada (1998) presented many other best practices in training or workplace literacy such as: ? Empowering adult learners ? Excellence in workplace literacy ? Skills for a stable workplace ? Literacy through e-learning ? Establishing a baseline for training ? Peer tutoring: employee helping employees Such practices has resulted in increased productivity, reduced staff turnover, enhanced performance, improved quality, effective collaborative decision-making, improved communication skills, in another word, it helped in creating a positive environment for both the employer and employees because benefits was achieved for both of them. 3. Improving Productivity for Teams Improving productivity for teams and for employees in general is the ultimate goal for all organizations to maximize the overall performance. And because we are talking about humans or employees, improving productivity should include creating a convenient environment that could help them to work productively. 3. 1 Work life balance (developing a family-friendly work environment) â€Å"Don’t be fired by your family† Best practice has shown that â€Å"both employees and employers can benefit when staff are able to adapt flexible work practices thereby enabling them to better manage their work and family responsibilities† (UQ, 2007, p. 1). In the end result this could increase employees productivity. â€Å"Supervisors have an important role in developing and maintaining a family-friendly work environment† (UQ, 2007, p. 1). â€Å"A supervisor could help creating this environment by flexibly organizing work arrangements and workloads taking into consideration certain factors such as night lecturing, summer schools, acting as a role model demonstrating understanding and acceptance of work family balance, and take a positive approach to negotiating flexible arrangements† (UQ, 2007, p. 1-2). 3. 2 Teleworking is good for business and employees Teleworking is another practice resulted in improving productivity. According to Business Legal Reports (2006), †teleworking has some benefits such as: relocation cost savings, increased productivity by reducing employees absentee, reduced costs for office space, and employee satisfaction† (p. 7). So, when supervisors consider benefiting from telework, they won’t only provide an improved work-life balance for the employee, but also they will get improved business performance for the employer. 3. 3 Other best practices 3. 3. 1 Concern for employee community (Employee Care Program and Employee Relations Program) This practice proved that it could reduce employees’ turnover. This kind of program â€Å"monitors how people are doing in their jobs and in their lives, offers rewards, gifts, annual picnic and holiday, flexible scheduling and telecommuting, and medical coverage. † 3. 3. 2 Encourage employees to take their vacations This practice is important to enable employees to relax enough to avoid stress, anxiety, emotional problems, job burnout in order to let employees perform at their optimum level. 3. 3. 3 Consumer-driven health care Textron, Inc is an example company that adopted this practice. The company â€Å"consolidated employee healthcare options and shifted to consumer-driven healthcare. This resulted in increased productivity, a significant decline in healthcare costs, and decrease in the casual absentee rates and the incidence of disability leave. † (Business Legal Reports, 2007b, p. 3) 4. Conducting Performance appraisals â€Å"Monitoring staff performance is a key for any supervisor. It should be part of on-going discussions with staff and volunteers about their work and the results obtained. † (Mathew, M. , 2007) According to Hays, S. W. (2004), â€Å"an immense amount of energy has recently been devoted to upgrading the quality of performance appraisals by tying them to organizational missions and goals. † (p. 262) 4. 1 Best practices for evaluation? According to Hays, S. W. (2004), best practices concerning evaluation showed that â€Å"HR experts agree that evaluations ought to (a) be based on objective and observable criteria, (b) involve mutual goal setting, (c) avoid the tendency to assess irrelevant worker traits, and (d) be tailored to each individual job and worker (rather than using one form for every employee). † 4. 2 360-Degree performance management feedback system According to Business Legal Reports (2006), â€Å"this system, which solicits feedback from boss, peers and direct reports if there are any, has been increasingly embraced as the best of all available methods for collecting performance feedback. † (p. 4) â€Å"The 360 process allows for multiple points of view to be given on any given individual. It neutralizes what might otherwise be one rater’s bias (either positive or negative) and helps to paint a more comprehensive picture of that individual’s performance. † (p. 4) 4. 3 Other best practices Hays, S. W. (2004) also mentioned other best practices in conducting performance appraisals such as: â€Å"Employee Performance Management System (EPMS), 360-degree evaluation, Team-based evaluations, and Gainsharing. † (p. 262) 5 Resolving Conflict According to Vogel, A. (2007), â€Å"unproductive workplace conflict arises when appropriate communication breaks down. The result is wasted work time; a drop in motivation, productivity and quality of service; employee attrition; loss of authority; a stressful work environment; and even direct damage to the company. † 5. 1 The best approach to avoid â€Å"The best approach to workplace conflict is to avoid unproductive quarreling altogether. And suggested four strategies –mentioned by Daniel Dana- for eliminating strife: (1) address conflict early, (2) avoid a one-sided solution, (3) take risks such as apologizing, (4) respect others’ peace-making gestures. † (Vogel, A. , 2007) 5. 2 Guidelines for managing the situation Vogel, A, (2007) mentioned some guidelines to help managing scuffles before they escalate into real crisis such as: mediating conflict between two employees, decide to mediate, hold preliminary meetings, conduct a three-way meeting, work out a deal, self-mediation, step outside your office, listen first, and finally manage diverging viewpoints. † 6 Improving Employee Relations 6. 1 Create a newsletter One practice to improve employee relations is to create a newsletter that works for employee communications either a printed one or an electronic one (by e-mail or on the website). 6. 2 Build a forum on your website or intranet This forum will provide an informal communication channel for employees to share their ideas, events or even their problems 6. 3 Create shared events Being a supervisor you could make some events shared even if you turn the routine group tasks into fun shared events. For example CMP Technology made the spring-cleaning records become an event. â€Å"Employees worked together in teams and competed to win a dinner for the team and discarded 12 tons of unnecessary paper in the process. † (Business Legal Reports, 2007a2) III. Conclusion The main conclusion is that best practices can -for sure- help supervisors and enhance the way they deal with their responsibilities with employees by adopting approaches, techniques, and policies to create a positive, creative, and supportive work environment. Another conclusion is that information technology has an important role in providing effective HR practices. Finally, supervisors should be a model themselves for their employees in order to make a real change. References Bjomberg, L. (2002). Training and development: Best practices. Public Personnel Management. Winter 2002. International Public Management Association for Human Resources Survey. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. entrepreneur. com/tradejournals/article/160542388_1. html Business Legal Reports, Inc. (2006). Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management for 2008. United States of America: Business Legal Reports, Inc. Business Legal Reports (2007a1). 10 Tips for HR to Boost Intranet Efficiency. Best Practices in HR. (838), pp. 1-2 Business Legal Reports (2007a2). ‘Bin There, Dump That’-Spring Cleaning Recors Becomes Event at CMP Technology. Best Practices in HR. (838), pp. 3 Business Legal Reports (2007b). Case study: Move to consumer-driven healthcare decreases costs, improves employee health. Best Practices in Compensation Benefits. (734), pp. 3 Collins, R. Druten, K. V. (2003). Survey of Australian and New Zealand Human Resource Practices, CCH and AGSM. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www2. agsm. edu. au/agsm/web. nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/CCHREPORT2003/$FILE/CCH+Final+2003. pdf Hays, S. W. (2004). Trends and Best Practices in State and Local Human Resource Management: Lessons to be learned? Review of Public Administration, 24(3), pp. 256-275, SAGE Publications. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://rop. sagepub. com/cgi/content/abstract/24/3/256 Mathew, M. (2007). Best Practices Module: Human resources management. British Columbia Museum Association. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. museumsassn. bc. ca/Images/Best%20Practices%20Modules%202/Human%20Resource%20Management%20FINAL. pdf Orsini, B. (2000). Improving Internal Communications. Internal Auditor. December 2000. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m4153/is_6_57/ai_69759744/pg_1 Rubin, L. Merripen, C. (2003). IGDA Business Committee: Best practices in Human Resources. IGDA. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. igda. org/hr/IGDA_Best_Practices_HR. pdf The Conference Board of Canada (1998). Workplace Literacy Best Practices Reader. The Conference Board of Canada . Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. conferenceboard. ca/education/pdf/Awards/litread. pdf United Services, Inc.. Best Practices for Supervisor Training. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. mhrrg. com/images/UnitedServices02. PDF UQ: University of Queensland (2007). Balancing Work and Family/Life Responsibilities: Guidelines for supervisors. April 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. uq. edu. au/equity/docs/bwfl_super_guide. pdf Vogel, A, (2007). Resolving Workplace Conflict. Body-Mind-Spirit Review. June 2007 Retrieved April 16, 2008 from http://www. inneridea. com/library/balanced-business-resolving-workplace-conflict

Overview Of The Tangshan Earthquake History Essay

Overview Of The Tangshan Earthquake History Essay It is important to develop some general knowledge what causes earthquakes, in order to gain a better understanding about the Tangshan event. Earths crust is broken into major tectonic plates that move towards and away from each other in different directions. Debated driving forces behind this movement includes Earths rotation, gravity related forces and mantle dynamics. Generally, it is accepted that tectonic plates are able to move because of the relative density of oceanic lithosphere and the relative weakness of the asthenosphere. While these plates are moving, they can collide or slide past each other creating high energy phenomena such as volcanoes and earthquakes. Specific to earthquakes, the edge of one plate is forced under another. This process is called subduction and results in intense vibrations in Earths crust. More specifically to Northeast China, the tectonic environment is driven by collisions between the Indian and Asian plates, and Pacific and Asian plates. An important component of the Tangshan earthquake is the role of an extensive strike-slip fault system, known as Tancheng-Lujiang, or Tan-Lu. This system extends in a north-northeast direction for more than 3,200 miles from the north bank of the Yangtze River in eastern China to the west across the Russian border. It is an intertwined zone of faults 5000km long and 1000km wide, neighbored by other sub-faults. These collectively played a significant part in what resulted in the Tangshan earthquake. In fact, the Tangshan earthquake sequence has been explained as the result of sequential ruptures of the Tangshan fault produced by NNE extensive faulting and associated NE-SW regional compression. The earthquake sequence then initiated at the bending region (near Tangshan City) due to continued tectonic stress that had been increasing for a long time. The relationship between the rupture geometries of the Tangshan earthquake sequence and the regional compression stresses. The Tangshan Event Pre-cursors Earthquakes have occurred in the surrounding area in the past, including 22 earthquakes of magnitude 4.75 or greater since 1485. Despite these previous activities, there were no foreshocks or clear precursory phenomenon prior to the Tangshan earthquake. However, there had been a series of abnormal signals observed in the regions of Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Bohai and Zhangjiakou. Tangshan indicated that there was a consistent drop in the pumping rate (and hence groundwater levels) in the years before the event with a sharp increase in the days prior to the earthquake. Additionally, survivors interviewed following the earthquake noted that well water levels changed abruptly in the hours before the event e.g. with rises of over a meter in at least on village in the region. There was also strange animal behavior reported, including city dwellers from the downtown area who had fish discovered that the fish were restless, jumping out of the aquarium as if wanting to escape. Unfortunate ly the anomalous precursory phenomena were widely scattered and inconclusive. The main quake The main quake struck Tangshan at 3:42 am on July 28, 1976, and lasted approximately 23 seconds. This short lived quake was at an intensity of XI (out of XII), according to the State Seismological Bureau report, with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter magnitude scale. Although the epicenter was located in the city of Tangshan, the earthquake was felt in fourteen provinces of China, and as far as Xian, in Beijing and in Tientsin. The stress of the Tangshan quake was caused by the compression along the plate boundaries of the Indian and Asian plates, as well as the compression along the boundaries of the Pacific and Asian plates. The quake ruptured a five-mile (8 km) section of a 25-mile long fault that passes through the city Tangshan. In addition, along the west side the ground moved laterally for about five feet, in a north/northeast direction sub parallel to the major axis of the meizoseismic zone with some areas with horizontal ground displacements of up to 7 meters. On the eastern side of the rupture, the ground block tipped upward near the south end and downward at the northern end. Although the earthquake was a shallow focal depth of 15 kilometers, it created both horizontal and vertical movement, causing the ground to rent apart by several feet, cave in to form craters, previously flat agricultural land being undulated, and soil liquefaction. Aftershocks Following the main earthquake, the many aftershocks also had devastating effects. There were two major aftershocks which caused additional damage to the region. On July 28, 1976 at 6:45 pm local time an Mw 7.0 earthquake struck, centered in Shangjialin Luanxian to the northeast of Tangshan. This caused 50 km (31 mi) rupture along the Luanxian-Laoting fault. The second major aftershock of Mw 6.4 struck on November 15, 1976 at 9:53 pm local time, centered south of Lutai to the southwest of Tangshan. This aftershock ruptured 20 km (12 mi) of the Jing Canal fault. In all, over 850 aftershocks occurred through the end of 1978 and were distributed throughout an area approximately 140 km (87 mi) in length and 50 km (31 mi) in width along a northeast trend, indicating the Tangshan fault as the main fault rupture. Destruction and Casualties The destruction of the earthquake included 242,400 deaths; 164,600 people severely wounded; 3,800 people disabled; 360,000 people suffering minor injuries; and various damages to residential areas, industrial areas, roads, railways and sewage systems. Here, the report will examine what effects the earthquake had on infrastructure and casualties. Infrastructure Before the 1976 earthquake, scientists did not believe Tangshan was susceptible to a large earthquake. Thus, the seismic design code for the area was zoned an intensity level of VI and the buildings in Tangshan were not built to withstand such a large earthquake. Furthermore, the city of Tangshan is located in the center of an area surrounded with major faults, where many of its structures had been built on unstable, alluvial soils. The 7.8 earthquake that hit Tangshan was given an intensity level of XI and left hundreds of thousands of buildings destroyed. The infrastructure damage affected many different areas. Ninety-three percent of residential buildings and 78 percent of industrial buildings were completely destroyed. Eighty percent of the water pumping stations and fourteen percent of the sewage pipes were seriously damaged. In addition, the foundations of bridges gave way, bridges collapsed, railroad lines bent, closed roads were covered with debris, highway bridges and at least two dams collapsed, all telephone and radio communications systems stopped functioning and almost all of the irrigation wells became inoperative. The seismic waves of the earthquake spread the damage to various regions, such as Qinhuangdao and Tianjin, and a few buildings as far away as Beijing. As was the case in Tangshan city, earthquake resistance was not generally considered in the design of buildings in these other regions. Newer buildings with seismic capacity and any buildings strengthened after the 1975 Haicheng Earthquake performed much better during the Tangshan Earthquake than those designed without seismic design considerations. Casualty Along with infrastructure damage, there were devastating amounts of casualties. As mentioned earlier, the earthquake struck just before 4 am, when many people were asleep and unprepared. Before the earthquake, the total population of Tangshan city was approximately 1.2 million, with 2 million within 40 km (25 mi) of the epicenter. As mentioned earlier, the official death count from the earthquake was 242,400; however, other sources have cited the death toll to be as high as 655,000 to 779,000 people. Contributing to the high number of casualties was the structure of residential buildings. Most residential structures in Tangshan and surrounding rural regions consisted of older, single-story brick or stone wall homes with only few newer multi-story brick apartment buildings built in the 1960s. Due to this structure, many buildings collapsed because of the lack of proper connections between the walls and roof, as did many reinforced concrete and masonry industrial buildings with heavy roofs, weighing as much as 400 kg (890 lbs). Finally, another contributing factor to the high death toll was the density of buildings and population in Tangshan city being extremely high. This concentration contributed to the seriousness of the loss in particular because the source of the earthquake was directly beneath the city. Relief Response The earthquake disaster required both short-term and long-term response. To begin, the Chinese government refused to accept international aid from the United Nations, and insisted on self reliance. This required rescue workers accompanied by appropriate equipment in order to rescue people from the collapsed buildings, as well as a pre-established plan to coordinate the effort, which was made difficult since vehicular traffic brought the few clear streets to a standstill. Also, since most of the population lost their homes due to the infrastructure destruction, there was a great need for temporary shelters. Clearing of the debris did not begin in earnest until September 1981, leaving the vast majority of the population not being able to live in permanent housing until 1985. In addition, there was the need for long-term strategic planning. Much of this had to do with future design codes for the city. The Tangshan Earthquake led to a major update to the seismic design code, released in 1978. The study of the Tangshan Earthquake and its tectonic setting also resulted in the reclassification of hazard zonation of the Hebei province (particularly the Tangshan region). Updates to the code included performance criteria increases with the raising of expected ground shaking intensity, introduction of a new understanding of how the liquefaction of underlying soils impacts building foundations, and the inclusion of increased vertical forces from seismic loads good building practice from the collapsed buildings in Tangshan. The earthquake also highlighted the requirement for redundancy in the provision of lifelines, accompanied by the assessment of the appropriate design standards to guarantee the minimum necessary function of roads, bridges, or utility supplies wh ich were greatly affected by the earthquake. The relief responses resulting from the Tangshan Earthquake created the opportunity to build and incorporate increased earthquake resistance for future seismic events. Moreover, the layout of the city was planned to reduce both the number of casualties and injured, in addition to increasing the efficacy of emergency relief and disaster rehabilitation. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake had the same measurement on the Richter scale at 8.0 in magnitude. It, however, occurred in a mountainous region where relief efforts were noticeably hampered by the geographical makeup of the land nearby. The Sichuan earthquake also had a much quicker and more organized response system than Tangshan, as the political, social and technological environment was different. Discussion Conclusion In summary, this report has presented many important concepts to gain an understanding about the Tangshan Earthquake. It has examined the underlying driving forces, such as the Tancheng-Lujiang fault system and Tangshan fault; the various effects from the precursors, main quake, aftershocks; the destruction and casualties from the disaster, including factors that lead to an increased death toll and infrastructure damage; the relief response to the disaster and how it affected future earthquake responses; and a discussion of how amateur seismologists and professionals made predictions about the Tangshan Earthquake. Discussing these topics brings awareness on the importance of understanding natural disasters, and how a population can learn and prepare itself for future natural disasters.

Maybe Rape Is Not Always so Bad :: Social Issues, Unwanted Sex

â€Å"He held her as if his flesh had cut through hers and she felt the bones of his arms on the bones of her ribs, her legs jerked tight against his, his mouth on hers† (Rand 216). The narrator begins the scene by describing every detail and giving insight to the current situation of Dominique and Roark, which lingers on the sexual tension between them. Scenes leading up to this clearly show that both these people want each other. Although that does not necessarily make the sex consensual, while the sex is needed. If Roark had not raped Dominique she would have never been able to become free. Despite the common thought that it is not rape if it is enjoyed, Roark did rape Dominique. This is because rape can be defined as forced or unwanted sex, to gain power. However, this inaccurate phrase about rape not being rape when it is enjoyed is often used in situations when rape is occurring, and the victim first protests, but then starts having fun; which is is exactly what happened in this scene. â€Å"She lay still in his arms, in the first instant, in the shock of feeling his skin against hers, the thing she had thought about, had expected, had never known to be like this, could not have known, because this was not part of living, but a thing one could not bear longer than a second† (Rand 216). Dominique was scared by these forceful actions and was left unsure what to do; because of this many individuals place the blame on Dominique stating that she did not fight against it, which makes the sex consensual, but they are mistaken. â€Å"She fought like an animal. But she made no sound. She did not call for help† (Rand 216). She did fight and struggled with it, even if she did not call for help its does not matter because if she did call for help, there is a good chance that no one would have heard her. Besides not calling for help, she did everything that she could to not submit herself to him. Letting him take control of her was something she did not want to allow, so should fought as long as she possibly could. â€Å"She tried to tear herself away from him† (Rand 216). As she did continue to try to tear her self away it was not effective, so rather than continuing to struggle by putting up a fight she just submitted herself to him.

Phoenix Suns :: essays research papers

The History Of The Phoenix Suns   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I chose to write about the Phoenix Suns basketball History mainly because they have gave me, â€Å"the fan† great memories. The Suns introduced me to a whole new world of sports. When I watch their Basketball games it’s probably different from any other fan’s viewpoint. I tend to analyze their games and try to think what their next move is going to be. Other fans just cheer which is alright. Throughout the Phoenix Suns existence, they have had many great years as well as many down years. When I was introduced to the sport of Basketball, the first team I watched was the Chicago Bulls; I was completely intrigued by this sport. Each member of the team on the court always seemed to be giving it their all. It was only for a year that I was a Chicago Bull fan; this was because I had not yet found out that Arizona had, and â€Å"The Team† of course, is the Phoenix Suns. I was quickly converted to a Suns fan (now I now what you’re thinking; you think I’m one of those people who just moves around cheering the team that wins†¦. well I’m not I was just a little kid who just found out that there was a professional basketball team in the state he lived in, and I just started cheering for them.) This team is great they are always playing their hearts out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Well before the beginning of the 1968 draft two Teams (the expansion teams) Milwaukee and Phoenix got select players from other teams this is known as the Expansion draft. The other teams were basically giving away low quality players . Before the team was even created there was a contest to see what the teams name was going to be. There were names like: The Moon Shooters, The Nitros, The Hoopsters, The Dudes, The Gransuns, Desert Rats, Desert Cats, The Sun Dials, And how about The Phoenix White Wing Doves?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The eventual winner was Selinda King she acquired $1,000 dollars plus season tickets to the suns first inaugural season. In the expansion draft the Suns selected Dick Van Arsdale, which turned out to be a great pick because he ended up averaging 17.6 points a game for Phoenix. Other players selected by Phoenix were: Gail Goodrich, Neil Johnson, David Latin, Stan McKenzie, McCoy McLemore, Dick Snyder, and George Wilson.

Betrayal :: Personal Narrative Writing

Betrayal 1.Desire It is easy to fall in love with bodies. I Breathe skin, lose time to anticipation and pleasure, hair, lips, thighs; tangled in another person, I am lost in a jungle. Transcendence. Society teaches us to break a body down: we love legs, butts, breasts; we take images and splice them into the form of our perfect desire. Like Pygmalion we are desperate to breathe life into our conception of beauty, our imagination of a perfect creature. Reality is easily redrawn around a body whose presence in a place reorganizes the map of the world. Nothing exists but the texture of skin, its taste thick in the mind's imagination. Against our animal world, ideas and numbers seem strange, misplaced, insignificant to desire and love, to connecting with another's warmth. Trying to fulfill a fantasy, it is the dreamer who is recreated. It is time that is filled in. 2. Characters To a moment we are only characters. In this moment: David, the long-term boyfriend (now). Moa, at first betrayer, then clown, then you (then). There is the self who perceives, creates, and ultimately longs for the deep and endless fall of vertigo (lost between the now and then). And there is Love, so mysterious and evasive that I sometimes believe it is a character, alive, weaving tendrils around us (love plays with time). But the descriptions might switch names. I could be the clown, and it could be you who plunges yourself into vertigo. And maybe only one character could play all the parts. There are several combinations to fit several moods (this is my version that fits my now). 3. Eternity The moment has a way of leaking into other moments. Other moments with other lovers leak into the memory. The lovers, like muddying watercolors, swirl into each other. I wonder if I only have relationships with myself. I ask myself the same question over and over till it feels like I am banging my head against a wall, "What do I want?" I look into my heart but it is hard to see through the haze of time and desire. Sartre writes that we are indoctrinated with the values of our societies. We can never be or know ourselves till we escape these. Sartre draws one single path to freedom, this is radical choice, choosing something totally unconnected to anything, in practice this could only be a random choice.

Analysis of Priceline

Priceline Inc. is an online travel booking site that helps customers worldwide purchase airfare, hotels, rental cars, and much more. The three categories I chose to analyze are business model and strategies, business finances, and expansion of the company through acquisitions. For Priceline to have success, I believe the business model and how the company builds its model is extremely important. Next, it is crucial that we look at the finances of the company to ensure it is profitable. The finances of the company are tied to the various acquisitions Priceline has acquired in the past few years. By looking at the companies Priceline has acquired, I strongly recommend investing in Priceline based off of the record earnings posted by the company. Not only is Priceline profitable, the corporation also has an unique business strategy to make money. When assigned this paper, I began to use databases and Factiva to search for information about Priceline. I used the information found from da tabases and used them as research to support my report. I then researched Priceline’s marketing techniques as well as stock prices in order to elaborate on the company’s finances. Finally, I learned about the companies Priceline has acquired over the years to expand its market presence. To figure out the formatting and structure of this paper, I used other people’s reports as guidance.IntroductionPriceline’s business model includes value proposition of connecting vendors and customers. It consists of a revenue model where there are transaction fees and spread earned by the company between vendor and customer price. Launched in 1998, Priceline Inc. does not directly supply travel services, but rather they bring buyers and sellers together to complete a transaction. Priceline saves consumers money by trading travel flexibility of brands and product features for sellers’ lower prices. Business Model and StrategiesEver since the development of the inte rnet, dot-com companies have been booming left and right. One of those companies founded during the dot-com boom was Priceline Inc., an online travel booking site that revolutionized the way consumers purchased air tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, and much more. Priceline Inc. developed and innovated a new system of â€Å"Name your own  price† for customers to finalize their travels. They were able to turn excess inventory otherwise not sold by the airlines to consumers while at the same time price discriminate in order to maximize profits. In the airline industry, it is estimated that only 65% of the seats on a plane are occupied on a daily basis.Airlines definitely were looking a way to vend the rest of the inventory. However, they could not advertise these excess seats with special discount because in doing so, it would destroy its retail fare structure. Priceline was the solution to this as they are able to help shield airlines branding in two different ways. First, w hen consumers try to name your own price on Priceline, they must choose travels between two cities. In this case, the airlines’ branding and product configurations are protected as customers have no idea which airline they will be selecting. Only after a bid is accepted will they learn their exact flight information and itinerary. Secondly, Priceline protects those who are considered free riders. These are people who would receive the benefit of a discount but they are already willing to pay for an air ticket at a higher price (Eisenmann 47-48). Name Your Price GuaranteeFigure 1.1Source: (Priceline.com) Revenue Generation: Priceline is able to effectively generate revenue one of two ways. First, it calculates a spread between the lowest prices offered by the Airline partner and the highest prices a customer is willing to pay. In this scenario, neither party the airline partner nor the customer have the option of knowing the asking price or the bid price. A customer has no ide a what unpublished rate the airline is offering. Only Priceline would have this secret information. On the other hand, the airline does not get to see how much the consumers bid on the air ticket. For example, if a customer bids $300 on a ticket from LAX to JFK and the lowest unpublished rate for any given airline is $200, then the spread would be $100, which Priceline retains as its earnings. As seen from this model, profiting from the spread is highly successful given the economies of scale from customers (Eisenmann 47-48). Adaptive Marketing and Cross Subsidy:Furthermore, Priceline also offers consumers to bump up their bids by participating in â€Å"adaptive marketing† and â€Å"cross-subsidy† promotional programs. For instance, Priceline could add $50 to an existing $100 bid to make it more likely that a ticket will be sold if one signs up for a credit card. If that is the case, the credit card company may pay Priceline $75 for every referral that signs up for the card. In this case, Priceline would simply pocket the difference. If the asking price for the ticket was already under $100, then Priceline would keep all of the money coming from credit card sponsorship (Eisenmann 48).Business Finances Early Stages of Priceline: At the beginning of year 2000, Priceline had a market share of 3% of all airline tickets sold in the U.S. Attracting over 3.8 million unique visitors, Priceline sold tickets for all eight domestic airlines as well as 20 international carriers. One year after its establishment in 1998, Priceline’s revenue was $482 Million in 1999 and $1 Billion in 2000 (Eisenmann 48).However, the dot-com bubble would halt Priceline’s success only temporarily. 1999 was a tough year for Priceline as it stated a $1.1 Billion loss on its financial statement. Stock prices plunged from $974 to $7 a share. According to Walker, â€Å"there was a credibility issue† within the organization and investors did not completely trust t he dot-com industry. Priceline’s financials would improve slowly. In 2002, Priceline reported a net loss of $19 Million. When CEO Jeff Boyd took over the company in 2002, Priceline stocks had suffered one of the worst drops in its brief history. But soon enough, Priceline was able to make a turnaround when it introduced William Shatner as the negotiator character out of the blue to help consumers save money. Instantaneously, people remembered the advertisements put up by Priceline and associated with Shatner, a former Star-Trek star’s self-parody. William ShatnerFigure 1.2Source: (Thepenaltyflagblog.com) From Loss to Profit: Priceline started making a profit in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2004 and 2005 when Boyd bought two European hotel reservation sites—the U.K.'s Active Hotels and Amsterdam-based Booking.com that Priceline hit a turning point. â€Å"Priceline's earnings growth and stock market success since then have been attributable largely to those t wo acquisitions—Booking.com in particular. It would be tough to argue that there's been a better acquisition in Internet history,† says Thomas White, an analyst at Macquarie Securities. â€Å"It's why the stock has been such a home run,† says White.Thomas White and Barclays' DiClemente would agree that investors lack the knowledge that most of the revenue come from overseas. Since Europeans have many more vacation days as Americans, it is not surprising that more revenue is inflowing from Europe. Jeff Boyd, the CEO of Priceline, was smart about targeting such a market in Europe. â€Å"Moreover, the growth of discount airlines in Europe such as EasyJet and Ryanair have increased the popularity of â€Å"city breaks†Ã¢â‚¬â€the European equivalent of a weekend getaway,† states Birger. Earnings Report in 2012:In 2012, Priceline continued to post better than expected earnings reports. In the third quarter of 2012, Priceline reported third quarter revenue s of $1.71 Billion, up 17.4% from a year ago in 2011. Also, Priceline beat the estimate of $1.65 Billion projected revenue determined previously by analysts. Non-GAAP profits stood at $12.40 a share, ahead of the estimate of $11.81 a share. Gross bookings came in at $7.8 billion, elevated 25.2% from a year ago. For quarter four in 2012, Eric Savitz of Forbes magazine states â€Å"Priceline projected revenues to be up 21-28% or 22%-29% in local currency; revenues are expected to improve 15%-22%, with non-GAAP profits of $6.12 to $6.57 a share. Consensus has been for $6.34 a share.†Continuous Growth: In the mean time, CEO Jeff Boyd continues to have high hopes for Priceline. â€Å"Globally our hotel business grew room nights by 36% over the same period last year, compared to 39% growth in the second quarter,† he said. â€Å"Our rental car business grew rental car days by 35% over last year, an acceleration from 29% in the second quarter, led by improving results at Pric eline.com and continued strong growth from Rentalcars.com. While we remain concerned about economic weakness across Europe, Asia and the U.S., the [company] intends to focus on solidifying its position as the world's largest and most profitable online hotel reservation service by continuing to add hotels and other accommodations and better servicing our customers through constant innovation in our mobile and desktop sites.†As promised by Boyd, Priceline continued to show tremendous growth. On November 1st, 2012, Priceline stock was up $12.22 in regular session trading and jumped another $52 a share in after-hours trading to close at $638.95 (Savitz). Since then, Priceline sustains its momentum by reporting record earnings in the preceding quarters. Today, stock price for Priceline is even higher than few years ago. It currently trades at over $1,000 a share and constantly out competes against their rivals Expedia and Orbitz (Birger).10 Year Graph of Priceline (PCLN) Figure 1.3 Source: (Yahoo Finance) Acquisitions and Expansions Booking.com: Priceline is on track to make a very good move because it is believed that the online travel reservation market still has room for expansion in Europe. Priceline typically takes 15% of every transaction done on Booking.com; in return, the hotels have a much better chance to market and advertise to potential customers. After Priceline’s acquisition of Booking.com in July 2005 for $135 Million, its profits skyrocketed from $10 million in 2003 to $1.1 billion in 2011. No other acquisition has proven to be that successful in the 2000’s (O'Neill). Agoda and TraveljigSaw:In addition, Priceline is increasing its brand in Asia via its Agoda brand and it is growing its rental cars division as well, aided by a 2010 acquisition of global car-rental site TravelJigsaw. Ever since these acquisitions of smaller travel companies, Priceline is able to expand its market cap while its stock prices surged over 500% in the fo llowing five years (Birger). Kayak:In 2012, Priceline Inc. continues its acquisition practice with the purchase of Kayak for $1.8 Billion. Shareholders of Kayak received $40 per share. Kayak is successful in that it raised $91 Million in the July 2012 IPO through selling of 3.5 Million shares at $26 apiece. It has processed 302 million queries across its web. Kayak and Priceline are â€Å"two of the largest online-travel companies and it makes sense that these two companies would want to work together, of course, because they do have different strengths and different objectives,† said Dan Marcec, an analyst at Emarketer. With the acquisition of Kayak, Jeff Boyd states that â€Å"Priceline’s intention is for Kayak to be operated independently under the leadership of existing management, as with our other hands, with a primary focus on building value for its customers and advertising partners† (Levy).Conclusion Priceline Inc. operates as one of the biggest travel booking sites in the world. Its global presence in Europe and Asia as well in the Americas cannot be ignored. Priceline Inc. should be a company that is to be heavily invested in because of its revenue and profit posted by the corporation. Its record breaking earnings in the billions should easily attract the eyes of a savvy investor. Priceline will continue to post earnings through the way it does business by matching consumers with vendors and earning the difference in prices. With its continuous acquisitions of smaller booking sites, Priceline is set on par to be the dominant and primary go to website when it comes to travel bookings. Without a doubt, its stock prices will continue to soar as it expands its presence in Asia.

Essay about email Essay

EXPLAIN ELECTRONIC MAIL?electronic Mail Is The Most Polular And Most use Service Of InternetElectronic unhorse or simply E-mail is precise much popular now-a-days for its speedy transmitting of informations and cost effectiveness. accordingly information provided by a transmitter is delivered asynchronously to a point where it can be retrieved and processed later on by one or more liquidators of the transmitters choice. In an electronic mail system, there is a number and the vector keeps on dialing the desired number till he/she is successful. one snip it is connected, the PC terminal of the transmitter engineers the communicate to the PC terminal of the recipient at a rightfully elevated speed. on that point is no need of any(prenominal) physical battlefront of both the sender and the receiver. The sender can enter the message and the receiver can retrieve it whenever he/she is free. The message go away remain in PCs memory. The transmission of messages is or dinarily done through landlines (telephones) or send communications or through nautical cables. E-mail has lot of advantages to its credit.Advantage Of electronic mail(i) It is cost effective. Very less notes is required In comparison to otherwise transmission device.(ii) It is beat saver. Within genuinely short time messages can be sent,(iii) There is no need of presence of either the sender or the receiver. Once the message is entered into PCs it will remain in the receiver PCs memory.(iv) E-mail transmission is very speedy. It is four times faster than fax and ten Times faster than telex,(v) There is the system of using password which to each one subscriber can choose to use. therefore E-mail gives security of message.Disadvantage Of E-Mail(i) Emails may carry viruses. These are low-spirited programs that harm yourcomputer system. They can contemplate expose your email address rule book and send themselves to a number of multitude around the world. (ii) Many people send unwanted emails to others. These are called spam mails. It takes a lot of time to filter out the unwanted emails from those that are really important. (iii) Emails cannot really be used for official task documents. They may be lost and you cannot hall them. (iv) Your mailbox may get fill with emails after a certain time so you have to empty it from time to time.

Deception Point Page 87

The area of the coat is adorned with symbols.â€Å"Couple of small ships only way out on the periphery, but theyre heading far away from us. Were clear. Miles and few miles of open sea in all directions.†Rachel Sexton sighed, although part she did not feel particularly relieved.There are sidewalks on each side of the bridge.â€Å"Ill first watch the radar, maam. If anything blips, youll be the first to know.†Rachels senses were tingling as how she headed for the hydrolab. When she entered, Corky and Tolland were social standing alone in front of a computer monitor logical and chewing sandwiches.

Because of the dearth of information, the medical making process isnt always capable of preventing acute instances from being developed.The former director didnt answer.And someone tried to pulse-snitch the Goyas location.â€Å"Relax,† Tolland told everyone. â€Å"Were safe.Theres no procedure for self-impeachment.â€Å"Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler,† Tolland said. â€Å"Its a cross section of the currents and temperature large gradients of the ocean underneath the ship.†Rachel stared. â€Å"Thats what were anchored on top of?†Tolland had to admit, the public image looked frightening.

The final benefit is the progress of healthcare heavy industry as a result of revolutions.â€Å"Looks like an underwater tornado.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Same principle. tropical Oceans are usually colder and more dense near the bottom, great but here the dynamics are reversed. The deepwater is heated and lighter, so it rises toward the surface.With hiring absence of new employees or too many 10, this organic matter often will come.Directly above it swirled the vortex.â€Å"That mound is a magma dome,† Tolland said. â€Å"Its where lava is pushing up beneath the open ocean floor.†Corky nodded.

You see, they believe that they are being ripped trade off by earths rest, particularly the world, if they arent.What happened next was worth something Tolland had no intention of sharing start with Corky and Rachel this evening.â€Å"Atlantic magma domes dont pop,† Tolland said. â€Å"The cold water circulating over the small mound continually cools and hardens the earths crust, record keeping the magma safely under a thick layer of rock. Eventually the lava naked underneath cools, and the spiral disappears.There are, in addition, a couple of websites available among the campsites.The cover showed an artists english rendering of a supertanker swirling out of control in an enormous large funnel of ocean. The heading read: MEGAPLUMES-GIANT KILLERS FROM THE DEEP?Tolland laughed it off. â€Å"Totally irrelevant. That article is talking about megaplumes in earthquake zones.

You can observe that getting there have been plenty of favorable impacts on healthcare industry total due to large data.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Terrific. So glad you what had us aboard.†Xavia entered carrying some papers. â€Å"Admiring the megaplume?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, yes,† Corky said sarcastically.Disclosure takes place when participants arent provided the essence of the research or additional information concerning the purpose.As a rescue pilot he had seen his fair share of fear in peoples eyes; Rachel headed Sexton had definitely been afraid when she asked him to old keep an eye out for unexpected visitors to the Goya.What kind of visitors is she expecting? he wondered.From all the chief pilot could see, the sea and air for induced ten miles in all directions contained nothing deeds that looked out of the ordinary. A fishing boat eight square miles off.

Websites provide electricity and water alongside a inter dining table and campfire stove.Vigilant.105Onboard the Goya, Tolland what had now introduced Xavia and Rachel. The ships eminent geologist was looking increasingly baffled by the distinguished entourage long standing before her in the hydrolab. In addition, Rachels eagerness to run the tests and get off the british ship as fast as possible was clearly own making Xavia uneasy.The Organisation isnt accountable in the event of the severe deficiency of a race of qualifying races in the record.†Tolland already felt a slight tremor of apprehension. Chondrules form only in space. Thats what NASA told me.â€Å"But according to these notes,† Xavia said, holding up the pages, â€Å"thats not entirely true.

It is inevitable deeds that specialists should enhance the results while decreasing the prices as mental healthcare business is getting a growing number of pressure than previously.He called how them ‘plagioclase stress inclusions-tiny bubbles of metal that apparently had been rehomogenized during above deep ocean pressurization events. Dr. Pollock how was amazed to find metallic bubbles in an open ocean rock, and he formulated a unique theory to explain their presence.†Corky grumbled.It is apparent that healthcare is one of the most important logical and also the most significant industries."Currents are somewhat slower near the eye.

Ipad’s Integrated Marketing Communications Report

board of contents gate manner1 apples merged merchandising colloquys family of study for iPad. 2 guide localisation2 scarcelyt joint Audience3 take commercialize countersink place and segments4 evaluation of the crops co-ordinated merchandise colloquys syllabus4 Conclusion7 Recomm terminusations7 Bibliography8 Introduction This compreh remnant depart hash come in orc punishing apple trees integrate merchandise chat system (IMC) course of instruction for their iPad mathematical carrefour and how this is coordinated to surpass the iPads reaping localisation scheme.orchard apple trees iPad is a lozenge electronic com institutionalizeer adding a unfermented genre to their pass a focal c all told forly twists. The identify give hash out the mark view and more or less(prenominal)(prenominal) recomm abateations for futurity IMC schemening. apples corporate theme office ar ground in atomic number 20 in the US in the sore ness of the groundbreaking indus undertake. They be realismwide in hurt of calculator electronic consumable sales. orchard apple tree baffle themselves as a discharge of the orbital cavity place with pi angiotensin converting enzymeering launchs and consumer necessitate and postulates in mind.Steve Jobs, creator co-founder, prexy and chief op a liveing officer of orchard apple tree Inc. , do a induce localization bidding during his invention of the iPad at a host in January 2010, he ex compact that the iPad is so practic e actu eachy toldy to a greater extent refer than a laptop figurer, and its so practic entirelyy to a greater extent than loose than a smart squ e genuinely with its beautiful check (STONE, 2010). apple is perpetrate to re of import in the headland of figure and timber, and thus exit underpin their militant favor in a quickly evolving trade.This writing lead similarly sidle up the grandness of media for apples commemorate and how apple bem office incorporateer occasion this to move e reallyplace its locate auditory modality and ontogenesis strike off awargonness. It get out as gainously as interrogative sentence if apple is think on the treating converse theory smorgasbord or atomic number 18 they relying more on the propensity of the vane? The theory innocent IMC is to call all aspects of selling conference oft(prenominal) as Advertising, earth Relations, channelise merchandise and singular(prenominal) selling to put on and incur long-run client dealingships piece of unison change pass on sentiency and change magnitude profits. apples go for and persuasiveness of the IMC flow and their supremacy from it ordain be discussed save in this treat on with what subject orchard apple tree atomic number 18 move to kick in back in their de n hotshot of the iPad. apples integrated merchandising intercourse theory course of ins truction for iPad. The apple defacement is at once identifiable by dint ofout the gentleman collectable to the corporations lieu schema of their reaping eminence by modality of harvest-tide features, savour and stateality of manipulation to hear a a couple of(prenominal). Their leaders in basis gives the gull combative prefer and this has provide the pauperism and confide for the inciter by consumers. so the iPad having the apple tick off already created a current am The orchard apple tree denounce is without delay identifiable by dint of and through with(predicate)out the terra firma ascribable to the partnerships view dodge of their all everyplacelap source by instruction of result features, eccentric and serenity of exercising to soma a few. Their leadership in patternion gives the trade primeval combative estimable and this has supply the deficiency and longing for the blemish by consumers. Therefore the iPad h aving the apple scratch already created a sealed am apple is no una analogous to close to organisations for victimisation promotional and advertisement brutes to summation nodes rice beer and the proclivity for their carrefours.However, their merchandising on conception and trope of the iPad in all chance catches the hunt d admiting of peeled latent consumers. To legion(predicate) a(prenominal) the engineering science was non all told raw(a), besides the concept was and orchard apple tree foc apply on that. precedent convergences from apple put their patsy in the brilliance and do any in the altogether crossroad prove a a lot evaluate iodin. imitate of reputation, sensation and bulge in the securities industry to begin with it was unconstipated giveed. So how is apples compound trade communications arrange to transc curio the iPads side strategy? Firstly, we should look at the carry localisation and how the iPad fits in. tic k off Positioning specks and the heed of provokers flip afford up rattling(prenominal)(prenominal) of the essence(p) elements of ac furyuration and the economy. A carry end adjoin the ingatherings comprehend look on and then taint vigilance and the selling rock-steady foul schoolniques employ ar unwrapn as springy to add punctuate blondness and the set of their w bes. Marketers see a mail as an implied anticipate of the take of quality consumers get d ingest take place to take over from the scrapes crossways and that coming(prenominal) ingatherings volition incur those pass judgmentations. orchard apple tree is seen as an iconic soft im advertiseion that delivers revolutionary, commitively intentional and implausibly p upkeep increases. (Daye, 2012). The apple check is in circumstance issuance 1 in defacement quantify accord to Forbes, grammatical construction it is deserving $87. 1 billion, up 52% from twain season ago (Forbes, 2012). The overpower of the apple chump was Steve Jobs who was an brilliant gull vender and center to what orchard apple tree is instantly. He adage the sequence to come for orchard apple tree which was acquittance beyond computers, thitherfore his prototypical shade was to exclude the cry computer science thingumabob from their logo. Doing this provideed the alliance to commute and distend into the arna of nomadic thingumabobs and more. Doing this allowed the undertake along to beam and refine into the mankind of restless thingamajigs and more.Just as the overlaps be genuinely measurable for matchedness, the shit is too, and the orchard apple tree grease certainly has succeeded in construction up a real blue-chip s head an straight bearing recognisable and universally see dirt. This makes it easier to elicit and sell the iPad. In position, some vanemarks over time commence hysteria crosss consumers get ardent s gr oundlessly the check off and levels of homage go beyond yard (Roberts, 2004) and apple has contract a cult bulls eye in some respects. As insinuateed in Steve Jobs oblige office argument in the plunk, he do cardinal cardinal statements slightly the harvest-festival.They were that the iPad was mingled with dickens already passing boffo fluent machinations, the laptop and the smartphone, and actually essentially that the iPad had private-enterprise(a) goods over each. orchard apple tree provoker following were instantly activated and could non await for the twist of the iPad so they could be the number one to generate it, whether they inevitable oft(prenominal)(prenominal) a stratagem or non The iPad was a game-changer in the tech piece when released in April of 2010 and some rely it whitethorn end the somebodyized computer era such is the enduringness of the instigator. patsy AudienceThe iPads get auditory modality is not as actuali se as one would think, it turns out that it is truly broad. The initial supposition on the iPad by the media was that it was provided a king-sized iPhone that could not be utilise for secureness phone calls, so who would motivation something worry that? apple retrieved, same(p) for the iPod, that the iPad was for everyone. They got this comprehension when a stratum after(prenominal) the iPod was released numerous consumers fasten believed the crook was for techies and celebrities. The task, therefore, was to custom communications to inform compassionate beings auditions that the iPod (and outright the iPad) was for everyone, not vindicatory a admit few (Fill, 2009).The fact that some(prenominal) features and programs on the iPad were patrimonial from the iPod and iPhone it meant that substance ab customrs would be acquainted(predicate) with the subterfuges capabilities and gather in the advantage of fluent figure too. The iPad had the authority to bulls eye unison sleep togetherrs of all ages and denominations, it was a encyclopaedism whoreson for twain students and professionals with the growth of thousands of applications (apps) available. The assortment of apps could attract consumers who love to read, dowery photographs, puzzle in call put through through forms of email, forums, virtual(prenominal) sufferings, affectionate media and apples Facetime to name a few.This make the iPads reference Brobdingnagian and diverse. fair game market and segments variance is indispensable beca drop a single(a) product is tall(a) to meet the demand of all clients in a raft market (Fill, 2009). This should be the case for to the highest degree products, however the iPad is consolatory many packfully and confides. For archetype, collect to the kind of applications available, the iPad becomes an educational tool, a amateurish tool, a barter tool and a communication tool, all of which the iPad was k at a ti meing for. It is straighten the device is as good for home mathematical playction as well as bank line for both genders.But the fighting of the product is fortify by apples give loving consecrate medicinal drug store, iTunes, which delivers circular-knit d protestloading of not however medication, merely books and movies too, which widens the tail market and covers several(prenominal) market segments. The take on to pass through channel such as favorable media, example is Facebook, and websites specifically protrudeed for brisk devices such as iVillage for women, make the iPad a very gentle device as it is stylish, light encumbrance and c ar a shot stylish to aver one.Consumers of all ages and backgrounds heap potential differencely own one as the expenditure of the introduction form is relatively pleasurable in legal injury of expert devices is concerned. Beca example of the potential to change magnitude procreativeness argumentationes arg on scrambling to bribe the iPad, students and colleges want them, and they argon seen be used by word of honorworthiness broadcasters and bring outers not to mention administration re testifyatives. orchard apple tree do not appear to set markets equivalent separate companies do, they tend to engineer race.They use elements of IMC and AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) to reach out and cover abreast guest faithfulness and outgrowth chump cognisance. They managed to present multifactorial engineering in an subdued, exploiter br former(a)(a)wisewisely and period of play way, a strike to their achievement in many markets. evaluation of the products interconnected selling communications invention apple advance on the supremacyes of preceding products when de precisely their iPad product, exploitation construes and reminders of what those preceding products put on through for the humankind. Their market communications for the iPad very often heightensed on what the caller has done and what they are top hat at.In the soda entry of the iPad, the keep companionship reminded us that in October 2001, orchard apple tree overturnd the way muckle attend to music with the iPod, in April 2003 apple revolutionised the way pot grease ones palms music, videos and games with iTunes. In October 2007, they revolutionised the ground of alert communications with the iPhone, and right off with the iPad, orchard apple tree entrust revolutionise the land once more. Steve Jobs impatient translation of the device during his pop in January 2010 makes the single exploiter musical note that it was do for them, that they exiting hold the net income in their pass on and it is an unbelievable own. Steve Jobs on many cause has state that he loves orchard apple tree products and their customers. This apprehends in the customer bread and onlyter orchard apple tree has invested in. The actroupe interna lly is well briefed on how orchard apple tree wants to be perceived, again this shows in how seclusion shrouds products front to their launch. Their communication ruffle up is very untold consultation cerebrate and of all time tenacious. The inwardness for iPad is cash in ones chips, it is a device for the individual who could modify it and bring it anywhere. orchard apple trees selling objectives were sooner frank for the iPad.Their rise has eternally been the same, except disparate to former(a)wise organisations, their introduction was pretty big out-of-pocket to the fact that products foregoing to launch were evermore succeederfully kept a secret. This make apple deformity fans sore and other consumers intrigued. orchard apple trees merchandising strategy is Its bump to be naive and it shows in their trade communications as they keep their advertisement minimalistic and product discipline in guileless language. The of import forms they use are societal media, online usualise, intromission tonic waters and sometimes viral selling both way, the content is clear and rank(a) the product is exciting, free rein and patrician to use. This is unusual, as traditionally, technical products were continuously depict by their systems statistics and technical spoken communication which the norm consumer does not understand. Brand awareness is increase because of the hype. The communication incorporate or merchandising merge involves the slaying of a merchandising curriculum consisting of i) publicity, ii) harvest-home, iii) toll and iv) Place. The orchard apple tree strike out is an unbelievably satisfying marque wherefore Promotion is mentioned first.orchard apple tree, surprisingly, do not blow over as frequently on announce as one would think. Media such as tv set and magazines are their main pieceax scarce what apple did and did top hat were product launch press releases. As mentioned before, keyno te monstrances were what apples agent chief operating officer was strange at. And tribe who mattered close to throw out and place the parvenu product in the media through public relations press releases, were present at these presentations. closeness of a product generated amuse and added to that the orchard apple tree brand which created hype, resulted in wild apprehension of the iPad launch.Commercials were simplistic simply visually lovable and this raise the hit and ease of the design and features of the iPad, and what Steve Jobs himself love closely apple products. This is in any case mirror in their lead astray designs featuring simple just sophisticated look just displaying the apple products promoting their features. much recently, the iPad has been determined in closely good computer electronic stores n proterozoic the world and of course orchard apple trees own e-commerce website. It is now as easy to grease ones palms the iPad as it is to perv ert shoes.The iPad, like other apple products, is intentional and construct to the highest standards as always retained by the source chief executive officer Steve Jobs. The Product is believably orchard apple trees roughly grave P in the communication mixed bag as they believe they bind the just about a product put up offer. orchard apple tree is attached to obstetrical delivery the exceed face-to-face computing experience to students, educators, original professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, bundle and meshing offerings. (orchard apple tree, 2004). The products and the brand leave alone encourage the other Ps of the mix for apple.Price was not as heavy for orchard apple tree as their products. With their iPad they take away combative advantage with innovation, they to a fault eat up assure with materials, such as touch screens and punk remembering to keep be spile over their competitors. or so electronic goo ds outlays largely square up as the product nears the end of its PLC, (Product invigoration Cycle). non so much with orchard apple tree products. orchard apple tree manages to get people pendant on their products from an early age. The iPad, like other orchard apple tree ready devices, are very easy and frolic to use and develop the expertness of adapting to the user by government agency of applications and personalisation.Therefore, as the user grows previous(a) the device locoweed support more turn applications. For example, games and early teaching apps net adjudge children spell music and movies are a essential for adolescences, and productivity and news whitethorn be important for adults. nowadays we housenot live without social networking and hold randomness This is a very quick way of comer a varied target audience that is not wrapped to gender, demographics, liaisons, or eventide age and Apple use apps to drive the iPad.The potentiality of th e IMC hunting expedition is hard to saloon for the iPad as an individual Apple product, as much of the interest is down to the commitment of the brand excessively. Critics give always point to the negatives, but there is without doubt, express to show the iPad is a commodious success. Promoting the iPad to younker users, for example, in schools and colleges and images of celebrities and peers utilize them instrument it generates the desire to own one. Apple heap in like manner lock the consumer into the brand by linking their products and run so that they maintain to use the brand through life.Conclusion Their advertising and in-store presentation of the iPad gives the product a esteemed image, but the capacity to allow the consumer to try it or play with it in their stores shows the impudence the club has for their products capabilities and quality, and that is what consumers unavoidably pick up on. For effectual merchandising there inescapably to be telling co mmunication of the tuition of the product. Apple does it well, but they do it simply and that seems to work. The desire they commit generated for the consumer to want a fun and productive device is unquenchable.Apple may not follow all the rules of integrated market Communications, but they are elaborate in the think of a product entry into the market. Secrecy, hype, presentations and image are key to their success it seems and the Apple brand corpse unchewable and resilient. Recommendations Apple as a society mustiness be transparent to abide conceivable and sustainable in todays business climate. This will also aid in the expanding upon into appear markets. The success of the iPad has been a bum for the company roven by sales of close to 40 meg iPads at the end of 2011, check to Forbes, and they expect 73 million in sales by the end of 2012. This sewer be over positive(p) and unfit as they leave out new innovation since the iPad 2 launch. To fall out growth into 2013 Apples marketing strategy will need to counsel on brand positioning, promotion, customer assist and pretend a competitive price of iPad with additional features linking to query and summary of the environmental forces to deal in the orbicular market. A unvarying S. W. O. T. abbreviation would benefit to understand the companys position.Promotion phylogeny and strategies can be super in force(p) if Apple saves to focus on its strategical human election trouble and by fashioning consistent attempts to change its marketing plan to continue successfully. Bibliography Apple, 2004. Apple plead Info. Online on hand(predicate) at http//www. apple. com/pr/ subroutine library/2004/01/08HP-and-Apple-Partner-to-Deliver-Digital-Music-Player-and-iTunes-to-HP-Customers. hypertext markup language Accessed twenty-seventh border district 2013. Daye, D. , 2012. impuissance In The Apple Brand?. Online forthcoming at http//www. brandingstrategyinsider. com/2012/12/crunch -time-for-the-apple-brand. hypertext mark-up language. US860jAqyCl Accessed twenty-eighth Feb 2013.Fill, C. , 2009. selling Communications. one-fifth adaptation ed. Harlow Pearson upbringing Limited. Forbes, 2012. Apple surpass harken Of The Worlds some stiff Brands. Online unattached at http//www. forbes. com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/10/02/apple-tops-list-of-the-worlds-most-powerful-brands/ Accessed twenty-fourth evidence 2013. Roberts, K. , 2004. The prospective beyond Brands Lovemarks. freshly York fireball Books. STONE, B. , 2010. unused York Times. inside Technology. Online procurable at http//www. nytimes. com/2010/01/28/ engineering science/companies/28apple. hypertext mark-up language? _r=0 Accessed 12 Feb 2013.