Monday, September 30, 2019

Consumerism: Want and New Pair Shoes Essay

In today’s society consumerism has taken a big role in everyone’s lives because people seem to buy materialistic objects that they don’t need, but buy for pleasure. People don’t see that this is becoming an issue in our society because they are to focused on wanting more for their satisfaction than they need. I seen all these advertisements on TV that show Nemours athletes wearing the new so called â€Å"gear,’ making every one want what they see such as shoes, Jordan’s, Nike, and Vans. I myself I like shoes, but not to the extent were I have boxes and boxes piled up in my closet like some people. For example, I have friends who buy $300 dollar shoes or camp the night at foot locker just to get the latest Jordan’s, I find this shocking to believe what people are willing to do just to get a new pair of shoes. Some of my friends have a collection of Jordan’s stacked up against their wall of a value roughly around 3 to 4,000 dollars shocking I know. I sit back and laugh at my friends for wasting so much money on so many pairs of shoes that’s they don’t need and only wear them like once. Advertisements’ takes a big role in shoes by making athletes wear certain footwear that magically makes them better at what they do weather it has to do with running faster or jumping higher, tricking young minds into thinking they can be the same if they go out and buy the product. â€Å"What image does the athlete project about the product† (Levine.302). These types of advertisements focus more on younger minds because they don’t know better and are willing to spend an outrages amount of money. Statistics show that every woman in the United States own at least 17 pairs of shoes or more. More and more people are consuming more than they need either to fit in with today’s society or want the latest shoe brand. Shoes have become a world-wide thing were people don’t know what’s enough or how much it too much. For instants’, Jordan’s are nice and comfortable but to pricey, were you have a pair of And 1 also a pair of basketball shoes were they cost about $50 dollars’. What people are doing is basically buying the brand not  the shoe. Horning states† We are institutionally trapped in the prison- house of design† (Horning.316). Some people feel guilty when they go out the so called â€Å"Mall† and feel the need to buy new shoes all the time. This is where consumerism comes in and plays a big role; society is blinded to see that their wants have gone up drastically and dramatically. â€Å"That’s what we like and that’s what we buy† (Horning.316). Anything people see they buy without thinking twice and knowing that they already have brand new pair shoes they have not worn because there to focused on buying and buying till they see they no longer have space in their closet to put new shoes in. In Conclusion, Today’s society has a big problem when it comes to consumerism because our younger generation doesn’t know when to stop or what’s too much. Many people should take into consideration that buying to many things doesn’t make you fit in or make you any better than the next person who only has 3 pairs of shoes, society should take a little bit of more responsibility and take into count that our wants are not as important as our needs. Work cited Horning, Robert. â€Å"The Design Imperative.†Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader 7th ed. Ed. Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger. Boston: Longman, 2011. 314-18. Print. Levine, Michael. â€Å"Branded World.† Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader 7th ed. Ed. Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger. Boston: Longman, 2011. 302-05. Print.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Personal Imaginative Coursework – Conflict

Conflict Marion had always got on with Sinead, but I'd noticed that recently things hadn't been as peachy. She was in a room, her room, flicking through old magazines. It was starting to get dark and she hadn't yet shut the curtains. ‘Knock knock'. Silence. ‘Knock knock'. â€Å"Mum?† Creak. â€Å"Why's it so dark in here? I'm going out, I'll be back later.† â€Å"I said I'd meet Mary at seven.† Sinead went over and pulled the curtains shut, tutting as she did so. â€Å"Well you can't, I'm going out.† â€Å"I told you earlier, I can still go, we're seeing ‘The Fruit Picker', you know, the one with Bobby Clampton.† Marion sat down, tucking her skirt under her as she always did. â€Å"I don't think so, fruitcake. I don't want you to OK?† Sinead said, facing her daughter. â€Å"But you didn't tell me you were going out and I've already made plans.† â€Å"Enough. I've said no.† Sinead made an annoying emphasis on the word no with her hands like she usually did before she lost her temper. â€Å"Then tell me why.† Marion was starting to get impatient but didn't want Sinead to go into one, so tried to be rational. â€Å"Because I've said so.† â€Å"I have no problem in doing what you say as long as you give me a good reason, and so far I haven't seen one so I assume I'm still going out.† As she said this, Marion went over to Sinead, noticing a helicopter circling the sky outside. â€Å"The reason is that I want you to stay home in case your father rings.† â€Å"No it's not, you made that up. I'll be back around ten.† â€Å"You'll be here at ten because you won't be going out. Ever.† â€Å"What, even school?† she said sarkily. â€Å"Don't be a smart little cow. Yeah, even school.† â€Å"Don't be stupid. You can't be serious?† The worried expression on her face showed that calm composure wasn't the first thing on her mind at the moment. â€Å"I'm deadly serious. See you later.† Sinead left the door open as she left the room and a few seconds later let the front door slam. I knew she'd be OK, so I stayed with Marion. Marion punched the bed with anger and let out a few reluctant sobs. She stood up jerkily and banged her head against the wall a few times to gather her thoughts. She stood for a moment then I followed her out of the room. I waited at the top of the stairs while she went down. She came back up with a knife from the kitchen. We went back into her room. She sat down on the bed. As I stayed by the door I watched her pull up her sleeve. She put the knife to her wrist and winced. I wanted to do something but I was only there to watch. â€Å"That'll show her.† she muttered. She reached over to get a tissue and smeared some of the blood over the rest of her arm. â€Å"Run† BANG. BANG. â€Å"Now† BANG. The light was making him see in flashes, like strobing. The night was closing in on him but everything else was breaking up. As he turned the corner he tripped on a dustbin. Him and Mark had gone in opposite directions. â€Å"The Brits are on our tail.† â€Å"Down here† Voices from all directions were clouding his mind. The sirens were deafening. All he could do was think about his wife and daughter back home and know they'd be OK. It was quite a slow process as they dragged him, with a few of the others, into the back of the van, with the gunshots still roaring through the sky. Late at night, in the depths of the Irish countryside, a man knelt down beside his bed in a dorm, alongside many other men, some only boys, and prayed. Prayed that the Lord could give him strength to stand by his country and make him a martyr for freedom. But above all that the Lord might send someone to watch over his young wife and child in times when he could not be there. Because for him, knowing that God was watching over them meant knowing that they'd be safe even when he was too distant for his love to reach them. Many other men had prayed that night, for the next day was the day they'd first gone out and fought what would be the beginning of an even longer war. But O'Brien's was the prayer I heard and the prayer I answered. And when he was caught, then lined up and shot by a British Army Officer and it was my turn to move on, I couldn't help staying just a little longer to make sure Sinead and Marion got through it alright. A few hours later Marion was back with the magazines, the blood having crusted into a nice little scar. She heard a clunk from downstairs and quickly switched off the light and jumped into bed with her clothes still on. I went downstairs to check on Sinead. She'd got back later than she normally did. She took off her coat and hung it over the banister. She walked down the hall into the kitchen and put her keys down on the table. As she scanned the contents of the fridge, forest fruits gateau, cheese, orange juice, the phone started to ring. She shut the fridge door and picked it up after three rings. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Yes, that's me.† The person on the end of the receiver was too muffled for me to hear. Sinead began fiddling with the only ring on her fingers. She paled and her shoulders tensed up. Her breathing became shallow and her chest heaved. â€Å"I understand.† â€Å"No thank you, I'll be fine.† She put down the handset and lent on the worktop for support. She stood straight and walked through the hall and up the stairs trembling. I followed closely behind. â€Å"Can I come in, darlin'?† her voice didn't come out as intended, it sounded too high, false. The door opened away from us, and Marion stood, looking unusually small. Sinead walked through and sat on the bed, her eyes were sunken and red. Marion stayed by the door too. â€Å"Are you OK mum? Has something happened?† â€Å"Come over here, love.† She gestured by patting the space next to her. Marion walked slowly over, looking stiff and uncomfortable. â€Å"What is it?† she asked. Sinead didn't look her in the eye. She gestured again and Marion sat down. â€Å"I've just had a call from Mark. He had some news about your father.† As her eyes started pricking Marion wished she hadn't turned on the light before opening the door. â€Å"He was caught on a job and he's been, he's been killed.† Marion lifted up her arm to wipe her eye, â€Å"What on earth have you done to yourself?† Sinead's voice was trembling and cracking and her eyes shot with blood. â€Å"Nothing. I – I didn't mean to.† â€Å"Oh come here, my baby.† And she pulled her to her, and as they both sat there sobbing out loud, clutching each other, I went over and put my arms round them both, gently rocking them from side to side into the night, softly singing an old Irish song my mother used to sing to me: The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone In the ranks of death you will find him His father's sword he hath girded on And his wild harp slung behind him â€Å"Land of Song!† said the warrior bard â€Å"Tho' all the world betrays thee One sword, at least, they rights shall guard One faithful harp shall praise thee!† The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain Could not bring that proud soul under The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again For he tore its chords asunder And said â€Å"No chains shall sully thee Thou soul of love and brav'ry! Thy songs were made for the pure and free, They shall never sound in slavery!†

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Reducing Carbon Emission From Existing Domestic Buildings Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate alteration brought about by planetary heating is one of the biggest menaces to mankind ‘s endurance. Due to human activity the temperature of the Earth ‘s surface has increased by approximately 1.4A °F during the last 90-100 old ages. Scientists have identified that nursery gases are the chief ground we are sing planetary heating. The last authorities was trying to battle clime alteration by puting one-year marks for the decrease of C dioxide emanations until 2050 by puting responsibilities on the Prime Minister sing the coverage on and accomplishment of those marks ; to stipulate processs to be followed if the marks are non met ; to stipulate certain maps of and supply certain powers to Members of Parliament with respect to guaranting C dioxide emanations are reduced and to put sectored decrease marks and marks for energy efficiency. This seems really easy in chief but in world the authorities has failed since the Kyoto Protocol. One cardinal country where they are neglecting is in the lodging sector as the purposes are chiefly focused on new places instead than the bing lodging stock. By the twelvemonth 2050 there will be 21 million places in demand of an ascent to cut down the C emanations being released into the ambiance. In this thesis we will analyze the grounds for planetary heating and clime alteration, what authorities enterprises have been introduced and what solutions can, hold and will be implemented to cut down C emanations with an accent on renewable engineerings. Introduction The authorities and industry must cut down their C emanations from the United Kingdoms domestic sector in order to run into their clime alteration marks. 30 % of all the United Kingdoms energy comes from the domestic sector and in bend histories 45 % of all emanations. ( 2008 Energy Technologies Institute LLP-Part of the low C invention group ) . By the twelvemonth 2050 there will be about 32 million homes of which 21 million will necessitate renovation as they will be the bing lodging stock. The authorities have set a mark of an 80 % decrease in C emanations by 2050 and in order to accomplish this end they will hold to put in insularity, educate homeowners on ways to utilize energy more expeditiously, use more low energy merchandises and provide energy from renewable beginnings. Purpose The chief purpose of this survey is to analyze ways to cut down C emanations from the United Kingdoms bing lodging stock. Aims The chief aims of this survey to analyze: A brief history of planetary heating and clime alteration What authorities statute law is in topographic point to cut down C emanations The current energy efficiency of the United Kingdoms bing lodging stock What part renewable energy can do towards cut downing C emanationsResearch methodological analysisThe aims outlined antecedently will give the reader a better apprehension of the capable countries. The research carried out will be a 50 – 50 split between qualitative and quantitative research. ‘Qualitative research is subjective in nature. It is research that can non be measured because it is non based on facts. It is based on people beliefs, their feelings and their ain personal sentiments and experiences ‘ . ( Naoum 2007 2nd edition ) ‘Quantitative research is ‘objective ‘ in nature. It is research that is based on factual information that can be proven. It could be consequences from trials, studies etc that can be analysed ‘ . ( Naoum 2007 2nd edition ) ‘Primary literature is research that includes academic diary, published original work and proficient documents ‘ . AND ‘secondary literature beginnings are beginnings such as text books and newspaper articles ‘ ( ( Naoum 2007 2nd edition )Dissertation StructureThe research into my purpose and aim will supply a greater deepness of apprehension of each capable country. The survey will give a background into the demand for an energy efficient lodging stock including looking at grounds for planetary heating and clime alteration. It will besides discourse authorities enterprises and energy usage in the domestic sector every bit good as the grounds why it is hard to accomplish the purposes. The bing lodging stock will be researched to determine their energy efficiency before and after renovation. Some of the primary literature I plan to utilize include ; Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The EU ‘s Contribution to Determining A Future Global Climate Change Regime The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community 2002-2012 Our Energy Future – Making a Low Carbon Economy Action in the UK – The UK Climate Change Programme European Buildings Directive Met office action on carbon dioxide Planing for micro renewables – Renewable energy engineerings, Scots Executive, Development Department HM Government- Renewable Energy Strategy Some of the Secondary Beginnings I plan to utilize include ; Environmental scientific discipline in edifices 6th Edition ( Randall McMullan ) CIBSE – Energy and C emanations ordinances – A usher to execution The range for cut downing C emanations from lodging ( J.Henderson & A ; L. Shorrock )Literature ReviewGlobal heating and Climate ChangePeoples are the chief cause of clime alteration. 40 % of all co2 emanations come from nursery gases such as C dioxide and methane through energy usage in the place, driving and air travel. Global clime alteration occurs of course through oceans, alterations in the earths orbit and the suns energy but there is grounds that the nursery consequence is made worse by adult males actions.What alterations have been observed?planetary temperature addition: +0.75A °C over the past century with 2000-2010 the warmest decennary on record rainfall forms: wet parts of the universe are acquiring wetting agent, and dry parts acquiring desiccant humidness: additions over the lastA two to threeA decennaries make utmost rainfall and deluging more likely warming oceans: temperature additions in the last 50 old ages in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans are non linked natural fluctuations salt: increased vaporization is doing the Atlantic saltier in sub-tropical latitudes sea-ice: summer Arctic sea-ice is worsening by 600,000 kmA? per decennary ( the country of Madagascar ) , a long-run tendency merely explicable by human influencesHow the grounds stacks upScientists have used sophisticated methods to place these long-run alterations, and to so see: are these alterations due to natural variableness? ( alterations in energy from the Sun, volcanic eruptions, or natural rhythms such as El Nino ) if non, is at that place grounds that human activity could be to fault? Peter Stott, Head of Climate Monitoring and Attribution at the Met Office, said: â€Å" The scientific discipline reveals a consistent image of planetary alteration that clearly bears the fingerprint of semisynthetic nursery gas emanations. This shows the grounds of clime alteration has gone beyond temperature additions -A it is now seeable across our clime system and all parts of the planet. † The mean individual thinks that the conditions and clime alteration are the same but this is non the instance. Weather is rain, hail, sleet, snow and air current with changing temperatures that change daily, where as clime alteration is a survey of the conditions and it changes over clip. The nursery effect is the natural procedure of the Earths atmosphere leting in some of the energy we receive from the Sun ( UV and seeable visible radiation ) and halting it being transmitted back out into infinite ( infrared radiation the nursery consequence is the natural procedure. This makes the Earth warm plenty for people to populate. Although there have been rather stable degrees of nursery gases for many old ages, industrial and domestic energy usage has upset the balance with the grounds of clime alteration now being seen right across the planet with temperature additions and runing ice caps doing mayhem with our eco-system.Energy UseWorlds use energy such as coal, gas and oil everyday and everytime they do so carbon monoxide and other gases are absorbed by the ambiance. The natural rhythm was for the C dioxide to be reabsorbed by the workss and trees. However, we are firing so much fuel, and with worlds cutting down our rain forests. the trees and workss can no longer get by. As the increased C dioxide degrees rise they are being trapped within our atmosphere doing the temperature to lift. This is planetary heating. As the planetary temperature is lifting daily we are seeing more inundations and utmost conditions such as twisters and hurricanes. To seek to battle this we have to cut down the sum of fossil fuels we are utilizing. ( The Carbon Account ) We burn fossil fuels to make energy. From maintaining warm in our house, to fuelling our autos, to turning our nutrient, to fabricate our MP3 participants, energy is used. It is either burned straight ( gas is burnt in your boiler for illustration, and gasoline is burnt in your auto ) or it is burnt in a power station to drive turbines which generate electricity. Fossil fuels are besides burnt at assorted phases in the procedure of making nutrient, merchandises and services for our ingestion. The entire C which we as persons are responsible for is called our C footmark. ( The Carbon Account )Existing lodging stockEven presuming the Government meets its committednesss to increase lodging supply, estimates suggest that by 2050, merely one tierce of the lodging stock will hold been built after 2005. New physique represents merely about 1 % of the entire lodging stock each twelvemonth. Therefore, a significant proportion of the bing lodging stock has been built to take down energy effici ency criterions and later is responsible for the bulk of emanations from domestic homes.Barriers to energy efficiencyIf we are viciously honest the mean person is non interested in upgrading their places due to climate alteration. They are more interested if the coveted result is a direct benefit. i.e. Spending on pit wall insularity means they will hold less for themselves. They normally feel that the ‘hassle ‘ factor is excessively great. Retailers B & A ; Q stated that ‘the person is non focussed simply on monetary value but besides on the sensed attempt required and break involved in following energy salvaging engineerings within the place ‘ . It claimed that the direct benefits to the person of following energy efficiency steps tend non to be recognised because of ‘the disassociation between energy usage and costs and the consequence of lifting energy monetary values in dissembling the impact of nest eggs ‘ . The authorities section for environment, nutrient and Rural Affairs ( Defra ) besides observed that: ‘The obstructions are multiple and disputing. One obstruction is consumer inactivity due to the fuss factor, high upfront costs, and hapless information. Often consumers are confused because they are capable to multiple messages coming from multiple beginnings and they do non hold a model for measuring the comparative value and impact of different steps. Access to moo cost fundss is another issue, peculiarly for more expensive steps ‘ . Energy economy and energy efficiency are the first two steps listed in Defra ‘s hierarchy of countries for single behavioral alteration. However, some 8.5m suited places still lack pit wall insularity whilst 50 % of older belongingss are unsuitable for such betterment. Against the background in which new edifices merely account for about 1 % of the entire lodging stock each twelvemonth, greater precedence must be given to cut downing the CO2 emanations associated with the bing lodging stock. Particular focal point must be given to bing places with solid walls or level roofs that are hard to insulate. Where energy efficiency steps in bing places are merely impractical or excessively expensive, an alternate attack is to include the incorporation of renewable electricity and/or heat engineerings. This could either be within single homes ( e.g. solar H2O heating ) or to provide groups of belongingss or a community ( e.g. solar photovoltaic and air current coevals ; combined heat an d power ) .Background to climate alteration extenuationThe Kyoto ProtocolThe overarching international clime alteration understanding is the 1997 Kyoto Protoco ( 4 ) l. The Protocol requires the developed states jointly to cut down 1990 C emanations by 5.2 % over the conformity period of 2008-2012. The understanding requires developed states to cut down their nursery gas ( GHG ) emanations but allows these states to utilize a series of flexible mechanisms. Cardinal to these mechanisms is 'emissions merchandising ‘ which enables states to purchase and sell C allowances. In add-on, states can utilize either the ‘clean development mechanism ‘ ( CDM ) or ‘joint execution ‘ ( JI ) . Both the CDM and JI enable states to put in GHG decrease undertakings in other states where the costs may be less than in their domestic market. The ensuing GHG decreases can so be set against the investor state ‘s national GHG stock list. CDM and JI differ in that CDM is between a developed and developing county whereas JI is between two developed states. The Kyoto Protocol requires the European Union to cut its 1990 C emanations by 8 % by the conformity period of 2008-2012. The Kyoto pact passed into international jurisprudence in 2004.European Union contextThe EU Acts of the Apostless on behalf of all member provinces with respect to environmental issues. The EU sets pan-European environmental policy through Directives and Regulations. The EU negotiated as a individual entity at the Kyoto conference. It agreed an 8 % decrease mark for the EU. Each member province later agreed to its ain mark, with states such as the UK and Germany committing to cut down C emanations by more than the % mark whilst states such as Portugal and Ireland were allowed to increase their emanations. These comparative marks reflected the perceived relationship between development, growing and C emanations. The EU Climate Change policy purposes to restrict the planetary temperature rise to no more than 2K on norm. In February 2007 the European Union Energy Efficiency Action Plan agreed a series of ambitious marks for 2020 ( 5 ) : a 20 % addition in energy efficiency a 20 % decrease in nursery gas emanations across the EU, as compared with 1990 degrees, or 30 % if other developed states agree to take similar action a binding mark to increase the usage of renewable energy to 20 % of all energy used an addition in the usage of biofuels, to 10 % of all fuel used in conveyance. The EU ‘s precedence countries put frontward in 2007 are as follows: Introduction of steps to increase competition, promote investing and hike interconnectednesss between national energy grids. Diversification of energy beginnings and conveyance paths, and an betterment in response systems to better the security of supply. Negotiation of a new pact model for energy co-operation with Russia, and to better dealingss with energy-rich states in Central Asia and North Africa. Introduction of steps to do conveyance, electrical contraptions and edifices more energy efficient. Support of research to better the cost effectivity of renewable energy and low-carbon engineering. Construction of 12 presentation sustainable fossil fuel workss, showing engineerings such as such as C segregation and gaining control. In its 6th Environmental Action Plan ( 6 ) ( 2002-2012 ) , the EU produced ‘roadmaps ‘ for a assortment of different environmental countries including clime alteration. A precedence of the clime alteration roadmap was the debut of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive ( 1 ) ( EPBD ) .United Kingdom contextUnder the Kyoto Protocol, the UK agreed to cut down its nursery gas emanations by 12.5 % ( based on 1990 emanations ) . The UK is predicted to transcend its Kyoto mark and accomplish a decrease of 23.6 % below its 1990 degree ( 7 ) . The UK has a domestic mark to cut down C dioxide emanations by 20 % by 2010 relation to 1990 degrees but by 2005 had achieved merely a 6.4 % decrease. The 2003 Energy White Paper ( 8 ) set a new longer term mark of a 60 % cut in C emanations by 2050. The cardinal UK policies are set out in the UK Climate Change Programme ( 9 ) .The Energy Performance of Buildings DirectiveThe EPBD was adopted by the EU on 4th January2003 and had to be implemented by the European member provinces at the latest on January 4th 2006. It commits the EU to cut down CO2 by 8 % by 2010, to 5.2 % below 1990 degrees. The chief focal point of the papers is to better the energy public presentation of edifices while taking into history outdoor and indoor conditions and cost effectivity ( www.diag.org.uk ) It applies to both the residential and public sector with the chief points as follows: To place a common methodological analysis for ciphering the energy public presentation of edifices Provide lower limit criterions for energy public presentation in edifices. This besides applies to the redevelopment of bing edifices with a entire surface country greater than 1000m2. This is presently under reappraisal to include any bing edifices that undergo major redevelopments in order to run into minimal energy public presentation demands ( The ( EU ) European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive ( EPBD ) Directive Implementation Advisory Group ( www.diag.org.uk ) 2002 Energy public presentation certifications to be provided on all belongingss on alteration of tenancy Minimum energy public presentation demands to be set in regard of proficient edifice systems, e.g. boilers, air-conditioning units.Alternate and Renewable EnergyIncreased usage of renewable energy, including micro-renewables, can do an of import part to attempts to cut down C emanations in support of clime alteration and renewable energy aims. The Scots Executive is committed to doing an just part to the UK Kyoto mark to cut down 1990 degrees of nursery gas emanations by 12.5 % by 2012, and has set a mark that 40 % of electricity generated in Scotland should come from renewable beginnings by 2020. ( Planing for micro renewables – Renewable energy engineerings, Scottish Executive, Development Department ) Microgeneration is widely accepted to be the production of heat ( less than 45 kilowatt capacity ) and/or electricity ( less than 50kW capacity ) from zero or low C beginning engineerings. In add-on to the C benefits, increased usage of micro-renewables dramas an of import portion in diversifying our energy mix guaranting security of energy supply. It can let energy to be produced and consumed locally, assist relieve fuel poorness ( particularly in off-gas web countries ) and play a portion in run intoing renewable energy marks. Progresss in micro-renewable engineerings and increasing consciousness of the benefits of renewables have helped guarantee a steady rise in their usage across Scotland. Micro renewables can make local employment, in footings of fabrication and installing and in supplying the biomass fuel supply concatenation. There are a broad scope of micro-renewable engineerings which can be retrofitted to bing edifices.Land Source Heat PumpsThe mean land temperature merely below the surface, in the UK is between 8 °C and 13 °C, this temperature remains changeless throughout the twelvemonth. Ground beginning heat pumps ( GSHP ) are a agencies of tapping into and using this resource. GSHP were invented more than 50 old ages ago, and uninterrupted development has greatly improved their efficiency and dependability. It is now a proven, cost-efficient, safe and environmentally friendly alternate to fossil fuels, that is cost-efficient for certain commercial and domestic applications, peculiarly where brinies gas is non available. The market for GSHP is presently little but turning – they are presently more common in the USA and the remainder of Europe. The entire figure of bing installings in the UK is estimated at around 600-700 units. The chief market for GSHP are domestic lodging ( which makes it ideal for retrofitting bing lodging ) , commercial belongingss non connected to the natural gas web and commercial industrial belongingss with stable heat demand. It is estimated that there is the possible for the figure of installings to increase. GSHP are most likely to be an option where there is no entree to natural gas and so the option may be oil or direct electric warming ( storage warmers ) . Heat pumps land cringles can be laid in the land or in H2O such as rivers, lakes or pools.How Do They WorkTo entree thermic energy, spirals or cringles of particular class pipe demand to be buried in the land either in horizontal trenches or perpendicular boreholes. Horizontal trenches are a cheaper option and by and large used where there is sufficient infinite. Where there is non adequate land to make horizontal trenches, perpendicular boreholes can be used, these usually require to travel down at least 60 metres and are the more expensive option, but will supply higher efficiencies since the temperature of the Earth is higher at greater deepnesss, and less power is needed to pump the fluid around the circuit. The length and size of land cringles is designed to fit the heating demands of the belongings. The trenches or boreholes required for the land loops can be dug and backfilled by a standard Earth excavator. Systems operate by go arounding H2O ( or another fluid ) through pipes buried in theground. The H2O in the pipes is lower than the environing land and so it warms up somewhat. This low class heat is transferred to a heat pump, which raises the temperature to around 50A °C. The heat pumps typically supplying 4 units of energy from 1 unit of electricity. The bing will necessitate sufficient land available for installing of the land works. The dimensions of trenches or boreholes will change between makers. The land above where heat pipes are installed can be used for unfastened infinite or covered over with difficult stuffs. Where there are bing lakes or pools or where it is proposed to put in Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems ( SUDS ) , the chance to put in land beginning heat pumps beneath the surface of the H2O should be considered. Similarly in larger developments with unfastened infinite demands, land beginning heat pumps could be laid beneath greeenspaces.Biomass EnergyBiomass is an alternate solid fuel to the conventional dodo fuels and has an impact on C emanations that is near to impersonal. The chief benefit of biomass engineering is the significantly reduced degree of C emanations owing to the fuel carrying nothing ( or really near to zero ) C load. Over their lifecycle, biomass fuels sourced and processed from sustainable beginnings within 25 stat mis of the biomass works can be regarded as C impersonal and therefore the fuel carries no C load. Many biomass fuels transported for greater distances can besides be regarded as C neutral because the alternate finish of the fuel is frequently land-fill where it would break up to bring forth methane, which is significantly more powerful as a nursery gas than CO2. Assorted types of biomass fuel are in usage, the most common being the woody biomass, which includes forest residues such as tree cuttings, and energy harvests such as willow short rotary motion brush. Biomass is converted into a manageable signifier that can be straight fed to the heat or power coevals works, therefore replacing fossil fuel. As a consequence, applications can run from large-scale heating boilers to single house room warmers to combined heat and power coevals ( CHP ) . For edifice applications, the fuel normally takes the signifier of wood french friess, logs and pellets. Wood pellets are basically compacted high-density wood with low wet content, therefore holding a higher calorific value per unit volume or weight. Supply and storage of the biomass fuel should be carefully considered particularly for larger workss. The typical applications are: Biomass boilers replacing standard gas- or oil-fired boilers for infinite warming and hot H2O ( for single edifices or territory heating systems ) . Standalone room warmers for infinite warming. Stoves with back boilers, providing domestic hot H2O. Biomass CHP for heat and electricity coevals Appliances can accomplish efficiencies of more that 80 % . Sizes start at 3 5kW capacity for room warmers and travel up to 100s of kilowatt or MW for industrial-scale workss and community energy strategies. Many of the applications are sized to run into a specific base burden, with extra top-up and back-up provided by gas boilers. Although biomass is a widespread engineering in many European and North American states, in the UK the market is non yet good developed. However, applications of small-scale boilers and single room warmers are increasing. These devices can run on logs, wood bit or pellets, with the latter designed for either manual or automatic provender. An incorporate hot H2O storage armored combat vehicle or an collector can enable the supply of heat to be decoupled from the existent burning of the fuel. The capital cost of machine-controlled biomass heating systems is significantly greater than that of conventional 1s, chiefly because of the more complicated feeding mechanisms and the presently smaller market for biomass contraptions. A typical 1OkW automated domestic biomass range would be between ?1,500 and ?2,000, and the fuel monetary values are around ?60-65 per metric ton of woodchip ( 25 % wet content ) and ?160-200 per metric ton of delivered wood pellets. Biomass CHP workss are suited for larger graduated table undertakings and look feasible at capacities above 0.5MW. Sizing demands to reflect the proportion of heat demand planned to be met by the CHP.Solar EnergyEnergy from the Sun has been harnessed for 1000s of old ages. Scotland has one of the best conditions in Europe for doing usage of solar energy. This may look surprising, as solar radiation degrees are comparatively lower than in other European states. This is, nevertheless, offset by the fact that we heat our places for more months of the twelvemonth, leting better use of available solar energy overall. Solar energy can be utilised in several ways, includin g inactive solar design, solar hot H2O systems and photo-voltaic cells ( PV ) , which generate electricity from solar radiation. The sum of electricity that can be produced from solar panels will change with the strength of sunshine, the type of engineering being used, and any overshadowing by trees or edifices. However, even on the cloudiest yearss energy comes from indirect sunshine, called diffuse solar radiation. On a cloudy twenty-four hours PV cells can bring forth up to 30 % of the power end product of a cheery twenty-four hours. However, there is still an inevitable mismatch between peak handiness and peak demand of energy. This deficit can be overcome by uniting solar energy with a complementary engineering such as air current which has a different seasonal form.CO2 decrease utilizing Solar EnergyBoth energy and C emanations nest eggs can be made with solar engineerings. The mean domestic solar hot H2O system can cut down CO2 emanations by 0.25-0.5 metric ton per twelvemont h, depending on the fuel replaced, and supply about all of a place ‘s hot waterduring the summer months.Cost of Solar EnergySolar PV is presently one of the most expensive engineerings, nevertheless, monetary values of solar power systems have steadily fallen over the past decennary and are anticipated to go on to fall as the engineering progresss and economic systems of graduated table occur. They have proved to be really dependable and can hold a design life of 25 old ages or more. Costss vary due to a scope of factors such as size of aggregator, type of roof and geographic location. Solar panels by and large require really small care other than guaranting they are kept comparatively clean, look intoing that shadiness from trees has non become a job and where applicable inspecting the battery battalions.Types of SystemsSolar Hot Water SystemsSolar thermal and, particularly, active Solar Domestic Hot Water ( SDHW ) warming is a well-established renewable energy system in many states outside the UK. It can be one of the most cost-efficient renewable energy systems available. Solar hot H2O systems have been available in the UK since the 1970s and the engineering is now good developed with a big pick of equipment to accommodate many applications. Solar hot H2O systems are chiefly used for domestic H2O heating but can besides be used in other scenes such as light industrial, agricultural usage and swimming pools. In the UK, an mean family will cut down its one-year energy ingestion degrees for supplying hot H2O by about 50 % after put ining a solar hot H2O system. For a individual typical house, for case, a suited H2O warming system would busy 2.5-4m2 of roof infinite. The cost would be ?l,500-?5,000 for a level home base system that will supply around 50 % of the typical hot H2O demand, and up to ?5,000 for an evacuated tubing system that will supply around 60 % . Solar hot H2O systems work on the rule of H2O being pumped through the solar panel and heated by solar energy when the Sun is reflecting. This het H2O so flows through a heat money changer, warming the stored H2O in the hot cylinder. In consequence this serves to pre-heat the H2O so that less energy is required from traditional beginnings such as the boiler. The aggregators are soundless and generate no emanations. The cardinal constituent in a solar hot H2O system is the aggregator. There are four different types of solar aggregators ; Glazed selective surface level home base systems glazed non-selective level home base systems glassless plastic level home base aggregators ( largely used for swimming pool warming ) evacuated tubing systems Flat Plate Collectors These are the simplest and most common signifier of solar hot H2O warming panels. They are made from a sheet of metal painted black which absorbs the Sun ‘s energy. The metal sheet is embedded in an insulated box and covered with glass or clear plastic on the forepart. Water is fed through the panel in pipes attached to the metal sheet and picks up the heat in the metal. These types of systems are sometimes described as holding a similar visual aspect as a sky-light, although they tend to be larger than a typical fanlight. Flat home base aggregators can be positioned on roofs or walls.Evacuated Tube CollectorsThese are made of rows of analogue, crystalline glass tubings. Inside each tubing is a level or curved metal home base, attached to a pipe. They are more efficient because heat loss by convection is negligible compared to the level home base aggregator system. They therefore tend to necessitate less country, but can be more expensive.Photo-Voltaic ( PV )PV systems convert solar radiation into electricity. The greater the strength of the visible radiation, the greater the flow of electricity. PV solar panels may change in visual aspect, but they are by and large dark in coloring material and have low brooding belongingss. They can besides change in size and are normally grouped together to organize a PV array to run into the needed end product of electricity. A typical PV array on a home house will cover an country of between 9-18m2. They have no moving parts, generate no noise or emanations, and can be integrated into all types of edifices – houses, commercial and public edifices. PV solar panels can either be mounted on constructions or free-standing, and come in a scope of signifiers such as faculties, laminates and solar tiles. PV solar panels or tile systems can be used in topographic point of, or in add-on to, traditional roof or facade stuffs. They can intermix in with the built environment to understate the aesthetic impact on the edifi ce. These types of merchandises can function a double map: as edifice stuff and as a beginning of renewable energy. They may be installed on bing constructions, although costs may be lower if they are integrated into the design of new constructions. Presently, a PV system will be between ?4.5k and ?1Ok per kWp, and often portion of this cost can be offset owing to the supplanting of a conventional facing stuff. Costss have fallen significantly since the first systems were installed and are predicted to fall farther still. Deployment in the UK had started with several building-integrated field test strategies and a major presentation programme. While individual crystal Si remains the most efficient level home base engineering ( 1 5-1 6 % transition efficiency ) , it besides has the least possible for cost decrease. PV cells made from multicrystalline Si have become popular as they are less expensive to bring forth, although they have a somewhat lower efficiency. Thin movie faculties are constructed by lodging highly thin beds of light-sensitive stuffs on a low-priced backup such as glass, unstained steel or plastic. As much less semiconducting material stuff is required than for crystalline Si cells, stuff costs are potentially much lower. Efficiencies are much lower, around 4-5 % , although this can be boosted to 8-10 % by.depositing two or three beds of thin movie stuff. Thin movie production besides requires less managing as the movies are produced as big, complete faculties and non as single cells that have to be mounted in frames and wired together. Hence, there is the possible for important cost decreases with volume production. In future, stuffs such as dye-sensitised polymers may offer very-low-cost PV stuffs, but the efficiency of these stuffs demands to be improved from their present low degrees ( 1-2 % ) . Since PVs generate DC end product, an inverter and other equipment is needed to present the power to a edifice or the grid in an acceptable AC signifier. The cost of the inverter and these ‘Balance Of System ‘ ( BOS ) constituents can near 50 % of the entire cost of a PV system. Hence, simplification and cost decreases in these constituents over the coming old ages will besides be necessary to do PV systems low-cost.Micro combined heat and power ( micro CHP )What is micro CHP?‘Micro-CHP ‘ bases for micro combined heat and power. This refers to a warming engineering which generates heat and electricity at the same time, from the same energy beginning, in single places or edifices. The chief end product of a micro-CHP system is heat with some electricity coevals, at a typical ratio of approximately 6:1 for domestic contraptions. Any electricity generated and non used in the place can be exported back to the grid. A typical domestic system is expected to hold the possible to bring forth up to 1kW of electricity per hr one time warmed up. This would be plenty to power the lighting and contraptions in a typical place. The sum of electricity generated finally depends on how long the system is running. Most domestic micro-CHP systems today use mains gas or LPG as a warming fuel, although they can besides be powered by oil or bio fuels. While gas and oil are non renewable energy beginnings ( they are fossil fuels ) , the engineering is still considered to be a ‘low C engineering ‘ because it is more efficient than merely firing the dodo fuel for heat and acquiring electricity from the national grid. Micro-CHP systems are comparable in size and form to an ordinary, modern, domestic boiler and can be wall hung like most boilers, or floor standing. Servicing costs and care are estimated to be similar to a standard boiler – although a specializer will be required. The lone difference to a standard boiler is that they are able to bring forth electricity while they are heating H2O.A What are the benefits?Micro-CHP has a figure of benefits, including:Electricity coevals as a byproduct of heatWhen the micro-CHP is bring forthing heat, the internal engine or fuel celll will besides bring forth electricity to be used in your place ( or exported ) .Carbon nest eggsBy bring forthing electricity on-site you are salvaging important sums of C as there are minimum losingss happening as compared with the grid.Fiscal incomeMicro-CHP is eligible for Feed-in Tariffs and you will gain 10p for each kWh generated by your system. You will besides have 3p for each kWh you export.Installation is easyThere is really small complexness to put ining a micro-CHP unit. If you already have a conventional boiler so a micro-CHP unit should be able to replace it as it ‘s approximately the same size. Given the electricity generated, an lineman will besides be involved w ith the installing but this is something the installer will organize.A How does micro CHP work?There are 3 chief micro-CHP engineerings. The difference is the manner in which they generate electricity, which can be done in the undermentioned ways: Stirling engine Fuel cell Internal burning engine Stirling Engine micro-CHP is new to the market, although the principal of the Stirling engine is good established. By and large Stirling engine micro CHP requires a short warm up period before they start bring forthing electrical power. Stirling engines are typically for edifices with smaller heat demands and would be appropriate for domestic applications in the UK. The latest Stirling engine based micro CHP units allow electricity to be generated earlier after being turned on, and are more efficient at bring forthing heat. Stirling engine micro-CHP contraptions are now being installed in places in the UK. Fuel cell CHP engineering is new to the market in the UK and globally. Fuel cells work by taking energy from fuel at a chemical degree instead than firing it. The engineering is still at developmental phase and non presently available to consumers. Internal burning engine CHP is the most proved engineering. These are basically, and sometimes literally, truck diesel engines modified to run on natural gas or warming oil, which are connected straight to an electrical generator. Heat is so taken from the engine ‘s cooling H2O and fumes manifold. By and large they produce twice every bit much heat as electrical power and have, to day of the month, been chiefly used in larger commercial-scale applications in the UK.A Geting the most out of a micro CHPMicro-CHP systems should ever be installed and run to run into the warming demands of the edifice, instead than to bring forth more heat than is needed merely to run into electricity demand. The electricity generated should be treated as a utile byproduct of heat coevals. For this ground, electricity will merely be generated when there is a heat demand. Most domestic micro CHP systems will hold two burners, one little ( engine burner ) and one big ( auxiliary burner ) . Electricity will be produced whist utilizing a little burner, so pull offing the usage of your warming and hot H2O will do certain you get the best ratio of heat to electricity as possible. For illustration, if you heat hot H2O entirely so the boiler will merely utilize the little burner and generate electricity. However, if you want to heat hot H2O and H2O for infinite warming at the same clip the boiler may hold to utilize the larger burner so use more gas and non bring forth any extra electricity than if you were merely utilizing the little burner entirely. If the heat end product additions beyond 6kW the micro-CHP will non bring forth extra electricity above 1kW. Before sing micro CHP you should carefully reexamine your one-year heat ingestion. Since they merely generate electricity when there is a heat demand, Micro-CHP systems are most cost effectual in houses with big heat demands that can non be reduced by other agencies such as upgrading insularity, draft proofing and other low C heat engineerings such as wood ranges. For difficult to handle belongingss, such as older edifices, which have a higher than normal heat burden and where it ‘s really hard to handle so a micro-CHP unit may be an option. ( Energy Saving Trust UK Scotland )Wind energy engineeringWind power is the most successful and fastest distributing renewable energy engineering in the UK with a figure of single and group installings of changing size, capacity and location. Traditionally, turbines are installed in non-urban countries with a strong tendency for big offshore air current farms. In analogue with the design and development of ever-bigger machines, which are deemed to be more efficient and cost-efficient, it is being progressively recognised that smaller devices installed at the point of usage, i.e. urban scenes, can play an of import function in cut downing C emanations if they become mainstream. At present there is a broad scope of available off-the-rack air current merchandises, many manufactured in the UK and EU with proven good public presentation and lastingness. The dominant type is horizontal axis air current turbines ( HAWT ) , which are typically ground mounted. Vertical axis air current turbines ( VAWT ) have limited market presence and there is a tradeoff between lower efficiency and potentially higher opposition to extreme conditions. Capacity ranges from 500W to more than 1 SMW, but, for practical intents and in built-up countries in peculiar, machines of more than 1 kilowatts and below 500kW are likely to be considered. Wind engineering is besides presently one of the most cost-efficient renewable energy engineerings, which is attributable to the big graduated table of installings cut downing the unit end product cost. Individual edifice or community wind undertakings, although smaller, have the advantage of feeding electricity straight into the edifice ‘s electricity circuit, therefore saving dearly-won distribution web development and avoiding distribution losingss. The downside is the still high capital cost per kilowatt installed for smaller turbines, plus location restraints, such as ocular invasion and noise. The air current government in urban countries is besides a concern owing to higher air current turbulency which reduces the possible electricity end product. In most instances, wind turbines are connected to the electricity grid and all generated energy is used irrespective of the edifice demand fluctuations. The end product mostly depends on the air current velocity and the correla tivity between the two is a cube map. This means that in short periods of above-average air current speeds the coevals increases exponentially. As a consequence, it is hard to do precise computations of the one-year end product of a turbine, but mean figures can supply utile counsel to interior decorators and designers. In moderately blowy countries ( mean wind velocity of 6m/s ) the expected end product from 1 kilowatts installed is about 2500kWh yearly. The cost per kilowatt installed varies well by maker and size of machine with an declarative bracket of ?2,500-?5,000. With a lifetime of more than 20 old ages, wind turbines can salvage money if design and planning are carried out in a robust manner. Building-integrated air current turbines are get downing to be a world in the UK, but possible undertakings may confront troubles with obtaining be aftering permission. There are a few illustrations now of permitted development rights for certain rooftop turbines in some local councils. A figure of horizontal axis devices specifically designed for edifice integrating are now available commercially, holding design and dependability parametric quantities relevant to the urban context. Building-mounted perpendicular axis devices are under development. At present, turbines installed near edifices, every bit good as community installings for groups of edifices, should be regarded as the larger air current energy beginning related to edifices, when they contribute to the C emanations from these premises utilizing ‘private wire ‘ webs. However, the part of several building-integrated turbines in a development is likely to go important in the following few old ages.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Marketing journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Marketing journal - Essay Example Normally surveys are conducted demographically to determine various segments of buyers according to age, sex, education, location and other factors. However this kind of division fails to highlight the motivation of the consumer and often marketing based on such results is disappointing. A good method of measuring this has been devised by SRIC-BI who has conducted psychological survey of thousands of consumers from every walk of life during 1987-92. They call it VALS. This survey attempts to analyze the inherent instincts or psychological traits of the consumer that have developed over his/her experiences and knowledge and have become the drivers of purchase decisions. This has provided an insight about why we buy. I undertook this seemingly incongruous survey that seemed simple and somewhat inconsequential. However the results highlighted my attitude and aptitude and I must admit that it was able to capture the essence of my personality. The survey categorized me into the segment called Thinkers. Under VALS terminology the three segmentations of consumers are determined by their motivation. These are Innovators, Thinkers and Survivors. The descriptions are indicative of their capabilities; the innovators are daring and will be easily induced to trying new products and experimenting with the unknown; the thinkers are conservatives but willing to try new products within the existing parameters of their attitudes and aptitudes; while the survivors are those who are practical and will make decisions only according to their means. Recently I decided to buy a laptop for use in my consulting profession. My requirements were that the product had to be easily portable, that would not fail at a critical moment, should be reasonably priced and, since it was a high-tech gadget, good and prompt after sales service should be available whenever and wherever needed.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

How did the Spanish-American War change America's role in the world In Research Paper

How did the Spanish-American War change America's role in the world In what ways did America's global role stay the same after the war - Research Paper Example s—in extending our commercial relations—to have with them as little political connection as possible.†1 As a corollary to this principle of non-intervention, or isolationism, America remained steadfast in her support of the freedom struggles and democratic movements of other countries, but refused to become embroiled in war by â€Å"spreading our ideals throughout the world by force of arms.†2  This policy came to an end in 1898, with the Spanish-American War. The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain that began in 1895. American public sympathy for the revolutionaries was exacerbated by the yellow press, reporting atrocities committed by the Spanish General, Valeriano Weyler. American investments in Cuba and the perception of the strategic importance of the island in Central America, led President McKinley to dispatch the battleship USS Maine to Havana, to pressurize Spain. The mysterious explosion of the Maine in February 1898 was attributed to Spain, and public outrage enabled McKinley to enter the Spanish-American War in April 1898. American victory was declared in August. Under the Treaty of Paris, in December 1898, Cuba became an American Protectorate under the Platt Amendment of 1902, Puerto Rico and Guam were received from Spain as indemnity and the Philippines was ceded to America after the Battle of Manila Bay, for $ twenty million.3 The repercussions of the Spanish-American War led to the annexation of the Philippines, which was made an American colony, after the suppression of the Filipino Insurrection, led by Emilio Aguinaldo. Intellectuals, like Senator Albert Beveridge, used the concept of ‘Manifest Destiny,’ to justify overseas expansion. Josiah Strong’s Our Country (1885), and Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘The White Man’s Burden’ (1899), based on ‘Social Darwinian,’ considered it the ‘duty’ of the ‘superior’ Anglo-Saxon race to spread Christian and Democratic values to ‘backward’ people.

Copy right and plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Copy right and plagiarism - Essay Example The resources are the book CAE and the documentary presspauseplay. The documentary presspauseplay relates with the CAE in that they are talking about the existence of the same phenomena. The documentary talks about the internet and technology in relation to artistry, creativity and talent. It poses the question as to whether the use of technology in the art world is a development or the beginning of the end of the talent world. The CAE on the other hand talks about plagiarism and its usage before, now and the future and whether it is good for the art world as well. There is a similarity in the thinking of the two works of art in that the documentary interviews world renowned and influential creators of the digital era who talk about the goodness of the digital technological advancement even if it infringes on the copyright issue. Musicians like Lykke Li and Robyn think that technology is a blessing. Robyn says that â€Å"several years ago it was hard to even produce a song since you needed to be older, have a little recording money and know the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of the industry and it took months to do what can now be done in five minutes†(Press Pause Play). Lykke Li also thanks the internet and technology because she says, â€Å"I would not be here I’m here because of the Internet. I would probably not be here without the Internet†. CAE also talk about some influential people who thank the internet and technology as being the factors to placing them where they are at the time. An example from the book is Theodor Nelson who studied computer programming in the 1960s say, â€Å"over the periods I came to realize that although programmers structured their data hierarchically, they didn’t have to. I began to see the computer as the ideal place for making interconnections among things accessible to people†(CAE). This was also seconded by Vannevarbush and his

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Analysis of Dividend Policy Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Analysis of Dividend Policy - Literature review Example If the debt-to-equity ratio is in favor of the former the manager would have greater dispersion in determining the dividend policy. More debt means less tax liability and less dividend payout. When debt holders power increases vis--vis equity holders dividend policy becomes an instrument in the hands of the manager to play each group against the other (Pike, & Neale, 2003). The dividend policy and the capital market structure of the firm can be examined with reference to a number of theories. The Modigliani-Miller Theorem is the earliest of such theories to consider the relevance of capital structure to determine the value of a firm (Ross, Westerfield, & Jaffe, 2002). In recent times these theoretical constructs have been developed in line with an ever increasing tendency to consider the leverage issue of the company. Leveraging by managers to achieve exclusive personal goals is nothing new. In fact, it's the conflict of interests between the principals or owners (or shareholders) and the agents (or managers) that have thrust the issue of leverage to the fore. In other words, the complex issues revolving around the capital structure of the firm are basically influenced by this conflict in which managers tend to have more information about the probable outcomes of future investments than shareholders. Thus this information asymmetry leads to a series of other problems.Disagreement between managers' behavior on the one hand and the shareholders' behavior on the other gives rise to a series of other related problems, e.g. information asymmetry, agency costs, taxation and bankruptcy costs. Information asymmetry refers to the manager's ability to control the flow of information in his favor so that the principal or the owner would have less access to information (Jonathan, & DeMarzo, 2007). Agency costs are related to the principal-agent relationship. For example, when a principal hires an agent he does so with the intention that the latter would act in conformance with certain rules to bring about what the former wishes.However, the motivating factor behind such performance is monetary compensation such a good salary to the manager. Therefore such behavior on the part of the manager would not be in his best interest. His tendency to deviate from what is expected of him is common among all managers. In order to reduce such negative be havior, the manager must be adequately compensated. However, the principal does not know what the agent would do to ensure that his own interest prevails. Costs that are associated with this behavior are known as principal-agent costs or the principal-agent problem.(a). Asset substitution effect Assuming that projects are riskier, there is still a fairer chance of success against failure thus obliging both debt-holders and shareholders to condone such risky investment decisions on the part of managers. However, in the long run with new projects rising, the value of the firm is bound to decrease while a net transfer of wealth from debt-holders to shareholders is more likely.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Population - Essay Example From these projections, we can see that the future population growth seems to slow down as compared to the past growth which accounted for most of the increase in food demand. However, although the population growth in developing countries shows promising reduction rate, it will still be slightly higher than that of developed countries. This could be mainly because of higher fertility rates in the developing countries than the developed countries. There is always the threat of a society overtaxing the available agricultural resources thus returning to a subsistence level of existence. This is the Malthusian catastrophe which depends on the fact of exponential human population growth and arithmetic growth of agricultural resources. To prevent the possibility of a growing human population with demands that surpass agricultural capability, there should be a way to avert radical social changes such as a decline in population. One such solution is the reduction of fertility rates by promoting the use of birth control methods especially in the developing countries. This is because they have higher fertility rates thus higher population growth rates. This method would substantially reduce the growing difference between the developing and developed nations thus avert the Malthusian

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Australian Automobile Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Australian Automobile Market - Essay Example Videos of new launches and product features should be hosted on YouTube which would draw an attractive viewership. Traditional mass media advertising has to be maintained through TV, radio, Billboard advertising and outdoor advertising. Distribution channels should be both direct and indirect. The direct channel should be through the internet which would allow the customers to place orders, make suggestions, see the presentations, and customize their own vehicles. The indirect channel through the dealers is necessary as many would first like to physically see the product before ordering it. Thus a change in the marketing mix can help the company to face the challenge of the downturn. The car sales in Australia have been steadily decreasing throughout 2008. Recorded sales of the automobile industry in November 2008 were lowest for five and half years. As such the current position of Holden SS Ute would help to suggest recommendations for its future marketing mix. The Holden SS Ute was launched in Australia in August 2007. It is a coupe utility built by Holden, the Australia subsidiary of General Motors. This car-truck hybrid range has a number of models in its series and is a sports utility vehicle. It comes with 6-Disc CD Audio system with MP3 compatibility and its safety and security system are in place. It also has side curtain and side-impact airbags for the safety of the passengers and the crew. The vehicles have 17† alloy wheels and Sports Suspension. Customers find the interiors extremely comfortable and the service costs are very cheap (Product Review, 2009). Overall it is a premium performance product with high-end performance. Customers have more choice, more flexibility, and more features. The vehicle integrates sports car performance, ride, and handling, together with a functional load carrying capability.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

McDonald’s and Its Crisis Essay Example for Free

McDonald’s and Its Crisis Essay What should a company do when its core product is considered â€Å"unhealthy† or even â€Å"harmful† by the public? Is it even possible for such a company survive and thrive; or will it have to shut down its business? McDonald’s fast food has for a long time been considered unhealthy by the public. In recent years, the health conscious trends have become increasingly popular. Moreover, many scientific studies and findings have surfaced and successfully confirmed that children’s increasing intake of fast food, which often contains high sodium content, sugars, saturated fats, and calories, for a long period of time would lead to childhood obesity. Moreover, obese children have a much higher risk of many health problems such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancersall of which are fatal if left untreated. In 2010, a mother from California sued McDonald’s over the company’s marketing practice of Happy Meal. The mother claimed that McDonald’s used alluring toys to lure kids into Happy Meal. This lawsuit, which might be viewed by many as senseless and absurd, was one of McDonald’s biggest cases. In order to come out of the lawsuit ahead, this largest fast food chain had to undergo some major organizational changes. In this paper, we would like to use the knowledge learned in the class to analyze the event (the lawsuit) and its effects on McDonald’s. The paper will have four main parts. In the first part, we provide a brief introduction of the company, McDonald’s, and the lawsuit. In the second part, we will use the concepts learned in class to analyze Happy Meal’s influencing strategies and the organizational changes during and after the suit. We believe that Happy Meal’s influencing strategies deserve our attention as they were the main causes of the crisis. Since its Happy Meal’s influencing tactics were so effectively and successfully executed, McDonald’s became the obvious target of the mentioned legal dispute. In the third part, we will offer our evaluations, pros and cons, of McDonald’s strategies and tactics in handling the crisis. Finally, in the fourth part, depending on our evaluation of how McDonald’s control of the situation, we want to offer our recommendation to parts of the company’s strategies which in our opinions could have been improved. Also, since we overall felt that McDonald’s managed the crisis extremely well, we recommend its strategies to be implemented to Jack in the Box, which faced a similar situation to McDonald’s. However, unlike McDonald’s which vigorously fight for the continuation of its using toys to push Happy Meal sales, Jack in the Box decided to drop toys in its Happy Meal when it was faced with the pressure from the public. We believe McDonald’s implementation of strategic changes could have helped Jack in the Box to put toys back to its Happy Meal. I Introduction McDonald’s Corporation is the worlds leading food service organization. The corporation started out as a small drive-through in 1948 by two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald. In 1961, Raymond Albert Kroc, a salesman, saw a great opportunity in the market at the time and bought the business from the McDonald brothers. By 1967, McDonald’s began its first business expansion to countries outside of the United States. This unyielding expansion resulted in the opening of 23,000 McDonalds restaurants in 110 countries in 1994. Today, McDonalds, the leading fast food chain, had twice the market share of its closest U.S. competitor, Burger King. In fact, McDonald’s market share represented 7 percent of total U.S. eating-out sales (Cohen, 2009, p8-2, p8-3). There are several major influences and factorssuch as government, customers, social trends, and so forthwhich play an important role in shaping organizational behavior.In the recent years, McDonald’s corporate image has been negatively affected by adverse publicity. For example, McDonald’s has been criticized of paying its employees low wages and enforcing an aggressive anti-union policy throughout its fast-food empire. Furthermore, the corporation was heavily condemned by the public for exploiting children market and causing childhood obesity. Indeed, McDonald’s has been using advertising which mainly targeted children. As a result, according to the survey to American school student in 1996, 96 percent of all children could identify Ronald McDonald (Cohen, 2011, p8-5). How was McDonald’s able to achieve the above result? McDonald’s children marketing strategies were very simple but extremely effectiveto give small toys as a treatment to children in order to appeal to their interests. With the repeated uses of this psychological influencing tactic, children would subconsciously make a connection between McDonald’s and toys. Therefore, children, who were under the influences of McDonald’s marketing strategies, could not help to think of McDonald’s whenever thinking of toys. The plaintiff, Monet Parham, a California mother of two, sued McDonald’s overly exploiting children market on Oct 2010 (Dan, 2011).She claimed that McDonald’s gave out alluring toys that come with the meals in order to lure kids into unhealthy diet. The mother also stated that â€Å"McDonald’s make it so much harder to say no to her kids when they are really want those toys† (York, 2010). The CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) confirmed that â€Å"kids do not have the cognitive maturity to understand the persuasive intent of advertising† (York, 2010). Later on, the ban of serving Happy Meals with toys was easily passed by the Board of Supervisors in an 8-3 vote, which would take effect on Dec 1st, 2011 if McDonald’s didn’t meets the nutritional standards of meal in San Francisco till that time (San Francisco Happy Meal Toy Ban Takes Effect,2012). McDonald’s quickly made response to this event. The fast food chain’s spokeswoman, Bridget Coffing, told the LA Times newspaper: We are confident that parents understand and appreciate that Happy Meals are a fun treat, with quality, right-sized food choices for their children that can fit into a balanced diet, (York, 2010). McDonalds said that it would defend itself against the lawsuit. Meanwhile, it started offering apple slices and milks in the new Happy Meals. Eventually, the San Francisco judge dismissed the suit since McDonalds was able to meet the required nutritional standards.†¨ In the next part, we will assess this problem relate to the concept of influence and organizational change. II Course Concepts Related To The Event Influence â€Å"Influence is any communication which produces a change in an action and/or an attitude in one or more people.† Influence is one of the most important management strategies in any organization. A strong influence tactic includes role of planning and dialogue, establish credibility, frame goals and common ground, vividly reinforce your position and connect emotionally (Wong, Influence and persuasion, 2012). In this case, although McDonald’s was sued by alluring children, they indeed occupied the children market successfully. In order to establish an influence, one must first establish communicationexchanges of dialogue. McDonald’s did good at emotional influence and ingratiation. The company created a clown character named Ronald and featured it on local TV in early 1960s. Then, people were employed to perform live Ronald McDonald clowns at children’s birthday parties held in restaurants. Ronald McDonald had a magic touch with children giving McDonald’s an important advantage over its competitors in the children market (Cohen, 2011, p8-5). With Ronald McDonald mascot so successful as a communication tool, McDonald’s went one step further to establish its credibility in children’s minds. This was not hard for the leading fast food chain as it is a common notionand quite truethat children are in most cases easy to influence. Then, how did McDonald’s make children trust it? The answer is easymake the children happy. For example, children were happy when gifts such as Ronald dolls and wristwatches were given free with every purchases of Happy Meals. McDonald’s also used toys of characters from popular movies appeal to children. In this aspect, they used influence of ingratiation effectively. Ingratiation means do something what the person likes. For example, a recent and very successful Happy Meal promotion was a tie-in with the popular DreamWorks Animation film Shrek Forever After. The meals included toy watches fashioned after the movies characters Shrek, Donkey, Gingy and Puss in Boots (Dan, 2011). Furthermore, McDonald’s needed to create a common goalas to what it stands forwith children. With free toys and the always smiling Ronald McDonald, McDonald’s convinced children that the company and its restaurants stands for happiness and enjoyment. However, just establishing common goal and credibility is not enough to make an effective influence, the communicating message and/or idea must be vividly reinforced and emotionally connected with the target audience. According to the Fast Food FACTS Report, young people viewed enormous amounts of fast food advertising. Every day, the average preschooler saw 2.8 fast food ads on television, the average child saw 3.5, and the average teen saw 4.7. Teens listened to approximately one radio ad per day. Children were exposed to more than 1,200 traditional fast food ads per year while teens saw and heard more than 2,000. (Harris, Schwartz Brownell, 2010, p132) Thus, with its spending of $900 million in media in 2009, McDonald’s made sure that the company’s image was vividly reinforced and emotionally connected in the minds of many children (Harris, Schwartz Brownell, 2010, p132). In sum, McDonald’s influencing strategies were so successful that 90 percent of the children go to McDonald’s once a month (Fast Food Marketing to Children, 2010). Nevertheless, McDonald’s effective influencing strategies made it a target for one of the biggest lawsuit in the fast food industry. In the next part, we will discuss how McDonald’s applied its strategic changes to overcome the crisis. †¨Organizational Change For years, critics have been criticizing McDonald’s and its role in America’s obesity problemspecifically the franchise’s aggressive marketing strategies toward children. As the lawsuit pointed out, McDonald’s used toys to lure children and in turn set kids up for a lifetime of health problems. The leadership and management of an organization must be prepared for a turbulent environment which demands more complex planning for the future. The phrase â€Å"organizational change† is about a significant change in the organization, such as reorganization or adding a major new product or service. In fact, there are six forces creating the need of change—the changing nature of the work force, technology, economics shocks, changing social trends, the â€Å"new† world politics, and the changing nature of competitions. (Stephen,1992, p.270) From this lawsuit, we could find evidences of a major force, changing social trend. As the health conscious became a more and more popular, people will be looking for healthy food that is low in calories, fat and sodium. In the American, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years. Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control, seventy percent of obese children have higher risk for cardiovascular disease, and are at â€Å"greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem† (Centers for disease, 2012). The publics pointed a finger at McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast food company, who use of Happy Meal toys to lure children. This situation made McDonald’s under heavy criticism from public health officials, parents, lawmakers and so on because they are frustrated with rising childhood obesity rates and weak anti-obesity efforts from fast food restaurant operators. Oftentimes, organizations are confronted with problems in the environment or with internal contingencies suggesting that â€Å"current ways of doing things are not effective† (Miller, 2012, p180). When facing the changing forces, organizations often make changes gradually. Of course, the implementation of planned change is neither a simple nor a straight-forward process (Miller, 2012, p181). In fact, it took McDonalds six years (from 1984 to 1990) to react to pressure group tactics and litigation before starting to adapt its service offer to the dietary concerns of its customers. At the very beginning, the company just made some modestly changes, such as using light oil, adding 2% milk into the menu before actually launching new products such as the McVeggie, the McLean, and pizza in the 1990s (Joanne Caroline, 2006). If we consider McDonald’s step-by-step changes, in the above examples, organizational planned change in response to social trend, the fast food franchise’ reactions to the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) lawsuit then can be defined as â€Å"unplanned change†. According to Coombs (1999, p.2), organizational crisis is â€Å"an event that is an unpredictable, major threat that can have a negative effect on the organization, industry, or stakeholders if handled improperly.† In other words, crisis is unplanned change that can rock an organization and all the people associated with it. In response to this lawsuit, on December 15 2010, McDonald’s posted on its website a Response to CSPI Lawsuit: We are proud of our Happy Meals and intend to vigorously defend our brand, our reputation and our food. We stand on our 30 years track record of providing a fun experience for kids and families at McDonald’s. We listen to our customers, and parents consistently tell us they approve of our Happy Meals. We are confident that parents understand and appreciate that Happy Meals are a fun treat, with quality, right-sized food choices for their children that can fit into a balanced diet. (Bridget, 2010) Later on, McDonald’s made it clear that the fast food chain had begun to make changes to the composition of Happy Meals in response to parental and consumer pressure. It also pledged to reduce the sodium content in all of its foods by 15 percent, with the exceptions of soda and desserts. Moreover, it set a deadline of 2015 for limiting salt, and said that it would spend the rest of this decade cutting back on sugars, saturated fats and calories and making adjustments to portion sizes. The new Happy Meals were introduced in September and launched across the company’s 14,000 restaurants on April 2012. They would all include apple slices, but in a smaller amount of three to five slices than the current eight to 10 offered as an alternative (Stephanie, 2011). McDonald’s will also offer a fat-free chocolate milk option, along with the option of low-fat milk or the traditional soda. The price is not expected to change (Andrew,2011). Furthermore, as part of an effort to provide better access to nutritional information about its foods, McDonald’s developed its first mobile application for the public. Additionally, in 2011, McDonald’s executives toured the country to hear directly from consumers about their concerns (Alex, 2011). In the next part, we would like to offer our evaluations, pros and cons, of McDonald’s strategies and tactics in handling the crisis. III Evaluation As we could image, the sales of Happy Meals have been a large contributions to McDonald’s daily revenue. Thus, if McDonald’s had lost the lawsuit, the company would have faced a really huge lost on its total profits and taken serious damage on its reputation. On the side of the organization change, we believe that McDonald’s did quite well in the face of the crisis. Organization crisis could be divided into three stages: pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis (Miler, 2012, p187). In the pre-crisis stage, an organization should protect or prevent possible problems. It should make employees have a kind of consciousness of crisis all the time. Indeed, McDonald’s has always been accused of selling unhealthy, greasy food to grownups, and exploiting children through advertising since 1960s (Cohen,2009,p8-6). As a leading company in fast food industry, adverse publicity always be the major problem for McDonald’s. Still, McDonald’s couldn’t find a way to solve this problem at all. It is necessary that a company grow with self-awareness against any problem. After all, McDonald’s had got unfavorable publicity in this event what had happened before. During the crisis stage, it is very important that the company should make correct and wise decisions in order to salvage the damaged reputation. As we said before, on one side, McDonald’s projected itself as a company which was proud of its products and would vigorously defend its reputation in order to calm down concerned customers . On the other side, McDonald’s announced that it would reduce the portion of French fries in every Happy Meal by half and replace them with apple slices. It even promised to start serving healthier food in the new Happy Meal to meet the nutrition standards. Indeed, McDonalds made very quick response to this event, and they also pointed out that parents could always choose not to buy happy meals for their kids instead of criticizing the corporation’s marketing strategies. After making the changes, McDonald’s operation was not impacted too much. Lastly, in the post-crisis stage, company should take lessons from this and establish backup plans for similar crisis which may happen in the future. Apparently, even after the crisis, Happy Meal was not banned. Furthermore, it has become a huge hit for McDonalds and even made the company one of the worlds largest toy distributors. As a result, more and more companies wanted to corporate with McDonalds. For example, many animation film companies wanted to team up with McDonald’s in order to take advantage of this fast food franchise’ huge market influence in promoting their movies. In sum, with its achievements overweight shortcoming, McDonald’s had a good handle on the whole crisis. Nevertheless, even the crisis had passed, this leading fast food chain suffered from public criticism regarding its products. In the future, we believe that McDonald’s should develop an effective strategy to help improve its brand image and a better risk management methodology to help mitigating coming crisis. In the next part of the paper, we want to offer our recommendation to help McDonald’s better handling similar situation. Also, since we overall felt that McDonald’s managed the crisis extremely well, we would like to recommend its strategies to be implemented to Jack in the Box, which faced a similar situation to McDonald’s. However, unlike McDonald’s which vigorously fight for the continuation of its using toys to push Happy Meal sales, Jack in the Box decided to drop toys in its Happy Meal when it was faced with the pressure from the public. We believe McDonald’s implementation of strategic changes could have helped Jack in the Box to put toys back to its Happy Meal. IV Recommendation and Implementation Recommendation for McDonald’s Obviously, McDonald’s managed the crisis really well. In fact, the nutrition of Happy Meal was improved as the calories were reduced substantially. Because the lawsuit was dismissed, McDonald’s continued sell Happy Meal with toys. In the end, McDonald’s didn’t have to change its children’s influence strategy. Even though McDonald’s made its Happy Meal healthier, we believe that their changes to the meal could be bigger, such as change the cheeseburger to a healthier burger with vegetable inside and make chicken nuggets with real chicken instead of minced meat. Also, McDonald’s could reduce the attraction to children or change a different way. For example, the fast food chain could design an advertisement to advocate children to eat healthy, such as drink milk and eat fruit. Furthermore, McDonald’s could optimize the influence aspect. For instance, McDonald’s could use influence strategy to encourage more people to do char ity and educate children to eat healthy and exercise frequently. Recommendation for Jack in the Box In 2011, under heavy public’s criticism, Jack in the Box decided to stop giving out free toys with the purchases of Happy Meal. Obviously, the scale of the crisis faced by Jack in the Box was much smaller than that faced by McDonald’s. However, we felt that Jack in the Box could benefit greatly by learning from McDonalds way of handling its crisis. We also have some recommendations for Jack in the Box based on the successful influence strategy of McDonald’s. According to the survey, McDonalds Happy Meal accounted for about 10 percent of the chain’s U.S. sales in 2010. The sales of McDonalds Happy Meals alone were more than Jack in the Box’s total sales (Maureen, 2011). This fact showed us that the influence strategy used by McDonalds was extremely effective. A spokesman of Jack in the Box said that the franchise’s target customers were â€Å"the frequent fast food consumer† or adults from 18 to 34. Therefore, we recommend Jack in the Box to use the same influence strategy to their target customer. The fast food chain could also use emotion and/or ingratiation influence to attract customers. For example, Jack in the Box could design online games for adults who gained access to the games with free codes offered with purchases of Happy Meals. Moreover, the company could design a discount card for the customers who accumulate a certain sum of consumption. Unlike McDonald’s which vigorously fight so that it could continue using toys to promote Happy Meal, Jack in the Box decided to drop toys in its Happy Meal when it was faced with the similar pressure from the public. We believed that many of the McDonald’s organizational changes could be copied and apply in Jack in the Box. This would allow Jack in the Box to continue selling its Happy Meal with toys. For example, Jack in the Box could change the composition of Happy Meal toward a more healthier trends—such as reducing the sodium content, sugars, saturated fats, and calories to its foods; including vegetables and fruits in the menu; and offering tea, juice, and milk as alternatives to the traditional soda beverages. Jack in the Box also needed to let its customers know of its commitment in making its products healthier. The reason provided by Jack in the Box regarding its letting go of Happy Meal’s toys was that it waned the Happy Meal to appeal to parents. Brian Luscomb, Jack in the Box’s spokesman, commented: â€Å"Rather than promote a toy weve focused on the quality of products in our Kids Meals, like a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough, grilled or crispy chicken strips, or a hamburger. We believe that providing these kinds of options is more appealing to a parent than packaging a toy with lower-quality fare†(Bernstein, 2011). However, we believed that Jack in the Box could benefit greatly from expanding its Happy Meal’s target market to include children. To achieve this, Jack in the Box would need to facilitate strategic change†the process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives† (Wong, Organizational change, 2012). In this case, the strategic plan would include extensive products innovation. For example, Jack in the Box could use popular toys and online games to attract children to its Happy Meal. The burger franchise chain could also build playgrounds inside its stores. This offered children with fun and healthy exercises. Implementation for Jack in the Box As we discussed above, Jack in the Box could drew on McDonald’s successful tactics to appeal more customers to consume their products. We found McDonald’s influence tactic could be successfully implemented on Jack in the Box due to two main reasons. The first reason is the industry similarity. Jack in the Box is one of the nations largest hamburger chains with more than 2,200 restaurants in 19 states. Also, just like McDonald’s, Jack in the Box is also a member of the fast food hamburger restaurant (FFHR) industry. This is an industry characterized by high competitiveness and risk. Although Jack in the Box is concentrated on the West Coastprimarily in California, the competition is still intensive. In this industry, McDonald’s is the only fast food chain to occupy nearly 13 percent of the US market (McDonald’s Report, 2010). There is no reason that Jack in the Box could not benefit from learning from the market leader, McDonald’s. The second reason is the easy-to-influence target customers. As we mentioned before, Jack in the Box’s target consumer are youth, aged 18 to 34. This group of customer is the most active part. They are independent buyers. This means that they could choose the thing they want without asking their parents’ permission or admission. Another character of this customer group is economic dependent. This group of customer typically has incomes and also can take charge of their money. The situation is much better than McDonald’s children market. Also, this group customer of Jack in the Box likes keeping pace with the trend. We think if Jack in the Box could use the influence tactic cater to its target consumers, they could further expand their market share in the future. However, in implementing aggressive marketing strategies, Jack in the Box would certainly be criticized by the public. Still, we believed that if Jack in the Box continues making its Happy Meal healthier and supporting the surrounding community through various charity activitiessuch as donating part of its Happy Meal’s profit to children hospitals, giving free Happy Meals to the homeless, and so forth, it can enjoy increase profit and at the same time maintain good public image. Reference: Alex, M. (July 26, 2011). McDonalds Happy Meal to include sliced apples, less fries. Retrieved from http://www.christianpost.com/news/mcdonalds-happy-meal-to-include-sliced-apples-52867/#gKDYWvXCIJGSO8g1.99 Andrew, L. (July 28, 2011). McDonalds adds apple slices, reaction to Happy Meal lawsuit?†¨Retrieved from http://chicagopersonalinjurylegalblog.com/2011/07/mcdonalds-adds-apple-slices-reaction-to-happy-meal-lawsuit.html Bernstein, S. (2011, June 20). Jack in the Box stops including toys in kids meals [updated]. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/06/jack-in-the-box-toys.html Bridget, C. (December 15, 2010). Response to CSPI Lawsuit. Retrieved from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/newsroom/mcdonalds_statements_and_alerts/response_to_cpi_lawsuit.html Centers for disease control and prevention: Childhood obesity facts. (2012, June 07). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm Cohen, I. (2009). McDonald’s and its critics, 1973-2009. Dan, L. (2011, April 19). McDonalds grimaces at Happy Meal lawsuit. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-mcdonalds-lawsuit-idUSTRE73I4P820110419 Harris, J., Schwartz, M., Brownell, K. (2010). Fast food FACTS: evaluating fast food nutrition and marketing to youth. Research report, Yale Rudd Center For Food Policy and Obesity, Retrieved from http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/FastFoodFACTS_Report.pdf Joanne, R., Caroline, B. (2006). Corporate Identity and Strategic Change: The Case of McDonald’s Miller, K. (2012). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth. Molland, J. (2010, December 15). California mom sues McDonalds over Happy Meal. Retrieved from http://www.care2.com/causes/california-mom-sues-mcdonalds-over-happy-meals-video.html Stephanie, S. (July 26, 2011). McDonald’s trims its Happy Meal. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/business/mcdonalds-happy-meal-to-get-healthier.html?_r=0

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Social Media Marketing Marketing Essay

Social Media Marketing Marketing Essay The rise in popularity of social networking Web sites and other social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and individual blogs has grown subsequently during these recent years. This literature review shall demonstrate on how the social media networks have an impact on businesses; following an introduction of what is exactly the social media marketing, secondly what are the networks for and thirdly the impact of the social networks on consumers. Some studies have been made by several researchers and authors about the impact of social media in businesses which will be evaluated in this research proposal. Social media networks are fast becoming the infrastructure of the Web as all of our personal data and connections are being aggregated into databases. The value of Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter is part how much of our personal information they store and part how useful they can make this information for companies, advertisers, marketers, and consumers. The more information social networks know about us and our connections, the more targeted they can make their advertising and ultimately their business value (Levitt 2010). Tuten (2008) described social media as communities which include forums, virtual worlds , social news organisations, social- opinion sharing sites and social networks. In addition to this, Tuten (2008) remarkably suggested that social networks are built with a platform that enables users to create or identify profiles with the ability to interact with other members and participating in various site activities. With memberships that are growing daily and the amount of people interacting with these various sites, marketers and businesses have found a tool that can make money likewise Tuten (2008) argued that marketers in the USA spent $920 million on social network advertising which showed a net progression of businesses implementing social media into their businesses. On the other hand Bowman (2010) investigated that social media is expanding at a sophisticated business tool because it provides businesses a unique opportunity to target customers and its prospect. For instance, the mas sive social network facebook.com which has millions of subscribers is one of the most appreciated site for businesses can create fan pages on offering instructional videos to show people how their products are reliable. Further research demonstrated that social networking sites are promoting rapidly through the internet acquiring users around the world; the more quickly social networking sites grow, the more quickly they spread. It has been argued that; it is a vital source of revenue for some businesses to market their products and services for example the retail industry and as a result many advertisers have conducted consumer promotions involving social media to generate attention to and participation in their promotions; for instance (Otter 2010) suggested that some companies in the recruitment sector have placed social media in their planning, companies such as Microsoft, Roundchard and CH2M Hill have successfully achieved in implenting this process which has been cost effectiv e, faster to hire and improved candidate quality. In the UK the large retailer John Lewis has invested in a research project to monitor the consumers point of view, it is part of their strategy to develop new skills in their advertising programme; in brief The Gazette the company trade magazine quoted Social media can also help generate a buzz about product or brands(cabinet-marker.co.uk). Equally Starbucks have seek digital and social media marketing investment in their channel in the UK, their success has involved a global campaign in releasing new product online via the social networks. Starbuck`s strategy was to involve customer loyalty via facebook, the company has also planned to integrate activities across a number of iniatives including the Starbucks Card, public affairs, customer care and shared planet across social media channels with its 9million fans on facebook and 1million followers on twitter (nma.co.uk). Similarly, Twitter has reached the middle east for example Gulf Air; the Gulf Airs website gulfair.com has become the No.1 airline website in the Gulf region by number of followers on one of the most popular social media networks, this trend has enable the company to promote its image in their specific service sector on How to utilise digital and new media to reach customers, ommunities and special interest groups (gulfair.com). Nowadays employers and employees understand the power of social media networks in creating real business value and relationships with customers the press, analysts, and all other stakeholders ( Businessweek.com 2010). In addition to this, many employers have been managi marketing their personal brand together by promoting their company. It argues that employees participating in social networks have already developed a network that can help them in the long term within their development and promotion in regard to their progress in a company for future prospects.( Businessweek.com 2010) . DENNISoneil.com 410.343.9090