Argumentative Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argumentative Research Report - Essay Example One of the strong arguments for legalization of drugs stems from the inadmissibility of the continuation of the current state of affairs, when hundreds of thousands of people are arrested every year and kept behind bars for possession of illegal substances for personal usage, and not for sale (Inciardi, 2005, p.133). At the same time, realistically looking at things we have to confess that even under such a harsh regime there has not occurred a significant reduction in drugs use, and there seems to be no perspective for such reduction at all, because for many people drugs offer a much valued ability to escape from the unpleasant aspects of our reality. Thus, the measures of prosecution and compulsory rehabilitation of drugs addicts substitutes one evil for another as they only add to the unhappiness of people who depend on drugs by intensifying in them an atmosphere of psychological tension that may actually contribute to the drug-oriented behavior and addiction (Zimmer and Morgan, 2 001, p. 36). Moreover, the illegal status of drugs is the single greatest boon for the criminal narco-mafia, which has become a proper symbol of evil to be fought with, and which is in fact interested in the prevention of legalization of drugs. Considering the above-mentioned, we may infer on sound grounds that the current state of affairs regarding policies towards drugs abuse are often based on superficial understanding of the essence of the phenomenon they are aimed against, so they often lead to ineffective and even damaging consequences. In fact, experiments with prohibition are definitely well known for the United States, one has just to recollect the 18th Amendment that in 1919 outlawed the production and sale of alcoholic drinks. Needless to remind that criminal activity surged, and health of now illegal drinkers was threatened by illegal alcohol of dubious quality (Haynes and Harding 2004, pp. 262-278). Besides, efforts

Delivery of Customer Service Excellence within UK universities Essay Example for Free

Delivery of Customer Service Excellence within UK universities Essay There has been continuous increase in the number of people pursuing higher education. This has been contributed to by the changing society that requires one to continuously update and keep up with the education standards. As the demand of education increases, there is an increase in demand for higher education in the face of decreasing government funding (White, 2007, p.67). The decrease in government funding in many countries has resulted to self-sponsorship among most of the students. With the students, being self-sponsored there is need for amore market driven stress on focus on the customers’ needs and in this case, the students are the customers. As the number of students with the objective of going to universities increase so does the application of marketing in the field of higher education (Lomas, 2007, p.456). The marketing of university services has necessitated the change in the relationship of the students and the university to have a customer provider relation. The treatment of students as customers has been at an increase due to the increase in number of universities. The increase in number of universities increases competition-necessitating need for customer service among the universities to increase the number of student’s enrollment rate. To establish if the students are customers one has to determine the services provided by universities and the consumers of the products or services provided. According to Martinez (2013, p.56), education provision can be classified as a service, which can be separated into service delivery and service content. Whereby service, content cannot be negotiated with the students but service deliver is negotiable. Simple the content covered in the classrooms is not determined by the students but the way in which this content is delivered can be negotiable. The customers of the service provided by the universities are students. The service delivered in this case refers to the standard way in which education is applied or impacted on the students. The quality of service is determined by the standards applied in an institution, the equipment’s applied, technology, materials, instructor, and the timing in which this education takes place. The two types of service provided by the universities attract different consumers. The service content attracts customers that are external to the institution who include private and public employers and the society. The students are described as the service consumers since they are partners with the institutions and are the main consumers of the services provided by universities. Universities can also be described as service providers since it cannot be classified as service provider since they do not manufacture any of their final products instead they offers good that are not physically visible. Having classified the services provided by universities it could be established that there are several types of consumers of the universities products. The main customers are however, the students who are directly affected by the quality of services provided. Secondly, there are external consumers who are affected by the services provided in a secondary level. Having established students as consumers then universities should strive to always satisfy customer’s needs. In addition, universities should be improved by comparing them with the service provision industry, as an ever-increasing competition forces to do so. Trends in the universities also draw it closer to customer-oriented service industries. Students   want to be involved in the decision making process of the universities more than depending on the market forces, this qualifies   the students to be the customers since the articulation of their opinions increases or decreases the royalty and retention rate of the universities customers. In some countries like UK and Austral, universities senior management and government agencies insist on the need to consider students as the customers. This is evident in Oxford University where the satisfaction of the students is a paramount objective for the institution. This is justified by the fact that the marketing department of the university has students suggestion cites where they collect the needs and wants of the students. This opinion is however, not supported by the academic staff that states that recognition of students as customers decreases the quality of education since the needs of the students are not in all cases right like the expectation in businesses(Lomas, 2007, p.34). Governments all over the world and particularly the UK government have been seen to put in place mechanisms for assessing the quality of the services provided by universities. This assessment is meant to allow the government to identify areas that need improvement. The government also puts in place measures that drive up the quality of education and provide enough information about the universities that will help students determine on what institution is proper or the best among the many provided. Government makes reforms at universities to change the perception of universities into business –like organizations (Lomas, 2007, p.54). According to Pittman (p. 342), the relationship between the student and the universities are special unlike most of the service industries. The recognition of universities as service providers, in one way or another the market forces lead into the treatment of the institutions as businesses. The treatment of universities as businesses has been evident in the running of Cambridge university and other leading universities in the UK that engage in marketing strategies aimed at pleasing the students in the universities. This therefore includes the marketing strategies used by businesses. The business focus is the satisfaction or meeting customer needs and similarly universities should focus on meeting the students’ needs to survive in the market. Students attend universities with different objectives including, pursuit of their person interest, desire to gain qualifications, prepare for academic and research careers and preparation for the world of work. These needs are sufficiently provided by most of the universities however, the students choose the universities that provide these services with a more customer centric culture. The universities are now under pressure to make the students feel as the kings and at the same time not deteriorate their standards of their curriculums or standards. This calls for the universities to differentiate themselves and creating a customer oriented relation with the students to increase the enrollments and retention rate. Customer Relationship Management Theory Customer relationship management is an important aspect of any business. It is the process of obtaining, retaining an increase the market share, or customer base of a business. It includes the management of off-line and in-line relationships with consumers. Customer relationship management requires the running of business in a customer centric approach that considers the customers first. Universities have increased in number necessitating the need of marketing activities that differentiate each university and increase their competitive advantage. The ever-increasing competition levels have brought about changes in the dynamics of the education business particularly in the university level. The customers of universities have continuously been enlightened and choose the best among the universities. This has increased the need and importance of a customer centric culture that strives to understand the customer’s needs. Universities have understood the need to invest in new technologies to allow them to gain advantage in the competition by exploiting their brand value, customer base, and investments in infrastructure in order to increase the number of enrollments, as their direct link to the customer satisfaction and profitability (Martinez, 2013, p.56). Customer relationship management allows the universities to analyze their consumers at different levels to allow the detection of their needs, preferences, potential areas that require improvement and after this, the universities are able to establish or implement the necessary actions to achieve customer satisfaction. Universities engage in every year orientation for the students to display the facilities in the institutions. This is evident in Manchester University, Liverpool and Cambridge that allow the interested students to view the facilities and from their judgment choose a university that best suits their needs. Achievement of customer satisfaction is a core objective to many businesses as it increases the competitive advantage and thus increasing profitability of the organization. The increase in number of universities increases the bargaining power of the consumers who in this case are the students. Today students want to enroll in universities with better services, lower fees, good infrastructure, skilled tutors, and access to various services within an institution. This pressures the universities to look for new ways that are going to satisfy these needs and ways to keep the students and the rest of the customers satisfied before any other institution does (West, Ford, Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). According to Bay, Darlenen, Daniel, Harold (p. 15), students are the purchasers of the service provides and therefore the customers of some of the campus services and the facilities, which are provided at a price. Students have to pay for the education provided at full price in order to benefit. The service provider determines the standards of the service though the services provided at aimed at satisfying the customers. This is similar with the universities who are expected to determine the needs of the customers but at the same time ensure that they satisfy the customer’s needs. Students can also be seen as clients of the campus facilities such as libraries, administrative services, and computer laboratories. Students could use these services as free of charge but since they are charged this makes the students the clients of the universities. These universities have a responsibility to the students Total Quality Management According to total quality, management customers are the people to whom an organization sells its services or products. This makes the students and in some cases the parents, private and public institution, and the government the customers of the universities. TQM model identifies students as stakeholders in educational decisions. They are however, not the only stakeholders and at times, the needs of the students come second to those of the society. Under the TQM, frame work the students create a market force under which the universities have to adopt to survive in the market (White Naomi, 2007, p. 600). The TQM model states that quality starts and ends with the customer, this is because of the increased competition in the market that has necessitated the focus on the customer to gain a competitive advantage. According to the concept, the satisfaction of internal customers leads to the satisfaction of the external customers and consequently every customer both the external and internal are satisfied. The theory states that several factors including, customer expectation, company operations, and the employees responsible for delivering the services to the customer bring about customer satisfaction. The creation of a customer centric culture is of great importance to an organization. This creates satisfaction among the consumers and the customers increasing their royalty and increases the retention rate of customers. Focus on customers increases the advertisement of a product by the word of mouth of the satisfied clients reducing the operation cost and increasing the number of consumers. Concentration on consumers is the best tactic or weapon against competitors since the customers are the final determinants in the existence of an organization (George David, 2007, p.970). Universities are businesses that should re-orient the services rendered so to keep the customers satisfied. In the past universities were not treated as businesses since there were countable universities and the number of students were minimal and there were no competition. Currently the market is flooded with universities, which increases the need of the perception of the customer as the king and always right. With the increased number of universities the buyers of universities services are fewer and this increases the need for quality services   which is dependent on the extent that   an university is able to meet and exceed the customers’ requirements (King, 2001, p.190). Total quality, management recognizes the student’s perception of quality change as they progress from one stage to another. This allows the institutions to continuously update their services to meet the customers’ needs and expectations in every level, Needs of the customers in universities consist of the minimum necessary human elements that must be rendered to retain the customers in this case the student. If the students’ needs are not met then they are likely to discontinue their education in one university and continue in another that meets its needs. Universities are defined to be successful if the student enrollment and retention rate is high compared to the rest in the market. Total quality, management programs are also seen to be successful if they facilitate customer retention and enrollment in universities. Needs and want satisfaction in universities is therefore structured towards the basics of performance, providing what the students want and what they are unable to survive without (White Naomi, 2007, p. 600). Ways in Which Expectations Can Be Managed and Service Excellence Achieved Universities can use different mechanisms to improve their service excellence. The first strategy on improving service excellence is the determination of the superior services they offer. The service must identify and target customers segments according to the type of services attributes that they must demand. Universities must identify group or students with similar expectations in terms of what aspects are associated with the excellence in service. The universities should continuously find the proper trade- off between inferior performance for one attribute with superior performance for another (Bay, Darlene, Daniel Harold, 2001, p.16), The customers themselves best understand their needs. Expectations can be managed if the service providers are able to understand the needs of the customers. In universities, the students are the main consumers of the services offered. Universities should identify the students’ needs by encouraging feedback on the services provided. This allows the meeting of their needs and consequently increasing the customer royalty and the enrollment rate. The second strategy is the employee management system that allows ensures that the employees treat the customers are content. Universities should ensure that their employees meet the needs of the customers and have a customer centric culture. In the case of universities the academic personnel should ensure the student’s needs are met and also that the services rendered are of quality (Lomas Laurie, 2007, p.35) The third element is benchmarking the service provided and the services provided by other universities. This allows the universities to identify the areas that need improving and the areas that are outstanding. This allows the universities to merge or close up the gap between them and their competitors. Benchmarking also gives new ideas of products or the services that the competitors are offering. This increases the products offered and the quality of service (West, Ford, Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). The fourth element is continuous improvement of the services and products offered by institutions. The continuous improvement of services reduces the chances of products becoming obsolete. University students needs keep changing with periods, change in equipment infrastructure, and the time. This necessitates the universities to update their services continuously so at to increase customer satisfaction and maintain customer royalty. The last step is being of conscious of bad service delivery. Looking at the past bad experiences allows and institutions to learn what are being done wrong. Continuous review of past mistakes allow the correction of the poor standard services previously provided and introduction of new services that meet the customers need. The last is the implementation of technology to improve customer satisfaction and in meeting the customer needs. The increased perception of students as customers has increased the enrollment in most universities. This is because of the students feeling that their needs are catered for. This has been evident with the increased enrollments in the oxford university. Conclusion The focus on customers is a core objective for any business. Universities are classified as service delivery business with the students being the major customers. The identification of the customer needs is a relevant and important factor in the satisfaction of customer needs. In universities and higher education institutions students are classified as customers since they are the purchasers of the services provided by the institutions. Universities are obliged to provide quality services to the students. There has been increased number of universities with time, which has increased the competition among the universities to gain competitive advantage. The increased competition has necessitated the need for a customer centric culture to gain more customers. References Bay, D.   Daniel, H. 2001. â€Å"The Student Is Not the Customer-An Alternative Perspective†, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education Vol.11, No. 1, pp.1-19 Biswas, S. 2011. Relationship marketing: concepts, theories and cases. New Dehli, India, PHI Learning. George, D. 2007. â€Å"Market Overreach: The Student As Customer†, The Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol.36, pp.965-977 HErnon, P., Whitman, J. R. 2000. Delivering satisfaction and service quality: a customer-based approach for libraries. Chicago, American Library Association. Hess, E. D. 2011. Growing an entrepreneurial business: concepts and cases. Stanford, California, Stanford Business Books. King, S.P. 2001. â€Å"The Funding of Higher Education in Australia: Overview and Alternatives†, The Australian Economic Review, Vol.34, No.2, pp.190-194 Lomas, L. 2007. â€Å"Are Students Customers? Perceptions of Academic Staff†, Quality in Higher Education, Vol.13, No.1, April, pp.32-43 Martinez, M. 2013. Creating a service culture in higher education administration. West, D. C., Ford, J. B., Ibrahim, E. 2010. Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage. Oxford, Oxford University Press. White, N, R. 2007. â€Å"The Customer Is Always Right? Student Discourse About Higher Education In Australia†, High Education, Vol.54, pp.593-604.

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Paper The value of music education in society has been a significant subject since the time of Plato. Plato wrote about music education in his famous work the Republic: †¦Education in music is most sovereign, because more than anything else rhythm and harmony find their way to the inmost soul and take strongest hold upon it, bringing with them and imparting grace, if one is rightly trained, and otherwise the contrary. And further, because omissions and the failure of beauty in things badly made or grown would be most quickly perceived by one who was properly educated in music, and so, feeling distaste rightly, he would praise beautiful things and take delight in them and receive them into his soul to foster its growth and become himself beautiful and good. (Mark, 2002, p.6) Music education is in danger of being lost to the new generations attending school. It is too important to be cast aside, and technology can be used to aid in the fight to save music education. Importance of Education The importance of music education can be seen by examining numerous scholarly articles. The National Association for Music Education (MENC) believes that music education will help children to grow and perform well in society, school, life, and increasing their intellect (MENC, 2002). According to the American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet from October of 1996, music helps in society because it will â€Å"create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns† (MENC, 2002). Music education helps improve test scores in school; the College-Bound Seniors National Report stated that students who took classes in performing music scored 57 points more on the verbal section of the SATs and 41 points more on the math. Music education increases the intellect of students. Instruction in music is better than instruction in computer literacy because it increases the ability for children to learn reasoning skills (MENC, 2002). Another article called â€Å"Music Makes You Smarter† discusses â€Å"an important link between musical training and other cognitive abilities, particularly spatial abilities – the abstract reasoning that is used for understanding relationships between objects such as, for example, when calculating a proportion or playing chess† (Rausher, 1997). Music education is very important because it challenges students to think ahead such as when reading lines of music before playing them (Rausher, 1997).

Profit Maximization and Baumol Model

Managerial Economics August 15, 2007 The key points underpinning the economics of a profit maximizing firm Neoclassical model of the firm states that organization will have the main objective of maximizing its profit within a given period of time. Maximum profit was achieved at the output at which marginal cost is equal marginal revenue. There are several factors which need to be considered when talking about the profit maximizing firm: 1. The assumption of the profit maximizing firm is that there is no segregation between managers and owners of the firm. Owners economically depended on their firms and therefore tried to make the biggest profit from their businesses. The effectiveness of their firm was measured by the profit declared. In the real world the ownership of the firm (especially for the larger firms) is different from the management. Managers become responsible for all day-to-day operations as well as finance objectives. Those can be different for management and for the owners. Managers tend to satisfy their own well being rather then acting on the best interests of the owners. Shareholders would like to see the increasing value of the stock from year to year. The separation of ownership from control lead to less power of shareholders over the manager’s behavior as well as less awareness of how efficient the decisions are made. 2. Profit maximizing firm assumes the horizontal marginal revenue curve and U shape marginal cost curve. This means that the market conditions are always ideal, not very competitive and the revenue cost declines as a result of discounts made to encourage the customers to purchase the products. In reality it is difficult to accurately measure the cost and revenue within organization and therefore difficult to determine the optimal, profit maximizing level. There are a lot of constraints and conditions which need to be evaluated at any given period of time to determine the cost and revenue curves. Rapidly changing conditions will make it difficult and sometimes impossible to make the accurate measurements. 3. Another assumption is that the organization short-term objectives are the same as its long term objectives leading to profit maximization. In reality, as in long term objective may be to maximize the firm stock value and increase the shareholders profit, the short term objective may be to keep investing in a firm to establish a better position for the future. Other constraints like social responsibility of the firm, imperfect or changing market conditions, demand versus supply curves etc. will affect the objectives of the firm. 4. One of the assumptions of the neoclassical model is that the organizations have a perfect knowledge of the operating conditions. It is recognized in the modern firm that they operate under the uncertainty level, which, however can be reduced by increasing the knowledge for market, competition and environment. With these factors the conclusion is that the profit maximization cannot be the sole objective of a firm. The factors need to be taken into consideration to determine the optimum firm strategy and firm objectives. Critical evaluation of Baumol management model. Baumol model is a sales revenue maximization model. Baumol model is the alternative to the profit maximization model. The main idea of Baumol model is that the objective of a firm is the sales revenue-maximization rather then profit maximization. The most important points supporting Baumol model are: – The is recognition of separation between firm ownership and management. Managers have discretion to pursue personal goals to maximize their own utility. Therefore a minimum profit constraint on management is set up by shareholders to address shareholders concerns and interests. – Manager’s more focuses on their own tangible benefits rather then on profit maximization for the company. Salary increases are likely related to the level of sales rather then organization level of profit. – Investors interest in the level of sales and trend of sales rather then level of profit. Growing sales tend to give better picture of company potential and therefore attract refinancing. – Rising level of sales recognizes organization’s success and therefore leads to good human relations within the organization. – Direct relation between market share and the level of sales means that the organization is raising its position on the market if its sales level increases. In other words the market share of the firm goes up. In Baumol model there is an assumption is that the organization using the Baumol model is operating in an oligopolistic market with no true competition. Baumol thinks that it will take longer for the large organizations, which most likely to be competitors, to arrive to the decision making and decision implementation point due to the competition within the oligopolistic market. However it is also said that within the market there is collision between organizations just to maintain an agreed position where everyone can have their share of the market. This is certainly an assumption which cannot be applied to every kind of markets. There are two models of sales revenue-maximization which both work under above assumption: the static model and the dynamic model. Static model is a single period model for organization assuming that no competition with other companies exist. In static model a minimum profit constraint is imposed by shareholders regardless of the sales and other conditions of the organization to protect their interests. The excess of maximum profit level over the minimum profit level constraint is the measure of managerial discretion. There is also an assumption of the U-shaped cost and ? -shape for revenue curves. By looking at the Baumol’s static sales revenue-maximization model chart we can see that the quantity produced by the sales revenue maximizer will be the quantity which satisfies the minimum profit constraint and yet allows the greatest level of sales (quantity) to be achieved. The sales revenue maximizer will earn a lower profit, but produce a greater quantity then the profit maximizer. Therefore the sales revenue maximizer will better capture the market share then the profit maimiser. However in the static model Baumol does not analyze the relationship between price, advertising, total cost and quantity of the produced output. When talking about advertising cost Baumol suggests that the advertising expenditures are constantly grow as a straight line and that the sales revenue increases as increases the advertisement cost. In the real world advertisements are made from time to time depending on the organization’s marketing studies. Sales revenue also depends on many factors like market conditions, managerial talent and knowledge, firm pricing strategy, quantity produced, total operating cost etc. In Baumol model we see no attempts to take these factors into consideration. In its dynamic model where the idea is that over the lifetime organization will continue to gain the sales revenue and reinvest the profit into the future organization growth. At a certain point of growth, however, the growth potential will decrease and the level of sales will go down. Even though Baumol raised a point of uncertainty, he failed to place the time within his model and therefore limited the options of explaining the firm behavior. Baumol model shows that the sales revenue maximizer will produce more output then the profit maximizer. The profit level is also more stable in the Baumol model then in traditional profit-maximizing model. The sales maximizing firm will also have a lower price then the profit maximizing firm. Low cost airline example. Let’s take an example of the low-cost airline to outline the points of Baumol model. At a glance it may seem that a logical step to maximize the airline profit in order to reinvest more money into the new flights and expand the company. But it may not be profitable for an airline in a long run as the customers may loose the loyalty to an â€Å"always low price† airline because of their quality of service or inconveniencies caused during travel. Actions like flying from the lower cost airports away from the major hubs; reducing the number of flight attendants per flight; introducing a cheaper meals or no meals at all, offering meals at a separate price; cut on entertainments on board; overbooking of the flights to make sure the flight is always full; buy cheaper older aircrafts, improve maintenance procedures to reduce the cost would lead to short term profit maximization. On a long run the airline may start loosing customers due to the poor services and inconvenience caused. For example, flying from a low cost airport may result in additional cost for the passengers trying to reach that airport or having a connecting flights from other airports. Significant number of luggage lost would also lead to loosing the customers. Overbooking the flights may cause many passengers not being able to fly at the desired time and therefore loose the loyalty for the airline. Cutting cost on airline maintenance may jeopardize safety procedures and result in catastrophe. American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 aircraft crashed on May 25,1979 after taking off from Chicago airport. Investigation showed that it was a result of an improved maintenance procedure imposed by American Airline and saving then over $200 000 a year. For a low cost airline it is vital to fulfill the flight capacity and sell as much tickets as possible because the flights the cost of flying would remain the same whether the plain is flying full or not. This means that the main objective of the low-cost airline is to maximize their level of tickets sold. The actions like: – reducing inefficiency across the board of the airline, putting innovative and creative business concepts, promoting the teamwork, empowering the employees to encourage their personal involvement in day-to-day customer service improvement – monitoring the airline market, dynamically determined ticket price per seat, studying customers needs – introducing new routs to popular destinations, organizing convenient connecting flights – have faster connectivity time, faster turnarounds point-to-point flights rather then flying through major hubs, using less congested airports – internet booking, e-tickets – no pre-assigned seat numbers etc. maybe more appropriate for helping to have a low cost operation yet with the high quality standards. The price of the ticket should be determined dynamically (hopefully by specialized software) based on customers demand and supply on a particular route at a particular time. Ideally the ticket price should be the highest with maximum filling of flight capacity. For example, early booking price may be lower and raised towards filling the flight capacity. Therefore sales maximizing model fits better for the low cost airlines and gives them more chances to succeed in the market. References: Mark Cook, Corri Farguharson (1998) â€Å"Business Economics†, Pearson Education Limited Patrick McNutt (2007) â€Å"Study Guide Unit 1. Management Objectives and Stakeholder Value†, Business & Management Education Limited, UK

Economic impact of genetically modified foods Essay

Genetic engineering has resulted to the production of genetically modified foods. It entails altering the genetic make up of plants using a set of technologies. Genes are combined from different organisms through recombinant DNA technology. Genetic engineering results to enhanced food tastes and quality. It reduces the time for maturation and can be used to increase nutrients and yields of crops. Again the crops produced are stress tolerant and they are resistant to disease and pests and herbicides. Genes are taken from one species and inserted into another to produce quality products. Genetically modified foods were first established in the 1990s with most products being Soya, cottonseed and wheat. The process could involve taking DNA from favorable organisms and inserting in a plant or crop. Biotechnology can be used to solve difficult crop production challenges where the farmers using it do not have to worry about the quality of their products. The technique is environmentally friendly and hence poses no threat to the surrounding. It does not involve emission of pollutants to the atmosphere. Farmers using biotechnology in their crop production increase their incomes and acquire economic, environmental and social benefits. (Giannakas K & Yiannanaka, 90) Although some people fear consuming genetically modified crops extensive research has been done on them to ensure that they pose no health risk to consumers. They are similar to those produced using traditional methods of breeding. Prominent scientists have also cleared the concerns that GM would be a risk to the environment. To them GM is a safe way of improving agriculture. International organizations also support this viewpoint for instance Food and Agriculture Organization (F. A. O) of the United Nations and the European Commission. Therefore people should not fear consuming GM foods as they are safe. Land is a fixed resource which can only be modified by increasing its utility. Measures ought to be taken to ensure that idle land is put to effective use. However care should be taken to ensure that harmful effects do not occur to the environment. For instance cutting trees to plant GM crops would have negative effects on the climate. Trees control the levels of carbon dioxide and consequently global warming. Population on the other hand grows at higher rates and concerns that food shortages would arise, led to the introduction of biotechnology. Through genetic modification of crops the problems of land shortages or water resources can be well contained. Smaller areas of land can be used to produce large outputs. Genetically modified foods can help farmers produce more food products which is healthy and with fewer resources. Continued research by bio-technicians is done to ensure production meets the consumer’s specific demands. It can establish plants that are drought resistant and hence can survive hostile conditions. Genetically Modified crops can increase the incomes of countries tremendously. Developing countries can adopt GM technology as it will increase the GDP Gross Domestic Product. This income can be used to improve the infrastructure facilities in the less developed countries and this would see them embrace economic growth and development. Investment in improving the transportation network would improve the basis for other industries which can now easily transport their raw materials and finished goods to appropriate destinations. (Carpenter J & Gianessi L, 67) Trade will be promoted by using GM products. Most developing countries do not have a diversified economy and they over rely on agriculture. Agriculture is a critical industry which is affected by climatic changes, pesticides and other factors like invasion by animals. With Genetic Modification one is guaranteed of quality products. Developing countries use their agricultural products to earn foreign exchange through external trading processes like exports. Problems faced by farmers are rejection of their products by foreign consumers on the basis of poor quality. GM products are enhanced to ensure that they are of high quality and consequently will not be rejected. GM products require less use of pesticides as they are not very prone to such use. This further reduces the cost of production on farmers who will not have to buy pesticides. A reduction of costs is an economic gain to farmers. Such costs would reduce the profits that farmers could have got. Extensive use of Genetically Modified soyabeans increases their contribution to reduce pesticide application. Farmers can decrease the need for tillage which can cause reduction in soil erosion and thus reduce the water treatment costs that consumers incur annually. (Giannakas K & Yiannanaka, 85) GM crop production has led to the growth of the food industry to very high levels. The demand can be categorized into consumer levels, retailing level and food processors. Using Genetically Modified products is a safe way of enhancing people’s way of life substantially by improving their health care and their environment. It supplements the traditional cross breeding methods and hence is not a new venture. It is just a modification. Poverty in developing countries can be eliminated with the use of GM. Since most of Less Developed countries have not embraced technological advancement in the agricultural industry they rely on natural processes in their production. Natural processes pose a great threat as fluctuations are bound to occur affecting the quality and quantity of products produced. GM would see such farmers at better positions to handle the impact of natural calamities of crop production in terms of quantity and quality. Hunger would be a thing of the past if GM was completely embraced. With increased crop yields the poverty levels of people in developing countries would be eliminated. They would trade the surplus both internally and externally to earn incomes which they can use to raise their living standards. With abundant food production health related problems can be solved and this further reduces the costs that would have been incurred seeking health facilities. Use of GM would ensure that there is a sustainable agricultural system. Its use in cotton production for instance in India where the greatest challenge to cotton production is insect and pest invasion can be beneficial. Implementation of GM cotton production increased the production rates to unprecedented rates. The prior losses caused by reduced quantity due to insects and pests became a thing of the past. The GM product is more resistant to the pest and can cause a reduction of pesticides by higher levels while increasing the yields to approximately 80%. This translates to savings on insecticides. Other factors held constant of prices of GM cotton were relatively the same with those of non GM then there would be increased revenues earned. Sustainable agriculture is the key to food security. Population levels are projected to the distribution of resources among nations affect the way the market forces operate. Unequal distribution of resources precipitates variations of needs between the rich and the poor. Since the poor lack resources to advance in technology so that they can shift from agricultural production to industry. Adoption of the genetically modified crops would increase the production of crop yields. Food shortages in the developing countries affect the developed countries who feel the responsibility of assisting them through donations. Bio-technological aspects are driven by the need to solve issues that are critical in the society. Development of a GM rice project would work to help reduce the rates of blindness caused by deficiencies in vitamin A. Again crops that provide other important nutrients like iron can be GM controlled. Provision of foods with effective nutrients can help improve the health standards of people. With a decrease in the demand for pesticides the firms that produce them would face stiff competition which would see their prices reduced. This will be a negative impact to pesticide producing companies. They may be forced to lay off some of their employees and at extreme situations they may close down. GM food has great potential to provide health to humans especially in developing countries. For instance use of GM banana to prevent the some diseases like hepatitis B virus. Invention of genetically modified crops that can be used for medicinal purposes would be a positive advancement. Adjusting the crop to enable it accommodate important chemicals would reduce the costs of offering medical care. Quality and better products are produced using GM and these products can survive under a wide range of climate. This would ensure more production of such goods which can be used for consumption as well as for exports and local markets. GM products are more attractive to consumers since they have been modified to suit different needs. More preference would mean higher sales when goods are placed in the markets and consequently more incomes. (Carter A. nd Guillaume G, 20) Growing GM crops without use of spray chemicals makes the crop easier for farmers to grow at reduced costs. The indirect costs would be reduced for instance the cost of labour used in spraying the pesticides as well as the environmental hazards created. Other benefits of using GM are that it is possible to enhance the quality of crops by emphasizing on the positive ones while removing the undesirable qualities. Using genetic technology is faster than using conventional breeding. Water use is also effectively reduced when pesticides are not used. GM reduces the work that would have been done if it was considered. (Carpenter J & Gianessi L, 70) Genetic engineering instills fear in people but such fears are uncalled for as they are based on prejudice and exaggerations. It has seen many people rise from poverty to grace. GM cultivation is among the most economically viable form of farming. It has led to the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases which are responsible for global warming. This is due to the fact that the pesticides use is minimal. Production of fertilizers emits hazardous gases like nitric acid which cause the greenhouse effects. Farmers using GM crops in developing countries can afford to educate their children as well as provide for their families. Educating children especially in the developing countries is a step to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. This is because with the investment in education overeliance in agriculture would be reduced. With GM, crops can be made to grow at shorter periods with increased desirable qualities. Drought resistant crops can be use to alleviate the famine problems in developing countries. With shorter spans of maturity crops can be used for commercial purposes earning farmers incomes. GM products can be enhanced to stay fresh for longer to allow for effective transportation. This can be done to flowers and fruits which are quite perishable. The costs of preservation can be reduced as it would not be required with the same intensity it could have been, had GM production not been considered. Again, wastage is reduced when ‘fresh’ periods are prolonged. Production of GM products can be cheaper due to the fact that they can be made firm hence consist lesser amount of water and require less amount of water when harvesting and consequently less energy in processing them to other products. For instance, tomato puree in Britain. Less energy in production caused lesser costs to the producers who charged lower prices to consumers. GM Soya helps save costs of using herbicides as weeds are controlled. (Falck-Zepeda et al, 2) Critics raise concerns that since pollen grains of GM can easily be carried to other plants through insects or wind, eventually all crops will be genetically modified. To them this will be a disastrous effect. Countries which could have greatly gained from GM, have not embraced the idea. Some, especially from the developing countries, were quick to note that GM did not help their farmers. Contamination is therefore bound to occur where GM soyabean pollen grains may be contaminated with GM maize pollens. Concerns are however raised that the profits are the main reasons for advocating for GM. Companies that engage in expensive and extensive research do so with their own vested interests of earning more income. It is argued that the motive behind their implementation is to make money and the argument placed before that GM was to help solve the food shortages. Extensive research ought to be carried out to establish the actual impact of GM so that consumers are well aware of the products they consume. Crop losses that are incurred when pests invade crops are minimized using GM because it ensures reduced insects and pests. This translates to higher revenues acquired, as there are less financial losses. Consumers are attracted to such products, as they are not linked with exposure to chemicals from pesticides. Some people shy away from crops exposed to pesticides for health reasons and they would have an option if GM crops were embraced. Another advantage of GM is that it is herbicide tolerant. Naturally it may be harder or difficult to remove weeds through tilling in some farms precipitating the need to use herbicides to control the weeds. Tilling is a time consumingactivity as well as expensive. When spraying such herbicides, care must be taken, as it would affect the entire group. All crops might be destroyed or they could be negatively affected when spraying the herbicides. GM products are not affected by the herbicides and hence their production will be better placed. They are also resistant to some disease causing organisms like fungi, bacteria and viruses. Ensuring that the plants are disease resistant will ensure the plants survival. (Falck-Zepeda et al, 2) Genetically Modified products can be made cold tolerant so that genes from a cold water fish can be used to produce crops that are more tolerant to cold temperatures. With the rise in population and fixed land for cultivation, there is need to utilize the drought stricken areas to increase their utility. GM crops are more drought resistant so that crop production is increased and it will be a step forward in ensuring that food security was attained. Land that was formerly inhabitable due to salinity or drought can be reclaimed. ( IFT, 45) The malnutrition problem in third world countries that is responsible for childhood deaths can be reduced with utilization of GM products that are enriched with appropriate vitamins. Since people in developing countries rely on the staple foods, which are mostly starch, they lack the necessary nutrients to fight malnutrition. Malnourished children are not able to successfully pursue their education and are therefore a problem to the whole country. If the developing countries suffering from this problem can embrace the Genetically Modified rice or other products that have such nutrients, their economy would grow eventually. ‘A healthy nation is wealthy nation. ’ Sicknesses associated with lack of appropriate nutrients require finances for treatment and such costs can be reduced. (Domingo L, 1749) Other concerns raised against GM production are fears that the cost of the GM products may rise uncontrollably especially if the genetic engineering firms who have invested a lot in research were to be given patent rights. They could only exist to perpetuate inequalities between the rich who could easily afford them and the poor who lack the means to attain them. Governments of respective countries ought to be keen in establishing the regulations governing the effects and approval of new GM varieties in their countries. However the tests done to verify the impacts of GM crops are run by governments but they are conducted by the GM companies themselves. The results could therefore be interfered with to give false information depending on vested interests. Gene modification is a complex activity that could cause allergies to people as they entail induction of proteins and new genes. Again the genes may be incompatible resulting to absurd effects and this raises concerns that the toxic effects could arise with the interruption of the native genetic structure. GM crops are resistant to antibiotics and there are worries that this would eventually be transferred to human beings thus affecting their health. Since GM crops are pest resistant they may lead to the extinction of some species. Chemical based farming affects wildlife especially in the farms. Birds and insects that influence the natural arable processes in the farm could have their existence affected if weeds are completely eliminated. Critics of GM foods argue that genetic engineering is not the solution to the food related problems especially in developing countries. Most people are not malnourished because of food shortages but because of its inaccessibility. Unequal distribution of resources is the main reason why some people cannot afford necessities like food. Governments of respective countries should handle the inequality issue in their country.

Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essays

Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essays Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essay Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essay Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Peat, also known as turf, is an accumulation of organic matter or decayed vegetation that is found in natural areas such as mires or peatlands. Soils that contain significant amount of peat are referred to as a histosol. It is generally formed in wetland temperatures, where flooding slows down the rates of decomposition by obstructing the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere. Peat is harvested as a vital source of fuel in different regions of the world. Different types of peat materials such as sapric, hemic and fibric are majorly consumed in agriculture, freshwater aquaria, water filtration, and generating electricity. Visit Complete Report Here: marketresearchreports.biz/analysis-details/peat-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2013-2019 The global market for peat has been witnessing noticeable growing owing to its reputation as a renew able source of energy, where the extraction rate has exceeded its slow re-growth rate in industrialized countries. Due to this, peat has been gaining significant importance in the fuel industry following which the UNFCCC, and other organizations affiliated with the UN have classified peat as important source of fuel. Growing demand for electricity generation on account of growing population has been one of the major factors driving the peat market. Growing industries of alcoholic beverages, water treatment and horticulture are also anticipated to contribute to the growth of the market. However, owing to its classification as a â€Å"slow renewable fuel† by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many other manufacturers, peat industry is expected to experience a slowdown in the next few years. Increasing popularity for bio-fuels and focus on development of bio-based peat products are expected to provide new opportunities for the growth of the market. North Am erica and

Propaganda of Imperialism essays

Propaganda of Imperialism essays Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many European powers and later American leaders began a series of colonizations which lasted for generations. During the era of imperialism, many countries increased their interests in far away lands and had to justify their conquests to their own citizens as well as the rest of the worlds stage. Many nations began turning out propaganda justifying their actions in underdeveloped nation. Authors such as German born Friedrich Fabri and British Rudyard Kipling, along with other artists and public figures, fell into a nationalistic attitude and began publishing propaganda which glorified their nations. Pro-imperialist propaganda honored nations for sacrificing to bring civilization to the rest of the world. However, after the turning of the twentieth century, a backlash towards this ruthless imperialism began to surface in response to years of support. Imperialism opened up new markets for both raw and manufactured goods. It also helped expand the economy of those powers which controlled these new markets. European countries like Spain, Britain and France had been active in colonization since the sixteenth centuries, but with new revolutions which came with the Industrial Revolution brought renewed interest in colonization. Previously undesired parts of Africa and the South Pacific were being seized by European powers and American politicians. With this new form of imperialism came a new for of propaganda to justify such conquests. After winning the Philippines from Spain, the United States had to commence in a ten year struggle to rid the islands of native insurgents. The image found on page 149 glorifies the United States fight for control of the Philippines and the dislike for allowing the native people to rule over themselves. Rather than understanding the Filipinos own desire to be self-sufficient and independent, American ...

How to Find the Gemini Constellation

How to Find the Gemini Constellation The Gemini constellation is one of the most ancient known star patterns. People have been observing it since earliest human history, and it was first charted by the Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemy as part of his sky mapping activities. The name Gemini is the Latin word meaning twins, and most star-chart makers depict the stars in this constellation as a pair of twin boys.   Finding Gemini Constellation Look for Gemini in the sky near the constellations Orion (which has some fascinating sights of its own) and Taurus. For northern hemisphere viewers, its a winter star pattern and its two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, are part of an unofficial asterism called the Winter Hexagon. That pattern contains six bright stars from the constellations Gemini, Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Taurus. Gemini looks like two long strings of stars extending down from Castor and Pollux, which are the heads of the twins. The easiest way to find it is to look for Castor and Pollux east of the vee-shaped Hyades cluster, which makes up the face of Taurus the Bull. The best views of this star pattern are available when it is straight overhead early in the new year. It remains visible until late spring, when it disappears into the sunset glow.   The Winter Hexagon is made up of the brightest stars from the constellations Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Taurus, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Carolyn Collins Petersen The Story of Gemini The mythology of the ancient Greeks and the Babylonians concerned a pair of twins in the sky.  For the Babylonians, these boys were in the realm of the gods, and they called them Meshlamtea and Lugalirra. They were related to a more important god, named Nergal, who presided over the Underworld and was thought to bring about all kinds of misfortune, disease, and other ills. The Greeks and Romans called these stars after the twin sons of Zeus and the maiden Leda. The Chinese saw a bird and a tiger in these stars. The modern constellation of the twins was set by Ptolemy and formalized by later stargazers. The formal area of the sky that contains the twins was set by the International Astronomical Union and contains other stars beyond the main ones, plus nearby deep-sky objects.   The Stars of Constellation Gemini Gemini constellation is dominated by the bright stars Castor and Pollux. These are also known as ÃŽ ± (alpha) Geminorum (Castor) and ÃŽ ² (beta) Geminorum (Pollux). Castor may look like only one star, but in reality, it contains six stars in orbit with each other. It  lies some 52 light-years from Earth. Twin brother Pollux is an orange giant star that lies about 34 light-years away from the Sun. Pollux also has at least one planet in orbit around it.   The official chart showing the stars of the constellation Gemini, provided by the IAU. IAU/Sky Telescope.com   Stargazers who want to explore other stars in Gemini might find ÃŽ µ (epsilon) Geminorum, which is interesting since its a binary star that can be seen through telescopes. One member of the pair is also a Cepheid variable star that brightens and dims with a period of about 10 days.   Deep-Sky Objects in Gemini Constellation Gemini isnt enriched with a lot of deep-sky objects. This is because its situated away from the plane of the Milky Way, where most of the clusters and nebulae exist. However, there are a few things that observers can search out in the constellation. The first is a star cluster called M35.  Its what astronomers call an open cluster. That means that its stars are fairly scattered through space but are still traveling together. There are about 200 stars in M35, and this cluster can be seen with the naked eye from dark-sky sights. Its also a lovely sight through binoculars or a telescope. Look for it near Castors foot.   The open star cluster M35 (lower right) in the constellation Gemini. 2MASS/NASA.   Skygazers up for a challenge can also search out two dim planetary nebulae in Gemini. These are clouds of gas that have formed around dying sun-like stars. The first is the Eskimo Nebula (also known as NGC 2392).  It has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and is about 4,000 light-years from Earth.  Search it out by looking just to the left of Polluxs waist (marked 2392 on the chart). The other object is called the Medusa Nebula, and its a real challenge to see.  Search for it along the border with Canis Minor, below Polluxs knee. The Eskimo Nebula in Gemini, as seen by Hubble Space Telescope. NASA/ESA/STScI   Finally, meteor shower fans spend each December 13-14 observing the Geminid Meteor shower. Its a shower created by a stream of material left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon as it orbits the Sun. The meteors are not actually from Gemini, but they appear to radiate from the constellation. In a good year, observers can spot upwards of 100 or so meteors per hour from this shower.   Gemini in Modern Culture As a starry constellation, Gemini has appeared in both space science and astronomy, as well as science fiction. NASAs Gemini missions were named for this star pattern because they each carried two astronauts to space. The Gemini Observatory has two domes, one in Hawaii and one in Chile, both inspired by the starry twins. Finally, science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein named two of his teenaged characters after the two bright stars Castor and Pollux.

The Nursing Theory of Dorothea Orem Research Paper

The Nursing Theory of Dorothea Orem - Research Paper Example When she observed nurses in various hospitals, she found that while they generally were able to perform their job functions, they could not articulate the true purpose of nursing. Orem’s intention was to determine an appropriate focus for the profession that centered on individual patients. This theory was significant in the sense that it provided nurses with a clearer focus on what the profession entailed: helping those who were unable to help themselves due to their health conditions. This paper will give a biographical account of Dorothea Orem’s life and provide a complete description of the Orem Model of Nursing including the Self-Care Deficit Theory. The paper will include examples of how the theory can be applied in various medical settings. It will also discuss the contributions, value and relevancy of her theory. The Nursing Theory of Dorothea Orem Dorothea Orem was a nursing theorist who developed the Orem Model of Nursing also known as the Self-Care Nursing Theory. Orem's nursing theory states that caring for oneself is a basic human need. The duty of nurses is to design interventions to provide or manage self-care actions for individuals to recover or maintain health (Taylor, p. 74). Orem was one of the first theorists to realize that nursing is needed when humans are unable to care for themselves. She felt that â€Å"nursing is distinguished from other forms of care by the way it focuses on human beings† (Fawcett, 2001, p. 35). ... in 1934 and went on to the Catholic University of America to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education in 1939 and a Master of Science in Nursing Education in 1945 (â€Å"Dorothea Orem,† n.d.). Orem’s first jobs were at Providence Hospital, Washington, D.C. and St. John's Hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts. Some of the positions she held included operating room nurse, private nursing, hospital staff nursing in pediatric and adult medical –surgical units and evening emergency room supervisor. In 1945 she began to focus her career on nursing education. She worked as the director of Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Detroit and continued this phase of her career at the Catholic University of America where she worked as an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Dean of Nursing. In 1949 she left Detroit and moved to Indiana where she found a position as a consultant in the Division of Hospital and Institutional Services of the Indiana State Board of Health. During her tenure there she intended to raise the standard of nursing in hospitals throughout the state (â€Å"Biography of Dorothea Orem,† n.d.). Between 1949 and 1957 Orem was able to closely observe nurses and their work as a result of her position with the Indiana State Board of Health. As a result of her observations she began to realize that nursing required a certain way of thinking as well as a certain way of communicating (Fawcett, 2001). In attempting to develop nursing as a meaningful profession, Orem asked herself three questions: â€Å"(1) What do nurses do and what should nurses do as practitioners of nursing? (2) Why do nurses do what they do? and (3) What results from what nurses do as practitioners of nursing?† (Fawcett, 2001, p. 34) She

An investigation in to a link between emotional intelligence and Dissertation

An investigation in to a link between emotional intelligence and leadership stylea study in the public sector of South Africa - Dissertation Example However, in the advent of â€Å"emotional intelligence†, the element of human emotions and its effect on self and other people have been seriously considered as an essential factor in leadership. It has brought about a trend in the academic, corporate and political world, bringing a new dimension in the way things are run in organisations affecting company philosophy, policy, mission and vision. In the public sector, with leaders being targeted with scandals about corruption and greediness, good governance needs to be reinstated. Mokgolo et al. (2012) contend that relevant studies on leadership add knowledge that can elevate public service practices with the implementation of effective leadership, retention of valuable staff and quality of service delivery. Such relevant studies include the possession of emotional intelligence in good leadership. Statement of the Problem This study will investigate the possible links between emotional intelligence and effective leadership styl es that may be applicable in the public sector. Specifically, it will explore how it can be applied to the public sector of South Africa. Aims and Objectives The research purports to establish strong links between emotional intelligence and leaders who may be identified as effective and efficient by their subordinates. It will gather sufficient evidence from available literature as well as get first-hand information from subordinates and constituents of public sector leaders in South Africa. It aims to seek a clearer perspective on the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership. It hopes to be a useful resource to future leaders to guide them in the right path in leading the organizations they will be tasked to lead to success. Methodology This qualitative study investigates the importance of emotional intelligence in successful leadership and management in the public sector. Going beyond the surface in the review of literature, this study will probe beneath the issue of lea dership in organisations and delve into the emotional intelligence of leaders or the lack of it. Primary sources will be respondents’ answers to open ended questions in a questionnaire about the leadership styles of the leaders in their respective departments, further elaborated on in a focus group interview conducted on a later date. Secondary sources will be information culled from the literature review. Both sources shall be cross-referenced in a quantitative analysis of the themes that may surface from the questionnaires and focus group discussion. Literature Review Much research has been devoted to the topic of leadership. Yukl (2006) presents a comprehensive collection of studies on leadership, identifying various approaches to leadership. The behavior approach studies the leader’s typical pattern of behaviour to manage and lead. The power-influence approach takes on a more leader-centered perspective in that power is used not only to manage subordinates but also to influence peers, superiors, and even people outside the organization. The situational approach sees leadership as affected by contextual factors such as characteristics of followers, nature of the work performed, the type of organization and the nature of the external environment. Finally, the integrative approach involves more than one type of leadership variable and incorporates other perspectives of leadership (Yukl, 2006). In most of

New World Resource Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

New World Resource - Assignment Example e net present value therefore is NPV= -1,000,000+( 8000/1.10 +200000/1.12 + 800,000/1.13+820000/1.14+ 970,000/1.15) = 704045.20 Internal rate of return Year () Cash flow () 0 -1000000 1 8000 2 200000 3 800000 4 820000 5 970000 Then the IRR  Ã‚  is NPV= -1,000,000+( 8000/(1.1+r) +200000/(1.1+r)2 + 800,000/(1.1+r)3+820000/(1.1+r)4+ 970,000/(1.1+r)5) r = 15.20% Project 2: Code name: Zeta Net profit -3,000,000 1,400,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 Net profit Net profit = total revenue- initial investment. ... = 4800000 /3000000 = 1.6 Net present value Year  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cash Flow  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Present Value   0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -1,000,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -$1,000,000   1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1400000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $181,818.18   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1000,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $247,933.88     3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1000,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $150,262.96 4 800,000 5 600,000 Net Present Value = $80,015.02 The net present value therefore is NPV= -3,000,000+( 1400000/1.10 +1000000/1.12 + 1000,000/1.13+800000 /1.14+ 600,000/1.15) NPV= 927093.80 Internal rate of return Then the IRR  Ã‚  is NPV= -3,000,000+( 1400000/(1.1+r) +1000000/(1.1+r)2 + 1000,000/(1.1+r)3+800000/(1.1+r)4+ 600,000/(1.1+r)5) = 15.25 % Project 3: Code name: Lambda -1,200,000 0 400,000 900,000 1,000,000 700,000 Net profit Net profit = total revenue- initial investment. Net profit=3000000-1200000 = 1800000 Payback period Payback Period = Initial Investment Cash Inflow per Period Since the cash flow is uneven, Then Payback Period = A +(B/C) Cash Flows Cumulative Cash Flow Year Cash Flow 0 (1200000) (1200000) 1 0 (1200000) 2 400000 (800000) 3 900000 100000 4 1000000 1100000 5 700000 1800000 Payback Period = 2 + (|800000| ? 900000) ? 2 + 0.88 ? 2.88 years Return on investment Return on investment = totol amount gained/totol amount invested. = 3000000/1200000 = 2.5 Net present value Year  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cash Flow  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Present Value   0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -1,200,000  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -$1,200,000   1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -1200000

The differences between Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman Mosques Essay

The differences between Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman Mosques - Essay Example It was was founded in the eighth century by Suleiman Abd probably after the conquest of Aleppo. The mosque is slim, and its base is square having built using minaret. The Great Mosque is a six storey building divided by naskhi and Kufic inscriptions. Architected by Hassan Mufarraj, the Mosque has continuous moldings, pilasters, polyfoil arches and elaborate trefoil. It is the earliest extant monument in the prehistoric city of Aleppo and one hemicycle of the then city’s Byzantine cathedral still exists in the northern part of Bab Antikiyah (Ernst 38). Additionally, the mosque also has three major fragments: inscribed stones, grans antique and capitals. Moreover, the minaret of the Great Mosque in Aleppo is seen to be heavy with some relief ornament. The classicizing details, continuous moldings, cusped arches and certain idiosyncratic details all originate from the distinctive northwest Syria. The idiosyncratic details included pointed ovals that were inserted at the cusps of the moldings. The Mosque also is had mugarnas-like cornice on top of the shaft that helped to support the balcony. From a closer range, the masonry finishing does not look as fine as on the later ornamented style mosques in the Mamluk and Ottoman dynasties. The softer stones make the overall surface of the mosque to look smooth thus a finer finish. From a different dimension, the east and south courtyard facades preserve the significant sections of Nural-Din’s reconstruction of the mosques. Additionally, the complex Stereotomy of the ornamented style is left to free play and is accompanied by moldings drawn from local Late Antique monuments, inscriptions and finely dressed masonry that is beveled along the coursing. The Mosque was of great importance in the Muslim world since it is the oldest congregational mosque in the Islamic architecture (Burgoyne, 68). On the hand, the Mamluk dynasties new form of architecture evolved

Contamination and Remediation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Contamination and Remediation - Essay Example These properties have been passed over to the government for redevelopment. (source) One of these areas is 500 acres of land which used to be a petroleum refinery area. The former owner of the property, the Amoco Oil, together with the Sugar Creek Township would like to apply to the government for remediation of this property. They would like to redevelop this property and turn the 300 acres into a commercial and industrial site. They believe that the development of this property would bring back the value of the property, create job employment, and bring progress to the community. (source) Amoco oil has occupied 500 acres of land on both sides of Sugar Creek. The Missouri River bounds the site to the north, wooded areas are on the East Buff and West Bluff, and residential areas are t the south.(in ASTRA) The Norledge area is adjacent south side of the site. The Alchion Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroad lines run through the northern portion of the site. The state and the government provide financial assistance to qualified Brownfield developers as part of the Brownfield Assistance Program. Since Sugar Creek is a partner in this venture, municipal obligation bonds may be issued on a long term maturity to provide sufficient time for development. Amoco on its part of the deal may use corporate borrowings in forms of debt and or equity from shareholders a. Technical viewpoint. The technical side of the remediation is the identification or eligibility of participation of the proponents in the Brown field Cleanup program. A technical assessment will be done by the US EPA if the area qualifies to be in the Brownfield program (Dept. of Conservation) b. Remediation process. Clean up can make use of several process but use of pumps was found appropriate for Amoco’s purpose Initial efforts used a trench-type recovery system

What are the arguments in favour of electoral reform in britain Essay

What are the arguments in favour of electoral reform in britain - Essay Example While people have greater disregard for politicians, many are looking at them with mistrust, as they feel that politicians have no solutions fro the ills that face the country. As, the country needs more aggressive approach towards politics and the requirement to bring the required changes in political culture and conduct of politics, the methods to do so should include expansion of citizenship and voter education programs. However, the greatest need is to change the voting system, without which the above-mentioned goals may not be achieved. Hence, this paper shall discuss on the merits of the desired changes, which are called as electoral reform for Great Britain. In this direction, the effective application of advantages of â€Å"Single Transferable Vote† (STV), would require massive interaction with the politicians and citizens, encouraging younger blood to participate in elections, analyzing electoral results and reporting of election news by media in a mature and responsible manner.....(Electoral Reform Society, 2009) While the liberal parties have always favored a change in the voting system, conservative parties like the labor party and its allies are happy with the present system of voting. However, the adoption of Proportional Representative method of voting would necessarily change the present system of FPTP. As this system is prevalent in UK and USA, we find number of countries in the continent that follow a liberal proportional representative (PR) system of voting. The present system of FPTP allows for demarcation of constituencies, according to their geographical location and demographic characteristics, while the electorate is divided into such constituencies allowing a candidate to contest polls from a particular territory. Under this system, there is no difference in the winning methodology as any candidate is winner, whether he or she

Contamination and Remediation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Contamination and Remediation - Essay Example These properties have been passed over to the government for redevelopment. (source) One of these areas is 500 acres of land which used to be a petroleum refinery area. The former owner of the property, the Amoco Oil, together with the Sugar Creek Township would like to apply to the government for remediation of this property. They would like to redevelop this property and turn the 300 acres into a commercial and industrial site. They believe that the development of this property would bring back the value of the property, create job employment, and bring progress to the community. (source) Amoco oil has occupied 500 acres of land on both sides of Sugar Creek. The Missouri River bounds the site to the north, wooded areas are on the East Buff and West Bluff, and residential areas are t the south.(in ASTRA) The Norledge area is adjacent south side of the site. The Alchion Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroad lines run through the northern portion of the site. The state and the government provide financial assistance to qualified Brownfield developers as part of the Brownfield Assistance Program. Since Sugar Creek is a partner in this venture, municipal obligation bonds may be issued on a long term maturity to provide sufficient time for development. Amoco on its part of the deal may use corporate borrowings in forms of debt and or equity from shareholders a. Technical viewpoint. The technical side of the remediation is the identification or eligibility of participation of the proponents in the Brown field Cleanup program. A technical assessment will be done by the US EPA if the area qualifies to be in the Brownfield program (Dept. of Conservation) b. Remediation process. Clean up can make use of several process but use of pumps was found appropriate for Amoco’s purpose Initial efforts used a trench-type recovery system

Evaluate two articles on voter turn out. Articles will be uploaded Essay

Evaluate two articles on voter turn out. Articles will be uploaded - Essay Example s has been decreasing as well such that in the mid sixties 2.4 out of every 1,000 women over the age of 20 belonged to the League of Women Voters while this ratio decreased to 0.79 per 1,000 in 1988 (p. 653). Overall, this indicates that interest in the political process is decreasing with decreasing voter turnout since the sixties being a symptom of this phenomenon. The study in question attempts to gauge the effects of personal canvassing, telephone calls and direct mail on voter turnout while improving on gaps in previous research on the issue. It has been indicated that previous research on the issue is not credible because the sample sizes used were too small to provide strong generalizations. Previous research had sample sizes of between 200 and 500 respondents resulting in confidence levels of 95% with a variation of twenty percentage points (p. 654). In contrast, the current research has a sample size that is at least 100 times as large as previous research and excludes students because they are used for personal canvassing in this research (p. 655). The study is based on three types of intervention namely personal canvassing, telephone calls and direct mail that the researchers have labeled as treatments. The total size of the sample size was some 29,380 people selected at random from various neighborhoods around the city. The control groups were not provided any treatment at all while certain groups were provided one or more treatments (p. 655). Certain people demarcated for treatment who could not be reached (such as through phone calls) were shifted over into the control group because they met the criteria of the control group better than that of treatment. This shift of data tends to give this study a more realistic picture of intervention because previous studies have largely failed to accommodate such changes (p. 654). However, in assigning certain groups more than one treatment the research has moved into multivariate analysis that could not be

Groups and Culture Essay Example for Free

Groups and Culture Essay Cultural and social expectations dictate that individuals as members of one culture or society interact with other members, it is in the interpersonal relationships and interactions that the individual has with others that socialization occurs (Hofstede, 2000). The first interpersonal relation that an individual in any culture would have is confined in the family. Growth and maturation however dictates that the individual relate and interact with other people outside of his or her family, this could be teachers, caregivers, classmates and friends. Interacting with other people widens the perspective of the individual, in play children learn how to communicate and compromise, in the classroom, they learn to compete and cooperate and in the workplace, they learn to conform and collaborate (Hofstede, 2000). Everyone is part of a group, be it the family, a neighborhood, a class, a department, or a community. A fully functioning and healthy individual would be a member of two or more groups, and for each group, a different set of rules and expectations apply. A universal characteristic of groups is that it consists of two or more individuals who are interacting and behaving towards a common goal. Within this setting, group members constantly communicate, cooperate, and conform to the rules and objectives of the group (Guss, 2002). For example, a gang of adolescent boys had been formed based on friendship, and each member subscribes to the rules of the gang, thus behaviors like rites of initiation are meant to strengthen the member’s commitment to the group. The goal of the gang may simply be to cultivate their friendship and protect each other, thus the members would cooperate in order to achieve that goal (Brew, Hesketh Taylor, 2001). In contrast, a group of teenagers in a bus is not really a group because they do not have shared rules and expectations, although they may have the same goal, and that is to reach their destination. Groups also tend to form and break up over the course of life events and human development. The behavior of groups and its members are also heavily influenced by the dominant culture in which it is situated. A group of workers in a collectivist culture like that of South Korea would strongly conform to the rules and regulations of the organization they work for (Hofstede, 2000). Complaints against company practices or policies are expected to be minimal such that collectivist cultures places value on group cohesion, unity, and cooperation. Workers in South Korea would believe that they are working not for themselves but for their families, their organization and their country. Thinking of one’s self above others in this culture is frowned upon, thus, not many individuals take leadership roles because it calls attention to oneself (Hofstede, 2000). Thus, workers conform without question, they cooperate with the given policies and they build relationships among the workers. On the other hand, a group of workers in an individualist culture like the US is not as easily conforming and cooperative as the workers in South Korea. Individualist cultures places importance on individual achievement, individual differences, self-expression and nonconformity (Hofstede, 2000). Workers in the US would join organizations that provide them with the opportunities for individual achievement and professional growth. To a certain degree, US workers do conform to the expected behavior of workers, but only if they perceive it as a necessary requirement of their individual performance. For example, workers generally attend company activities because they get something out of it, or because it is required of them to come and attendance would have positive implications in one’s performance rating (Hofstede, 2000). In this culture, workers are vocal about their ideas and opinions about the organization’s policies, they are confrontational such that demanding increase in one’s salary is the norm, not the exception. References Brew, F. P. , Hesketh, B. , Taylor, A. (2001). Individualistic-collectivist differences in adolescent decision making and decision styles with Chinese and Anglos. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25, 1-19. Guss, C. D. (2002). Decision making in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, D. N. Sattler (Eds. ), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 4, Chapter 3), (http://www. wwu. edu/~culture), Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington USA. Hofstede, G. (2000). Cultures consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lost Horizon :: essays research papers

Hilton, James. Lost Horizon. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Morrow and Company,1939.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I read Lost Horizon for my book report. The main characters in this story are Conway, Mallinson, Barnard, and Miss Brinklow. Conway was a man of thirty-seven years old who didn’t have a wife or any other family. Mallinson was a young man of about twenty or so who was not married yet either. Barnard was a middle-aged man that was without a wife or family also. Miss Brinklow was a woman of around the age of fifty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This story was about four passengers on an aeroplane that was supposed to be going to Peshawar from Baskul. While they were on the trip, they noticed that the pilot wasn’t keeping a straight course to Peshawar, so they went to the front to ask the pilot what was happening and they noticed that it wasn’t the pilot who was supposed to be flying the aeroplane. When they tried to ask the pilot what was going on, he pointed a gun on them, so all they could do was ride the plane until he stopped.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They finally came to a land after they had flown many hours. The pilot was dying and in his last words he told them that there was a place not far from where they were and that they could go there. Not long on their journey they met some people who were from this place, which is called Shangri-La, and these people led them there. When they got there, they were told that it would be about two months before there was a way for them to make the journey back to civilization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In these two months Conway and Chang, who was a guy that made their stay comfortable, talked a lot. In these talks Conway would ask many questions that Chang could not answer and this got Conway puzzled and made him think that there was something that was being hidden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Almost after these two months were up Chang told Conway that the High Lama wanted to see him and that this was an honor because he had never seen anyone that quickly after arriving there. When Conway was talking with the High Lama, he told him the story of the place and about the person who founded it. He also told him about the legend that this guy had never died and that when someone came to this place that there was a drug that they took that made them live longer than a normal person would.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay -- essays research papers

Art, what is Art? It is an ambiguous matter: without an exact form, an exact meaning. Does it have any rules or restrictions? However, it can be a great influence on the lives of people. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, two lovers have fell in and out of love due to Art!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dorian Gray found Sibyl charming because of her Art!  ¡Ã‚ §She has not merely art, consummate art-instinct in her, but she has personality also; and you have often told me that it is personalities, not principles, that move the age ¡Ã‚ ¨ (63). Sibyl is an actress. She is formed by others: no self is without external influence. Therefore, Art that expresses the self is less valuable than art which expresses the influence of others. The special thing that made Dorian mad about her is that she is more than an individual.  ¡Ã‚ §I (Dorian) have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one ¡Ã‚ ¦s imagination. No glamour ever transfigures them ¡Ã‚ ¨ (59). By imagination that Sibyl has the power to arouse, she can be of any characteristics. Art has no set form, but the purpose of art is to give form to feeling. Now, Sibyl is a person that is able to provide all kinds of feelings that Dorian wishes to experience. Dorian finds extreme pleasure in experiencing through all the sentiments that Sibyl gives. Being a spectator to the different lives and stories amuses Dorian: one evening Sibyl is Juliet, next evening she is Imogen, another night, she is Roselind. &nbs... The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay -- essays research papers Art, what is Art? It is an ambiguous matter: without an exact form, an exact meaning. Does it have any rules or restrictions? However, it can be a great influence on the lives of people. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, two lovers have fell in and out of love due to Art!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dorian Gray found Sibyl charming because of her Art!  ¡Ã‚ §She has not merely art, consummate art-instinct in her, but she has personality also; and you have often told me that it is personalities, not principles, that move the age ¡Ã‚ ¨ (63). Sibyl is an actress. She is formed by others: no self is without external influence. Therefore, Art that expresses the self is less valuable than art which expresses the influence of others. The special thing that made Dorian mad about her is that she is more than an individual.  ¡Ã‚ §I (Dorian) have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one ¡Ã‚ ¦s imagination. No glamour ever transfigures them ¡Ã‚ ¨ (59). By imagination that Sibyl has the power to arouse, she can be of any characteristics. Art has no set form, but the purpose of art is to give form to feeling. Now, Sibyl is a person that is able to provide all kinds of feelings that Dorian wishes to experience. Dorian finds extreme pleasure in experiencing through all the sentiments that Sibyl gives. Being a spectator to the different lives and stories amuses Dorian: one evening Sibyl is Juliet, next evening she is Imogen, another night, she is Roselind. &nbs...

Electronic Payment System

UNIT – 3 Electronic Payment System Contents †¢ What is E-payment? †¢ Types of E-payment Systems †¢ Digital Token-based Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Smart Cards & Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Credit Card-based Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Risk & Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Designing Electronic Payment System What is E-payment ? †¢ E-payment systems is the mechanism of transferring money over the Internet and technology used in this transfer is called as EFT. EFT defined as â€Å" any transfer of fund initiated through an e-terminal, telephonic instrument, or computer or magnetic tape to order, instruct or authorize a financial institution to debit or credit an account. It is mostly used for Business to business (B2B) commerce where companies doing business together tend to use electronic data interchange (EDI) system to send each other bills and notices of payment. E-Payment †¢ Information online offline $Products/services Adva ntages of E-Payment †¢ †¢ †¢ Increase payment efficiency – Reduce transaction costs – Enable trade in goods and services of very low value Increase convenience of making payments – Payment can be made swiftly and remotely using various devices Can be used for – e-commerce / e-Trade – For other purposes like paying bills, taxes, etc MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 1Categories of EFT Banking and financial payments * Large-scale or wholesale payment * Small scale or retail payment * Home banking Retailing payments * Credit cards * Debit cards On-line electronic commerce payments * Token-based payment system ~ Electronic cash ~ Electronic checks ~ Smart cards or debit cards * Credit card-based payment systems ~ Encrypted credit cards ~ Third-party authorization numbers Main factors when selecting e-payment method †¢ Availability (bank system, laws and regulations) †¢ The consideration of size and type of business, type of a target group of consumers, types of products and services. The ability to provide security against fraudulent activity †¢ Being cost effective for low value transaction fees †¢ Being protective of the privacy of the users †¢ Easy to use, and being convenient for purchasing on the web based e-business Token-based E-Payment Systems Electronic tokens are the new financial instruments which are in the form of electronic cash/money or checks.Electronic tokens are same as cash that is backed by bank. They are of three types: 1. Cash or real-time ( e-cash) 2. Debit or Prepaid (smart cards, e-purses) 3. Credit or Postpaid (credit/debit cards, e-checks) E-cash Electronic cash is a consumer-oriented electronic payment. Though it replaces the cash but still cash is quite dominant form of payment for three reasons: 1. Lack of trust in banking system 2.Inefficient clearing and settlement of non-cash transaction 3. Negativ e real interest rates paid on bank deposit Advantages of cash over credit cards †¢ It is negotiable †¢ Cash is a legal tender †¢ Cash is a bearer instrument †¢ It need require bank account to operate †¢ No risk on the part of acceptor that the medium of exchange may not be good MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 2Properties of e-cash E-cash must have following four properties: Monetary values: Interoperability Retrievability Security E-cash in Action †¢ E-cash based on cryptographic systems called â€Å"digital signature† †¢ †¢ †¢ This method involves pair of two numeric keys (very large number or integer) that work in tandem (cycle): one for encoding and another for decoding. Message encoded with one numeric key can only be decoded with other numeric key and none other. The encoding key is kept private while the decoding key is made public. E-checks †¢ E-checks are a nother form of electronic tokens. †¢ †¢ A new electronic version of paper check. E-check is an instruction to a financial institution to pay a given amount of money to the payee. It is a specially formatted email message sent over the Internet. It contains as the same information as on paper based check. Check service providers PayByCheck (http://www. paybycheck. com) CyberSource (http://cybersource. com) Transaction Payment Sequence in E-check system Payer Transfer e-check Payee Deposit e-check Forward e-check for payer authentication Bank Accounting Server MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof.Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 3 Transaction Payment Sequence in E-check system †¢ Buyer must register with third party account server using electronic check. †¢ On receiving the check, the seller presents it to accounting server for verification and payment. †¢ The accounting system verifies the digital signature on the check. †¢ Proper ly signed and endorsed checks can be electronically exchanged between financial institutions through electronic clearing house. Advantages of E-Check †¢ They work in the same way as traditional checks. †¢ E-checks are suited for micro payments. Eliminate the need for expensive process reengineering and taking advantage of the banking industry. †¢ Financial risk is assumed by accounting server. †¢ E-checks create a float through third-party accounting server. They make money out of buyers and sellers transaction by providing deposit account. Difference b/w EFT and E-check †¢ In E-Cheque, electronic versions of the cheque are issued, received & processed. So, payee issues an E-Cheque for each payment. †¢ In EFT transfer automatic withdrawals are made for monthly bills or other fixed payments; no cheques are issued.Smart cards †¢ A smart card is a plastic card with an embedded microchip containing information about you. †¢ A smart card can store about 100 times the amount of information that a magnetic strip plastic card can store. †¢ A smart card contains private user information, such as financial facts, private encryption keys, account information, credit card numbers, health insurance information, etc. †¢ So far not successful in U. S. , but popular in Europe, Germany, Singapore and Japan to pay for public phone call, transportation.Mondex Smart Card †¢ Holds and dispenses electronic cash (Smart-card based, stored-value card) †¢ Developed by MasterCard International †¢ Requires specific card reader, called Mondex terminal, for merchant or customer to use card over Internet †¢ Supports micropayments and works both online and off-line at stores or over the telephone †¢ Secret chip-to-chip transfer protocol †¢ Loaded through ATM – ATM does not know transfer protocol; connects with secure device at bank MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi , SOM, SIMS, Indore Mondex Smart Card Processing Mondex Smart Card †¢ Disadvantages – Card carries real cash in electronic form, creating the possibility of theft – No deferred (overdue) payment as with credit cards – cash is dispensed immediately Types of Smart cards Smart cards are basically of two types: 1. Relationship-based Smart Cards 2. Electronic Purses and Debit Cards Relationship-based Smart Cards It is the enhancement of existing card services that offer customers far better options like: 1. Access to multiple accounts (debit, credit, e-cash) on one card. 2.Offer various functions ( cash access, bill payment, balance inquiry, fund transfer) 3. Multiple access options at multiple location using multiple access device (ATM, PC, PDA or screenphone etc) Electronic Purses and Debit Cards Electronic Purses or E- wallet are the smart cards embedded with programmable microchip that store sum of money instead of cash. Once a purse is loaded with money it require card reader vending machine which verifies its authenticity . Then after amount is deducted from balance. It shows the remaining balance on the card hence eliminate the small bill in busy stores.E-wallets when depleted can be recharged with money . MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 5 Credit cards-based e-payment system Credit Cards †¢ A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users dealing in e-commerce. Most credit cards are the same shape and size, as specified by the ISO 7810 standard. †¢ A credit card is different to a debit card in that it does not remove money from the user's account after every transaction. In the case of credit cards, the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid to the merchant.Credit cards-based e-payment system Customers who purchase any goods send their credit card details to the service provider involved and the credit card organization will handle thi s payment. Online credit card payment has following categories: 1. Payment using plain credit card details 2. Payments using encrypted credit card details 3. Payment using third-party verification Entities involved in Credit card Transaction Consumer (Buyer or Card holder) Merchant (Seller) Card Issuer (Consumers’ Bank) Acquirer or Principal (Merchant’s Bank) Card Association (Visa, Master Card etc) Third party processor How an Online Credit Transaction WorksEncryption and Credit cards Encryption process starts when credit card information is entered into a browser and sent securely over network between buyer to seller. Encryption process includes following steps: 1. Customer presents his credit card information securely to merchant. 2. Merchant validates the authenticity of card holder 3. Merchant relays this information to its bank or on-line card processor. MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 6 4. The bank r elays the information to customer’s bank for authorization approval 5.The customer’s bank returns the credit card , charge authentication and authorization to the merchant Processing Payment with Encrypted Third-party authorization and Credit cards In third party processing, consumer register with third party on the internet to verify emicrotransaction. The companies providing third party payment service on internet are: ( First Virtual) †¢ http://www. fv. com †¢ http://www. openmarket. com †¢ http://www. 2checkout. com/ †¢ http://www. paypal. com/ Payment can be made by credit card via clearing house.Online Third-Party Processor (OTPPs) has following steps for buying information online. 1. Consumer registers for an OTPP a/c that is backed by credit card. 2. To purchase customer request merchant by her OTPP account no. 3. Merchant then contact the OTPP payment server with customer’s account no. 4. OTPP payment server verifies the customerâ₠¬â„¢s account no. for vender (merchant) & checks for sufficient funds. 5. OTPP server send a message to buyer that can be responded back by buyer as ; yes/agree; No/disagree; fraud. 6.If OTPP gets ‘Yes’ from customer, merchant is informed & then customer is allowed to download material. MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 7 Online Payment Processing using a Third-party Processor Risk in using Credit cards †¢ Customer uses a stolen card or account number to fraudulently purchase goods or service online. †¢ Many people who will be on the Internet have not even had their first Web experience. †¢ Hackers find the ways into an e-commerce merchant’s payment processing system and then issue credits to hacker card account numbers. Many users are also likely to be younger and have less access to credit and debit cards †¢ Many purchases they make will be micropayments. †¢ Credit cards canno t be used for large sums of B2B transactions †¢ Customer falsely claims that he or she did not receive a shipment Limitations of Online Credit Card Payment Systems †¢ Security – neither merchant nor consumer can be fully authenticated. †¢ Cost – for merchants, around 3. 5% of purchase price plus transaction fee of 2030 cents per transaction. †¢ People living in rural areas don’t have same access to computers and Internet that others do. Social equity – many people do not have access to credit cards (young and old age), disabled, individuals who are not computer savvy and individuals who cannot afford cards ( poor credit risk). Designing Electronic Payment Systems Following criteria should be satisfied while designing any new E-payment System: 1. Privacy 6. Pricing 2. Security 7. Standards 3. Intuitive Interface 4. Database Integration 5. Brokers MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Ind ore 8 Electronic Payment System UNIT – 3 Electronic Payment System Contents †¢ What is E-payment? †¢ Types of E-payment Systems †¢ Digital Token-based Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Smart Cards & Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Credit Card-based Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Risk & Electronic Payment Systems †¢ Designing Electronic Payment System What is E-payment ? †¢ E-payment systems is the mechanism of transferring money over the Internet and technology used in this transfer is called as EFT. EFT defined as â€Å" any transfer of fund initiated through an e-terminal, telephonic instrument, or computer or magnetic tape to order, instruct or authorize a financial institution to debit or credit an account. It is mostly used for Business to business (B2B) commerce where companies doing business together tend to use electronic data interchange (EDI) system to send each other bills and notices of payment. E-Payment †¢ Information online offline $Products/services Adva ntages of E-Payment †¢ †¢ †¢ Increase payment efficiency – Reduce transaction costs – Enable trade in goods and services of very low value Increase convenience of making payments – Payment can be made swiftly and remotely using various devices Can be used for – e-commerce / e-Trade – For other purposes like paying bills, taxes, etc MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 1Categories of EFT Banking and financial payments * Large-scale or wholesale payment * Small scale or retail payment * Home banking Retailing payments * Credit cards * Debit cards On-line electronic commerce payments * Token-based payment system ~ Electronic cash ~ Electronic checks ~ Smart cards or debit cards * Credit card-based payment systems ~ Encrypted credit cards ~ Third-party authorization numbers Main factors when selecting e-payment method †¢ Availability (bank system, laws and regulations) †¢ The consideration of size and type of business, type of a target group of consumers, types of products and services. The ability to provide security against fraudulent activity †¢ Being cost effective for low value transaction fees †¢ Being protective of the privacy of the users †¢ Easy to use, and being convenient for purchasing on the web based e-business Token-based E-Payment Systems Electronic tokens are the new financial instruments which are in the form of electronic cash/money or checks.Electronic tokens are same as cash that is backed by bank. They are of three types: 1. Cash or real-time ( e-cash) 2. Debit or Prepaid (smart cards, e-purses) 3. Credit or Postpaid (credit/debit cards, e-checks) E-cash Electronic cash is a consumer-oriented electronic payment. Though it replaces the cash but still cash is quite dominant form of payment for three reasons: 1. Lack of trust in banking system 2.Inefficient clearing and settlement of non-cash transaction 3. Negativ e real interest rates paid on bank deposit Advantages of cash over credit cards †¢ It is negotiable †¢ Cash is a legal tender †¢ Cash is a bearer instrument †¢ It need require bank account to operate †¢ No risk on the part of acceptor that the medium of exchange may not be good MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 2Properties of e-cash E-cash must have following four properties: Monetary values: Interoperability Retrievability Security E-cash in Action †¢ E-cash based on cryptographic systems called â€Å"digital signature† †¢ †¢ †¢ This method involves pair of two numeric keys (very large number or integer) that work in tandem (cycle): one for encoding and another for decoding. Message encoded with one numeric key can only be decoded with other numeric key and none other. The encoding key is kept private while the decoding key is made public. E-checks †¢ E-checks are a nother form of electronic tokens. †¢ †¢ A new electronic version of paper check. E-check is an instruction to a financial institution to pay a given amount of money to the payee. It is a specially formatted email message sent over the Internet. It contains as the same information as on paper based check. Check service providers PayByCheck (http://www. paybycheck. com) CyberSource (http://cybersource. com) Transaction Payment Sequence in E-check system Payer Transfer e-check Payee Deposit e-check Forward e-check for payer authentication Bank Accounting Server MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof.Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 3 Transaction Payment Sequence in E-check system †¢ Buyer must register with third party account server using electronic check. †¢ On receiving the check, the seller presents it to accounting server for verification and payment. †¢ The accounting system verifies the digital signature on the check. †¢ Proper ly signed and endorsed checks can be electronically exchanged between financial institutions through electronic clearing house. Advantages of E-Check †¢ They work in the same way as traditional checks. †¢ E-checks are suited for micro payments. Eliminate the need for expensive process reengineering and taking advantage of the banking industry. †¢ Financial risk is assumed by accounting server. †¢ E-checks create a float through third-party accounting server. They make money out of buyers and sellers transaction by providing deposit account. Difference b/w EFT and E-check †¢ In E-Cheque, electronic versions of the cheque are issued, received & processed. So, payee issues an E-Cheque for each payment. †¢ In EFT transfer automatic withdrawals are made for monthly bills or other fixed payments; no cheques are issued.Smart cards †¢ A smart card is a plastic card with an embedded microchip containing information about you. †¢ A smart card can store about 100 times the amount of information that a magnetic strip plastic card can store. †¢ A smart card contains private user information, such as financial facts, private encryption keys, account information, credit card numbers, health insurance information, etc. †¢ So far not successful in U. S. , but popular in Europe, Germany, Singapore and Japan to pay for public phone call, transportation.Mondex Smart Card †¢ Holds and dispenses electronic cash (Smart-card based, stored-value card) †¢ Developed by MasterCard International †¢ Requires specific card reader, called Mondex terminal, for merchant or customer to use card over Internet †¢ Supports micropayments and works both online and off-line at stores or over the telephone †¢ Secret chip-to-chip transfer protocol †¢ Loaded through ATM – ATM does not know transfer protocol; connects with secure device at bank MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi , SOM, SIMS, Indore Mondex Smart Card Processing Mondex Smart Card †¢ Disadvantages – Card carries real cash in electronic form, creating the possibility of theft – No deferred (overdue) payment as with credit cards – cash is dispensed immediately Types of Smart cards Smart cards are basically of two types: 1. Relationship-based Smart Cards 2. Electronic Purses and Debit Cards Relationship-based Smart Cards It is the enhancement of existing card services that offer customers far better options like: 1. Access to multiple accounts (debit, credit, e-cash) on one card. 2.Offer various functions ( cash access, bill payment, balance inquiry, fund transfer) 3. Multiple access options at multiple location using multiple access device (ATM, PC, PDA or screenphone etc) Electronic Purses and Debit Cards Electronic Purses or E- wallet are the smart cards embedded with programmable microchip that store sum of money instead of cash. Once a purse is loaded with money it require card reader vending machine which verifies its authenticity . Then after amount is deducted from balance. It shows the remaining balance on the card hence eliminate the small bill in busy stores.E-wallets when depleted can be recharged with money . MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 5 Credit cards-based e-payment system Credit Cards †¢ A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users dealing in e-commerce. Most credit cards are the same shape and size, as specified by the ISO 7810 standard. †¢ A credit card is different to a debit card in that it does not remove money from the user's account after every transaction. In the case of credit cards, the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid to the merchant.Credit cards-based e-payment system Customers who purchase any goods send their credit card details to the service provider involved and the credit card organization will handle thi s payment. Online credit card payment has following categories: 1. Payment using plain credit card details 2. Payments using encrypted credit card details 3. Payment using third-party verification Entities involved in Credit card Transaction Consumer (Buyer or Card holder) Merchant (Seller) Card Issuer (Consumers’ Bank) Acquirer or Principal (Merchant’s Bank) Card Association (Visa, Master Card etc) Third party processor How an Online Credit Transaction WorksEncryption and Credit cards Encryption process starts when credit card information is entered into a browser and sent securely over network between buyer to seller. Encryption process includes following steps: 1. Customer presents his credit card information securely to merchant. 2. Merchant validates the authenticity of card holder 3. Merchant relays this information to its bank or on-line card processor. MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 6 4. The bank r elays the information to customer’s bank for authorization approval 5.The customer’s bank returns the credit card , charge authentication and authorization to the merchant Processing Payment with Encrypted Third-party authorization and Credit cards In third party processing, consumer register with third party on the internet to verify emicrotransaction. The companies providing third party payment service on internet are: ( First Virtual) †¢ http://www. fv. com †¢ http://www. openmarket. com †¢ http://www. 2checkout. com/ †¢ http://www. paypal. com/ Payment can be made by credit card via clearing house.Online Third-Party Processor (OTPPs) has following steps for buying information online. 1. Consumer registers for an OTPP a/c that is backed by credit card. 2. To purchase customer request merchant by her OTPP account no. 3. Merchant then contact the OTPP payment server with customer’s account no. 4. OTPP payment server verifies the customerâ₠¬â„¢s account no. for vender (merchant) & checks for sufficient funds. 5. OTPP server send a message to buyer that can be responded back by buyer as ; yes/agree; No/disagree; fraud. 6.If OTPP gets ‘Yes’ from customer, merchant is informed & then customer is allowed to download material. MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Indore 7 Online Payment Processing using a Third-party Processor Risk in using Credit cards †¢ Customer uses a stolen card or account number to fraudulently purchase goods or service online. †¢ Many people who will be on the Internet have not even had their first Web experience. †¢ Hackers find the ways into an e-commerce merchant’s payment processing system and then issue credits to hacker card account numbers. Many users are also likely to be younger and have less access to credit and debit cards †¢ Many purchases they make will be micropayments. †¢ Credit cards canno t be used for large sums of B2B transactions †¢ Customer falsely claims that he or she did not receive a shipment Limitations of Online Credit Card Payment Systems †¢ Security – neither merchant nor consumer can be fully authenticated. †¢ Cost – for merchants, around 3. 5% of purchase price plus transaction fee of 2030 cents per transaction. †¢ People living in rural areas don’t have same access to computers and Internet that others do. Social equity – many people do not have access to credit cards (young and old age), disabled, individuals who are not computer savvy and individuals who cannot afford cards ( poor credit risk). Designing Electronic Payment Systems Following criteria should be satisfied while designing any new E-payment System: 1. Privacy 6. Pricing 2. Security 7. Standards 3. Intuitive Interface 4. Database Integration 5. Brokers MBA-II, EBF (FT-204C) Unit-3, Study material compiled by Prof. Vanita Joshi, SOM, SIMS, Ind ore 8