Challenges faced by financial asset pricing models Essay

Challenges faced by financial asset pricing models - Essay Example Even then these models would serve as a better guide to the market than the lessons taught by a financial ruin. That is a strong reason for understanding the challenges faced by the financial asset pricing models, so that these models can be used with discretion to understand the market better. Seen from that angle understanding the correlation between risk and returns, by using a tool, in this case the financial asset pricing models is vital. Any pricing errors would affect the valuation models, jeopardize value judgments and therefore give rise to incorrect risk assessment. The challenges faced by the asset pricing models are on the rise due to the intermingling of economies due to globalization. Along with the increase in challenges the number of critics also increases. These pressures and requirements in turn give rise to new models of financial asset pricing. However the scope of this essay is limited to the empirical challenges faced by financial asset pricing models. To make a base for this study I start with comparing and contrasting different financial disasters that made headlines in the past with the more recent ones. In the past all the noted failures were either due to lack of analytical capacity, absence of systems, error in using models or failure to appreciate risks. The inadequate appreciation of yield curves resulted in S&L bailout. Askin Capital management fiasco was as a result of inadequate analytics and Kidder Peaboy tragedy occurred due to the imperfect management risks. In contrast to this is the more recent failures where even the financial entities known for their efficiencies were dragged to take knee jerk reactions to address huge market dislocations like Russia's default and a collapse in liquidity. The problem solving capacity of an investor has increased manifold through the years. Powerful machines today help investors solve problems, which were considered beyond scope, just a few years ago. The right kind of codes put together (software) by a programmer can have a path breaking consequence on the computational capability of an investor. Side by side with this technological breakthrough, there is also a reduction in cost of computation and emergence of better financial theories. Today's investors are much more aware of the market conditions and have a greater capacity to analyze and take logical decisions about investments due to the availability of different computation methods and real time accessibility to information. But paradoxically usage of these refined method for investment have made the markets more risk prone due to the intermingling of the market in a globalized economy. A direct consequence of this is the rise of common risks. Traditionally investors used to div ersify their portfolio in an attempt to beat an existing market risk and they were successful in this due to the difference in risk associated with different securities. But now with the increase in awareness about the different tools with which they can make decisions there is a commonality of reaction to a crisis resulting in potential catastrophes. At the time of a crisis the investors try and reduce risk by selling their illiquid positions. But since by now the demand for it would go down due o the similar stance all over by the investors, they try to sell their liquid positions no matter which market they are in. Due to this massive movement the market gets

West Bank, Gaza and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay Example for Free

West Bank, Gaza and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been very crucial in the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict. After the First World War, the area was under the British Mandate of Palestine. But Jordan captured West Bank in 1948 when the Arab-Israeli War commenced. By 1967, Israel recaptured the West Bank during the Six-Day War. Yet, Jordan did not drop its claim to the area until 1988. It is interesting to note that most of the residents in the area are Arabs. But since 1967, more Israeli settlement has been added. Israel’s occupation of the West Bank area is historically important because they consider this area as historically theirs. As such, they called it Judea and Samaria. The Arabs, however, object to this terminology and claims that the Israeli just want to justify their expansionist aims. As such, the Arabs call it the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River. The establishment of Israeli settlements in the West Bank area drew the ire of Arabs during the 1970s. Only in 1978 did the Arabs’ desire for self-rule taken into consideration under the Camp David Accords. The plan however never materialized. Gaza Strip on the other hand is part of the Palestinian authorities although it has been in the hands of the Israeli military since 1967 as part of the West Bank occupation. In 1987, the Arabs started rioting in response to the curfew and increased Israeli presence at the Gaza Strip. In their view, such acts were a violation of their human rights and they could not allow it to proceed. This led to the Intifada or uprising, which led to protests and violent attacks. The Israeli military responded with force leading to deaths and property damages. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank figure prominently in the security concerns of Israel. In the first place, the occupation of Gaza Strip was tied up to the efforts of Israel to cut off the support of Lebanon to Palestinian fighters. The occupation was a means to stem the attacks against Jerusalem and serve as a watching post should there be renewed violence and fighting directed against the country, which stands as an island in a sea of Arab nations. As Israel continued to occupy the Gaza Strip and West Bank, it went through painful confrontations, peace talks—some of which succeeded, most of it failed. Yet, with the continuous assertion of Palestinians of their right to the territory and the civilian toll of the conflicts, Israel had to agree to the terms of various peace talks in withdrawing from the territory and relinquish control to Palestinians. In the year 2005, the Israeli government declared unilaterally that it has ended its occupation of the Gaza Strip. Due to the continuous dangers posed on the civilians and perhaps because of the heavy damages caused by war, the government has chosen this course of action. Still, the case of West Bank and Gaza Strip is peculiar because of the lack of sovereignty of the area prior to the occupation of Israel. Yet, with the withdrawal of Israel from the region, the country still holds control of Philadelphi Route, which is important in preventing the smuggling of materials into Egypt. The main concern of Israel remains its security and the prevention of hostilities. Reference Dowty, Alan (2001). The Jewish State: A Century Later. California: University of California Press.

The Environment Of Perhentian Island, Malaysia

The Environment Of Perhentian Island, Malaysia For many small islands tourism is economically significant as a source of income and employment. Islands, especially small islands, continue to fascinate and attract tourists, and for tropical Less Developed Countries (LDCs) such as Malaysia with many offshore islands, developers and government planners see the potential to develop resorts. However, what if small islands that already host international tourism, even small-scale such as backpackers? What issues and tensions might emerge as these small island destinations face significant change? Peninsular Malaysia has many small islands off the east coast, they all have become increasingly popular among foreign and local tourist alike. Islands like Perhentian is drawing more and more people to visit and this popularity although good for the economics has brought about a mass tourism phenomenon whereby large amounts of people visit the island at one given time thus crowding the island. This drives the tourism authorities, hotels and t our operators to supply to the demand, focusing more on the mass tourism and the revenue it generates, thus neglecting the environmental degradation that brings about many negative impacts to the island. Many conservation programmes have been since embarked by the tourism authorities after realising the need for protection for the environment but most are just ad hoc and has not been sustained. The Perhentian islands off the east coast of peninsula Malaysia have been a tourism destination since the late 1980s when backpackers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾discoveredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ these islands. The two main islands of perhentian have experienced differing forms of development since then, and this island has since attracted more and more visitors to its majestic islands. And this paper examines how mass tourism can affect a particular destination as a result of its popularity. 1.2 Research question What are the effects of mass tourism to the environment of Pulau Perhentian that will be my research question My problem comes with mass and advancing tourism industry and its effect to the natural setting that we have in Perhentian Island. Urbanization is not indeed a problem to anyone, judging by the way everyone is living compared to 20 years back. The convenience to carry out a task is made so simple by so many gadgets, storing, managing and sharing data and information has never been easier after the invention of the internet and so on. Its a virtual world now that we are living in. Tourism is the no 1 hospitality industry in the world, with the advancement of technology in transportation and information transfer. Booking, choosing, travelling and experiencing has never been more easy. But have we ever stop to think what is required for us to experience these holidays? Hotel? Land? Natural resource? , and have we ever taken a step back to think what and how our activities have done to our environment? I am not arguing saying that tourism industry is the main cause of all the pollution and devastation caused. But in this paper I am going to show what some irresponsible stakeholders have done to Perhentian and how our mother nature suffers while watching us frolicking. 1.3 Research objectives Malaysia is a country which embraces its modernity while its tradition and world old charm, together with this is its thriving beauty of the natural setting, the tropical jungles and its diverse ecosystem. Therefore this destination is fuelled by an increasing number of local and international tourists, and with advancement of global communication, the numbers are rocketing up. But with the increasing number of tourist host and suppliers in Malaysia need to cater to the demand thus causing development and urbanization, and thus causing Malaysia to lose much of its land, rain forest, sacrificing endangered species of animals along the way This research has three specific objectives in order to understand the impact of mass tourism to the environment. The first objective is to examine perhentian island which have been affected, the result of these pollutions and to prove that these pollutions are caused by mass tourism activities. The second objective is to understand how government, NGOs and the public are doing to preserve the environment. The third objective is to provide solutions and ideas that can be used for the future of tourism and also preserve the environment at the same time so that tourism and sustainability can coexist without destroying each other. 1.4 Significant of studies This research provides several benefits to the tourism industry , the local community and Perhentian island. This research will help to show how mass tourism has been affecting the natural setting of perhentian island, and the danger that it poses to the endangered species of animals that share the islands warm water and jungles with us. Second, by identifying the cause and effect of the damage to perhentian island, measures can be than taken by local authorities and other government bodies to preserve the remaining of the island and set boundaries and rules which may in return bring back the balance in the ecosystem and the natural setting of perhentian island. Third, by implementing ;travel laws in perhentian , this would help to reduce on the damage that has hit perhentian. And help to preserve the environment and its ecosystem for the younger generation to experience. Lastly, this research also contributes knowledge to sustain the natural setting not only in perhentian but also other destinations in Malaysia that could face the same problem as Perhentian. 1.5 Limitations of studies This research is done to identify the relationships between Mass tourism activity and its direct impact to Perhentian island. Besides that, this research examines the results of such activity and the solutions that can be resorted to in order to maintain a balance. This research is conducted in Perhentian Island, Malaysia. Interviews will be carried out to both local and international tourists who are visiting Perhentian. . The sample size is limited to 100 respondents. As perhentian is a small island 2.0 Literature review 2.1 Mass tourism What is tourism? There is no single definition of tourism which everyone uses. Many definitions have been used over the years, some of which are universal and can be applied to any situation, and others terms for a more specific purpose. Different tourism organisation, for example, often devises definitions that satisfy their own specific requirements. The more universal definition builds on Goeldner and Ritchie (2006) Tourism may be defined as the sum of the processes, activities and outcomes arising from the relationship and the interaction among tourist, tourism suppliers, host governments, host communities and surrounding environments that are involved in the attracting, transporting, hosting and management of tourist and other visitors. Tourism according to the Cambridge online dictionary states that its the business of providing services such as transport, places to stay or entertainment for people who are on holiday. Meanwhile the oxford online dictionary says that its the commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest. What is mass tourism Mass tourism is the act of visiting a leisure destination with large amounts of people at one time. The development of mass tourism is parallel to the development and improvements of technology. Transportation and internet has evolved so much in time , making communication fast and easy, this allows tourist to research, find out and book and even pay for their holidays online, this thus contributing to the rise of mass tourism, besides that the improvement in technology in the transportation industry also helps in the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time. Mass tourism has always been the subject of criticism for its negative impacts around the world. Many books point out mass tourisms potentially destructive impacts on societies, culture and environment. Many authors condemned and still condemn this mass consumption and those who enjoy it. Actually the debate over the advantages and the disadvantages of tourism has raged incessantly and will continue. Tourism development in many places, and especially mass tourism, has led to deterioration in environment quality. In the 1960s, the effects of mass tourism and the increasing awareness of the human impacts on the environment led to a general state that nature is not an inexhaustible resource. Relation between environment and tourism Today, one can assist to a high degree of sensibility for the natural environment. The reason is that tourism is the only economical sector that offers natural environment as a very important part of its product. In other words, the natural environment is a key element of the tourism activity. Krippendorf (1982) the landscape is the real raw material of tourism; it is the reason for the existence of tourism as well as its economic driving force. It highlights the fact that tourist product quality is linked with environment quality. This highly dependence between tourism and environment is often used as basic argument to make the tourism industry aware about the negative impacts of mass tourism on the environment. MA European Tourism Management Environment The environment constitutes a tourism resource and has to be considered as a part of the tourism product because no other economic sector is so vitally and directly affected by environmental quality (Mieczkowski, J. 1995). This close relationship or interdependence between tourism and environment, Mieczkowski (1995 ) defines it as the environmental part of tourism Multiple surveys confirm the hypothesis that the quality of natural environment constitutes the primary factors that attracted the present-day tourist (WTO, 1983: 28). So, if tourism wants to survive, it seems imperative to reach this harmony between people and nature. It is the only way to minimize the costs of tourism on the environment and permit the tourist to enjoy undisturbed nature. (Mieczkowski, J. 1995) This symbiotic relation, term used by Budowski (1976) has a name, it is sustainable tourism. Mass tourism creates intense environmental pressures due to the fact that such activity involves a large number of tourists in small areas. Moreover, those pressures are accentuated by the temporal polarization of mass tourism (Shaw, G. and Williams, A. 2002). Hudman and Jackson (2003) acknowledge that coastal resorts are a good example of changing pre-existing forms associated with both the human and physical environment. In Spain, for example, several coastal villages have been changed rather dramatically in the past few years. Travel posters of the area usually highlight the area as it was before tourism. Yet, with the growth of mass tourism, the scattered villages of Torremolinos, Benidorm or Lloret del Mar, and other small villages are no longer recognizable. Lloret de Mar, was among the first in Europe to be developed for mass tourism (Telegraf.co.uk, 2001). More recently, the development of transport facilities such as airlines have permitted to those places to attract still m ore tourists. For example, since the arrival of Ryanair, the low cost airline company, at Gerona airport, the town of Lloret de Mar has become far more accessible, especially to those who maintain a strict travel budget. Mass tourism has a range of impacts of all types on natural environment (e.g. coastal, mountains or inland) but also on built environments (e.g. historic sites or cities). Mass tourism leads to the direct degradation, pollution, even destruction of elements (air, soils, geology, vegetation, water and wildlife) and ecosystems (coastal, mountains, inland and polar) (Mieczkowski, Z. 1995). The main causes are the construction of tourist facilities such as hotel complexes, theme parks and marinas and the concentration of tourists in the same place. The simplest way to view such environmental impacts is to consider mass tourism within specific environments. Coastal areas are especially vulnerable to mass tourism because they represent the most desirable places to spend vacation. In some places such as the Mediterranean, there has been widespread destruction of the ecosystems. It is the marine ecosystem which supports and is affected by mass beach tourism, especially concentrated during the high season (from June to August). The summer months have most sun and they include the longest school holiday period when families take their main vacation. The marine e cosystems suffer from garbage disposal by hotels and littering by tourists, oil spills from cruise ships and other motorized boat traffic, etc. (Mieczkowski, Z. 1995). All the construction of tourism facilities required for mass tourism in coastal areas affects the beach in any ways. Infrastructures are required to cope with the large volume of consumers in a short period of time (Shaw, G. and Williams, A. 2002) Why did mass tourism happen Mass tourism appears after the World War II, it was initiated in the back streets of the industrial towns and cities in the north of England. The development of mass tourism in the western world was linked to the economic development of society and as a matter of fact to the incorporation of a more powerful middle and lower class inside the tourist market. This expansion has been based on external factors such as generalisation of paid holidays, rising standards of living and a rapid improvement in the means of transportation such as the increase in air travel. The growth of such tourism represents a democratisation of travel and this democratisation means that status distinctions will be drawn between the different classes of traveller, but less between those that can travel or not. Increase in car ownership Increase in leisure time: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ holiday entitlement à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ shorter working week à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ early retirement with pensions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ ageing population Greater wealth: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ larger incomes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ less children à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Two wage-earner families Motorways Jet aircraft Computer reservation systems Internet on-line booking The package tour The package tour, also called package holiday, package travel or all-inclusive package are often standardised and with limited flexibility. The package refers to the purchase of a package of travel services including transport and accommodation. All other types of trips are non-package tours. When buying a package, the tourist feels sure to receive the service promised. Today, the industry tourism has adapted its offer to the customer needs and expectations and proposes tailor-made packages where the customer can combine all the components of his trip. The idea of the package tour is the same but more flexibility is granted Weekend breaks Ecotourism Technology Popularity of the certain place Trend What are the effects? The impact of the mass tourism is quite popular, especially upon the environment. Besides, very limited share of money spent on holidays actually get to the local people, which regional and native cultural attractions we all enjoy. These are the people who actually save the traditions and habits of their local areas. The people, who allow us to catch a glimpse of their cultural heritage, they are who have preserving and taking care of the un-spoiled nature for all of us. Maybe many of the people are used to think that big tour operators and large travel consortiums have a responsibility to preserve that local cultural heritage and environment. But they are only concerned about their profit and nothing else. But if one do not look a bit further in future and see that this way, one day there would not be many remaining tourist resources and gains will start descending fast. Unfortunately, this will affect no one so greatly, but the locals. After all, alternative tourism forms include s mall groups of people, who surely do not harm the environment that much. Besides, if not familiar, as I am sure most of them are, one of the aims of the alternative tourism forms is to acknowledge how to preserve the environment and local traditions and culture. Actually, some alternative forms are meant to enable man to appreciate the greatness of nature, a great such example is the eco-tourism. However, it is totally different situation in some big resorts with thousands of people running around and a lot of hotels keeping the beautiful nature views away from your sight. Of course, there are many ways of entertainment in view of the tourists animation, nightlife, and other. But is it not exactly that what we are running from? Could great nightlife and various animations with the difference they are at different place, compare with the variety of all alternative forms; to compare with the naked nature and cultural heritage? Advantage 1) Jobs are generated by tourism in many areas in the initial construction of the resorts, in travel, in food provision and in other service related industries. 2) Local people benefit directly from employment 4) Transport facilities are developed 5) The local tax base increases so the local government/council can invest in schools, healthcare and social services. DISADANTAGES 1) TNCs (Trans National Corporations) from rich countries are often involved this can result in a lot of profits leaving the country. 2 Jobs can be seasonal especially in beach and skiing based resorts. people can therefore find themselves out of work in the close season. 3) Tourists consume huge amounts of resources including food and water this type of tourism is particularly UNSUSTAINABLE in this manner. 4) Tourists introduce new values and cultures this causes cultural pollution. 5) Land is lost from farming to tourist developments. Example of a place affected by mass tourism For years Bali, the pearl among the Sunda Islands, has been touted as an earthly paradise, thanks to the its tropical landscapes, its white sandy beaches, the tormented beauty of its Hindu temples and its inhabitants reputation for kindness and tolerance. But this idyllic spot may soon be a thing of the past, with the threat of Bali becoming a prey to the accumulated effects of mass tourism, unbridled consumption of resources and environmental collapse. From the 1970s onwards Bali really became a tourist destination. Hundreds of hotels use up a large share of freshwater reserves,with each four-star room consuming 300 litres a day. By 2015 Bali could be facing a drinking water crisis. More than a million visitors came to Bali in 2001. The figures for 2011 suggest that numbers have more than doubled since, ultimately unaffected by the 2002 terror attack, which left 202 dead, including many Australians. Every year 700 hectares of land is lost to hotels, luxury housing for rich foreigners or just roads to improve connections on the island. Every day some 13,000 cubic metres of waste is dumped on public tips and only half is recycled. With 13% more cars on the roads every year, the steadily increasing traffic causes massive jams. In an attempt to mitigate the ill effects of mass tourism on the local Hindu culture , an exception in largely Muslim Indonesia , the authorities have introduced environmental legislation. One of its provisions makes it compulsory for resorts to be set back at least 150 metres from beaches, with no hotels within 5km of Hindu temples. In January 2011, the governor of Bali, Made Mangku Pastika, issued a ban on new buildings in heavily developed areas, warning that Bali was in danger of becoming a sterile land bristling with concrete. The ban is far from popular with investors. Tourism is partly due to the attraction of our culture: if mass tourism develops in a way that threatens the culture, and this will result in the locals losing their specific attraction. Compared with other holiday venues in south-east Asia, Bali has retained much of its magic, at least in the areas so far spared by mass tourism. But if nothing is done to halt current trends, it may suffer the same fate as other dream destinations. 2.2 Perhentian Island Asia-Pacific is one of the worlds fastest growing tourism areas in terms of international arrivals, especially in the South-East Asian sub-region with booming tourism in established destinations such Thailand (14.1 million international arrivals in 2009) and newer, emerging destinations such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (UN WTO, 2010). The focus of this paper, Malaysia, also has a growing international tourism sector with 24.6 million international arrivals in 2010 generating over US $18.2 billion in receipts, and contributing at least seven per cent of GDP (MOTOUR, 2011). 4International arrivals data to Malaysia is disaggregated according to country of origin and not by market segment so it is unknown how many backpackers visit, but one estimate suggests at least 300,000 per year (Ian and Musa, 2005). Within the emerging South-East Asia backpacker trail, the Perhentian islands are one of the hotspot sites in northern peninsula Malaysia. Typically, backpackers enter Malaysia from so uthern Thailand (or travel north from Singapore) and then journey in a circuit between Penang via the Cameron Highlands and then to the east coast specifically to visit the Perhentians. Backpackers often stay on islands or at other beach resorts as mini break from harder travelling within their larger trips around the region. The Island of Perhentian Not less than an hour on a boat from the east coast of Malaysia, Northeast of Peninsular Malaysia, nearby the city of Kota Bharu, there are two small islands that form the Perhentian Islands. The names are Perhentian Besar, the larger of the two and popular among couples and families with children, and Perhentian Kecil, the smaller island and very popular among budget travelers. Both the islands have plenty of accommodation available to stay overnight. This ranges from luxurious resorts that offer cabanas complete with air-conditioning, to simple lodges where you will have to do with cold water and a fan. There are no (internationally renowned) hotels. Perhentian is most popular because the great places for diving and snorkeling; in most cases you can enjoy the underwater world right in front of the resort. It is also very popular because the island is easy to reach; though during the monsoon season (October to March) practically the whole island is closed to tourists. As Perhentian Island is part of a marine park visitors have to pay a conservation fee of RM5. The island is situated about 20 kilometers off the northeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. http://divezone.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/perhentian-islands-map.gif http://go2travelmalaysia.com/tour_malaysia/images/perhentian_map.gif The Perhentian Islands are two islands named Pulau Perhentian Kecil (Small Perhentian Island) and Pulau Perhentian Besar (Large Perhentian Island). The Malay name Perhentian is translated as place to stop and this is exactly what these two islands were for traders travelling between Malaysia and Bangkok in years gone by. These islands are still a gorgeous place to stop and rest today. The laid-back atmosphere and the natural beauty of the Perhentian islands immediately transport you to a different world. The white sand is dotted with sun-worshipping holiday makers, some retreating to the shade for a glass of freshly squeezed juice. A group of scuba divers are boarding a boat to venture out into the turquoise waters and submerge themselves in the underwater wonderland. Later, as the sun sets, a quiet buzz of music and chatter fills the air, together with the thin wisp of smoke from the barbeque fire. The islands remain relatively untouched and the only permanent inhabitants live in a small fishing village on Perhentian Kecil. Apart from footpaths that cut through the jungle, there are no roads on the islands. The only way to get around is by walking through the jungle or taking a sea taxi. If you tread carefully, you may even encounter some of the islands shy wildlife on the way, such as monitor lizards, fruit bats, squirrels or even the elusive mouse deer. Simple chalets and some moderately luxurious resorts line the picturesque beaches along with restaurants, dive centers and boat operators advertising their services with hand-painted signs. Perhaps it is the stretches of white beach or the crystal clear water and the superior scuba diving. Perhaps it is the untouched forests or the relaxed atmosphere and unspoiled charm. We like to think that the lush greens and the wildlifes habiting the island makes Perhentian Islands the perfect place to relate ecotourism adventure tourism. Activities In the island Attractions in Perhentian island are all nature based, ranging from snorkeling to scuba diving and jungle treeking. All eager to teach tourist about the ecosystem that surrounds the island. These islands have been gazette as a marine park and as such littering, fishing and collecting of any marine life (whether dead or alive) is strictly prohibited. As it is a marine park, this also means that the rich diversity of aquatic life has been preserved and it is beautiful to experience. Snorkelling Perhentian is famous for its great snorkeling possibilities. A lot of resorts on the island have their own house reef. This means that you can snorkel directly in front or within walking distance of your resort. On the Perhentians there are dozens of diving schools. There, you can rent diving goggles, an air tube and flippers for a small fee (usually around RM15 per day). With this equipment you can snorkel in front of your bungalow. Sadly the fish in front of the resorts often are very spoiled. This means that, as soon as you are in the water you will be surrounded by small (and sometimes also large) fish that expect you to feed them. Also, the coral reefs near the resorts usually are less beautiful, because boats regularly pass by to drop people off at the resort. Some of the popular spots for snorkeling are Shark Point, Teluk Pauh and Tanjung Basi. If you are lucky, a combination of these stops may mean that you see a turtle, some black tip reef sharks and an abundance of colourfu l coral all in one. But the sheer amounts of visitors and careless practices have resulted in damage to the coral and consequently the marine life around the islands rip. Scuba Diving Many tourists visit Perhentian Island to enjoy a couple of great dives. As there is fierce competition between operators diving at the island is relatively cheap, usually ranging between RM60 and RM80 per dive. Diving at Perhentian is especially for beginners as there are almost no currents and visibility is almost always fine. There are better places to dive in Malaysia, but almost none of them are so affordable and easy to reach as on Perhentian. Marine life is in abundance here and apart from the many species of hard and soft coral that form the backbone of these ecosystems you can also expect to encounter turtles, several species of sharks, mackerel, jacks, moray eels, nudibranchs and various other reef fish. This gives a chance for ecotourist to learn about marine life in their natural habitat and to learn how not to spoil their habitat. Jungle Trekking On both the islands there are a number of hiking trails, there are no roads however. The trails are light and usually dont take more than 30 minutes to complete. Perhentian is too small to spot real wildlife, but there are monitor lizards, monkeys, fruit bats and some species of birds on the island. Because walking in the heat is not very pleasant for many, you can take water taxis to return to your resort after the hike. When going to secluded locations, come to an agreement on the pickup for the return trip. Tropical forest covers the greater part of the Perhentian Islands and a few trails that twist through the greenery allow you to explore the diversity of plant life. Tread quietly and you may just meet a few of the islands animals along the way. Monitor lizards are in abundance, as are numerous species of insects and birds. If you are lucky, you may even spot a group of long-tailed macaques (a type of monkey). The elusive mouse deer is also said to inhabit the island, but these tiny animals are rarely seen. Perhentian a conservation island ? In line with the conservation effort Perhentian Island has Marine Parks as Marine Park are ideal places for viewing the rich aquatic life that abound in Malaysias water. There are 5 marine parks and tourist wishing to visit these parks must take note of regulations. A Marine park is an area of the sea zoned as a sanctuary for the coral reef community which is considered as possibly the most productive ecosystem in the world, with its diversity of flora and fauna. Coral reefs are also important breeding and nursery grounds for many commercially important species of marine organisms and fish. Among the objectives of the Marine Park and Marine reserves are: Preservation and protection of coral reef areas from the impact of development. Upgrade and preserve the natural habitat of endangered species of aquatic life. Establishment of zones for preservation of the aquatic flora and fauna and also for the purpose of research and educational activities. Establishment of zones for recreational uses consistent with the carrying capacity of the area. With the establishment of the Marine Park, the benefits are as follows, the ecosystem and habitat of marine life will be protected and maintained, besides that it will also help in rejuvenation of over exploited zones and their maintenance for the protection of endangered species of marine organisms, and establishment of zones for research and educational purposes. Perhentian and mass tourism The growth of tourism changes and modifies the environment. Environment is land, water, air, flora and fauna, but also people and culture and the impacts of tourism are reflected on elements of the natural environment as well as on the man-made environment or built environment (development of environments for tourism as for example holiday resorts). The development of tourism requires the existence of an infrastructure, as well as hotel accommodation and another facilities specific to tourism. In some areas highways and airfields have been constructed to make stimulate tourism but not always has the local population benefited from these developments. Infrastructure and facilities require land and the consequence is that land prices rise in the areas were tourism is developing What are the effects so far? The Perhentian Islands are fast taking the middle ground of the tourism industry. Not big enough for runways and golf courses like its neighbour Redang Island, tourism comes in two main forms backpackers on Pulau Kecil and weekenders on Pulau Besar. There are only a couple of high-priced resorts, while the bulk of the accommodations cater to the mid-range crowd. Only two decades ago, Perhentian was considered a well-kept secret; now the beaches are chock-a-block full of resorts, chalets, dive shops and cafes. Back in 1985 less than ten chalets occupied the coastline of both islands, but a buildin

Leadership Case Study of Ernest Shackleton Essay examples -- The Leade

The topic of this leadership case study is Ernest Shackleton. This paper will identify the development of Shackleton's leadership skills, provide examples and reflections of his abilities, and relate how he played an essential role in one of history's greatest survival stories. This study of Shackleton's leadership is set loosely within the framework of the five practices of exemplary leadership set forth in The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, and will focus on the benefits produced by his management of team morale and unity (13). Kouzes and Posner remark that leadership experiences are ?voyages of discovery and adventures of a lifetime?[and] they are challenging explorations under rigorous conditions? (174). While this may be true, it is often in an extreme crisis situation that leadership is ultimately tested. This is the circumstance that Shackleton faced with his crew of twenty-seven, while stranded in the ice floes off the Antarctic Continent. Credit is due to the leadership of Ernest Shackleton; every member aboard the Endurance survived, and was finally rescued after six hundred and thirty-four days. Shackleton said of leadership, ?If you?re a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you?ve got to keep going? (qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 215). Synopsis of the Endurance Expedition?See Appendix (Pages 19-21) The Endurance, the vessel carrying the men and the title of the expedition, was named by Shackleton after his family motto?Fortitudine Vincimus (By endurance we conquer) (Perkins 41). To relate the significant factors of Shackleton?s leadership during the Endurance expedition, it is necessary to summarize the timeline of the events. A chronological timeline of the expedition is included at the end of this paper. The saga of the Endurance has relevant lessons for today?s leaders concerning the vital nature of team unity and interdependence, risk taking, optimism, and selfless leadership. Shackleton, known as ?The Boss? to his men, was at all times responsible for fostering and developing these dynamics, and thus provides an example of the remarkable achievements that are possible in even the direst of situations. The expedition failed in its attempt to be the first to transverse the Antarctic, yet the ultimate success is judged by the safe return of all the crewmembers. The events of the Endurance expedition wer... ... all his leadership strategies for the purpose of getting every man home alive. The loyalty and trust that Shackleton inspired in his men is undeniable. In 1921, five years after the rescue, Shackleton set out again on his last expedition aboard the Quest. Remarkably, his eighteen-member crew was comprised of eight Endurance colleagues, including Wild and Worsley (Morrell and Capparell 208). Following Shackleton?s death, Wild summed up the feelings he had for his leader: I have served with Scott, Shackleton, and Mawson, and have met Nansen, Amundsen, Peary, Cook, and other explorers, and in my considered opinion, for all the best points of leadership, coolness in the face of danger, resource under difficulties, quickness in decisions, never-failing optimism, and the faculty of instilling the same into others, remarkable genius for organization, consideration for those under him, and obliteration of self, the palm must be given to Shackleton, a hero and a gentleman in very truth. --Frank Wild, crew member, Nimrod; second in command, Endurance and Quest. (qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 205)

Labor Supply and Demand Scenario Custom Research

Area of Employment The area of employment that will be used for this analysis is the real estate industry; more precisely, the specific job function that will be the basis for the analysis is the real estate agent.   The hypothetical shift that will shape the subsequent sections of this scenario is a high job growth rate. Why Has the Shift Occurred? The shift has occurred due to an increased demand for real estate, which has led to an increased demand for real estate agents to serve the needs of potential buyers.   It should be noted, however, that this shift has emerged in the real estate industry due to the fact that real estate presents an environment of perfect competition, whereby there are many competitors who can freely pursue opportunities in a free market setting (Mankiw, 2004). Direction of Shift in Labor Supply and Demand In a scenario that represents increased numbers of real estate agents due to additional potential buyers of real estate, there are several economic factors at work.   First, as demand for the product of real estate increases, so will the price of real estate, given a limited supply.   Likewise, the demand for agents to sell the real estate will increase, and the cost of those agents (real wages) will increase while at the same time, the supply of agents will likely decrease. This is a demonstration of the neoclassical theory of distribution (Mankiw, 2004). Effect of the Scenario on Labor Market Equilibrium The effect that this scenario will have on labor market equilibrium is that as the supply of available real estate agents decreases, the price of those agents (wages) will increase. This in turn may slow the demand for agents overall if lower priced alternatives are sought, such as less employees taking on more responsibility.   This is a classic example of equilibrium in labor demand (Mankiw, 2004). References (Mankiw N G 2004 Principles of Economics)Mankiw, N. G. (2004). Principles of Economics (3rd ed.). Chicago: Thomson South-Western.      

Service Delivery Systems McDonalds

Service Delivery Systems McDonalds Abstract The hospitality industry is more of a service industry, thus for an effective operational management, the focus should be on the quality of service that customers receive from the company. When quality and satisfying services are offered, then customers can develop loyalty to certain company, a factor that builds a strong brand name for the company.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Service Delivery Systems: McDonalds specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the United States of America, the service industry account for over 80% of the economy’s job market; in hotel and tourism industry, much efforts has been made to improve the service delivery systems in the sector (McCluskey, 2004). The government has some policies meant to protect its population form poor quality form the sector players. McDonald is the world largest hamburger and fast food restaurants; which operates centrally and franchised business; to remain competitive in the fast developing industry, management should develop a quality service delivery system to all its over 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries. To manage and control service delivery, the management has to set some benchmarks and see their strict adherence (McDonald Official Website, 2011). This paper discusses service delivery systems in operation management; it will use the case of McDonald to diagnose the issue. Brief history of McDonald McDonald is a leading world sandwich provider with more than 31,000 restaurants in 110 countries in the world. Other than itself operating from a central point, it is in the business of franchising; the group restaurant was established in 1940 in San Bernardino, California by a duo by the names Richard and Maurice McDonald. It is known for its fresh quality fast food; the main fast food that the company is known with is sandwiches. The company offers both counter service and drive-through service depending with the locatio n and the nature of the particular outlet; it has both inside and outside catering however inside catering takes most of the business time. The company aims at improving quality and getting higher returns with the delivery of quality services and fresh foods (McDonald Official Website, 2011) Literature review Service in the hospitality industry In the hospitality industry the ability and willingness to provide quality services is seen as an essential strategy for success and survival; a service can be defined as an encounter between business and a customer that has supporting facility and using facilitated goods.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In McDonald for instance when a customer make an order for a hamburger then the hamburger is the facilitating good, the restaurant I the supporting facility while the people who were involved right from the supply of the ma terial to the service by the waiter form the chain of service (Neal and Quester, 2006). Any business, in the hospitality industry, has the customer as the most important stakeholder; they aim at creating good cooperation through the service they offer. Customers on the other side are motivated by factors within their psychological core, the consumer environment, and by marketer-controlled activity. Success in a business is attained when management can understand effectively the expectation of their customers and align their services and duties to satisfy those needs. As the saying goes, â€Å"a happy customer tells another while unsatisfied customer tells two others†. The phrase implies that it is much easy to lose customers than it is to gain them. The leadership of McDonald has been attributed to the quality of service they offer; however, no optimal level of service delivery that can be said to be the best, however, it should be continually be improved (Metters, Kathryn, M adeleine and Steve, 2006). Chart 1 The diagram below shows how different elements of service delivery lead to improved customer service: From the above diagram, it can be seen that service quality is an element of a number of elements that need to be implemented in an organization. McDonald and its franchisee should ensure that it ha s a flow chart of events that can be followed with the aim of having and end of satisfied customers.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Service Delivery Systems: McDonalds specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Organizations that offer service responsive to customers’ need perform better than those who do not care or are rigid to change. The hospitality industry is currently under pressure due to high competition and changes in consumers’ preferences. To remain competitive in this market, a company need to ensure it satisfy its customer. Sandwiches are fast foods present in most fast food joints but the choice of one is dependent on the customer. McDonald is an American Sandwich specialist company with its head office in United States of America. It has been in the business for over 70years thus the company has a pool of human resource that need to have well mastered the trade; at the same time, the company needs to have a service improvement charter for its continued success (McDonald Official Website, 2011) In the hospitality industry, there is high contact of service providers and the customers, the high interaction need to be strategically managed if it will be maintained. The experience that a customer gets now of service encounter has a wide influence on the attitude, perception and the feeling that he delivers from the institution. Though McDonald is a fast food restaurant, the internal customer has a large encounter with the external customer either directly or indirectly. Service quality and the experience that customers get form the company shoul d be looked into and improved accordingly (Cook, 2008) Service quality The utility that certain individual customers get from certain commodity is the quality of the commodity as long as the customer is concerned. There cannot be a single definition of service quality since it is more of the receivers’ perception that determines whether he will be willing to trade with the company in the future. When concerned on the quality of a service, there are two most important deviations: technical quality and functional quality. Technical quality deals with what is delivered while functional quality is all about how it has been delivered.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technical quality is tangible while functional technical is not. McDonald management has the role of ensuring that the group of restaurants meets both technical and non-technical quality provisions (Kotler, Bowen and Makens, 2003). The chart below summarizes the service quality phenomenon: Chart 2 Service Encounter Or â€Å"Moment Of Truth Moment of service is the moment that a customer and the service he is receiving interact; it ranges from the general perception that a customer gets with the mention of a certain products or a certain business. McDonald has a strong brand name that offers the customer an appealing feeling; the name has to be protected by offering quality services and provision of goods that meets the demand of a customer. When a customer is within the premises of the business, the service offered, both tangible and technical should be of a high class that improves the general feeling derived by the customer. This is the way that the organization can strengthen its brand name (Kandampully, 2002), Service Operations Strategy When developing a certain effective service operational strategy, McDonald need to undertake an elaborate internal and external audit analysis, the analysis will offer the company with the right approach to improve its services. Three questions needs to be answered genuinely: Where the current position as far as service provision is concerned? What level of service quality does the company aim at offering? What are the expectations of the customers and what level are our competitors offering With clear answers to the above questions, then the management will be able to develop an effective service delivery system (Blomme, Rheede and Tromp, 2009). The following are the areas that need to be addressed in the system: Location issues To reach the target customers effectively, the management should ensure that it is located in areas that target customers can get delivery in the required time and space. McDonald being a fas t food needs to be located in areas with high population, and t accessible. For example, in busy streets, airport sites and bus terminals. When offering a franchise, the company should ensure that the franchisee company has a strategic location that can tap the target market effectively. In the cases, that the restaurant has low flow of customer, the chances that quality and fresh foods are not offered is high. When a restaurant is established, the managers should devise cost leadership, differentiation, and focus the products to the needs of the customer (Hartline, Wooldridge, and Jones, 2003), Service Strategy With the restaurants established, then managers should ensure they have a system of how service will be offered, service means that the those people offering the front service, waiters, cashiers, supervisors and manager, and those people offering the tangible products should be sensitive to the needs of a customer. Consumer preference theory states that for a customer to buy a certain product, the product must be outstanding among the options that the market offers; McDonald products can be said to be services, the services thus need to be outstanding and quality. To be outstanding, there must be continuous products innovation and an innovation that ensures that products can be differentiated. When a customer is able to differentiate a certain company’s products then the company is able to self-market itself and lead to increased customer satisfaction. Creativity and product innovation comes handy in creating product differentiation. McDonald is known for its international recognized sandwiches. To ensure that it remain competitive and create a more customer satisfactory goods, the company keeps inventing and improving the quality of sandwiches they serve. A continuous program of training of staffs should be implemented as it will assist the company offer the much need service quality (Grà ¶nroos, 2000). Products differentiation McDonald aims a t offering quality fast foods: the success of the company is dependent on the quality, freshness and reliability of the products. When a company is developing a product, there should be the need that the product is supposed to fulfill. Fast food joints are places where consumers should get a quick service; this implies that they should have an effective queue flow to ensure that they have ready products adequate for the consumers at a particular point in time and still the products have not stayed in the restaurant for many hours (PIZAM and SHANI, 2009). Other than the foods being available, the management should ensure that the foods are of the right quality and tastes that they offer is pleasant and offers a memorable experience to the customer; this will increase the utility that the customer will get. The trend that the customers follow at one given point is a change to the product that gives them a higher utility. When the product is developed, the team should always invest in offering something extra to the consumer. Products come with the idea of packaging, and how the product is presented to the final consumer, there is need to have a pleasant look as the way as the way the product is handled has an effect on its successes (Bebko, 2001). The role of operation managers in maintaining service delivery system Operations managers have the role of overseeing service delivery system are effective, they are the ones who make policies that target the improvement of the system. In an outlet of McDonald the operating management can be seen on three levels, outlet manager, daily managers, and supervisors; they should be working as a team to maintain and uphold high service delivery. When they are enforcing the laid down rules, they should be open for additions and improvement areas of deficiencies, they should from time to time undertake internal and external audit to gauge the success of the outlet. To implement and maintain high services operation manager shoul d adopt quality management systems like the use of TQM (total quality management system), adoption of Six sigma polices and the use of lean thinking; the spirit of Kaizen (continuous improvements) should be embarked on. With such polices that aim at improving the internal operations for efficiency developed, then the group of hotels will maintain and attain high service delivery. Of late the hospitality industry is faced with challenges of coping with changes brought about by globalization, people expectations are changing; McDonald operating management teams should be robust in analyzing and developing required intelligence that can assist the company improve on its service delivery. In foreign outlets, McDonald should develop culture intelligence teams that will assist when making decisions that fit the country of operation. Change in the industry should offer operating managers the drive to research on the best strategy to improve and grow their service delivery. Recommendation a nd conclusion McDonald is doing fairly well in the hospitality industry; however, the service of the chain of restaurants can be improved further to assist in the consolidation of the company’s leadership role. The major challenge facing the company is how to manage the large number of franchisee located in different areas. The management at central level should come up with a service quality charter that looks into technical and functional quality objectives. This will enhance service delivery. To expand customer base and get their loyalty, the company should look into its service delivery and aim at improving the experience that a customer derives; the â€Å"moment of truth† with the customer should offer a memorable experience that can make the customer hunger for more services. High quality service should look into the products quality, speed of service and the general outlook of the restaurants. McDonald leadership team has the role of pioneering a service improve ment strategy; an effective service strategy is strong competitive advantage in the hospitality industry. References Bebko, C. ,2001. Service encounter problems: Which service providers are more likely to be blamed?Journal of Services Marketing, (15)1, 6,pp. 480-495. Blomme, R., Rheede, A. and Tromp, D.,2009. The hospitality industry: an attractive employer? An exploration of students and industry workers perceptions of hospitality as a career field. Journal of Hospitality Tourism Education, (21) 2, pp. 6-14 Cook, S.,2008.Customer Care Excellence: How to Create an Effective Customer Focus. New York: Kogan Page Publishers Grà ¶nroos, C. ,2000. Service management and marketing: A customer relationship management approach. Chichester: Wiley. Hartline, M., Wooldridge, B. and Jones, K. ,2003. â€Å"Guest perceptions of hotel quality: determining which employee groups count most†. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 1(1),pp.43-52. Kandampully, J. ,2002. Service s management: The new paradigm in hospitality. Melboune: Hospitality Press, Kotler, P., Bowen, J. and Makens, J. ,2003. Marketing for hospitality and tourism. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall. McCluskey, M., 2004.How Mature is Your Service Operation? Supply Chain Management Review, (8) 5,Pp. 17–20. McDonald Official Website.2011. McDonald. Available at  https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html Metters, R., Kathryn, K., Madeleine, P., and Steve, W.,2006. Successful Service Operations Management. Thomson South-Western: Mason. Neal, C. and Quester, P.,2006. Consumer behaviour: implications for marketing strategy.NewJersey: McGraw-Hill. PIZAM, A. and SHANI, A,. 2009. The Nature of the Hospitality Industry: Present and Future Managers Perspectives. Anatolia, (20)1, pp. 134-150.

Free Essays on Nellys Country Grammar

would just kind of slip by me. But after listening to the CD I have realized that I, along with many other people, need to be more judgmental when listening to the music that I listen to. Overall, Nelly had put together a rather good CD. First of all, the CD is consistently good throughout the whole CD. There are not just a few good songs, but many. He has a good mix of different fast and slow rap songs. He has definitely put together a CD that is a lot more than just a one hit wonder CD. Nelly definitely is a good singer. The vocals that he has throughout his CD are definitely cool to listen too. He also has many different people on his CD, which gives his CD a wide variety of many different sounds of vocals. This CD was definitely a success, which is the reason that I probably bought it. Nelly has become a very popular singer; he has been on top of the charts many, many times. He has sold over 8 million copies of this CD alone. Three of the songs on this CD have been #1 singles for weeks. I would probably say that when a singer is popular, people typically seem to like their music better. Even if their music is not as good as someone’s music who is not famous. I will have to say that the beat and rhythm on this CD is absolutely incredible. Every song has a different beat, and every one is good. Nelly is not like other singers who have the same type of music on their whole CD. Every song does not sound the same like other rappers. Although Nelly does not use any instruments besides a keyboard, the music is still very good. Every song still does have a good tune and flows well. Nelly is very smart with his ly... Free Essays on Nelly's Country Grammar Free Essays on Nelly's Country Grammar I decided to do my CD review on a CD that I am very familiar with. The CD is Nelly’s â€Å"Country Grammar†. I have listened to this CD a lot, but until I actually had to analyze it did I realize how bad it is. Usually when I would listen to the CD, I would just listen to the music and the words would just kind of slip by me. But after listening to the CD I have realized that I, along with many other people, need to be more judgmental when listening to the music that I listen to. Overall, Nelly had put together a rather good CD. First of all, the CD is consistently good throughout the whole CD. There are not just a few good songs, but many. He has a good mix of different fast and slow rap songs. He has definitely put together a CD that is a lot more than just a one hit wonder CD. Nelly definitely is a good singer. The vocals that he has throughout his CD are definitely cool to listen too. He also has many different people on his CD, which gives his CD a wide variety of many different sounds of vocals. This CD was definitely a success, which is the reason that I probably bought it. Nelly has become a very popular singer; he has been on top of the charts many, many times. He has sold over 8 million copies of this CD alone. Three of the songs on this CD have been #1 singles for weeks. I would probably say that when a singer is popular, people typically seem to like their music better. Even if their music is not as good as someone’s music who is not famous. I will have to say that the beat and rhythm on this CD is absolutely incredible. Every song has a different beat, and every one is good. Nelly is not like other singers who have the same type of music on their whole CD. Every song does not sound the same like other rappers. Although Nelly does not use any instruments besides a keyboard, the music is still very good. Every song still does have a good tune and flows well. Nelly is very smart with his ly...

Heartbreak, the biggest Earfquake Professor Ramos Blog

Heartbreak, the biggest Earfquake In Tyler, the Creator’s â€Å"Earfquake†, there is some feeling of heartbreak, sadness, passion, and emotion. In the lyrics there is only a couple main lines that are repeated over and over again throughout the song, however, there is much to be discussed about these lyrics. The main line is â€Å"Cause you make my earthquake, Oh, you make my earthquake. Riding around, your love be shakin’ me up And its making my heart break†. As you can see, there is not much being said, yet, there is a lot of emotion being put into the words. I strongly recommend watching the music video before you continue reading. One of the main topics that comes across in these lyrics is heartbreak. For many, heartbreak is a very sad thing. It can destroy the life of someone for a long time and lead to depression. The song portrays this as a very sad thing and looks down on it. When the song mentions â€Å"your love be shaking me up and its making my heartbreak†, it can mean that someone is being friendly with someone who is interested in them, yet they dont see them this way and just want to be friends. This can cause someone to read into someones kindness too much as being interested in them. So when the person finds out they were just being nice, they can become heartbroken because they were emotionally invested and interested in them. This ties in with the pathos aspect of life because there is so much emotion in these lyrics and the meaning behind them. These lyrics cause the listener to become very sad for the artist singing because no one would want such hurt to be put onto a person. â€Å"Of all the rhetorical techniques highlighted in Aristotle’s Rhetoric, pathos is probably most prevalent in literary writing. Most pieces of writing are designed to evoke emotion regardless of whether they are intended to persuade.† (MasterClass, par.11). As MasterClass brings out, the main reason for pathos is to evoke emotion, and that’s exactly what Tyler, the Creator is doing here. He wants others to feel the pain he is going through. Another couple lines in the song are, â€Å"I dont want no confrontation, no. You don’t want my conversation. I just need some confirmation on how you feel†. Here Tyler is showing that he hates confrontation as it makes him nervous. He doesnt want to talk about his feelings with his person of interest. He is also showing how this individual is ignoring him because when he does try to talk to them, they don’t want his conversation, in other words, they dont pay him any attention or take him serious. He just simply put, wants to know exactly how theyre feeling about the relationship. And its already hard as it is because he hates confrontation. Here, Tyler is showing the audience a very real thing that happens to all of mankind. No one likes to be turned down and stood up. No one likes to feel vulnerable, which usually happens when their feelings are out there. This passage of the song also ties in with pathos because what is mainly being communicated to the audien ce is emotion. Just like the other verse, these lyrics are really relatable because everyone can feel for him and feel the same emotion from this. This song mainly appeals to young adults and even some adults. This is because during the early stages of being an adult is where relationships start to get serious with a significant other. The dating scene is more prevalent, and the chance for hurt feelings and even a broken heart are even higher than when an individual is younger in their teenage years. A lot of character building takes place during this time of young adulthood. And I think one of the things that Tyler is trying to convey is that heartbreak must take place at least once in someones life. This is to make them stronger and possibly know how to handle the situation later on down the road. I think Tyler also released this song as a coping mechanism for some who were hurt really bad and just need a song to relate to. This could show to them that they arent the only ones going through their situation and that even stars such as Tyler, the Creator go through it as well. In the music video, Tyler is putting all of his emotions out there as he is performing on stage and just letting it all out. This video really shows how it can be good and feel good to the hurt individual to just let their frustrations out with no censor. Yet, it also symbolizes how that could be harmful when the stage catches fire. He was told to perform yet not to smoke cigarettes. He was able to figuratively let his anger out, but went too far when he lit the cigarette and lit the stage on fire. I think this symbolizes how its good to let anger out yet to not be overflowing with hate. The video also shows how many things can be fixed. His character turns into a firefighter to put the flame out and shows how he was able to come to terms, per se. The music video is very well done as it shows the possibilities and consequences in a scenic way. The language used in this song is very laid back and nonchalant. He is speaking with genuinity yet so much emotion. He sings as if he has just been shot at war because of all the hurt he has endured. He slurs a little bit in the verses yet you can make out what he is saying. There is only really one occasion where slang being used in the song, like not perfect english. This is when he says, â€Å"Your love be shakin me up†. In this instance he is not pronouncing the whole word ‘shaking’ and uses the word ‘be’ to replace the word ‘is’. Even though this isnt perfect english, in this day and age, everyone can understand what he is trying to say. To recap, this song â€Å"Earfquake† is quite a beautiful melody with an even better message. Tyler shows how everyone, including himself, goes through heartbreak. He shows how it can be sad and depressing, and in the video, how it can even be disastrous. Yet, it can be an instance of growth. If one comes to terms that sometimes things just dont work out, theyll grow from this and be prepared should it occur again later down the line. Tyler, the Creator is a talented and gifted artist that gifted this song to the public to help those going through heartbreak. MasterClass. What is Pathos? Definition of Pathos. Pub. May 23, 2019 Genius Lyrics. Earfquake, Tyler,the Creator. Pub. May 17, 2019.

Impressionism and The Famous Cafes of Paris Essay

Impressionism and The Famous Cafes of Paris - Essay Example The essay "Impressionism and The Famous Cafes of Paris" provide a detailed information about impressionism movement and gives a review on famous cafes of Paris in the 19th century. Impressionists painted day-to-day events instead of extraordinary occurrences. All this had to take place in a very unconventional setting. What better setting could they find than the famous cafes of Paris? How did the cafes relate with the impressionists and the post-impressionists? How much did the cafes influence the artists' work? How different they are now from what they were in the 19th century? These are some of the questions this paper tries to explore. Impressionism was an important movement in painting which began in the late 19th Century and developed through the early 20th century in France. It began when a few of the French artists became disillusioned with the way painting was taught in those days -- the mythological or historical subject matter. â€Å"They also rejected the conventional, i maginative or idealizing treatments of academic paintings.† Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renior, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Armand Guillaumin and Frà ©dà ©ric Bazille comprised the initial artists of the movement. Among those who adopted the impressionist style of painting for some time were Edgar Degas and Paul Cà ©zanne. Édouard Manet was the painter who had inspired the impressionists to adopt the style in which they painted. Later, he also joined the movement and adopted its style. The impressionists were not hitherto known by this name. In 1874, when the group organized its own exhibition, an art critic, Louis Leroy, wrote a scathing criticism of the painting Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), by the then unknown artist Claude Monet. Louis titled his review, The Exhibition of the Impressionists, and had this to say in his article: Impression - I was certain of it. I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be some impression in it and what freedom, what ease of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape.2 It was from here on, that the group came to be known as the Impressionists and hence, the movement came to be known as Impressionism. This was the identity, which while the world derided, the artists of the group were proud of it. Neo-Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Impressionism, as a technique is still being practiced among the contemporary artists. However, the movement began to wane very shortly. The greatness of the movement does not lie in its longevity, its greatness lies in influence and productivity. As a reaction to Impressionism, two new movements came into being. Artists reacted against the empirical realism3 of the impressionists and devised a new technique based on scientific application of the optical principles of light and color to render the transient nature of time. This technique came to be known as Neo-Impressionism. Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Henri-Edmond Cross, Albert Dubois-Pillet, Maximilien Luce, Tho Van Rysselberghe and the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, formed the first Neo-Impressionist group. Together, in 1881, they formed Socit des Artistes Indpendants (Society of Independent Artists). Like its predecessor, this movement also waned quickly, but not without having a lasting influence on the works of such great artists as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Henri Matisse. An English art-critic, Roger Fry, gave the name Post-Impressionism to the works of artists like Paul Czanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulous

Human sexuality (Topic is based on what you write) Essay

Human sexuality (Topic is based on what you write) - Essay Example Cases of sexual abuse have been reported in many parts of the world but the numbers on sexual abuse on children are alarming. Child sexual abuse occurs when an adults be it male or female uses a child forcefully or willingly to satisfy their sexual urges. The reasons as to why an adult chooses to assult a child sexually are very many and similary the effects of sexual abuse on the child are many. The processes of sexual abuse follows a progression that begins from winning the childs attention and trust, then creating a comfort zone for the child and later having sexual intercourse with the child . the progress cycle continues by the adult forcing the child to have sex with them continually and blackmailing the child so that he/she does not disclose the information. The child could either choose to keep the information secret or either disclose it a factor that affects the extent to which the harassment goes. Releasing the information could either liberate the child or burry them furt her into the act depending on the kind of person the child talks to and how the person reacts to the information. To control such situation education on sexual abuse on children should be given to all people so that people can know how to react to the situation when it gets to them. According to the National Abuse and Neglects Data systems(NCANDS), of all the reported cases of children abuse or neglection, 10% of the children were victims of sexual abuse(U.S.Department of Health and Human Services). Their data analysis done in 2005 showed that 83,800 children were sexually abused in a span of one year raising the concern of the situation. The number of cases are expected to be double the number since the larger percentage is of those who do not report the cases. Statistics from the analysis further indicated that the number of girls sexually harassed were more than that of the girls indicating that child sexual abuse is

Integrated Logistics for DEP GARD Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Integrated Logistics for DEP GARD - Case Study Example The present research has identified that Richard Binish who has been appointed by GARD wants to review these contracts and revive supply chain. Basically a lot has been changed in supply chain management and Binish wants to review all this supply chain with the change in situation (current market trends). Banished trimmed GARD's products line and primarily based it on faster moving products with higher moving velocity. Now more and more suppliers with specific criteria have come up and everyone's product is comparable. At present, GARD wants to review its supply chain with the improvement in its service window, and minimum threshold percentage. DEP's polymers having 6 major compounds which has been sourced from three firms as 60%, 25% and 15%. DEP has standardized its purchasing criteria and generally maintains a 7 days supply of each compound DEP is not using JIT because of bad experience, but it relies on electronic linkages for procurement. Most customers' orders are produced with in 6 to 8 days of order. In addition to it, DEP takes 3-6 days for shipment from its warehouse. Transportation and distribution which is done by DEP truck service to customers mostly within 200 miles through twice a week delivery routes. This needs maximum 6 days. So DEP supply chain is too much time consuming and hence needs to be streamlined. Basically in this case study, the kind of relationships between buyer and supplier is adding value to the supply chain, GARD and DEP's long relationship and understanding as well as DEP's knowledge about the requirement and quality with arm's length purchasing relationship is adding value to the chain, value in a supply chain is not simply the organizational value but it is the value created across different organizations that combine to create the supply chain. Inside an organization Porter identifies nine keys areas that need to be examined when examining how value may be created. He divided these 9 areas into what he referred to as: Primar y activities and support activities. The primary activities included: inbound logistics, processes, outbound logistics, marketing & sales, customer service. The support activities included: technological developments, human resource management, procurement and firm infrastructure. Basically in the case study, procurement stage of DEP is adding value to the chain because it provides certain option to purchase six basic compounds from 6 companies having different percentage of order completion as well as supply time. So we can analyze and reach out a suitable combination of companies and products to minimize the supply time and increased percentage of supply. DEP's supply bid has been divided into three parts and maximum quantity suppliers' supplies 60% whereas the remaining two are supplying 25% & 15% respectively. Firms' basic infrastructure with electronically connected procurement with marketing/sales department can easily assess demand of the market and proper information system can act fast. DEP is also adding value through outbound logistics with its own hired truck fleets. DEP also maintains inventory for 7 days so that they may have enough time for reordering and to get supply of raw material.

CA Proposition 209 -Affirmative Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CA Proposition 209 -Affirmative Action - Essay Example Following the 1995 Supreme Court verdict controlled granting of contracts on the basis of gender and race, Clinton promised to ‘mend not end’ affirmative action. The Clinton government, in May 1995, disclosed a new strategy of granting government contracts (Frankel 435). The strategy ends ethnic/racial preferences in areas where the underprivileged are common, though, maintains them in areas where discrimination continues. Marginalized groups and other economically deprived business owners comprise of 6.6 percent of all central government’s contracts for both goods and services. Seemingly not contended with Clinton’s suggestion, House Republicans formulated a more extensive bill to prohibit preferences in the entire federal contracts and hiring. The bill, inaugurated by discontented Democrats as the 1997 Equal Opportunity Repeal Act, endorsed the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional matters in July. The debate on affirmative action took center sta ge when the President promised to make advanced relationships between races/ethnic groups a top precedence in his second rule. The Prop 209’s opponents filed a claim in 2010 in the federal court to challenge the requirements of Prop 209 by permitting the University of California to apply Affirmative Action principles in its admissions assessments, as it was applied before the endorsement of Proposition 209 in 1996. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit voted to support Proposition 209 on April 2, 2012. The similar federal appeals courts had earlier upheld the Prop 209. The claim that resulted into the April 2012 verdict had asserted that a new decision was needed by new proof demonstrating that in the years following the endorsement of Proposition 209, underprivileged admissions to California’s most esteemed universities declined. In the wake of the approval of Proposition 209, debate persisted in the interest of or necessity for affirm ative action at the colleges in California. As lately as 2010, Joe R. Hicks and David A. Lehrer who sustained Prop 209 in 1996, contended that statistics regarding racial composition of admissions at the University of California illustrated that partisan admissions actions were not essential to bring about multiplicity (Laird 133)). Whereas it is somewhat early to evaluate the long-standing impacts on women of stopping California’s affirmative action, various predictions can be drawn. Post-secondary learning chances will possibly undergo the minimal effect; women are attending schools and graduating from colleges in huge numbers compared to their male counterparts. However, the women who are poised to suffer from this gender and race predilections are the African Americans and Latino women; because of much of institutional remains of a race other than gender discrimination. The subject of affirmative action has been vastly discordant; opponents of this proposition hold the no ble-sounding oratory of color-blindness and uphold that it is incorrect for an individual to miss out on something important exclusively because of one’s race/ethnicity.  Ã‚  

Movie Juno - Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Movie Juno - Analysis - Essay Example erent from the rest of the movies because Juno is also shown as a brave and an intelligent girl who works her way around the problem, the portrayal is certainly stereotypical in many instances but she is also shown very different from the rest of the women in the film. Juno is presented as a stereotypical woman when a friend of hers impregnates her, this was something really stereotypical. Unplanned pregnancy is the theme of this movie and the movie is stereotypical because this is what is happening in many parts of the world and there are so many people who think it is fine to use women, a responsible friend would not have done this to Juno and she would not have had to face so much trouble in her life once she got to know that she was pregnant. The stereotypical thinking changes when Juno somehow decides not to abort the child, this was a really big decision and she had to courage to make such a big decision and this is certainly not stereotypical. Abortion is presented as unthinkable and highly unreasonable, this is what the movie basically conveys to the audience but many people think very differently, many think that abortion is ethical and many have done it in the past and many more will go for it in the future also. Abortion is also used as a contraceptive by many people who are completely unaware of its ramifications on their health; they firmly believe ignorance is bliss. â€Å"Indeed, as an anti-heroine who eschews fashion but sarcastically acknowledges that the school jocks are nonetheless hot for her "cute librarian look," Page said young Juno upends every possible Molly Ringwald or Amanda Bynes movie-teen archetype.† (Juno) To conclude it is very fair to say that Juno has been presented as a very brave woman which we do not get to see very often in movies and this is certainly not stereotypical, had it been any other woman she would have easily panicked upon knowing that she was pregnant but not Juno, Juno struck to her tasks and embraced pregnancy

Finance Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finance Principles - Essay Example It can be explained as, if one of the asset in the portfolio is giving negative return, then it would not have a significant impact on the overall return of the portfolio because the other assets might be performing well and thus making up for the asset which is not performing well. Diversification helps an investor to have consistent return on its portfolio over a period of time. An investor who is risk-averse in nature would always strive to have a completely diversified portfolio in order to minimize risks associated with it. Quantitative measure of portfolio is possible with the advent of several portfolio selection theories. Using those quantitative measures one can have the benefits of diversification to the maximum amount possible. The diversification strategy proposed by Markowitz is based on the covariance between the returns generated by the assets included in a portfolio. The diversification theory proposed by Markowitz is related to the risks associated with the portfolio as a whole and not the risk associated with any asset in isolation. Markowitz used variance as a measure of risk. Markowitz tried to develop a diversified portfolio by including those assets in the portfolio which are not perfectly positively correlated with each other, so that the variance in return of the portfolio is minimized without affecting much on the return of the portfolio.1 Mean – Variance Diversification Mean – Variance diversification portfolio theory utilizes marginal analysis as a means of achieving optimal level of diversified portfolio. It is based on the fact that diversification should be enhanced until and unless marginal cost is less than the marginal benefit. The advantage of this theory is the minimization of risk. The costs that are considered in this theory are holding costs and transaction costs. The standard deviation of the returns generated through the combination of assets is used as the risk measure in case of this theory of diversificat ion. Marginal benefits associated with diversification of portfolio get increased with decrease in correlation between asset returns. On diversification of the portfolio the expected value of standard deviation goes on decreasing. Optimal diversification depends on the expected correlations between each pair of assets in the portfolio, the buying costs of each of the assets, the holding costs of the assets and expected premium on equity used as asset in the portfolio.2 Risks associated with any portfolio can either be unsystematic risks or systematic risks. As discussed earlier risk gets reduced with diversification. However, diversification reduce risk only to a certain level, beyond which it is not possible to reduce risk because changes in the market conditions as a whole affects in variation of prices of all the assets included in the portfolio and it is not possible to reduce or eliminate this variability beyond a certain level. Hence it is necessary to divide risk into two par ts, namely systematic risk and unsystematic risk. The risk which represents that portion of the variability in asset caused by the market movements are known as systematic risk. This type of risk is unavoidable in nature and is sometimes termed as beta as mentioned in the Capital Asset Pricing

CA Proposition 209 -Affirmative Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CA Proposition 209 -Affirmative Action - Essay Example Following the 1995 Supreme Court verdict controlled granting of contracts on the basis of gender and race, Clinton promised to ‘mend not end’ affirmative action. The Clinton government, in May 1995, disclosed a new strategy of granting government contracts (Frankel 435). The strategy ends ethnic/racial preferences in areas where the underprivileged are common, though, maintains them in areas where discrimination continues. Marginalized groups and other economically deprived business owners comprise of 6.6 percent of all central government’s contracts for both goods and services. Seemingly not contended with Clinton’s suggestion, House Republicans formulated a more extensive bill to prohibit preferences in the entire federal contracts and hiring. The bill, inaugurated by discontented Democrats as the 1997 Equal Opportunity Repeal Act, endorsed the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional matters in July. The debate on affirmative action took center sta ge when the President promised to make advanced relationships between races/ethnic groups a top precedence in his second rule. The Prop 209’s opponents filed a claim in 2010 in the federal court to challenge the requirements of Prop 209 by permitting the University of California to apply Affirmative Action principles in its admissions assessments, as it was applied before the endorsement of Proposition 209 in 1996. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit voted to support Proposition 209 on April 2, 2012. The similar federal appeals courts had earlier upheld the Prop 209. The claim that resulted into the April 2012 verdict had asserted that a new decision was needed by new proof demonstrating that in the years following the endorsement of Proposition 209, underprivileged admissions to California’s most esteemed universities declined. In the wake of the approval of Proposition 209, debate persisted in the interest of or necessity for affirm ative action at the colleges in California. As lately as 2010, Joe R. Hicks and David A. Lehrer who sustained Prop 209 in 1996, contended that statistics regarding racial composition of admissions at the University of California illustrated that partisan admissions actions were not essential to bring about multiplicity (Laird 133)). Whereas it is somewhat early to evaluate the long-standing impacts on women of stopping California’s affirmative action, various predictions can be drawn. Post-secondary learning chances will possibly undergo the minimal effect; women are attending schools and graduating from colleges in huge numbers compared to their male counterparts. However, the women who are poised to suffer from this gender and race predilections are the African Americans and Latino women; because of much of institutional remains of a race other than gender discrimination. The subject of affirmative action has been vastly discordant; opponents of this proposition hold the no ble-sounding oratory of color-blindness and uphold that it is incorrect for an individual to miss out on something important exclusively because of one’s race/ethnicity.  Ã‚  

Finance Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finance Principles - Essay Example It can be explained as, if one of the asset in the portfolio is giving negative return, then it would not have a significant impact on the overall return of the portfolio because the other assets might be performing well and thus making up for the asset which is not performing well. Diversification helps an investor to have consistent return on its portfolio over a period of time. An investor who is risk-averse in nature would always strive to have a completely diversified portfolio in order to minimize risks associated with it. Quantitative measure of portfolio is possible with the advent of several portfolio selection theories. Using those quantitative measures one can have the benefits of diversification to the maximum amount possible. The diversification strategy proposed by Markowitz is based on the covariance between the returns generated by the assets included in a portfolio. The diversification theory proposed by Markowitz is related to the risks associated with the portfolio as a whole and not the risk associated with any asset in isolation. Markowitz used variance as a measure of risk. Markowitz tried to develop a diversified portfolio by including those assets in the portfolio which are not perfectly positively correlated with each other, so that the variance in return of the portfolio is minimized without affecting much on the return of the portfolio.1 Mean – Variance Diversification Mean – Variance diversification portfolio theory utilizes marginal analysis as a means of achieving optimal level of diversified portfolio. It is based on the fact that diversification should be enhanced until and unless marginal cost is less than the marginal benefit. The advantage of this theory is the minimization of risk. The costs that are considered in this theory are holding costs and transaction costs. The standard deviation of the returns generated through the combination of assets is used as the risk measure in case of this theory of diversificat ion. Marginal benefits associated with diversification of portfolio get increased with decrease in correlation between asset returns. On diversification of the portfolio the expected value of standard deviation goes on decreasing. Optimal diversification depends on the expected correlations between each pair of assets in the portfolio, the buying costs of each of the assets, the holding costs of the assets and expected premium on equity used as asset in the portfolio.2 Risks associated with any portfolio can either be unsystematic risks or systematic risks. As discussed earlier risk gets reduced with diversification. However, diversification reduce risk only to a certain level, beyond which it is not possible to reduce risk because changes in the market conditions as a whole affects in variation of prices of all the assets included in the portfolio and it is not possible to reduce or eliminate this variability beyond a certain level. Hence it is necessary to divide risk into two par ts, namely systematic risk and unsystematic risk. The risk which represents that portion of the variability in asset caused by the market movements are known as systematic risk. This type of risk is unavoidable in nature and is sometimes termed as beta as mentioned in the Capital Asset Pricing

A Summary Of Research On Job Retention & Turnover In Child Welfare Service Essay Example for Free

A Summary Of Research On Job Retention Turnover In Child Welfare Service Essay This article discusses job retention in social welfare. Smith (2004) raises a problem that cannot be dismissed lightly: â€Å"staff turnover in child welfare agencies† with estimated turnover rates within â€Å"23% to 85%† annually. Smith (2004) suggests â€Å"the need to explain, understand, and prevent it. † According to Smith (2004), various business environments have used models to explain employee turnover reflecting perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. Only a few studies applied this model when studying child welfare retention. Data was gathered from two surveys to test organizational support on job retention to include factors such as supervisor support, extrinsic rewards, and intrinsic job values. Smith collected data from child welfare staff on two occasions at various agencies to study job retention in child welfare. First, an in-person survey was given. A couple of months later, information was collected from the participating agencies to examine the percentage of individuals that remained employed at the agency. Twelve counties participated. Staff turnover rates were high in these areas of study. Smith (2004) measured organizational and job satisfaction, supervisor supportiveness and satisfaction, job tenure, workload, time use, and perceptions about job turnover and retention. Smith used the organizational support theory and work place exchange relationship to theoretically examine the perceived effects on job retention. The â€Å"work place exchange relationship†, stated by Smith (2004), looks into the relationship of a â€Å"frontline staff† and a direct supervisor. This relationship suggests that when subordinates perceive their supervisor to be supportive â€Å"they become more committed to the organization† (Smith, 2004) Smith (2004) considers the organizational establishment of arrangements that support work-life balance to be an important form of organizational support. This theory suggests that â€Å"workplace arrangements that facilitate work-life balance will promote employee commitment to the organization. † Another aspect of the organizational support theory is that it highlights the â€Å"roles of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards† in employees’ decision to stay with or to leave their employers. For instance, one study concluded that extrinsic rewards, like, benefits package, are important â€Å"motivator† whereas another study on intrinsic rewards found that the latter is a more powerful motivator than the former. (e. g. , Deci, 1971; Snelders Lea, 1996). The results of Smith’s study indicated that â€Å"extrinsic rewards such as the facilitation of life-work balance and supervisor support are associated with job retention, but reports of intrinsic job value or not†. According to Smith (2004), a social exchange framework is useful for understanding turnover and retention dynamics in child welfare organizations. In my personal view, I find one weakness of the research having â€Å"study measures. . . not standardized. † This makes the research less scientific and subject to criticisms from the scientific and business communities. On the other hand, I find the strength of the research in its confidence in declaring that its findings â€Å"can appropriately be generalized,† however, â€Å"only to high-turnover agencies in rural areas†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthus, the knowledge obtained from the research can be used by decision-makers in formulating and adopting certain policies on employee retention and turnover.

Two Stroke And Four Stroke Engine

Two Stroke And Four Stroke Engine To understand the differences between a two stroke and four stroke engines, we need to know how the four stroke engine works. In four stroke engine there are four stages: Intake: The piston travels down the cylinder while the intake valve is opened to allow a mixture of fuel and air to enter the combustion chamber. Compression: The intake valve is closed and the piston travels back up the cylinder compressing the gasses. Combustion: The spark plug ignites the compressed gas causing it to explode, which forces the piston down. Exhaust: The piston rises up the cylinder as the exhaust valve is opened, allowing the piston to clear the chamber to start the process over. Each time the piston rises and falls it turns the crankshaft that is responsible for turning the wheels. This is how fuel is converted into forward motion. The spark plug doesnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t fire in each revolution but instead fires once every other revolution. A camshaft must alternately tip a rocker arm attached either to the intake or exhaust valve. The rocker arm returns to its closed position according to the movement of a spring. The valves must be seated properly in the cylinder head to avoid compression leaks. Now that the four stroke engines mechanism is explained, it is inevitable to learn about the two stroke engine. The main difference between the two engines is that all four stages in the four stroke engine are integrated into only two phases, one downward stroke, and one upward stroke. Intake and exhaust are both integrated into the compression and combustion movement of the piston, eliminating the need for valves. This is accomplished by an inlet and exhaust port in the wall of the combustion chamber itself. Induction: the piston travels down the cylinder head, and it applies suction to the air-fuel mixture and exerts it into the cylinder. Compression: as the piston travels up to the top of the cylinder head, it applies pressure to the air-fuel mixture from the inlet port in the top of the cylinder head, making the air-fuel mixture ready for igniting by the spark plug. Ignition: the spark plug ignites the pressurized air-fuel mixture (otherwise known as the compressed air-fuel mixture), sometimes referred to as the power stroke. Exhaust: as the piston returns back to the top of the cylinder head after the air-fuel mixture has been ignited, the piston pushes the burnt gases out of the cylinder and through the exhaust system. Transfer Port: The port in a two stroke engine that transfers the air-fuel mixture from the bottom of the engine to the top of the cylinder. two-stroke-exhaust.gif 0003EDA6CENGIZ B9A1592C: Fig2: 2-Stroke engine After the fuel and air experience a relatively small explosion, the piston is driven down to the bottom of the stroke where the exhaust port is uncovered. Most of the gases are driven out in this phase. This process is easily seen with an outboard motorboat, evident by the multicoloured oil slick surrounding the engine, but it happens with all two stroke engines, which is considered one of the disadvantages that makes a designer overlook the use of a two stroke engine in their design. And that is because this process itself (along with burning oil) creates pollution and fuel efficiency issues. Development The idea to build a two-stroke engine goes back to the year 1879. But this engine became a qualitatively good product only after many years, when the German DKW company accelerated its development. Because of its disadvantages compared with the four-stroke engine, the two-stroke engine is used practically just in a small range of capacity, e.g. in small motorcycles considering that the processes involved in the two stroke engine only require the use of a small amount of parts and chambers, and that is why they are used in small applications. Formerly the engine was even used to power tiny cars. The main disadvantage of the two stroke engine would be the loss of fuel and oil (as oil is mixed with fuel, or induced with fresh air to lubricate the piston). And this oil is burnt and sent through the exhaust, as some of the fresh mixture would leave the combustion chamber unburnt. This would basically cause more emissions and dirtier exhaust that would damage the catalytic converter. In recent years, the re-appearance of direct fuel injection (as it already existed in diesel, and 1960s petrol Mercedes), is the main cause of this interest. As direct fuel injection (meaning the fuel injector would be in the combustion chamber such as the spark plug, and would induce the fuel directly in there, as opposed to standard injection where fuel is induced in the intake manifold on top of the valve). This direct injection would limit the fresh mixture loss in exhaust. The thermal post combustion: there is an air pump, called secondary air pump, pumping fresh air into the exhaust when engine is cold. As on cold starts you have a very rich mixture, meaning raw fuel leaving through the exhaust. The fresh air induced, along with the high temperatures of the exhaust, would cause the fuel in exhaust to burn, this would render the emissions cleaner, and would heat up the exhaust faster for the catalytic converter and oxygen sensors to work (as catalytic converters and oxygen sensors need temperatures around 600 degrees C to operate and clean the emissions). This thermal post combustion would clean the remaining raw fuel or hydrocarbons, and heat the catalytic converters and oxygen sensors, so they always work at optimal temperatures. Problems of the two-stroke engine Actually, the two stroke engine should perform twice the performance of a four stroke engine with the same cubic capacity. Although it is just possible to gain a performance that is about 50% better, but still the reasons are obvious; the cylinder cannot be filled up with the same amount of fuel as in the four-stroke engine, because the individual strokes are separated not so clearly which will reduce the amount of space and eventually reduce the capacity for carrying more fuel. If more fuel is induced, it leaves the combustion chamber through the ejection pipe without being burnt. Many concepts were developed to provide a better expulsion of the exhaust in way that the fresh gas doesnt leave the combustion chamber. Though all these inventions, the filling of the two-stroke engine is always worse than in the four-stroke engine, which loses fresh fuel only because of the overlap of the valve times (both valves are open for an instant). Beside these performance-technical problems, ther e are also increasing difficulties with the environment. The fuel mixture of the two-stroke engine often gets shifted with a certain quantity of oil because of the necessary lubrication. Unfortunately the oil gets burnt partly, too, and harmful gases are expulsed by the engine. Two stroke engines already have a lot of advantages over the standard four stroke engines Two-stroke engines do not have valves, which simplifies their construction and lowers their weight. Two-stroke engines fire once every revolution, while four-stroke engines fire once every other revolution. This gives two-stroke engines a significant power boost. Two-stroke engines are lighter, and cost less to manufacture. Two-stroke engines have the potential for about twice the power in the same size because there are twice as many power strokes per revolution. Disadvantages of 2 Stroke Engines: -Two-stroke engines dont live as long as four-stroke engines. The lack of a dedicated lubrication system means that the parts of a two-stroke engine wear-out faster. Two-stroke engines require a mix of oil in with the gas to lubricate the crankshaft, connecting rod and cylinder walls. Two-stroke oil can be expensive. Mixing ratio is about 4 ounces per gallon of gas: burning about a gallon of oil every 1,000 miles. Two-stroke engines do not use fuel efficiently, yielding fewer miles per gallon. Two-stroke engines produce more pollution from: 1- The combustion of the oil in the gas. The oil makes all two-stroke engines smoky to some extent, and a badly worn two-stroke engine can emit more oily smoke. 2- Each time a new mix of air/fuel is loaded into the combustion chamber, part of it leaks out through the exhaust port. http://www.deepscience.com http://www.whitedoglubes.com http://www.atzonline.com/index.php;do=show/site=a4e/sid=10470432604d6722a19884c564334027/alloc=3/id=829