SAP APPEAL

My attention and time were constantly strained by all of the extensive materials required by the courts in this case. Moreover the date of my trial was changed several times dragging through this past summer and all of this is behind me now. Am looking forward to starting college again and experiencing some positive growth in my life and career, ND to also set a good example for my daughter as I am a single parent trying to make a difference.My desired outcome of my financial aid appeal is to be approved which means to have another chance at finishing college because if don't get this chance again I know for a fact that I will never finish college, as work a minimum wage job and have a child to take care of, and I want to better our life. I understand will be put on financial aid probation. I feel very nonevent that I am able to continue my coursework and improve my academic progress.I intend to register and repeat the coursework in the classes that failed. I will also use the assign ment planner to help me stay on track. Am enclosing a part of my divorce decree showing when we got separated and when moved out DCE 201 2 but we were having problems way before that, and my daughters surgery follow up appointment date. Appreciate you time, understanding, and consideration of this request. Thank you in advance.

A Modest Proposal For The Homeless People Essay

When you walk the streets of downtown, all you see is smelly, dirty homeless people begging for money. All they do is take up all the space on the sidewalks with their cardboard signs, annoying people while they walk by homeless people because they scary and harmful. Instead of them trying to find a job, they’re always asking for money and when they do get money they never use it on food and water, they’ll most likely spend it on drugs. Homeless people make our city look horrible, dirty and poor which gives us a bad reputation. They’re a burden on our society and something needs to be done about it. There is no reason such dirty people should be a part of what seems to be a clean society. The homeless are bringing down the look of this society. The look they are giving our environment is a poor, dirty, uninviting look. As a proposal, they should be forced to work extra hard so the higher class of society don’t have to work extremely hard. After all the homeless is taking up all the space, so they might as well do all the dirty work that no one has an interest in doing, to get it over with. Maybe that will make them seem like a less of a burden. If that doesn’t work we can just ship them off to an island for the homeless so we don’t have to worry about them anymore. But it would make sense to put these people in some type of imprisonment too. So that’ll clean up the streets as well. With help from these proposals there should be no reason for such terrible dirty people to continue to be a part of our society. Once the homeless is gone, the city will become inviting, and appealing to visitors, might even make some want to stay.

M5 Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

M5 Reflection - Essay Example In trying to work with schools, parents face various challenges as in some cases they are not given a chance to participate wholly in the activities that affect the student regardless of the academic goals they may have for their children. Parents seek to be more involved in the classroom and the school through ensuring what their involvement in what the students learn in school by encouraging two-way communications with the learning institution (Epstein, 2007). The parents can increase the participation of the community in the activities of the school or the community through arranging flexible time for volunteers, making sure leadership roles have been filled by parents and providing information on time among other activities (Marshall & Toohey, 2010). The parents should be able to believe in and make a commitment to including all the stakeholders including the school and the community to create a collaborative learning community, which can promote academic achievement for everyone. The parents should further value and have a commitment to implementing shared visions with the school and the community so that they can promote lifelong learning for the students as well as the community in

Starbucks Cafe Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Starbucks Cafe - Assignment Example Today Starbucks Cafà © has divided its product into multiple segments. The first segment is its core customer base that visits the establishments on a weekly basis. These customers are the bread and butter of the business since the generated the firm most of its revenues. The second segment the company is targeting is Starbucks enthusiasts that want to incorporate a daily routine of Starbucks coffee drinking without the hassle of going to the store. The segmentation strategy has been accomplished by selling Starbucks coffee products at supermarkets. The third market segmentation is the penetration of Starbucks into the low end coffee market. The strategy was implemented without hurting the brand value of the company by rebranding Seattle Best Coffee. Seattle Best Coffee was a perfect product to compete with the new players in the gourmet coffee industry such as Dunking Donuts and McCafe. The new product could be sold at locations that Starbucks in the past did not visualize as suita ble for its products such as fast foods and cinemas.Sometimes in business choosing an accelerated growth strategy can have consequences in the long run. The company simply grew too fast. The company became so large that they saturated the United States market with too many coffee shops. The growth was amazing and its founder and the shareholders that invested in the firm from the start should be proud of their accomplishment. Now the problem lies in the expectations of the current and future shareholders. It is unrealistic to predict that Starbucks will ever return to the profit growth it once enjoyed. The organic growth model saw its demise in 2008. The firm will continue to generate good solid profits. It is highly possible for the firm to experience negative growth. Some stores have been closed already and I expect more stores to close down in the United States in the near future. The only way for the firm to achieve sales growth in the future is by expanding its international op erations. The company has to identify the best locations that offer a good balance between population size, customer income, low competition, and the high demand for coffee.

British Politics Shaped By The FPTP Electoral System Essay

British Politics Shaped By The FPTP Electoral System - Essay Example British elections follow the plurality voting system. It is the responsibility of the people to vote for representatives of their constituency and will, therefore, elect a candidate of their choice from the competing political parties. There are approximately six hundred and fifty constituencies in the UK that have to be contested by the multiple parties in elections. Under the FPTP, political parties take time to invest and campaign for their candidates and parties, so as to influence the majority people to elect them. After the First World War, several changes in the electoral system of Britain occurred. The constituencies were divided into approximately equal proportions based on the population from which the FPTP electoral system would operate in. With the 1918 reform, additional groups of people such as the soldiers who had returned from war and the groups of women who had achieved the minimum property qualification affected the size of the electorate. For the first time, the nu mber of voters had almost tripled. Under the new FPTP system, each qualified voter from a constituency has been required to vote for a single candidate from a list given in the ballot paper. The assumption is that the candidate who gets most votes compared to other individual candidates wins the election to qualify for the representative in the constituency. This method has by far been the simplest and regarded as the voice of the majority. No doubt that conservative party can be regarded as the dominant political party of the 20th century.

With reference to a specific firm, discuss the role of different Essay

With reference to a specific firm, discuss the role of different sources of knowledge in the innovation process - Essay Example Interactive learning mainly takes place between companies and other organizations like technology service providers, knowledge providers, and customers. This paper aims to discuss the role of sources of knowledge in innovation process of Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company has highly benefited from its sources of innovation knowledge, which has highly enabled the company to venture almost in the entire globe (Mazzarol, Elena, and Delwyn 2014, p. 84). Sourcing international innovation knowledge enables Coca-Cola Company to engage in continuous process of innovation that enables the company to stay ahead of its competitors. When there are barriers in the local markets, the company is able to expand into oversea markets hence overcoming these barriers. It is only through external avenues and sources of innovation knowledge that has enabled Coca-Cola Company to dominate many markets around the world (Rothwell 1994, p. 13). However, innovation knowledge sources do not always generate pecuniary benefits to Coca-Cola. Nevertheless, these external sources of innovation knowledge play a vital role of ensuring that the company sustains its innovation process and gives the company a reputation of being the leading soft drinks company in the world (Masegosa, Villacorta, & Cruz-Corona 2014, p. 72). Building relationships and networks with other successful companies is clearly the key to Coca-Cola success since this enables the company to sustain access of international innovation knowledge (Uecke 2012, p. 60). Therefore, companies should not underestimate the significance of their informal networks. The innovation knowledge sources have enabled Coca-Cola Company to define its market dominance ensuring the firm’s success through the implementation of significance global operations that enable the company to control its programs in a unified approach. Secondly, Coca-Cola defines the international quality and regulatory

An Ethical Dilemma Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Ethical Dilemma - Term Paper Example The organization’s hiring process has however been difficult, in the past, because it is not famous in its South Dakota locality. After the first round of interviews, a female candidate who is a local resident and prefers working in the area is identified with acceptable qualifications even though she is not a fresh graduate. She unconditionally accepts a $ 105000 remuneration package. Another set of interviews identifies a male candidate with all the organization’s requirements but he has another competitive offer. It is however certain that he will accept a $ 135000 dollar package. The case identifies a number of ethical issues through different ethical principles and theories. One of the issues in the case is the consequences of the decision to offer the higher package to the later employee. This follows the utilitarian theory that advocates the maximum good to all stakeholders in a decision. Justice is another ethical issue that is applicable to the case. It defines fairness in dealing with issues to eliminate discrimination. Integrity issue among decision makers is also evident in the case to define the level of honesty in the decisions (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2008). Besides honesty, decisions are supposed to be truthful as provided for by the â€Å"principle of personal virtue† (Williams, 2010, p. 130). It is also ethical for an entity to make decisions to safeguard its long-term interest. This is supported by both utilitarianism and the â€Å"principle of long-term self-interest† (Williams, 2010, p. 130). I would recruit the later employee at the higher cost of $ 135000 dollar package. A number of the involved ethical issues in the case would support the decision. I would have for example safeguarded the organization’s long-term interest in securing potentials of fresh recruits.

The NFLs Digital Media Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The NFLs Digital Media Strategy - Essay Example While it is true that the players do seem to be getting more exciting and better with the games more spectacular and the presentation much slicker, this is only but one side of the NFL’s success. The other side of the NFL’s success lies behind the scenes with tactics, strategies and programs, which the NFL has followed in diligent, careful and ambitious stewardship of the NFL league. As a league, it is more than a collection of owners, coaches, players and franchises. The NFL also produces some of entertainments most sought after content. The leagues ambitious programming and broadcasting plans now require the flexibility to allow it distribute this content via new programs, channels, and ventures. In order to improve on the ability to capitalize on these new opportunities in the media, the NFL needs to re-invent its processes and systems to allow for increased monetization of its wireless broadcasts of content. Goals of the organization Like most successful entertainment and media companies, the NFL seeks to haul out as much value as it can from the assets it has in media. The core of this media content includes audio and video clips, which NFL, an affiliated media company films maintains and establishes (Hutchins & Rowe, 2012). NFL films acts as the NFLs most important channel for promotion. Operating out of New Jersey, the company produces such television programs as State Farm NFL match-up and Playbook. These programs represent the face of the NFL and, as such, the richness and quality of the content has to be just right. The NFL aims to gain several benefits from pursuing a digital content strategy. These are; more compelling and robust video content to be broadcast on wireless channels, improved ability to benefit from digital content partnerships and new media opportunities, strengthening of their brand on a global level, and improved ability to monetize and leverage the underlying value of its brand on a glo bal level (Hutchins & Rowe, 2012). Options Available There are several options open to the NFL n their pursuit of a lucrative digital content strategy. First, they could pursue an exclusive partnership with a wireless carrier, just like its current deal with Sprint. Second, they could form non-exclusive partnerships with an array of wireless carriers that would give them the right to carry their content on their phones but with no exclusive rights to the content. Third, they could include the rights to wireless content with one or more TV networks. This would involve showing live and full games or highlights in progress, as well as rights to NFL film’s live videos. Selection of Best Option including Analysis and Information Supporting the Decision The best option for the NFL would be to include wireless rights in partnerships with existing or new broadcast partners. This would work to achieve the double-digit growth anticipated by the bosses at the NFL because, with the deals for television broadcasts, up for renewal in the 2013 season, the mobile rights to NFL content would be of very high value to the TV broadcasters. Some of the networks, like ESPN, already have ESPN mobile, which offers to steam video, as well as other NFL content that could significantly enhance the NFL product. Even though, DirecTV already has the rights to wireless content meaning that any new deal would not give exclusive rights to the other TV networks, the networks would be willing to work with this given the demand for digital content by the consumer. They would still make a lot of money from non-exclusive deals by offering digital content to their clients (IBM, 2012). The communication industry is in the middle of a revolution known as convergence.

Nuclear proliferation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nuclear proliferation - Essay Example Since campaigning for office, Barack Obama has frequently mentioned that, â€Å"in an ideal world, there would be no nuclear weapons†. The main goal of this essay is to evaluate this and explain why I agree or disagree with it.What I will argue is that the possession of nuclear weapons has in fact deterred and stopped a nuclear war. In fact, nuclear proliferation does not increase the risk of war, it prevents it. Based on what I will argue there is, even more, chance of a major war between states if there are no nuclear weapons.In the first section of this essay, I will analyze the theories that relate to this argument of further spread of nuclear weapons. To do that I will look into Kenneth Waltz’s theory of neo-realism and his thought on nuclear proliferation. I will also look into the theories like security dilemma, Mutual assured destruction and nuclear deterrence. In the second section I will analyse these theories in relation to the theoretical background. After t hat I will give my concluding remarks. The reference in this essay are in a Chicago style, both in the bibliography and footnotes.Neo-realism or structural realism is a theory which places emphasis on that ideology that the international system is anarchic. What is meant by this is that there is no higher government or an international police. The result of this is that states constantly try to increase their security and that is done with more power. The theory assumes that statesmen think and act in terms of self-interest defined as power.

Early Literacy in Education Essay Example for Free

Early Literacy in Education Essay Introduction â€Å"Literacy learning has a profound and lasting effect on the social and academic lives of children. Their future educational opportunities and career choices are directly related to literacy ability. Since early childhood is the period when language develops most rapidly, it is imperative that young children are provided with a variety of developmentally appropriate literacy experiences throughout each day, and that the classroom environment is rich with language, both spoken and printed. Early childhood teachers are responsible for both understanding the developmental continuum of language and literacy and for supporting each child’s literacy development. Literacy learning begins at birth and develops rapidly during the preschool period. The main components of literacy—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—should all be encouraged and supported through conversations and activities that are meaningful to the child and that involve adults and peers. Each child’s interest and motivation to engage in literacy-related activities are evident before that child is able to read or write conventionally. Children should be provided with environments that encourage literacy exploration and their emergent reading and writing behaviors should be valued and supported by their teachers. Effective language and literacy programs provide children who do not speak English with opportunities for listening, speaking, reading, and writing in both English and the home language. It is important for the teacher to recognize the need to make modifications in the presentation of vocabulary, directions, storytelling, reading, and other oral language communication when working with children who do not speak English as their home language. These modifications may include the use of visual aids, scaffolding, repetition, rephrasing, and modeling. † (NJ Department of Education, 2009) Gone are the days in which manual labor was the backbone of our society. We are a people living in the information technology age. Everything that is done from brewing your morning cup of coffee to setting your I-pod to wake you up morning and everything in between requires reading. Without reading a person will face great adversity in day to day living let alone success. It is now critical that every child and adult be able to read and comprehend. Over the past ten years, the amount of information that requires one to read, utilize writing skills, problem solving, and critical thinking has grown enormously. Studies have shown that one of the strongest indicators of a child’s success in school is the educational attainment of his or her parents. As you can imagine, this can plainly effect more than the person who is illiterate. This can also be a death sentence of poverty and destitution as the child grows into adulthood just as doors open for the life-long reader. Today we will discuss: what is needed to prepare children to read, the methods used to help recognize phonics and begin the transition into emergent readers, and what can be done to encourage reading in the future. Preparation In order for a child to begin reading parents must begin assisting their child from an early age. â€Å"Every step a child takes toward learning to read leads to another. Bit by bit, the child builds the knowledge that is necessary for being a reader. Over their first 6 years, most children †¢Talk and listen. †¢Listen to stories read aloud. †¢Pretend to read. †¢Learn how to handle books. †¢Learn about print and how it works. †¢Identify letters by name and shape. †¢Identify separate sounds in spoken language. †¢Write with scribbles and drawing. †¢Connect single letters with the sounds they make. †¢Connect what they already know to what they hear read. †¢Predict what comes next in stories and poems. †¢Connect combinations of letters with sounds. †¢Recognize simple words in print. †¢Sum up what a story is about. †¢Write individual letters of the alphabet. †¢Write words. †¢Write simple sentences. †¢Read simple books. †¢Write to communicate. †¢Read simple books. Children can take more than one of these steps at the same time. This list of steps, though, gives you a general idea of how your child will progress toward reading. † (Helping your child become a reader) While these ideas may seem structured, it is also important to allow children to be creative and use their imagination. Although reading is imperative, too many arrangements and rules can turn a child off and lead to feelings of resentment, anger, and resistance. Reading should be set to the tone and pace of the child. Emergent Readers As the standards of education change a consistent factor remains the focus on reading. Early childhood educators must provide an atmosphere that is both developmentally stimulating to the student while also meeting the standards of education. The methods used to help recognize phonics and begin the transition into emergent readers vary from student to student. Without the foundation of phonics research shows that a child will not learn to read. All children must know the alphabet in order to communicate effectively. Phonics cannot be drilled into the child. This will only produce memorization. Instead, educators must understand a child’s individual needs as well as balance. There is no true need to teach phonics as a separate subject. Most children will develop a sense of curiosity from their own knowledge, ideas, and interest. There will of course be a select few that may benefit from a more formal instruction. When children have a reason to know this will provide enthusiasm. For example: The first letter and sound a child typically learns may be his or her own name. A teacher may ask Billy to identify the first letter of his name. â€Å"B† replies Billy. â€Å"What sound does the letter B make? † â€Å"Buh-buh-Billy exclaims the child. Billy is now inspired and driven to want to learn the other sounds the letters make. Parents and teachers must also realize that reading will contrast greatly as children grow. Below is a list that may help each parent as well as teacher: â€Å"Infants †¢Talk, read, and sing to infantsthey learn from everything they see and hear even in the first stages of life. †¢Take your baby to the park, zoo, and the store with you. Bring her attention to objects, signs, and people. †¢Always make books a part of your babys toy selection, even if he enjoys handling books more than being read to. As your child grows, point out pictures of objects and offer their names. Eventually, your child will be able to name the pictures, too. †¢Encourage associations between symbols and their meaningas they get closer to toddlerhood, children may begin to recognize familiar signs for products and logos for cereal or fast food restaurants. Toddlers †¢Help toddlers make the transition from baby talk to adult language by repeating their words and expressions correctly without reprimanding them. †¢Let toddlers read their favorite picture books by themselves while you remain close by to comment. Or, pause before a familiar word as you read to your toddler, and let her fill in the missing word. This works especially well with rhymes or repeated refrains. †¢Provide magnetic and block letters to introduce a toddler to the spelling of his name. †¢Before you take your toddler on a new type of outing, read about the events you are about to witness. Talk with your child about the experience, and follow up with further reading to reinforce learning. Preschooler †¢Add new books to your child’s collection, but keep reading old favorites. Your preschooler may know them by heart nowthis represents an important step in learning about reading. †¢Continue to take children shopping with you, and let them help identify products with coupons. Let preschool children join in as you follow a recipe. †¢Take books on long trips with you to encourage reading as entertainment. School-age children †¢Continue to read to your child, even if she has learned to read already. Take turns reading pages of your favorite books. †¢Encourage story writing by listening to the stories children tell. †¢Play word games like Scrabble or Boggle with children and introduce them to crossword puzzles. † (NAEYC, 1998) Encouragement â€Å"The first step in teaching a child to read is encouraging them to read. † – Unknown. This is a proven fact in the development of children. A child that is encouraged has no limit on what he or she can achieve. As educators and parents the responsibility begins early. Reading will encourage children to develop a life-long love for learning. If knowledge is power, books are full of it. Why is reading so important to children? â€Å"The Media Awareness Network emphasizes the potentially negative effects watching television can have on kids. This includes increased exposure to violence, sexual content, and adversely affecting a child’s course of development. In addition, watching television teaches children habits that promote a sedentary lifestyle, contributing to childhood obesity. Meanwhile, reading has been proven to enhance a child’s life by assisting cognitive development and helping children build language skills. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization points out that reading helps children develop a sense of empowerment. It can also help children develop social and communication skills. Furthermore, good reading skills increase educational opportunities and may dramatically increase a child’s chances for academic and lifelong success† (Lendabarker, 2010) There is a vast assortment of options for parents to help encourage reading at home. One of the longest running programs to encourage reading is Pizza Hut’s â€Å"BOOK IT† program. â€Å"This provides an incentive to motivate children to read. BOOK IT! runs every school year from October through March. The teacher sets a reading goal for each child in the class. A tracking chart and reproducibles are included to make it that much easier. As soon as a child meets the monthly reading goal, the teacher gives him or her a Reading Award Certificate. † (Pizza Hut) Flexible BOOK IT! goals are based on reading ability. Number of books, number of pages, or number of minutes – they all work. BOOK IT! can also be used with the reading curriculum or as support for comprehension or intervention programs. For children not reading independently, the goal can be set where a parent or others read to the child. Fun Pizza Hut is proud of all BOOK IT! readers! The restaurant manager and team congratulate every child for meeting the monthly reading goal and reward them with a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza, BOOK IT! card and backpack clip. Other ideas to encourage reading include: †¢Make a habit of reading to your child every day, whether she is a one-year-old or a 10-year-old. †¢When your child is able to, have her read to you. You can take turns reading chapters in a simple chapter book, for example. †¢Get a library card for your child. Go to the library every week and take out several books. †¢Be aware of your childs interests and direct your child to related books. †¢Try to find a series that she really likes and will want to continue reading. †¢Provide a comfortable reading area, with good lighting, in your home. †¢Discuss books with your child. †¢Buy books for your children that are related to their special interests. †¢If your child is a reluctant reader and not reading on grade level, buy her hi/lo books (books with a high interest level, low vocabulary). †¢Talk to your childs teacher and ask for suggestions. †¢If your child likes incentives and the computer, enroll in an online book group. †¢If your child really enjoys a particular author, check with your librarian about other authors or books she might enjoy. †¢Children also often enjoy the opportunity to read childrens magazines As parents and educators, it is more important to spend time reading with your child on a consistent on-going basis. The method you select is not nearly as important as the time spent actually reading together. Conclusion Show me a child that can read and research will show you a child on his or her way to succeed. Parents, educators, grandparents, aunts, uncles all need to take time to read to a child. All too often parents rush out to buy the latest video game or latest toy. Where is that enthusiasm for the love of reading? How many children even see their parents read? We live in an age where technology surrounds us at every given moment; that does not negate the need to read and to take an active role in the education of children. The research speaks for itself. Reading equals succeeding. Works Cited Bagert, B. C. (1993). Helping your child learn to read. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Kids Source: http://www. kidsource. com/kidsource/content/learread. html Lendabarker, K. (2010, January 3). Encouraging Children to Read. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Suite101: http://earlychildhood. suite101. com/article. cfm/helping_children_develop_good_reading_habits NAEYC. (1998). Phonics and Whole Language Learning. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Education. com: http://www. education. com/reference/article/Ref_Phonics_Whole/ NJ Department of Education. (2009, Unknown Unknown). Retrieved February 16, 2010, from www. state. nj. us: www. state. nj. us/education/cccs/2009/PreSchool. doc Pizza Hut. (n. d. ). Pizza Hut. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program: http://www. bookitprogram. com/bedtimestory/ Uknown. (n. d. ). Literacy Guide. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from Bankstreet: http://www. bankstreet. edu/literacyguide/early2. html Unknown. (unknown, unknown unknown). Helping your child become a reader. Retrieved February 19, 2010, from Ed. gov: http://www2. ed. gov/parents/academic/help/reader/part4. html.

Sustainable Architecture And Passive Housing Construction Essay

Sustainable Architecture And Passive Housing Construction Essay In the daily life, a lot of people past by some of these words: sustainable architecture or green buildings; however, they dont the meaning of it. For that reason, Ive decided to write about passive housing, which is a type of sustainable architecture. But before starting discussing the topic, a brief introduction to sustainable architecture will be given. There are a lot of definitions for sustainable architecture; nevertheless, there are two definitions that simple and exact idea about it. The first one is Environmentally-friendly houses and commercial buildings that are designed and built using sustainable building technologies, sustainable building materials, and sustainable energy systems, that dont burden future generations with environmental and financial debts. (Sustainable Architecture) And other defection was defined by architect Robert Berkebile, Sustainable Architecture is a design that improves the quality of life today, without diminishing it for the next generation. (Sustainable Architecture) In short, sustainable architecture is a way of building house and commercial buildings to save the environment for the future. Sustainable architecture isnt a new technology. It started developing in Europe since almost 500 years ago. It started by simple idea, which indicates how houses can be cool in summer and warm in winter by using minimum energy. Now days, they have more complicated ideas such as: producing their own electricity and recycling waste. That is because of the new technological advances, human has been developing over the years. There are three types of sustainable architecture mostly common and they are: zero energy buildings, passive housing and law energy housing. Is sustainable architecture that important to be developing for all of these years? In fact, its an important factor of saving the environment from depletion. According to the National American Homebuilders Association, a typical, (non-sustainable) stick-built or wood-frame home was 2,085 square feet and required  more than one acre of trees/forest; moreover, the waste created during the construction of this typical home averages between 3 tons to 7 tons, for every new house built. It only saves construction materials, but also reduces the consumption of energy and water. Passive house have one main principle which is reduce the energy lost in the house. But how can it be done. Its done by isolating the building and using the energy of people and the households. Passive house is very energy efficient because it use only 10% of energy that regular house use. This amount of energy is used for heating, hot water, and household electricity. In May 1988, Professors Bo Adamson of Lund University, Sweden, and Dr. Wolfgang Feist of the Institut fà ¼r Wohnen und Umwelt (Institute for Housing and the Environment) had a conversation about the Passive House standard originated. As result of the conversation, they developed the concept of passive housing by doing many research projects which have been supported financially by the German state of Hesse. The first passive house buildings were built in 1990 in Darmstadt, Germany. The Passivhaus Institut (the passive house institute) was established in September 1996. The concept of passive housing became more commercialized and following the  European Union  sponsored  CEPHEUS  project in winter of 2000-2001. Moreover, in 2003 the first passive house was built in North America, Urbana, Illinois. Since the institute was founded, 15,000 passive houses were built worldwide. Most of these houses were built in Germany andAustria. Figure Time Line of the History of Passive Housing The Design of Passive Housing There are mainly two key elements from designing a passive house, which are the orientation of the building and the construction material. The Orientation of the Building: The first feature that should be considered before building a passive house is the orientation of the house that is because it is the key of the utmost energy production. Since the solar energy is the most reliable energy for the house, the house should be directed to the sun. On the other hand, the wind also should be considered because it can cool the house during winter. For these reasons, the house is directed to the east-west axis and most of the windows are ought to be on the south wall of the house. In this way, the house will get maximum of sunlight and minimum of wind entering the house. Although, these conditions work perfectly in winter, there is other condition should be thought of in summer which is shading. Shading is important because it reduces the sunlight getting into the house. This is the main technique that passive house uses to heat and cool itself. The Construction Material: Figure How passive house works? As any ordinary house, passive house has the same basic building material, but it is only enhanced to maximize the energy gained and minimize the lost. Concrete, bricks and stone are the basic material for building a passive house because they can absorb the energy from the sun fully and gradually. As result of the long period of energy absorbing, a phenomenon which is called lag happens. Lag is the warm sunlight which was absorbed during the day then released slowly during the night. There three types of windows glass and they are: one pane, two pane and three pane windows. One pane and two pane windows are commonly used in normal houses; however, three pane windows are used in passive house. Moreover, they are made from three glass panes which are split by air or Argon gas. This makes the window more insulated that prevents cold air getting in and decreasing the heat getting out. Because of the house is insulated, Mechanical Ventilation is used in the house to proved fresh air and heat. It gets fresh air from and takes out the polluted air from the house while it heat the fresh air by absorbing the heat from the polluted air. Also, all passive houses have solar panels that convert the sun light to electricity that serves the house. Moreover, some of the houses have wind tribunes which also provide it with electricity. The wind tribunes are installed only if the area where the house is built has sufficient amount of wind. There are many advantages of building house passively. The cost of electricity is very low which is about 100à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ a year. Also, it is eco-friendly because it uses less electricity and that lead to less consumption of petroleum product, nature gas, coal and wood. These products release a lot Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that pollute the air which leads to global warming. In addition, it improved the sustainability of the house. Furthermore, it helps people who have allergies by reducing their symptoms. It is reduced because the air ventilation system cleans the air from dust are pollution. However, there is one disadvantage of passive housing that is air tightness, so without an efficient air ventilation system that keep the air clean and preserve an excellent humidity percentage in the house. Conclusion To summarize, sustainable architecture is the way of building without harming the environment. There are many ways of sustainable architecture, and one of them is passive housing. It has one key principle which is minimizing the energy lost from the house. Passive housing is new trend which started in 1988. The standards of passive housing are set by Professors Bo Adamson and Dr. Wolfgang Feist. The standards of passive housing have two main ideas which are the orientation of the building and the construction material. The cost of passive housing is higher than a normal house by 5-15%. Eco friendly and cost efficiency are advantages of passive housing, but air tightness is a disadvantage.

History of the Big Bang Theory Essay -- Historical Science

The strength of the Big Bang theory lies in the evidence for it, not the mechanism used to explain it. Actually, the theory has been revised a great deal since its first proposition and is probably not exactly as you think it is. I'll explain it in the order of historical development. My apologies if this is a bit technical - don't worry if you don't understand it all. The theory was first proposed in the 1930s, based on Edwin Hubble's discovery that distant galaxies are receding. Hubble measured the distances to a large number of galaxies (based on the observed brightness of certain stars within them), and compared these distances with their electromagnetic spectra. As it turned out, more distant galaxies had the features in their spectra (spectral lines) shifted to lower frequencies in a linear manner: that is, more distant galaxies exhibit greater redshifts. The only known mechanism for generating a spectral shift is the Doppler effect, which means that distant galaxies are receding from us. This suggests that in the past, galaxies were much closer to us than they are now: simply extrapolate the motion into the past. As it turns out, if this is performed, it indicates that all galaxies in the observable universe would have been at the same 'location' about 11 billion years ago: that is, all the matter in the universe originated from a single location. This is the (simplified) Big Bang theory. Actually, it's a little more complicated than that: according to general relativity, it's not really that distant galaxies are flying away from us, it's that space itself is expanding, increasing the distance. You can think of the universe as the surface of a balloon, with the balloon constantly expanding. Not everyone believed ... ...e realm of current science. We don't yet have a theory that can handle the conditions present at that time yet. However, from the era of inflation on, high-energy physicists and cosmologists are quite confident of the theory, as crazy as it sounds! In fact, this specific theory makes its own predictions regarding the exact distribution of fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background, which have so far been confirmed, though complete confirmation will have to wait until the MAP and FERMI satellites become operational later in this decade. The bottom line is that historical sciences (in this case, cosmology) can make testable predictions: the existence of background radiation and its properties, the distribution of light isotopes, the presence of galaxy evolution, the age constraint, and so on. The same goes with evolutionary biology, another historical science.

Leo Tolstoys The Death of Ivan Ilyich Essays -- Leo Tolstoy Death Iva

Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich I related readily with Ivan Ilyich, the main character in Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. There was a time when I myself lived my life without regard to the spirituality of life. I, however, was very lucky in that it did not take death looming over my head to realize this. Maybe the fact that my bout of depression’s onset happened sooner in life allowed me to see it sooner. Eric Simpson put it best as â€Å"We all die, like Ilyich, and if we only live to live, to create and carve our own meaning into the universe, then life itself becomes ultimately meaningless and painfully insignificant.† The key point here is the â€Å"painfully insignificant†(Simpson). Depression snuck up on me like old age will, forty times quicker. Ilyich manages to cover his depression by compartmentalizing his feelings from his thoughts and by becoming a workaholic. Doing this, he had a means of either dismissing his depression or drowning it in work. Ivan Ilyich did not notice his depression and lack of spirituality until three days prior to his death. It is not until Ilyich asks himself, â€Å"What if my whole life has really been wrong?†(Tolstoy 1203), and comes up with an affirmitave answer that Ilyich tries to find a way to rectify his situation. His solution is painfully simple, spare his family the heartache of his dying and to just get it over with. My solution was quite different. I came up with two simple rules. The number one rule of feeling better is to help strangers whenever possible. For example, last Wednesday, my car broke down on Route 7. I did not have a cell-phone and there wasn’t a payphone in sight. Since I had a paper due, I started hitchhiking to class. After about five minut... ...d Western doctrines. He also points out Ilyich’s total lack of spirituality and the feeling of a wasted life. Simpson points out these differences and includes Biblical quotes to back it up with great insight, getting to a level of depth that could confuse some readers but has shown this reader something I would never have thought of on my own. Novel Analysis: Death of Ivan Illich. 12 April 2001 This author explains how Ilyich’s life is a ‘front’ for the sake of propriety. Also, the author points out that Ilyich is not aware of this until just days before he dies. A very short interpretation, but one that completely backs me up. Note: All quotes from Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich are from the following edition: Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience. Seventh ed. Ed. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. New York: St. Martin’s, 1998.

Does Socrates see himself as the most important teacher in the city? :: Essays Papers

Does Socrates see himself as the most important teacher in the city? In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Socrates has to defend himself to the city of Athens. The city of Athens is at odds with Socrates’ philosophy; it contradicted several Athenian beliefs. The city believed that Socrates was an atheist, that he was responsible for corrupting the youth, and that he made the weaker argument the stronger. Socrates believed that he was the most important teacher in the city therefore he continued to defend his actions and beliefs even when his life was on the line. He saw himself as the most important teacher after his visit to the oracle. He believed it was his mission to change the Athenians viewpoints, and he was willing to die for what he believed in. Socrates forced the Athenians to think and to question how they lived their lives. He was a great philosophizer and he knew how important he was to the city. The city did not share Socrates own view of himself as the most important teacher. They believed his philosophies were evil and they were willing to put him to death for his ideas. In Socrates’ first defense, he uses the story of the Delphic oracle. According to Socrates, the oracle once declared that no one was wiser than Socrates. At first Socrates thought the oracle to be wrong so he began to obtain evidence by conversing with wise people in order to refute the oracle: He examined the politicians, poets, and artisans and found that they were almost completely ignorant (except for the artisans, who at least knew well their own areas of expertise), and that all thought they knew things, especially â€Å"the greatest things,† but in fact they did not know them. Since Socrates was at least aware of his own ignorance, he ranked himself above them in wisdom. (18) Thus Socrates began to believe that he was the wisest person in the city. The oracle was a turning point in his life. Instead of focusing on astronomical and physical studies, he began to concern himself with moral and political opinions: â€Å"this turn to the examination of opinions brought Socrates into conflict with the city as such, for his doubt of the worth of generally accepted opinions was also a challenge to the most authoritative opinions, those which concern the city’s gods and the city’s laws†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (18). The fact that Socrates knew he was the wisest and that he began to concern himself with philosophies of the city shows that he saw himself as the most important teacher in the city.

Kingdoms of Life Essay

On our planet earth we have what are called kingdoms, 5 to be exact, consisting of a very diverse group of living things. Using these five kingdoms we classify our species and organize information on what we are and what resides with us. When we place every living creature into one of the five kingdoms it better helps us understand the world around us and it’s habitants. The five kingdoms include: Moneran, Protist, Fungi, Plantae, and the one we call home, Animalia. 1. Monera The simplest of all organisms is the bacteria of the Moneran kingdom. They are broken down into two types: Eubacteria and Archaebacteria. Eubacteria is known as the â€Å"true bacteria† which makes up the roughly 10,000 species in the Moneran group. Archaebacteria or â€Å"ancient bacteria† if you will, is the minority of the group and are only found in extreme environments including but not limiting; swamps, salt lakes, deep-ocean hydrothermal vent, etc. There are many types of species belonging to the Moneran kingdom that have yet to be discovered. Monerans are also the only group within the five kingdoms that are all prokaryotes. Prokaryotes are one-celled or colony of cells. 2. Protista In this kingdom we have multi cellular organisms (Protista) which are not a part of nor do they fit, the Animal, Plant, or Fungus Kingdom. In the beginning, protozoa were placed in a sub-kingdom of Animalia but because of the problems this classification had, it later became it’s own kingdom. All members of this phylum have what are known as nucleated cells and live in aquatic habitats (both freshwater and marine). According to Lynn Margulis, K.V. Schwartz and M. Dolan (1994), the cells of all Protoctista originally formed by bacterial symbioses or symbiogenesis. Members of this kingdom are not considered animals because they do not come from an embryo, they are not plants nor are they considered fungi because they do not develop from spores. 3. Fungi There are some members of the Kingdom Fungi that are associated with algal cells of the Kingdom Protista and/or prokaryotic cyanobacteria of the Kingdom Monera. Fungi plays a very critical role in nature’s continuous rebirth: Fungi actually recycle all dead organic matter turning it into useful nutrients. Fungi consits of species like: mushrooms, molds, mildews, stinkhorns, rusts, puffballs and many others. There are on estimate 100,000 known species today with hundreds of new species being discovered each year. 4. Plantae  With over 1.6 million species of living organisms on earth and new species discovered every single day, in particular; insects and nematodes residing in rsecluded tropical regions. However, with the present rate of destruction, a majority of the virgin tropical rain forest are headed straight for extinction, leaving millions of species undiscovered by the human race. It is the theory that approximately 99 percent of species that ever resided on earth were extinct long before the human ever set foot on this planet. Even with humans having such an incredible significance to the development of earth, technically they are considered to be newcomers on this marvelous planet. If all theories are correct, earth is aged at about 4.5 billion years old, meaning the ancient life forms (such as the cyanobacteria) appeared roughly 2-3 billion years ago. 5. Animalia There are nine phyla of this kingdom including the following: Porifera (poriferans), Cnidaria (cnidarians), Platyhelminthes (flatworms), Nematoda (roundworms), Annelida (annelids), Mollusca (molluscs), Arthropoda (arthropods), Echinodermata (echinoderms) and Chordata (chordates). Animals are considered to be part of this group because they are all multi-cellular organisms whose cells are connected by a plasma membrane and not by a cell wall of cellulose like the others. The differences between plants and animals led to the division of all life into what is known as (referenced above) Plantae and Animalia. In animals, the cells are organized into tissues and specialized tissue systems that permit them to move freely in search of food. They build energy by acquiring and ingesting their food, unlike plants, which use the system photosynthesis to benefit from the nutrients they need to survive. A well developed nervous system with sensory and motor nerves is what enables animals to receive environmental stimuli as well as a response to the environment around them. It was found that some were plant like while others (protozoa) resembled animals in that they obtain locomotion by means of flagella and that they actually digest food. The Animal Kingdom holds the most species of all of the kingdoms, ringing in a little over one million. Interesting fact, is that more than half of the animal species are insects. The result of 300,000 beetles plus the 800,000 different insect species a make up the largest order of insects (one fifth of all species–using a total of 1.5 million). It has been said that if the species between plants and animals on earth were lined up at random, every 5th species would be a beetle. Viruses Viruses are out of the Kingdom assortment completely and sometimes they are said even to belong to their own kingdom, the kingdom Virus. The small and less complex infectious agent is made of tiny macromolecular units composed of DNA or RNA covered by an outer protein coat. Virus’ do not contain membrane-bound organelles, ribosomes, a cytoplasm, or any other source of energy formation of their own. They do not have the self-maintenance metabolic reactions of living systems, they lack cellular respiration and gash exchanges. They are completely capable of reproducing but only at the expense of a host cell. They can and will only survive as minute macromolecular particles outside of their body. Plant viruses are transferred between each other by insects that feed on sap, such as aphids, while animal viruses can be carried by blood-sucking insects (mosquitos for instance).    http://www.biology-questions-and-answers.com/life-kingdoms.html

Salinas V. Texas Essay

Facts: Two brothers were shot and killed in their home. Police recovered shotgun shells that led them to investigate the petitioner. The petitioner handed over his gun and agreed to go to the police station for questioning. The petitioner answered all of the questions the police had, but when it came to the question about the shells matching the petitioner’s gun he went silent. So the police asked a few more questions to which the petitioner answered. The petitioner did not testify at the trial, so the prosecutor used his silence as evidence of guilt. Procedural History: Petitioner was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years. This was directly sent to the Texas State Court of Appeals who rejected the argument. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals took up the case and affirmed the same judgment. Issue: Was the petitioner’s Fifth Amendment right violated when prosecutor’s used his silence as evidence of guilt, when he was not in custody and had not had his Miranda rights read to him? Holding/Rule: No, because the petitioner did not express that he wanted to invoke his privilege to stay silent, and not testify. Reasoning: Neither of the two recognized exceptions to the invocation requirement applies here. One is that a petitioner is not required to take the stand and assert the privilege against self-incrimination at his own trial. The other is that a witness’ failure to invoke the privilege may be excuse where government coercion made his forfeiture of the privilege involuntary. It is undisputed the petitioner’s interview with the police was voluntary. He admitted that he was free to leave at any time, so nothing prevented him from saying he refused to answer the police’s questions. The third exception was not even considered, because the requirement for this one would be the witness would remain silent and decline to give an answer that the officers  would suspect incriminating.

Children and Gender

They learn to think by association and knowledge acquired from those that are most often around them. This can lead to negative views on non-specific gender roles, allowing only for a more society-based approach. Sandra BEMA, a psychologist specializing in gender studies, later goes on to define specific features of gender schematics: â€Å"1. Gender schemas develop through an individual's observation of societal classifications of masculinity and femininity, which are evidenced In human anatomy, social roles, and characteristics. 2.Males and females cognitively process and categorize new information in the environment based on its maleness or femaleness. . Self-authorship is displayed by an individual's categorization of and conformity to the sets of elements that belong to either definition of masculinity and femininity' (Hoist 1). As children develop, they learn to associate things by said â€Å"maleness† and â€Å"femaleness† based on society. They are taught that as a male and female, they should do things specific to each gender, setting a foundation for later learning and behavior.According to Deborah Rhode, a Professor of Law at Stanford University, most research shows â€Å"Children receive strong cultural messages about sex-appropriate rats, tasks, and behaviors† (21). At such an early age, when cognitive skills are developing and when children are learning by viewing what Is around them, children start to figure out how to act based off of their certain gender. Boys are taught that they must be forceful and girls need to be motherly, while seeing advantages and disadvantages to being of a certain sex.A study In Michigan on elementary students showed that the children were able to acknowledge the fact that there are indeed â€Å"gender hierarchies† or better or worse genders (Rhode 22). â€Å"When 1,100 students ere asked to describe what life would be like If they were the opposite sex, over 40 percent of the girls saw a dvantages to being male: they would have better Jobs, higher incomes, and more respect. Ninety-five percent of the boys saw no advantage to being female, and a substantial number thought suicide would be preferable† (22).How is it that at such a young age, the idea of suicide has already been associated with being female? Children are being taught this way, even If indirectly; children learn by seeing and hearing. Rhode even declares that â€Å"by age two, toddlers have ex-linked toy preferences; by age three they can identify certain occupations as more appropriate for each sex; and between ages four and six they separate into same-sex groups† (23). Gender Identity comes at such an early age before â€Å"escalate[d] with anatomical differences† (23).When children are learning that gender is related to all of these other things before even learning the physical, 1 OFF makeup of a person that makes them either male or female, which should be the factor for this as sociation. Gender schematics refers to organization based on feminine and masculine disagrees. Most parents allow their children to recognize this (not as the term but as the concept) by â€Å"offer[ins] differential opportunities for learning based on their children's sex† (Shoal, Sifter, and Patriots 2).In practice, children tend to remove themselves from situations where learning becomes â€Å"gender-inappropriate† for them (Shoal, Sifter, and Patriots 2). In a study of 178 kindergarten and grade four students and their parents, girls showed signs of being less gender-schematic than boys. â€Å"Simple comparisons indicated that boys with gender-typed fathers and non- ender-typed mothers were more schematic than girls with the same parent gender classification, than girls with non-gender-typed mothers and gender-typed fathers, and than boys with two non-gender-typed parents† (Shoal, Sifter, and Patriots 1).Gender typing is when children acquire masculine or fe minine roles and identify with these said roles. When children are heavily influenced by their parents, and one parent is gender typed, then typically this will have an impact on the child. Children should not be taught how to act based upon certain gender-related reminisces, but instead the more androgynous approach. This approach, or combination of gender-related characteristics, will give them the middle ground to choose for themselves as they further develop.David Opened, marriage sociologist, insists that when raising a child, parents should overlap parental roles. â€Å"Men should become more nurturing and share homemaking activities† as women â€Å"in the workplace† (Opened 5 and 6). He suggests that gender roles of parents are learned and can easily be translated into mothers and fathers doing both gender-specific roles. Opened also claims that while renting should take on a more androgynous approach, traditional mother-father roles should not be forgotten. â⠂¬Å"Family organization based on (†¦ ) biological differences between men and women† (Opened 6).This is an appropriate way to combine newer and more traditional parenting styles so that children will be able to grow in an environment not solely based on the roles of any specific gender. There is sure to be opposition to this, with many suggesting that the nuclear family should be kept intact with all the initial principles that go along with it. However, when children re seeing the value in being one gender over another based on society's idea of gender-specifics, then the nuclear family is the last thing that should be worried about.The gender schema theory allows people to â€Å"simplify a large body of knowledge and apply this knowledge easily to themselves and to others† (Attenuate et al. 137). We are able to determine the gender of someone due to â€Å"cues (†¦ ) culturally created gender cues (†¦ ) biological† (Attenuate et al. 137). For obvi ous reasons, it is more difficult for children to assess the gender of other children based on biological aspects. Therefore, they must use these culturally created gender cues to analyze this (I. E. Hair style, colors, etc. . Studies were done to attest to this notion, trying to reach more unconventional conclusions as to what makes a boy a boy and a girl a girl. Small children were asked to draw a picture off boy and a girl, and later gender schemas do not develop before their unconventional gender schemas† (Attenuate et al. 137). The younger children in the studies came up with reasons for each being of a certain gender not based on stereotypes, but more in unconventional, such as â€Å"no legs† or â€Å"she's a pirate† (Attenuate et al. 142).The children a few years older came to the conclusion that girl's had long hair and wore pink while boys had short hair and wore boy clothes. This knowledge of what it means to be a boy and a girl has to start from an ear ly age. From the time a child is born, they are subjugated to stereotyping typical boy/ girl behaviors. Parents want to let the world know if they have a son or a daughter, and this is easily done through dressing a child; a girl is given pink things while a boy s given blue. This inserts gender-specific knowledge into their mindset that only develops over time.This negative approach puts any form of androgyny into the background, thus becoming an outcast to an infant. â€Å"Parents encourage sex-typed activities (†¦ ) doll-playing and housekeeping for girls and trucks and sports for boys† (Witt 253). This encouragement only gives them further reason to gender-type jobs in society, making women appropriate for keeping up the house and family, while men are out working. Children should be taught that these Jobs can be interrelated between both genders and that Job qualification does not refer to what sex you are born as.Witt states that children even as young as two have an â€Å"awareness of adult sex role differences† (253). In today's society, it is quite common to see both genders participating in activities that were once considered gender-specific only. Women run for president, are doctors, are top sports players, etc. On the other spectrum, men are engaging in managing the upkeep of homes, salon employees, nurses, etc. The barriers are slowly becoming hazy and the apprehension of the wrong gender in he workplace is slowly deteriorating. What needs to be considered first and foremost is that this all starts with family.

Behavioral Patterns and Projective Test

Personality depicts the unique thinking that defines the character of a certain individual. In order to understand the means of a certain individual’s personality, psychologists constructed a lot of different personality measurement. The most common measurement is done through the means of examination. Test or personality test is the most common conducted personality scale; this is where a certain individual is provided questions regarding his/her mood, personality itself, and other personal characteristics.One example of the measurements created by certain psychologist is the Big Five Personality Measurement. The structure of this personality measurement is said to be constructed on a hierarchical model of an individual’s personality traits. This measurement is structured with 5 and 10-itemed inventories which are to be evaluated. This is a short-time personality test and is used when there are situations which need a short-time-consuming personality measurement (Gosli ng, 2003). Another measurement is the Mood Survey which is the measurement used for measuring a certain individual’s sad and/or happy mood.This includes a questionnaire about mood, a personality scale instrument to determine whether sad or happy mood and the conducted mood surveys (Bill Underwood, 1980). The Mood survey is explained having two particular subscales namely the Level and Reactivity. These said factors or subscales are interrelated essentially that has an unchanging advantage on a certain state of mood scale. This is effective both in depicting a certain person’s personality characteristics and figuring out new idea about the origin and causes of mood and mood change (Bill Underwood, 1980).These two measurements are tested and were already used by psychologists in order to explain or define a certain individual’s personality so as to its origin, factors, and or reasons of change. References Bill Underwood, W. J. F. (1980). The Mood Survey: A Persona lity Measure of Happy and Sad Moods. Journal of Personality Assessment, 44(4), 404-414. Gosling, S. D. , Rentfrow, P. J. , & Swann, W. B. , Jr. (2003). A Very Brief Measure of the Big Five Personality Domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 504-528.

Corn and Ethanol Prices Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corn and Ethanol Prices - Assignment Example Drought conditions in Lowa resulted in reduced corn output levels, posing significant threats to related activities that use corn in one way or another. The article outlines that due to declined corn harvests as a result of drought, corn prices went up. This scenario pushed up commodity prices of related products, especially processed corn products or complements to corn products (Dvorchak, 2012). Corn producers and corn product manufacturers were faced with critical decisions to make in relation to the appropriate course of action to be taken. While these scenarios were taking place in Lowa, their impacts were bound to be experienced across the entire economy. The first category in this line is the farmers. While their output was low, market prices were going up. The implication of this was that supplies that they demanded became relatively expensive, especially those that were manufactured using corn; like livestock feed. Consequently, the farmers needed to reduce their livestock herds. To do so, they sold their livestock for slaughter. This increases livestock supply for slaughter purposes, triggering a fall in animal protein products in the meat markets. However, prices of processed corn products were going up, responding to low corn supply in the market. Amid the events that had occurred in Lowa, insurance claims were bound to increase. This is more so with the farmers, where their produce is insured against loss. The primary role of insurance companies is to reduce risks by designing measures and policies to mitigate risks at a premium that is charged to clients (intext). Insurance and reinsurance activities heightened, with beneficiaries filing claims accordingly relative to the underlying uncertainties in Lowa and in the national economy at large. Production of ethanol utilizes a significant percentage of national total corn output. The drought conditions in Lowa implied that the supply of corn would be inconsistent as demand rises. This

Chinas Unique International Relations Theory Essay

Chinas Unique International Relations Theory - Essay Example All this has also helped the country to become an independent power in the eyes of the rest of the world with time as well. The foreign or international policy of this country is the policy or theory by way of which it interacts with other nations and also the outlook that it has towards other nations around the world. According to many sources the international theory and policy of China has been said to be ‘highly influential’. The main objectives for the reason for the unique policy that it upholds with pride are to bring about independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Recent Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the realist rather than the liberal school of international relations theory. Thus, in sharp contrast to the Soviet Union and the United States, China has not been given off to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world communism or world democracy since the Cold War; or in other words, its ideology appe ars to be secondary to advancing its national interest. China is also a vital member of many international organizations; with itself holding key positions like the permanent member on the UN Security Council and is also a leader in many areas such as non-proliferation, peacekeeping and resolving regional conflicts.... nese scholars began to think about theoretical studies of IR, and some of them emphasized the construction of an IR theory with Chinese characteristics. Recent Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the  realist  rather than the  liberal  school of  international relations  theory. Thus, in sharp contrast to the  Soviet Union  and the  United States, China has not been given off to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world  communism  or world  democracy  since the  Cold War; or in other words, its ideology appears to be secondary to advancing its national interest. China is also a vital member of many  international organizations; with itself holding key positions like the permanent member on the  UN Security Council  and is also a leader in many areas such as  non-proliferation,  peacekeeping  and resolving regional conflicts. Since 1978 the international relations theory in China has developed to a great extent and the entire theory is based on the works of two parallel processes that are simultaneously trying to establish their superiority within the country, the two of them being; (Yaqing, Qin) 1. A tenacious learning process aimed at trying to acquire knowledge and along with it, generation. a) Learning and acquiring knowledge from countries situated in the West like the US, through which the international relations theory has slowly and gradually developed as an independent discipline within the country of China. b) Furthermore as discussed above, the result of this learning has led to the formation of different schools of thought which have given rise to thinking of Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. c) All these different thought processes have also helped and led to the rise and growth in the national and

The War of 1812 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The War of 1812 - Essay Example 218-19). In 1807, Jefferson persuade Congress to pass a drastic measure, the Embargo Act, prohibiting American ships from engaging in any trade with any foreign port; he thought it would punish the British by denying them American agricultural goods, but, instead, it was "a complete disaster for the economy" (Roark; pp. 218-219). It hit New England merchants and southern planters particularly hard, bringing trade to standstill. It was also hard to enforce, and had little of the intended impact on the British who simply turned to South American countries for agricultural goods. (Roark; pp. 218-219). The embargo stayed in place until Jefferson left office, but was then replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 which prohibited trade with only Britain, France, and other colonial possessions (Roark, et al; pp.218-219). In 1810 the Act expired and was replaced by a new law that reopened free commercial relations with either Britain or France, whichever stopped restrictions on neutral shipping f irst. (Roark, et al; pp.218-219). Napoleon, wanting to entice the United States into re-imposing its embargo against England, declared that France would never interfere with American shipping. Madison believed the French and reinstated the embargo against England, but French leaders continued to seize American ships. Many Americans felt that the nation was on the verge of war, but were unsure whether the correct target was England or France (Roark, et al; pp.219-220) "But maritime issues were only part of the reason for the conflict between the United States and Britain" which led up to the 1812 War. (Roark, et al; pp.219-220). In the face of constant encroachments of white settlers west onto Indian lands, Indians began consolidating alliances with British Indian agents (Roark, et al; pp.219-220). American concern over this was compounded by the two "dynamic Shawnee Indian leaders", war Chief Tecumseh, and his mystical brother Tenskwatawa, known as the "prophet", who united many tribes of Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan in a confederation to protect their lands. (Roark, et al; pp.219-220). The Governor of Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison, negotiated a treaty with "unrepresentative Indians" to purchase three million acres of territory at bargain prices, thus helping Tecumseh work with southern tribes as well. In 1811, alarmed at the brothers' growing power, Harrison met the Shawnees at Tippecanoe Creek, and captured and destroyed their strong hold, Prophetstown. (Roark, et al; pp. 220-222). After Tippecanoe, Tecumseh allied with British military commanders in Lower Canada, and American conflicts with the Indians soon merged into a broader confrontation with England. In June 1812, Congress declared war on England in a "sectionalized vote" with New Englanders largely opposing it (Roark, et al; pp. 223). The war did not go well: a planned invasion of Canada failed, and the British grabbed forts on the Great Lakes. On the home front, New Englanders, led by Federalist merchants, openly opposed the war, and carried on illegal trade with England. (Roark, et al; pp. 223). Federalists gained political strength in the election of 1812, demonstrating discontent with the war. American fortunes improved somewhat with

Organizational Structure Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Structure - Annotated Bibliography Example The author used to be a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and has a Ph.D in the subject of social psychology. His work is objective in nature because it is completely based on objective research. The opinions formed in the book are based on these researches. The author proposes that the organizational culture can be utilized as a tool for adopting and promoting change. The book even focuses on the significance of leaders and their contribution towards utilization of culture to attain organizational aims and objectives. The content of the book provides various theories that can help in identifying how different leaders use different leadership styles to promote organizational change. This information will be used in the research to identify the impact of leadership on culture and how culture can become a change driver. Vaccaro, I., Jansen, J., Van Den Bosch, F., & Volberda, H. (2012). Management innovation and leadership: the moderating role of organizational size. Journal Of Management Studies, 49(1), 28--51. The source titled â€Å"Management innovation and leadership: the moderating role of organizational size† has been authored by Ignacio G. Vaccaro and other researchers and the source is a journal article (Vaccaro, 2012). The source has been published in a journal titled Journal of Management Studies and the sources has been cited for 96 times. The Journal in which the article is published is a journal that published research regarding management and social sciences and the article is reviewed by experts of the field and if the article is relevant to the subject of journal, it is published in the journal. The research is accepted as it is scientific in nature and the findings are based on results obtained from statistical tools which make the results objective in nature. The author of the article is associated with the Department of Strategic

Sprung rhythm in The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins Essay

Sprung rhythm in The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins - Essay Example At first glance the structure can seem confusing with the sentences half finished and the verbs, adjectives, and nouns all mixed together without flow. However, this is part of Hopkins’s skill by being â€Å"fully in control of the energies of his sprung rhythm† (Rumens 2011). Carol Rumens sees this rhythm as allowing the poet to set the words â€Å"soaring across the first seven lines of the octet† (2011). Also, all the â€Å"ing† endings in the first eight lines act to unify and tie together the first stanza; just like the way the bird is inseparable from itself and its action so too are the words from their lines. For example, the bird is perfectly absorbed and engrossed in its act of â€Å"riding Of the rolling level underneath him steady air† (Hopkins lines 2-3). It merges and becomes one with the wind, just like all the different words fuse together and become one with the rhythm of the sonnet. Sprung rhythm also charges the lines with verbs t rying to capture the intensity of the bird’s actions. It gives the sentences a controlled speed, highlighting the way the bird pauses and abruptly springs into action.

EXERCISE 5 P+P Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EXERCISE 5 P+P - Research Paper Example The Merise has the basic assumption of System design and development going through three cycles of - abstraction, approval and life cycle. There can be object oriented transformation of Merise analysis. The cognitive bias of Merise is that it is not limited only to the modeling of a database (Pham, 1991). 2. Purpose & Periphery   What does the method encompass?   What is it (designed to be) used for?   To what can it be adapted/applied?   What does it preclude? The method encompasses three characteristics viz. structural overview with diagram and text that is beneficial for easier implementation, better quality system and a use of improved planning. The development method was primarily designed for UK and the government computing requirements. The application later became hugely popular and hence it was adapted by the European public sector companies (Doorn, 2002) . The Merise mainly encompasses graphical representation through three different cycles. It is mainly designed fo r development cycle, which is decision cycle, life cycle and abstraction cycle. It is mainly applied such that data and processes are viewed in conceptual level then logical level and finally operational level (Pham, 1991). The SSADM technology precludes various drawbacks of previous technologies by offering below listed advantages:- 1. SSADM involves user 2. SSADM separates the logical and physical aspect of the system 3. It gives the three different views of the system 4. It has well-defined techniques and documentation However, SSADM technology cannot be applied in all conditions. The SSADM technology requires a large enterprise and may not be suitable for all types of enterprises like Small scale or medium. A large investment of time and money is required to use this technology. It requires a big place and also needs trained people to use it (Ashworth, 1990). 3. Process & Procedure Guidance offered   What do we do? What happens next?   Procedures for moving through the stage s/phases/tasks/ Practitioner guide   Participant guidance   There are guidance available, which can teach the software designing methodology with plenty of tutorials available, both in printed form and online format. The Practical Business Systems Development using SSADM4 by Philip Weaver (Weaver, 2002) is a complete guideline on it. There are software development sites, which help in these issues too. With the help of Logical Data Modelling, one can identify, model and document the requirements of data for the system being considered for design. Using this method, the data is separated into relationships and entities. Because of this, it becomes easier to know about the fields for which business needs to record the information and about the relationships between entities. The data flow modelling recognize, model and document the movement of data around the information system. It examines the actions which transform one form of data to another, area where data is held, what rece ive data into system or sends data from system and also about the routes through which data can flow. And the entity behaviour modelling takes care of actions that influence each unit and the sequence in which these actions occur. There are detail procedures in these tutorial books which guides through stages of the task. Even there are modules like requirements analysis,

The treatment of bulimia with psychoanalysis Research Paper

The treatment of bulimia with psychoanalysis - Research Paper Example ...17 4.1 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....17 References ABSTRACT This paper was based on literature review and it explored many available research papers evaluating the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy for the treatment of the eating disorder, bulimia. It was found as a result of a thorough review of available relevant material in different authentic research journals, that psychodynamic therapy is quite effective in treating bulimic patients, psychodynamic therapy is not an easy form of therapy and the psychologist attempting psychoanalysis of a bulimic must be well equipped to handle the transference phase effectively. Finally, CBT is a quicker option in treating bulimic adults, but the results of CBT are not temporally stable as compared to those of psychodynamic therapy. There is need of more research to test and compare t he effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy when integrated with CBT for treatment of bulimia. INTRODUCTION This paper attempts to review the effectiveness of psychoanalytic techniques used for successful treatment of the eating disorder, bulimia. Psychoanalysis involves various treatment methods that can be used for treating bulimia. This paper will explore and evaluate different psychoanalytical techniques available for treating bulimia with regard to effectiveness. Relevant literature will be thoroughly searched for any evidence of comparative effectiveness of two or more psychoanalytical treatment methods with patients of bulimia. The literature search will be followed by a discussion and the paper will conclude with a summary of the findings. 1.1 The Psychodynamic Approach to Psychology   The first proper theory of human psychology surfaced in the 1800s. Sigmund Freud is the neurologist and proponent of this theory and school of thought namely the psychodynamic approach. The fo under of this school of thought divides human mind into three components: the conscious, unconscious and pre-conscious (Burger, 2008). The conscious consists of the awareness zone and contains thoughts of which one is aware. The thoughts in the pre conscious mind are not readily available, but can be retrieved easily. The last part, namely the unconscious makes up the major part of human mind and is of great interest to psychoanalysts. According to Freud, thoughts in the unconscious are the key to understanding one’s personality and these can only be brought to the conscious mind in certain extreme situations (Burger, 2008). According to the structural model of personality, psychoanalytical school of thought believes in existence of id, ego and super ego. The id is the psychic representative of drives; ego is the component which deals with the ‘relation’ functions of humans and their environment while the super ego consists of the moral precepts. Other main conce pts of the psychoanalytical school of thought include defense mechanisms that humans use to deal with conflict (Brenner, 1973). Sigmund Freud was the founder of this school of thought but it hasn’t died with his death. There have been many changes and advancements in the theory and therapy of psychodynamics and it is accepted

Fast Food in Malaysia Essay Example for Free

Fast Food in Malaysia Essay Restaurants have been around in some form for most of human civilization. But they usually catered to travelers. As far back as ancient Greece and Rome, inns and taverns generally served food to people who had a reason to be away from home. This trend continued until relatively recently. Although taverns and coffee houses were popular places to gather and share beverages in the 17th century, the idea of eating out for fun didnt take off in Western society until the late 18th century. Although McDonalds was the first restaurant to use the assembly-line system, some people think of White Castle as the first fast-food chain. White Castle was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. At the time, most people considered the burgers sold at fairs, circuses, lunch counters and carts to be low-quality. Many people thought hamburger came from slaughterhouse scraps and spoiled meat. White Castles founders decided to change the publics perception of hamburgers. They built their restaurants so that customers could see the food being prepared. They painted the buildings white and even chose a name that suggested cleanliness. White Castle was most popular in the American East and Midwest, but its success helped give hamburger meat a better reputation nationwide. So, like cars, White Castle played an important part in the development of fast food. Image courtesy Brands of the World The McDonald brothers opened their redesigned restaurant in 1948, and several fast-food chains that exist today opened soon after. Burger King and Taco Bell got their start in the 1950s, and Wendys opened in 1969. Some chains, like Carls Jr. , KFC and Jack in the Box, existed before the Speedee Service System, but modified their cooking techniques after its debut. McDonalds, which started it all, is now the worlds largest fast-food chain. According to the National Restaurant Association, American sales of fast food totaled $163. 5 billion in 2005 [ref]. The industry is growing globally as well. Total sales for McDonalds grew 5. 6 percent in 2005, and the company now has 30,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries [ref and ref]. However, McDonalds and fast food in general does not always get a welcoming reception around the world. McDonalds restaurants have been attacked in several countries, including the United States, China, Belgium, Holland, India, Russia, Sweden and the U. K. Protestors have accused McDonalds and other chains of selling unhealthy food, marketing aggressively to children and undermining local values and culture.

Of Endings and Closures Essay Example for Free

Of Endings and Closures Essay When reading a novel, some cannot avoid but get carried away by the emotions and experiences of the characters. Some novelists are very good not only at capturing interest of their readers but also getting them involved in the turn of events. Through the dialogues, the characters, and the plot, the readers are compelled to think, feel, and even dream. With vivid imagination, readers can feel like they are active participants to the story. Taking this into consideration, authors should consider what the readers would feel upon reading a story. Although the beginning of the story is one very important part of the plot, the ending is more important for it concludes and seals in every knot, each loose end presented throughout the story. It decides what will happen to the characters, and suggests to the readers how they should think or react to the situation or feelings presented. They compel the readers to continue the thought implied at the end, or to imagine the scenes come true in reality. This way the story’s ending is very important. Without it the story will not reach its finality. Designing a suitable ending is very important. Based on the thoughts and experiences of the characters, the ending should provide a finality to make the work complete. It should provide conclusion to the themes of the story, and tie every loose end so as not to leave the audience hanging. Although some stories are open-ended, where readers are asked to decide what happens next, these stories still suggest a specific ending considering the events that proceeded. The point is, as the reader closes the book, they should be left with a thought to provoke other thoughts that they could apply in their own experiences. A story’s ending does not always have to be happy. There are endings that are meant to be sad especially if this is where the main character is led throughout the story. In learning about point of view, we see how the story’s angle of narration connects with the ending. Based on this, a story with the omniscient angle is likely to have a happy ending, where all characters will be settled in place, those who are good will be rewarded, while those who are bad will be punished. In contrast, a story presenting the psychological angle will likely constitute a sad ending or death of someone connected to the main character. These two angles are the ones used in the novels of two great classical women writers, Jane Austen and Emily Bronte. Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey presents the omniscient angle, while Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights uses the psychological angle, being told by Lockwood, who makes a reflection on what is happening around him. In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen employs the omniscient angle. Although the story is focused on Catherine as the main character, subplots are used to tell experiences, especially love affairs of other characters like Isabella, Eleanor, John, and James. Told in the omniscient angle, the author provides a closure to every subplot, and finally leads to the major one, the conclusion for the major character’s journey. Noticeably, different sub-endings are employed in the story. The end of Isabella’s affair with James (Catherine’s brother) is not successful, neither is her relationship with Frederick. Similarly, the arrogant John Thorpe does not succeed in winning Catherine’s heart, while Eleanor (Henry’s sister) gets to marry a wealthy and prominent man, an ending somehow related to that of Catherine’s. Told in the omniscient angle, the narrator seems to see everything happening among the characters. Although the focus is on the development in the life of the young woman, other events that intertwine are also told by the omniscient narrator. As such, the deeds and feelings of the characters are revealed in the story. If follows that those who are good-natured, those who does not fake affection like Catherine, Eleanor, and Henry are granted proper treatment in the story, with a proper ending for all of them. In relation, those who do not do good, and feign affection are punished, such as Isabella and John. The omniscient angle affects the story or vice versa for it considers the effect on the readers. As mentioned, those who should be punished lose in the unraveling of events, and those who are good triumph. In contrast, Emily Bronte uses the psychological angle in her novel, Wuthering Heights. The story is told by Lockwood, who serves as a major participant in the story for he is the one giving account and reflecting on the major characters’ experiences. Although he is not a major character in the plot involving Heathcliff and those who have died, he plays an important role in that the story of Heathcliff affects him directly, and makes him write his own point of view regarding other characters. As the major narrator who takes interest in his landlord’s story, he portrays Heathcliff with some psychological imbalance, giving his account a psychological treatment. The angle by which the story is told relates with the ending of the story. Being told in the major character’s viewpoint, it gives account on what happens to the main character, Heathcliff, his affections, sufferings, emotional imbalance, etc. Through this angle we see how the death of Catherine Earnshaw affects Heathcliff, and how the anger inside him makes him fall into a tragic pit. Aside from point of view, the kind of characters present in the story affects the treatment and the ending. Both novels employ the concept of bildungsroman, thus providing the psychological, moral and intellectual development of the characters from the time they are young. As such, in Austen’s Northanger Abbey, we see how the naive Catherine grows up to be a self-assured individual. As the character’s journey continues, she meets different people to help her gain new insights about life, and she matures more with the experiences she has. Although some events lead her to feel dismayed such as the feign feelings of Isabella towards her brother, and the arrogance of John, the encounters she has makes her a more mature person. Moreover, her encounters with the Linton and the captain’s hospitality of sending her back home contribute to her development, for these help her explore the world and find her place in it. The positive development of Austen’s character normally leads to a positive ending. As the events unravel, the readers may expect a happy ending for the character. Although Henry’s proposal comes a little later than she wishes, it concludes the major character’s ultimate wish, and justifies the preparation Catherine undergoes in being a full-grown woman. The plot is designed in such a way that the character experiences all the necessary events in her life, including the waiting and rejection, for her to satisfy a more important role in the end, that is fulfilling her wish to be a family woman. The same concept of bildungsroman is applied by Bronte in the character of Heathcliff. This starts with the adoption of Heathcliff by Mr. Earnshaw despite the strong disapproval of Hindley. In the story, we see that the weak boy turns into a strong and influential man when he grows up. However, unlike the protagonist of Austen, Heathcliff develops in a rather negative way. His hatred towards Hindley and Edgar Linton makes him bitter and this does not change until the end. Although there is development, it is negative, thus leading to the tragic ending of the said character. There is a clear relevance between the negative development Heathcliff undergoes and the sad ending he encounters. Some readers who prefer a happy ending would still expect Heathcliff to change along the way, especially when he finally reunites with his son. However, it is only rational and more realistic that the former events lead to the tragic ending. The melancholy the character imposes on himself and others correspond to the ending that Bronte gives. The cruel and unforgiving personality Heathcliff projects reasonably leads to his bad fate. We may say that this is more reasonable than make him reflect on everything he has done and have him repent at the end. Although having him repent for his sins would make the story more cathartic as what would be explained later, the ending by Bronte may have better relevance during the time the novel was written. The theme of misery is probably more appealing to the people during its milieu, that is why faith in God and religion is not emphasized in the story. Moreover, the novel’s themes of misery and revenge are two intertwined motifs. Heathcliff suffers misery because of his cruelty and wish for revenge. He insists on having his way on everything, even if doing so would hurt the people around him. The misery he feels later leads him to insanity, as he talks to Catherine’s ghost on his own. It probably appealed more to the audience to have Heathcliff suffer at the end than have him repent and change his ways. The question of catharsis is another consideration in evaluating the ending of a story. Catharsis as Meriam Webster Online Dictionary defines (2008), â€Å"is a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension. In employing catharsis, the author should use elements to balance the good and evil in the story. For instance, crime stories with criminals as the main characters should not just portray them as bad people, but also as good ones. One classic example is Robin Hood. In this tale we see that the protagonist steals from the rich to give the goods to the poor people. By making him champion the cause of the poor, the character is an example of a cathartic hero. Even though stealing from the rich is a crime, it is made positive and thus gains approval from those in the lower class. This way, the story becomes cathartic. In Northanger Abbey, we see catharsis in the lives of the characters. First, we see the consequences in the life of Isabella. When she falls in love with James, she also remains as Catherine’s friend, but when she leaves James for Frederick, she loses her bestfriend and the man who loves her. Such fate of an unfaithful lover demonstrates the author’s way of achieving catharsis. It reveals that unfaithfulness will not lead to finding true love, and retribution will come later on.

Indias Construction Equipment Industry Analysis

Indias Construction Equipment Industry Analysis Abstract This research was an attempt to assess the current status of Indian construction equipment industry and the underlying opportunities and challenges. However, the aspects and objectives that were dealt in the research are; the current structure, status, competition, financing opportunities and challenges of Indian construction equipment industry. The research was conducted wholly based on secondary data. Following are the key findings of the research. Indian construction industry has entered into a new phase, where prospect of the industry appears extraordinary bright. Indian construction equipment industry is passing through a phase of hurried renovation, where the shifting is taking place from low volume concentrated use of equipment structure to high volume explicit one. Apart from these, the current and future trend also shows that the key segments of construction equipment that will have potential market prospects are excavators, loaders, dozers, dumpers and cranes. The growth of Indian construction equipment industry is the outcome of the fast liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy and the construction sector. The real competition in Indian construction equipment industry has been created by foreign players such as Volvo, Komatsu and many others. These companies are leaving no stone unturned to exploit the opportunities in Indian industry. The industry is at the critical juncture (particularly for domestic players) and therefore companies need to equip with safety measures in relation to post WTO market setting. Introduction (Chapter 1) 1.1 Indian Construction Equipment Industry Background Historical Trends Construction and mining equipment cover a variety of machinery such as hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, bull dozers, dump trucks, tippers, graders, pavers, asphalt drum / wet mix plants, breakers, vibratory compactors, cranes, fork lifts, dozers, off-highway dumpers (20T to 170T), drills, scrapers, motor graders, rope shovels etc. They perform a variety of functions like preparation of ground, excavation, haulage of material, dumping/laying in specified manner, material handling, road construction etc. These equipment are required for both construction and mining activity. With a wide production capacity base, India is perhaps the only developing country, which is totally self-reliant in such highly sophisticated equipment. India has only a few, mainly medium and large companies in the organized sector who manufacture these. The technology barriers are high, especially with respect to mining equipment and therefore the role of SME’s is restricted to manufacture of components and some sub-assemblies. Prior to the 1960s, domestic requirements of mining and construction equipment were entirely met by imports. Domestic production began in 1964 with the setting up of Bharat Earthmovers Ltd. (BEML), a public sector unit of the Ministry of Defence, at Kolar in South India to manufacture dozers, dumpers, graders, scrapers, etc. for defense requirements under licence from LeTorneau Westinghouse, USA and Komatsu, Japan. In the private sector, the Hindustan Motors’ Earthmoving Equipment Division, was established in 1969 at Tiruvallur, near Chennai with technical collaboration from Terex, UK for manufacture of wheel loaders, dozers dumpers. This factory has since been taken over by Caterpillar for their Indian operations. The machines manufactured by Caterpillar in the Tiruvallur factory are marketed by TIL and GMMCO. In 1974, LT started manufacturing hydraulic excavators under license from Poclain, France. In 1980 and 1981, two more units, Telcon and Escorts JCB commenced manufacture of hydraulic excavators (under license from Hitachi, Japan) and backhoe loaders (under license from JCB, UK) respectively. Escorts JCB has been taken over by JC Bamford Excavators Ltd. U.K. in 2003 and is now called JCB India Ltd. Volvo and Terex Vectra is the most recent entrants in the Indian market. Volvo has set up their manufacturing unit in Bangalore. At present they are only manufacturing tippers and the other equipment are imported from their parent company and marketed in India. Terex Corporation USA and Vectra Ltd. U.K. have formed a joint venture, which has started manufacturing construction equipment like backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders from May ’04 at Greater Noida with an investment of USD 12 million. Other equipment in the Terex range are being sold through their agents in India. Most of the technology leaders like Case, Caterpillar, Hitachi, Ingersoll-Rand, JCB, John Deere, Joy Mining Machinery, Komatsu, Lieberr, Poclain, Terex, Volvo are present in India as joint venture companies, or have set up their own manufacturing facilities, or marketing companies. The industry has made substantial investments in the recent past for setting up manufacturing bases, despite small volumes and uneconomic scales of production compared to global standards. 1.2 Aims and Objective and of The Study This research was aimed to assess the current status of Indian construction equipment industry and the underlying opportunities and challenges. The research was conducted on the foundation of following objectives To assess the current structure, status and direction of the Indian construction equipment industry. To assess the competition in Indian construction equipment industry To assess the financing of Indian construction equipment industry To assess the opportunities and challenges of Indian construction equipment industry To develop strategies for competitors (domestic players) in Indian construction equipment industry. To assess the technology, managerial, operational, of the Indian construction equipment industry. Literature Review Chapter 2 2.1 Introduction Construction equipment is machinery used to build and demolish bridges, buildings and other structures. These machines usually save labor, time and money. One of them can do more work in an hour than a hundred of workers using hand tools could do in a day. The chief kinds of building machines include earthmoving machineries hoisting, material handling machines and pumping machines. Other construction machinery used are for preparing the land and materials for construction. Demolishing machines are used to demolish structures and buildings. The Indian construction equipment industry today faces stiff competition, great opportunities and challenges, but India has a total command over all these things as according to confederation of the Indian industry report, 2005 as for engineering and capital goods base. The Indian engineering manufacturing sector has been growing at the rate of about 5.9% in the nineties. India today produces a variety of machinery whose range is quiet wide and deep. Rapidly increasing construction sector has been the indication of good times for companies manufacturing construction equipments. This project discusses the Construction Equipment industry in India. The structure of Construction Equipment industry in India has been well and truly detailed and mentioning all the requisite facts and figures. Also mentioned are all the factors influencing the Construction Equipment industry in India. A special mention of the suppliers list is made as suppliers are the inseparable part of the Construction Equipment industry in India. The important suppliers are JCB, Atlas, BEML, Caterpillar, Ditchwitch, Komatsu , Ashok Leyland, Escorts, Greaves Cotton, Ingersoll Rand, TETRA, Volvo, Besides all these Indian Equipment Financing companies such as Business Financing, SREI, HDFC , GE Capital, Indian Financial Services have also received requisite expression in this project. Also discussed at the end is about Construction Equipment industry in India facing problems, challenges and opportunities and its future. What India need is better infrastructure in order to progress. The government has also embarked upon massive road and pavement construction projects such GOLDEN QUADRILATERAL connecting / interlinking all four metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai. Kolkatta and Chennai The government decision to throw open the construction of roads, bridges, ports and airports to private sector and to allow 100% FII / FDI (Foreign Investments) in real estate projects like (EMAAR) has provided a boost to the industry thereby generating demand for construction machineries. Housing and infrastructure projects are expected to grow about 20% per annum for the next 15 years. 2.2 Current Status of The Industry Ramping up quality and quantity The Construction equipment industries are the biggest beneficiaries of the construction boom. Although the past few years have seen increased levels of mechanization and improved quality, Indian construction equipment and materials are still below international standards. The current status of the construction equipment industry is discussed below. The size of the construction equipment market current stands at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion and it is growing at an average rate of about 30 per cent year on year. It is expected that the industry will expand to $12-13 billion by 2015, including $2-3 billion of exports. This implies annual compounded growth rates in excess of 50 per cent between 2008 and 2015. The largest share of that growth will come from the domestic market driven on the demand side by increased infrastructure spending and on the supply side by the industry’s drive to increase mechanization and equipment penetration. The rest of the growth will come from the exports of components, services and equipment. The key infrastructure sectors that are expected to drive demand are roads, urban and residential construction and mining. Amongst the three modes of procuring equipment in India –that is, buying, leasing or renting – leasing is the most popular. While renting is suitable for projects of shorter duration, buying involves huge upfront payments. Constructions and mining equipment is manufactured by a few medium and large companies in the organised sector. The role of small and medium enterprises is restricted only to manufacturing of components and some sub-assemblies. Domestic production began in 1964 with the setting up of Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), which is engaged in the manufacturing of dozers, dumpers, graders, scrapers, etc., for defence requirements. Some of the key players manufacturing equipment for the Indian market are LT, Telcon, Escorts, JCB India Limited, Ingersoll Rand, Greaves, Caterpiller, Komatsu, Joy Mining Machinery, Case, John Deere, Lieberr, Poclain, Volvo and Terex Vectra. These companies are present either through joint ventures, or have set up their own manu facturing facilities or have a marketing presence. BEML supplies equipment to nearly half the total market. Companies such as BEML and Caterpillar are leaders in dumpers and dozers while Larsen Toubro – Komatsu and Telcon lead in excavators and JCB India in backhoe loaders. In the last few years there has been some restructuring through acquisitions and joint ventures, which in turn, has reflected the interest of international majors in the domestic market. Many international players have also appointed selling agents for importing and selling equipment in India. Despite the growth, there are some inherent problems faced by the construction equipment industry. In India, the demand for construction equipment is more than the supply. Hence, most leading manufacturers have invested in India for manufacturing to meet this gap. The industry is trying to induct international levels of technology as demand and the scale of operations increases. However, the levels of mechanisation continue to be low compared to the international market. This is primarily because the Indian market cannot absorb the cost of latest technology. Since most the construction equipment is hydraulically operated, the Indian construction equipment industry has to predominantly depend on imports, primarily from European countries. The fluctuations of foreign exchange rates and the non-availability of adequate quantities of equipment are other constraints. Construction equipment manufacturers also struggle to cope with the low availability of trained manpower, not only for producing equipment but also for operation and maintenance. Manufacturers are doing their best to train not only their own employees but also customer’s operators and services technicians. Indirect taxes on construction equipment are quite high. These range between 21 and 38 per cent, based on interstate differences, compared to 20 per cent in France and Germany and between 12 and 17 per cent in Indonesia. The government could reduce this tax burden by eventually replacing all indirect taxes such as excise, sales tax, octroi and entry tax with a single tax. It is true construction companies have ramped up significant capacities in terms of equipment over the past few years. However, due to rapid growth, there is still a mismatch of supply and demand in terms of construction equipment. Delays in deliveries of equipment result in delayed mobilization and completion of projects. Further, prices of construction equipment have steadily increased over the past few years, partly due to the high demand, and partly due to increase in input costs. Domestic equipment has a 10-15 per cent higher downturn than imported machines. There is also a lack of skilled manpower to operate and maintain machines as the industry is largely dependent on unskilled labour. Another major issue that has becomes apparent is the financing of construction equipment. The concept of renting equipment has been mooted but the rental market in India is not very well developed. At present, there are very few players and tax issues also play a major role in this industry. The very first equipment bank in India –Quipo- has been fairly successful. However, with more world leaders expected to enter the renting domain and various models being worked out by rental companies, the situation is expected to improve in the future. In the future, one can expect major global manufacturers to enter the equipment arena by producing India-specific products while addressing factors such as quality, cost to customer and delivery. It is also essential to make available the easy hiring of equipment through a ready stock of good quality equipment. The last few years have witnessed a phase of restructuring in the industry through acquisitions and joint ventures. This also reflects the active interest of international majors in the domestic market. Many international players have also appointed selling agents for importing and selling complete equipment in India. The construction and mining equipment industry is dominated by a few large manufacturers in each product segment. BEML supplies to nearly half the total market. BEML and Caterpillar lead in dumpers and dozers while LT-Komatsu and Telcon lead in excavators and JCB India in backhoe loaders. 2.3 Structure of The Industry 71% of the sector comprises of public limited companies including PSU’s and 29% private limited, or joint ventures including closely held private limited companies.75% of the companies manufacturing in India were involved in the entire range of activities like design and engineering, manufacturing, erection, servicing and commissioning. There are only a few companies who act as selling agents for international players. There are others who manufacture and also import complete equipment or in SKD condition from their principals abroad and market them. Since each piece of the equipment in this product category has substantial value, a number of companies have a turnover of over 100 crores and the larger ones have a turnover above Rs.1000 crores. The technology barriers have made the industry less fragmented in the mining machinery sector whereas it is fragmented in the road construction equipment and the material-handling segments. The international trend in the earthmoving and mining segment is one of consolidation. This trend is also beginning to be seen in India. Some international companies are looking at the prospects of enhancing their market presence based on higher investment in mining and infrastructure and also using their Indian operations to meet demand in South and South East Asia. The industry’s expectations of the likely future evolution in this sector is represented here in graphical form. Most of the current players expect that new players will enter the Indian market. There is great need for improving infrastructure as it has been accentuated by the rapid growth in economy. Of late many development authorities, State government and even companies have started investing in infrastructure development projects. Though the volume of construction equipment in India is far too small compared to countries like china and also by global standards, India does produce a variety of construction equipments such as the earthmoving machinery used to excavate, land and level earth and rock, tractors, trailers, wagons, crawler tractors, bulldozers, scrapers, shovels, draglines, heisting and material handling machinery such as cranes and derricks, material lifts, pumping machines, demolition machinery and machinery used to prepare land and materials for construction. Today, there is much emphasis on infrastructure development. The government spends very little on infrastructure with the result India sells very little of any category of construction equipment. It is shocking to learn that china sells 10,000 excavators energy year but in India, we sell only about 1500. In terms of volume, the construction equipment industry is worth Rs. 4,000 crore. Whether it is roads, bridges, ports, airports, urban infrastructure, or power plants- civil construction has a very important role to play. The use of modern tools enables productive work. The rapidly increasing construction sector has been the forerunner of good times for companies manufacturing construction machineries and equipment. There has been a flow of demand for transit concrete mixers, bar- bending and cutting machines, excavators and backhoes and earth rammers on account of the substantial increase in real estate and construction activities. New and expanding housing and infrastructure construction ventures have generated a considerable demand for construction machinery manufacturing and servicing together with erection, commissioning and maintenance. More and more multinational companies are now entering the Indian market on their own strength, whereas previously the trend was to forge joint venture associations with Indian companies. Also, a major portion of the annual budget has been invested by the Central government in infrastructure, irrigation and mining projects across the country. Due to all these factors these has been a substantial increase in the utilization of construction machinery. The boom in the requirement of construction machinery has brought us several large orders from west Asian and African countries. Thus the exporters of construction machineries too have a boom period. Most of them have made huge profits due to the threefold increase. The demand for construction equipments has also risen because of major Indian construction works working on overseas projects. 2.4 Technology The construction equipment sector has a wide range of products The technology leaders in the construction equipment sector are: Komatsu,Caterpillar, Hitachi, Terex, Volvo, Case, Ingersoll-Rand, HAMM, Bomag, John Deere, JCB, Poclain, Bitelli, Kobelco, Hyundai and Daewoo. Except for the last 3, all the other companies are present in India either as joint ventures, or have set up their own manufacturing facilities, or marketing companies. In the mining sector, the leaders are: Wrigten, Atlas Copco, Liebherr, Joy Mining Machinery, Hitachi, Komatsu, Terex, Ranson Rappier, Bucyrus Erie and DBT. Out of these companies, DBT does not have any technology transfer and neither is it manufacturing in India. Joy Mining Machinery has a small operation in India to manufacture spares and provide sales support. However, these are the two leaders in continuous mining and long wall equipment in the world. In the construction equipment sector, the level of technology prevalent internationally can be made available in India through joint ventures. However, the equipment currently being manufactured in India is not of the same size. For example for a 15 Cu.M. hydraulic shovel, the manufacturers do not feel the need to bring in the technology due to low volumes and uncertain demand though the companies have the manufacturing facilities and design capabilities to manufacture the same in India. Some of the other reasons for not manufacturing the latest equipment are: The Indian market cannot absorb the cost of the latest technology If manufactured in India for export markets, most of the components will have to be imported Equipment adhering to the latest emission norms cannot be used since the quality of fuel required for them is yet to be made available here. At the same time, off highway construction and mining equipment do not need stringent emission norms in India. The construction equipment sector in India has evolved over the years and is at present in an intermediate stage of development. The industry is trying to bring in international levels of technology as demand and the scale of operation increases. The users are now not looking at only the initial cost of the equipment, but focusing on total costing, or cost per ton of usage. It is anticipated that 5 years hence, the need for more and more mechanization and enhancement of scale may lead to change in the level of technology in use. Advances in technology have allowed an increase in haul truck and rope shovel size. For example haul trucks are now being manufactured upto 400 tons capacity. Here the increased machine size has provided an opportunity for increased production. 2.5 Management Effieciency The industry is quite mature in terms of marketing abilities as compared to the other sectors of the capital goods industry. Majority of the companies have strategic planning programmes in place and have well chalked out business strategies at all levels. In order to enhance their market share, companies need to improve quality and service followed by reduction in costs, increase in product range and finally adopt more aggressive marketing strategies. The competitive edge lies in satisfying customers by delivering higher quality products at lower prices. Strategic alliances are already in place among 60% of the companies surveyed. These are primarily focused on developing and combining competencies with the help of other organizations in terms of marketing, after sales service etc. Only 45% of the companies are interested in growth through mergers and acquisitions. The level of quality consciousness is on an average higher than the other sectors probably ecause the companies are larger and many of them are associated with international companies either for manufacturing or marketing their products. Another reason for higher quality consciousness is that more companies in this sector are well versed with the soft technologies being used worldwide for enhancing competitiveness and quality. Approximately 90% of the companies covered under the study have either implemented, or are implementing soft technologies like six sigma, lean manufacturing etc. 100% of the companies manufacturing in India are ISO certified. It was noticed that the percentage of scrap due to errors in manufacturing is between 2% 5% and the percentage of labour hours spent on reworking was 4%. All the manufacturing companies train their workers on quality concepts. However the percentage of workers who received company sponsored training on quality concepts in the past two years varied from 20% to 100% in some companies. The average number of hours per person of training provided was approximately 16 hours per person varying from 6 hours to 35 hours per person per annum. Most of the companies were quite responsive to customer complaints and the average number of days taken to respond varied from  ½ a day to 5 days in some companies. More than 70% of the companies have undergone business process reengineering for higher customer satisfaction. It has been observed that the majority of the companies in this sector are between medium and high users of computerization. This level of computerization is also comparatively high compared to the other sectors of the capital goods industry. Yet the percentage of IT expenditure to sales in the last one year i.e. 2004-05 was a meagre 0.5% of the total sales i.e. Rs.32 crores was invested by the industry towards computerization either for ERP / SCM / CRM. ERP or enterprise resource planning is an industry term for the broad set of activities supported by multi product application software that helps a manufacturer to manage the important functions of its business including product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interaction with suppliers, providing customer service and tracking orders. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of the entire value added chain, from the supplier to manufacturer right through to the retailer and the final customer.SCM has the primary goal of reducing inventory, increasing the transaction speed by exchanging data in real time and increasing sales by implementing customer requirements more efficiently. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customers, whether it be sales or service related. CRM is an information industry term for methodologies, software and usually internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. Companies need to be in constant touch with their customers over the electronic media. The percentage of companies using ERP solutions is high with quite a significant number also using CRM for better customer relationship management. However, all the players need to be better integrated with both their suppliers and customers to strive to be the market leader. After-sales service is an important aspect of a company’s successful business strategy because all customers would like higher productivity and utilization from their machines in order to be cost competitive. Hence this is an area no company can afford to ignore or accord a lower priority to. All the companies surveyed whether manufacturing, or trading, offered after-sales service to their customer and it was also noted that 70% of them have entered into this field in the last ten years. Equipment manufactured by the industry is mostly mobile and hence subjected to higher wear and tear and consequently maintenance requirements are higher. Users rate machines with lower downtime higher. Hence, training of maintenance personnel both of manufacturers as well as users’ is a very important aspect of managing customer relationships. This is also evident from the fact that all the companies spent on training and the majority of them (60%) spent more than Rs.1 lakh per month. O nly 40% of the companies spent less than Rs.10 lakh per annum on employee training. The average response time for responding to customer calls is 24 to 48 hours and in premium service contracts it varied between 12 to 36 hours. 91% of the maintenance calls were completed within the specified time frame. From the user feedback, it emerged that the deliveries of most of the companies were delayed. Hence many customers preferred to import second hand machines. Scheduling is therefore required to be strictly followed by all the companies for manufacturing, and approximately 90% of them use one, or the other software to enhance efficiency in manufacturing. Yet the percentage of companies where the shipments are before/within the due date is very low at only 50%. A clear distinction was noticed in terms of reasons for late delivery. Companies predominantly manufacturing construction equipment have attributed more than 70% of their late deliveries to delay in customer clearance. The reason for late deliveries is attributed mainly to the growth in domestic demand, which was not foreseen earlier by the companies. Delays were therefore mainly attributed to capacity constraints. A fall out of delayed delivery has been higher imports both for new machines, as well as second hand machines. This issue can be tackled by enhancing capacity of both the manufacturers and their sub-suppliers, tighter monitoring and scheduling and by greater usage of ERP / SCM. Benchmarking With International Companies Some broad indications in terms of benchmarking of the industry on the basis of financial parameters have been done against a few global players. The companies against which Indian companies have been benchmarked are Caterpillar, Komatsu and Volvo. They are the leaders in their respective fields. 2.6 Operational Efficiency Financial Parameters The CII survey results showed that there has been a good growth rate in terms of sales due to the higher investments by the user sectors. Though exports have also risen, the percentage of exports to sales is low due to lack of competitive advantage of machines built with indigenous technology. Wherever machines are built under technology transfer, companies face restrictions on the export market territory from the technology provider. The power consumed to sales has shown a decline because all companies are now conscious about energy conservation and use various methods like automatic switching of systems and higher efficiency / low consumption electrical appliances etc. Value added for an industry is the difference between the value of the output and the value of the input namely raw materials bought outs. In other words we can attribute this difference to the value added to the product by the company. The value addition has risen over the years because more manufacturing has taken place in 2003-04 in place of trading as compared to the earlier years. It has again shown a fall due to the rising raw material prices in 2004-05. Inventory on an average was found to be 26 percent of net sales. Average Turnover of Inventory for 2004-05 was found to be 4. The international benchmark is between 5 7. The number of days sales outstanding is on an average within 90 days, which is at par with the engineering industry. This is also in keeping with international trends. Cost of wages to sales was found to be 11.8 percent in 2004-05. The range varied from a low of 3 percent to a high of 28 percent. For Caterpillar Inc. the ratio was 19.8 percent. The employee productivity is fairly low as compared to international companies. Sales per employee on an average for the industry was found to be Rs.35 lakhs but for the manufacturing companies it was found to be Rs.32.5 lakhs. This is the reason why though the cost of wages per employee is very low at Rs.4 lakhs, the lower productivity of the employee offsets the advantage. The value added per employee was only Rs.11 lakhs. The global standards for employee productivity i.e. sales per employee is in the range of Rs.160-175 lakhs. Profitability The industry in India witnessed a tremendous jump in profitability in 2004-05 over 2003-04. The return on capital employed is 24 percent and has increased by 85 percent over 2003-04. The PBIT has increased Indias Construction Equipment Industry Analysis Indias Construction Equipment Industry Analysis Abstract This research was an attempt to assess the current status of Indian construction equipment industry and the underlying opportunities and challenges. However, the aspects and objectives that were dealt in the research are; the current structure, status, competition, financing opportunities and challenges of Indian construction equipment industry. The research was conducted wholly based on secondary data. Following are the key findings of the research. Indian construction industry has entered into a new phase, where prospect of the industry appears extraordinary bright. Indian construction equipment industry is passing through a phase of hurried renovation, where the shifting is taking place from low volume concentrated use of equipment structure to high volume explicit one. Apart from these, the current and future trend also shows that the key segments of construction equipment that will have potential market prospects are excavators, loaders, dozers, dumpers and cranes. The growth of Indian construction equipment industry is the outcome of the fast liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy and the construction sector. The real competition in Indian construction equipment industry has been created by foreign players such as Volvo, Komatsu and many others. These companies are leaving no stone unturned to exploit the opportunities in Indian industry. The industry is at the critical juncture (particularly for domestic players) and therefore companies need to equip with safety measures in relation to post WTO market setting. Introduction (Chapter 1) 1.1 Indian Construction Equipment Industry Background Historical Trends Construction and mining equipment cover a variety of machinery such as hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, bull dozers, dump trucks, tippers, graders, pavers, asphalt drum / wet mix plants, breakers, vibratory compactors, cranes, fork lifts, dozers, off-highway dumpers (20T to 170T), drills, scrapers, motor graders, rope shovels etc. They perform a variety of functions like preparation of ground, excavation, haulage of material, dumping/laying in specified manner, material handling, road construction etc. These equipment are required for both construction and mining activity. With a wide production capacity base, India is perhaps the only developing country, which is totally self-reliant in such highly sophisticated equipment. India has only a few, mainly medium and large companies in the organized sector who manufacture these. The technology barriers are high, especially with respect to mining equipment and therefore the role of SME’s is restricted to manufacture of components and some sub-assemblies. Prior to the 1960s, domestic requirements of mining and construction equipment were entirely met by imports. Domestic production began in 1964 with the setting up of Bharat Earthmovers Ltd. (BEML), a public sector unit of the Ministry of Defence, at Kolar in South India to manufacture dozers, dumpers, graders, scrapers, etc. for defense requirements under licence from LeTorneau Westinghouse, USA and Komatsu, Japan. In the private sector, the Hindustan Motors’ Earthmoving Equipment Division, was established in 1969 at Tiruvallur, near Chennai with technical collaboration from Terex, UK for manufacture of wheel loaders, dozers dumpers. This factory has since been taken over by Caterpillar for their Indian operations. The machines manufactured by Caterpillar in the Tiruvallur factory are marketed by TIL and GMMCO. In 1974, LT started manufacturing hydraulic excavators under license from Poclain, France. In 1980 and 1981, two more units, Telcon and Escorts JCB commenced manufacture of hydraulic excavators (under license from Hitachi, Japan) and backhoe loaders (under license from JCB, UK) respectively. Escorts JCB has been taken over by JC Bamford Excavators Ltd. U.K. in 2003 and is now called JCB India Ltd. Volvo and Terex Vectra is the most recent entrants in the Indian market. Volvo has set up their manufacturing unit in Bangalore. At present they are only manufacturing tippers and the other equipment are imported from their parent company and marketed in India. Terex Corporation USA and Vectra Ltd. U.K. have formed a joint venture, which has started manufacturing construction equipment like backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders from May ’04 at Greater Noida with an investment of USD 12 million. Other equipment in the Terex range are being sold through their agents in India. Most of the technology leaders like Case, Caterpillar, Hitachi, Ingersoll-Rand, JCB, John Deere, Joy Mining Machinery, Komatsu, Lieberr, Poclain, Terex, Volvo are present in India as joint venture companies, or have set up their own manufacturing facilities, or marketing companies. The industry has made substantial investments in the recent past for setting up manufacturing bases, despite small volumes and uneconomic scales of production compared to global standards. 1.2 Aims and Objective and of The Study This research was aimed to assess the current status of Indian construction equipment industry and the underlying opportunities and challenges. The research was conducted on the foundation of following objectives To assess the current structure, status and direction of the Indian construction equipment industry. To assess the competition in Indian construction equipment industry To assess the financing of Indian construction equipment industry To assess the opportunities and challenges of Indian construction equipment industry To develop strategies for competitors (domestic players) in Indian construction equipment industry. To assess the technology, managerial, operational, of the Indian construction equipment industry. Literature Review Chapter 2 2.1 Introduction Construction equipment is machinery used to build and demolish bridges, buildings and other structures. These machines usually save labor, time and money. One of them can do more work in an hour than a hundred of workers using hand tools could do in a day. The chief kinds of building machines include earthmoving machineries hoisting, material handling machines and pumping machines. Other construction machinery used are for preparing the land and materials for construction. Demolishing machines are used to demolish structures and buildings. The Indian construction equipment industry today faces stiff competition, great opportunities and challenges, but India has a total command over all these things as according to confederation of the Indian industry report, 2005 as for engineering and capital goods base. The Indian engineering manufacturing sector has been growing at the rate of about 5.9% in the nineties. India today produces a variety of machinery whose range is quiet wide and deep. Rapidly increasing construction sector has been the indication of good times for companies manufacturing construction equipments. This project discusses the Construction Equipment industry in India. The structure of Construction Equipment industry in India has been well and truly detailed and mentioning all the requisite facts and figures. Also mentioned are all the factors influencing the Construction Equipment industry in India. A special mention of the suppliers list is made as suppliers are the inseparable part of the Construction Equipment industry in India. The important suppliers are JCB, Atlas, BEML, Caterpillar, Ditchwitch, Komatsu , Ashok Leyland, Escorts, Greaves Cotton, Ingersoll Rand, TETRA, Volvo, Besides all these Indian Equipment Financing companies such as Business Financing, SREI, HDFC , GE Capital, Indian Financial Services have also received requisite expression in this project. Also discussed at the end is about Construction Equipment industry in India facing problems, challenges and opportunities and its future. What India need is better infrastructure in order to progress. The government has also embarked upon massive road and pavement construction projects such GOLDEN QUADRILATERAL connecting / interlinking all four metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai. Kolkatta and Chennai The government decision to throw open the construction of roads, bridges, ports and airports to private sector and to allow 100% FII / FDI (Foreign Investments) in real estate projects like (EMAAR) has provided a boost to the industry thereby generating demand for construction machineries. Housing and infrastructure projects are expected to grow about 20% per annum for the next 15 years. 2.2 Current Status of The Industry Ramping up quality and quantity The Construction equipment industries are the biggest beneficiaries of the construction boom. Although the past few years have seen increased levels of mechanization and improved quality, Indian construction equipment and materials are still below international standards. The current status of the construction equipment industry is discussed below. The size of the construction equipment market current stands at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion and it is growing at an average rate of about 30 per cent year on year. It is expected that the industry will expand to $12-13 billion by 2015, including $2-3 billion of exports. This implies annual compounded growth rates in excess of 50 per cent between 2008 and 2015. The largest share of that growth will come from the domestic market driven on the demand side by increased infrastructure spending and on the supply side by the industry’s drive to increase mechanization and equipment penetration. The rest of the growth will come from the exports of components, services and equipment. The key infrastructure sectors that are expected to drive demand are roads, urban and residential construction and mining. Amongst the three modes of procuring equipment in India –that is, buying, leasing or renting – leasing is the most popular. While renting is suitable for projects of shorter duration, buying involves huge upfront payments. Constructions and mining equipment is manufactured by a few medium and large companies in the organised sector. The role of small and medium enterprises is restricted only to manufacturing of components and some sub-assemblies. Domestic production began in 1964 with the setting up of Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), which is engaged in the manufacturing of dozers, dumpers, graders, scrapers, etc., for defence requirements. Some of the key players manufacturing equipment for the Indian market are LT, Telcon, Escorts, JCB India Limited, Ingersoll Rand, Greaves, Caterpiller, Komatsu, Joy Mining Machinery, Case, John Deere, Lieberr, Poclain, Volvo and Terex Vectra. These companies are present either through joint ventures, or have set up their own manu facturing facilities or have a marketing presence. BEML supplies equipment to nearly half the total market. Companies such as BEML and Caterpillar are leaders in dumpers and dozers while Larsen Toubro – Komatsu and Telcon lead in excavators and JCB India in backhoe loaders. In the last few years there has been some restructuring through acquisitions and joint ventures, which in turn, has reflected the interest of international majors in the domestic market. Many international players have also appointed selling agents for importing and selling equipment in India. Despite the growth, there are some inherent problems faced by the construction equipment industry. In India, the demand for construction equipment is more than the supply. Hence, most leading manufacturers have invested in India for manufacturing to meet this gap. The industry is trying to induct international levels of technology as demand and the scale of operations increases. However, the levels of mechanisation continue to be low compared to the international market. This is primarily because the Indian market cannot absorb the cost of latest technology. Since most the construction equipment is hydraulically operated, the Indian construction equipment industry has to predominantly depend on imports, primarily from European countries. The fluctuations of foreign exchange rates and the non-availability of adequate quantities of equipment are other constraints. Construction equipment manufacturers also struggle to cope with the low availability of trained manpower, not only for producing equipment but also for operation and maintenance. Manufacturers are doing their best to train not only their own employees but also customer’s operators and services technicians. Indirect taxes on construction equipment are quite high. These range between 21 and 38 per cent, based on interstate differences, compared to 20 per cent in France and Germany and between 12 and 17 per cent in Indonesia. The government could reduce this tax burden by eventually replacing all indirect taxes such as excise, sales tax, octroi and entry tax with a single tax. It is true construction companies have ramped up significant capacities in terms of equipment over the past few years. However, due to rapid growth, there is still a mismatch of supply and demand in terms of construction equipment. Delays in deliveries of equipment result in delayed mobilization and completion of projects. Further, prices of construction equipment have steadily increased over the past few years, partly due to the high demand, and partly due to increase in input costs. Domestic equipment has a 10-15 per cent higher downturn than imported machines. There is also a lack of skilled manpower to operate and maintain machines as the industry is largely dependent on unskilled labour. Another major issue that has becomes apparent is the financing of construction equipment. The concept of renting equipment has been mooted but the rental market in India is not very well developed. At present, there are very few players and tax issues also play a major role in this industry. The very first equipment bank in India –Quipo- has been fairly successful. However, with more world leaders expected to enter the renting domain and various models being worked out by rental companies, the situation is expected to improve in the future. In the future, one can expect major global manufacturers to enter the equipment arena by producing India-specific products while addressing factors such as quality, cost to customer and delivery. It is also essential to make available the easy hiring of equipment through a ready stock of good quality equipment. The last few years have witnessed a phase of restructuring in the industry through acquisitions and joint ventures. This also reflects the active interest of international majors in the domestic market. Many international players have also appointed selling agents for importing and selling complete equipment in India. The construction and mining equipment industry is dominated by a few large manufacturers in each product segment. BEML supplies to nearly half the total market. BEML and Caterpillar lead in dumpers and dozers while LT-Komatsu and Telcon lead in excavators and JCB India in backhoe loaders. 2.3 Structure of The Industry 71% of the sector comprises of public limited companies including PSU’s and 29% private limited, or joint ventures including closely held private limited companies.75% of the companies manufacturing in India were involved in the entire range of activities like design and engineering, manufacturing, erection, servicing and commissioning. There are only a few companies who act as selling agents for international players. There are others who manufacture and also import complete equipment or in SKD condition from their principals abroad and market them. Since each piece of the equipment in this product category has substantial value, a number of companies have a turnover of over 100 crores and the larger ones have a turnover above Rs.1000 crores. The technology barriers have made the industry less fragmented in the mining machinery sector whereas it is fragmented in the road construction equipment and the material-handling segments. The international trend in the earthmoving and mining segment is one of consolidation. This trend is also beginning to be seen in India. Some international companies are looking at the prospects of enhancing their market presence based on higher investment in mining and infrastructure and also using their Indian operations to meet demand in South and South East Asia. The industry’s expectations of the likely future evolution in this sector is represented here in graphical form. Most of the current players expect that new players will enter the Indian market. There is great need for improving infrastructure as it has been accentuated by the rapid growth in economy. Of late many development authorities, State government and even companies have started investing in infrastructure development projects. Though the volume of construction equipment in India is far too small compared to countries like china and also by global standards, India does produce a variety of construction equipments such as the earthmoving machinery used to excavate, land and level earth and rock, tractors, trailers, wagons, crawler tractors, bulldozers, scrapers, shovels, draglines, heisting and material handling machinery such as cranes and derricks, material lifts, pumping machines, demolition machinery and machinery used to prepare land and materials for construction. Today, there is much emphasis on infrastructure development. The government spends very little on infrastructure with the result India sells very little of any category of construction equipment. It is shocking to learn that china sells 10,000 excavators energy year but in India, we sell only about 1500. In terms of volume, the construction equipment industry is worth Rs. 4,000 crore. Whether it is roads, bridges, ports, airports, urban infrastructure, or power plants- civil construction has a very important role to play. The use of modern tools enables productive work. The rapidly increasing construction sector has been the forerunner of good times for companies manufacturing construction machineries and equipment. There has been a flow of demand for transit concrete mixers, bar- bending and cutting machines, excavators and backhoes and earth rammers on account of the substantial increase in real estate and construction activities. New and expanding housing and infrastructure construction ventures have generated a considerable demand for construction machinery manufacturing and servicing together with erection, commissioning and maintenance. More and more multinational companies are now entering the Indian market on their own strength, whereas previously the trend was to forge joint venture associations with Indian companies. Also, a major portion of the annual budget has been invested by the Central government in infrastructure, irrigation and mining projects across the country. Due to all these factors these has been a substantial increase in the utilization of construction machinery. The boom in the requirement of construction machinery has brought us several large orders from west Asian and African countries. Thus the exporters of construction machineries too have a boom period. Most of them have made huge profits due to the threefold increase. The demand for construction equipments has also risen because of major Indian construction works working on overseas projects. 2.4 Technology The construction equipment sector has a wide range of products The technology leaders in the construction equipment sector are: Komatsu,Caterpillar, Hitachi, Terex, Volvo, Case, Ingersoll-Rand, HAMM, Bomag, John Deere, JCB, Poclain, Bitelli, Kobelco, Hyundai and Daewoo. Except for the last 3, all the other companies are present in India either as joint ventures, or have set up their own manufacturing facilities, or marketing companies. In the mining sector, the leaders are: Wrigten, Atlas Copco, Liebherr, Joy Mining Machinery, Hitachi, Komatsu, Terex, Ranson Rappier, Bucyrus Erie and DBT. Out of these companies, DBT does not have any technology transfer and neither is it manufacturing in India. Joy Mining Machinery has a small operation in India to manufacture spares and provide sales support. However, these are the two leaders in continuous mining and long wall equipment in the world. In the construction equipment sector, the level of technology prevalent internationally can be made available in India through joint ventures. However, the equipment currently being manufactured in India is not of the same size. For example for a 15 Cu.M. hydraulic shovel, the manufacturers do not feel the need to bring in the technology due to low volumes and uncertain demand though the companies have the manufacturing facilities and design capabilities to manufacture the same in India. Some of the other reasons for not manufacturing the latest equipment are: The Indian market cannot absorb the cost of the latest technology If manufactured in India for export markets, most of the components will have to be imported Equipment adhering to the latest emission norms cannot be used since the quality of fuel required for them is yet to be made available here. At the same time, off highway construction and mining equipment do not need stringent emission norms in India. The construction equipment sector in India has evolved over the years and is at present in an intermediate stage of development. The industry is trying to bring in international levels of technology as demand and the scale of operation increases. The users are now not looking at only the initial cost of the equipment, but focusing on total costing, or cost per ton of usage. It is anticipated that 5 years hence, the need for more and more mechanization and enhancement of scale may lead to change in the level of technology in use. Advances in technology have allowed an increase in haul truck and rope shovel size. For example haul trucks are now being manufactured upto 400 tons capacity. Here the increased machine size has provided an opportunity for increased production. 2.5 Management Effieciency The industry is quite mature in terms of marketing abilities as compared to the other sectors of the capital goods industry. Majority of the companies have strategic planning programmes in place and have well chalked out business strategies at all levels. In order to enhance their market share, companies need to improve quality and service followed by reduction in costs, increase in product range and finally adopt more aggressive marketing strategies. The competitive edge lies in satisfying customers by delivering higher quality products at lower prices. Strategic alliances are already in place among 60% of the companies surveyed. These are primarily focused on developing and combining competencies with the help of other organizations in terms of marketing, after sales service etc. Only 45% of the companies are interested in growth through mergers and acquisitions. The level of quality consciousness is on an average higher than the other sectors probably ecause the companies are larger and many of them are associated with international companies either for manufacturing or marketing their products. Another reason for higher quality consciousness is that more companies in this sector are well versed with the soft technologies being used worldwide for enhancing competitiveness and quality. Approximately 90% of the companies covered under the study have either implemented, or are implementing soft technologies like six sigma, lean manufacturing etc. 100% of the companies manufacturing in India are ISO certified. It was noticed that the percentage of scrap due to errors in manufacturing is between 2% 5% and the percentage of labour hours spent on reworking was 4%. All the manufacturing companies train their workers on quality concepts. However the percentage of workers who received company sponsored training on quality concepts in the past two years varied from 20% to 100% in some companies. The average number of hours per person of training provided was approximately 16 hours per person varying from 6 hours to 35 hours per person per annum. Most of the companies were quite responsive to customer complaints and the average number of days taken to respond varied from  ½ a day to 5 days in some companies. More than 70% of the companies have undergone business process reengineering for higher customer satisfaction. It has been observed that the majority of the companies in this sector are between medium and high users of computerization. This level of computerization is also comparatively high compared to the other sectors of the capital goods industry. Yet the percentage of IT expenditure to sales in the last one year i.e. 2004-05 was a meagre 0.5% of the total sales i.e. Rs.32 crores was invested by the industry towards computerization either for ERP / SCM / CRM. ERP or enterprise resource planning is an industry term for the broad set of activities supported by multi product application software that helps a manufacturer to manage the important functions of its business including product planning, parts purchasing, maintaining inventories, interaction with suppliers, providing customer service and tracking orders. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of the entire value added chain, from the supplier to manufacturer right through to the retailer and the final customer.SCM has the primary goal of reducing inventory, increasing the transaction speed by exchanging data in real time and increasing sales by implementing customer requirements more efficiently. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customers, whether it be sales or service related. CRM is an information industry term for methodologies, software and usually internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. Companies need to be in constant touch with their customers over the electronic media. The percentage of companies using ERP solutions is high with quite a significant number also using CRM for better customer relationship management. However, all the players need to be better integrated with both their suppliers and customers to strive to be the market leader. After-sales service is an important aspect of a company’s successful business strategy because all customers would like higher productivity and utilization from their machines in order to be cost competitive. Hence this is an area no company can afford to ignore or accord a lower priority to. All the companies surveyed whether manufacturing, or trading, offered after-sales service to their customer and it was also noted that 70% of them have entered into this field in the last ten years. Equipment manufactured by the industry is mostly mobile and hence subjected to higher wear and tear and consequently maintenance requirements are higher. Users rate machines with lower downtime higher. Hence, training of maintenance personnel both of manufacturers as well as users’ is a very important aspect of managing customer relationships. This is also evident from the fact that all the companies spent on training and the majority of them (60%) spent more than Rs.1 lakh per month. O nly 40% of the companies spent less than Rs.10 lakh per annum on employee training. The average response time for responding to customer calls is 24 to 48 hours and in premium service contracts it varied between 12 to 36 hours. 91% of the maintenance calls were completed within the specified time frame. From the user feedback, it emerged that the deliveries of most of the companies were delayed. Hence many customers preferred to import second hand machines. Scheduling is therefore required to be strictly followed by all the companies for manufacturing, and approximately 90% of them use one, or the other software to enhance efficiency in manufacturing. Yet the percentage of companies where the shipments are before/within the due date is very low at only 50%. A clear distinction was noticed in terms of reasons for late delivery. Companies predominantly manufacturing construction equipment have attributed more than 70% of their late deliveries to delay in customer clearance. The reason for late deliveries is attributed mainly to the growth in domestic demand, which was not foreseen earlier by the companies. Delays were therefore mainly attributed to capacity constraints. A fall out of delayed delivery has been higher imports both for new machines, as well as second hand machines. This issue can be tackled by enhancing capacity of both the manufacturers and their sub-suppliers, tighter monitoring and scheduling and by greater usage of ERP / SCM. Benchmarking With International Companies Some broad indications in terms of benchmarking of the industry on the basis of financial parameters have been done against a few global players. The companies against which Indian companies have been benchmarked are Caterpillar, Komatsu and Volvo. They are the leaders in their respective fields. 2.6 Operational Efficiency Financial Parameters The CII survey results showed that there has been a good growth rate in terms of sales due to the higher investments by the user sectors. Though exports have also risen, the percentage of exports to sales is low due to lack of competitive advantage of machines built with indigenous technology. Wherever machines are built under technology transfer, companies face restrictions on the export market territory from the technology provider. The power consumed to sales has shown a decline because all companies are now conscious about energy conservation and use various methods like automatic switching of systems and higher efficiency / low consumption electrical appliances etc. Value added for an industry is the difference between the value of the output and the value of the input namely raw materials bought outs. In other words we can attribute this difference to the value added to the product by the company. The value addition has risen over the years because more manufacturing has taken place in 2003-04 in place of trading as compared to the earlier years. It has again shown a fall due to the rising raw material prices in 2004-05. Inventory on an average was found to be 26 percent of net sales. Average Turnover of Inventory for 2004-05 was found to be 4. The international benchmark is between 5 7. The number of days sales outstanding is on an average within 90 days, which is at par with the engineering industry. This is also in keeping with international trends. Cost of wages to sales was found to be 11.8 percent in 2004-05. The range varied from a low of 3 percent to a high of 28 percent. For Caterpillar Inc. the ratio was 19.8 percent. The employee productivity is fairly low as compared to international companies. Sales per employee on an average for the industry was found to be Rs.35 lakhs but for the manufacturing companies it was found to be Rs.32.5 lakhs. This is the reason why though the cost of wages per employee is very low at Rs.4 lakhs, the lower productivity of the employee offsets the advantage. The value added per employee was only Rs.11 lakhs. The global standards for employee productivity i.e. sales per employee is in the range of Rs.160-175 lakhs. Profitability The industry in India witnessed a tremendous jump in profitability in 2004-05 over 2003-04. The return on capital employed is 24 percent and has increased by 85 percent over 2003-04. The PBIT has increased