Development of the Cold War Essay

Up until 1945 the tensions between the USSR and the USA had been covered by the fact that both sides were trying to fight against Hitler and therefore relations up until the war had been relaxed. However this changed after 1945 the victory against Germany brought them international superpower status giving them more control and influence over many countries especially in Eastern Europe. As a result Stalin changed and adapted policies accordingly to increase competition with the USA; both countries were fearful of each other hence why Stalin concentrated on things such as industry and ignoring agricultural production for example. I will explain what and why the cold war influenced Stalin’s policies inside the USSR and come to a conclusion. My first point is that Stalin focused his efforts even more on the development of industry than ever before. The reason why Stalin did this was to rival the USA’s superpower status and therefore they focused on quantitative rather than the qualitative side of industry. Stalin wasn’t worried if the products they produced were any good as long as they met the 5 year plan targets then he believed he could compete with the USA. This showed as according to the statistics every planned target in 1950 was apparently met e.g. the coal target was 250 million tons which they surpassed and reached 261 million tons. Even the figures may have been exaggerated it is clear that the Stalinist approach had worked in terms of recovering from the war as well making significant progress in terms of producing goods. My next point is again to do with industrial production, but more specifically how they focused on heavy industry and capital goods in order to help with defence and the production of nuclear weapons. In 1950 industrial production was almost up by 75% compared to 1940. The most significant increases were in the production of capital goods such as coal and steel which were important in terms of everyday living. Defence was also an important sector in the USSR as it received the most favourable treatment in the allocation of resources, including skilled labour. The reason why Stalin concentrated on these things was because he wanted to carry out the task and maintain their new superpower status. Stalin was also fearful of the USA and the UK because they had refused to share information with him on the atom bombs which increased the tensions further between them and the USA. But because of Stalin’s drive to carry through heavy industry and concentrate particularly on their defenc e he was able to use his skilled labour and eventually managed to produce their own bomb by 1949. Another change to policies inside the USSR was to do with social policies and more specifically the campaign against cosmopolitanism. The reason why Stalin approved of the campaign against cosmopolitanism was because he feared anything from the Western world and he was particularly scared of what would happen in Leningrad as it was known as the â€Å"window to the West† where Stalin believed foreign influences was most likely to enter the USSR. He therefore opposed and banned things such as jazz music which was seen as something that was particularly Western. It wasn’t just that though as what was known as the â€Å"Leningrad purge† in 1948 where over 200 leading Leningrad party officials were either arrested or shot also occurred. Other things that were controlled because of the cold war tensions included controls on what was read as well as what was viewed at cinemas & theatres. But the campaign against cosmopolitanism was also linked with the increased anti-Semitism, the discrimination and violence against Jews. Other examples include the doctor’s plot where Jewish doctors were blamed poisoning Zhadnov and plotting Stalin’s death as well as banning marriages with foreigners. The reason why Stalin did this was because the cold war essentially made him even more suspicious of the West and therefore made him become stricter in terms of the policies he carried out. Alongside the campaign against cosmopolitanism was the rise in Russian nationalism. The USSR distrusted the Western powers and capitalism and Stalin knew that the two sides (USSR and USA) could not work together without trying to fight for supremacy at some point. The USSR decided that they would do this by praising everything that was Russian and making out that anything Russian was better than anything from the West. But in general this was excessive and made them look insecure; this reflected that in the past they were often invaded by Western powers that had better technology, as well as showing that they weren’t used to their new superpower status. The reason why Stalin imposed these policies inside the USSR was to make sure the people knew that anything Russian was far superior to anything that was Western and make the USSR look even better in terms being seen as a great country from anywhere in the world. The essence of competition was important to Stalin as he wanted his country to look even greater than the USA. The victory against Germany in the Great Patriotic war gave the USSR the chance to expand and gain more communist allies and help spread their influence in Eastern Europe particularly as well as the world in general. Stalin concentrated his efforts mainly on Eastern Europe as an â€Å"insurance zone† essentially to help protect them if they did come under attack from the USA. After 1945 the USSR recaptured Baltic States and therefore he had control over some major Eastern European countries such as Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. This was important for two reasons, one because it would add protection if they came under attack again as well as spread their communist roots/ideologies so that they would gain more influence for the future. This was even discussed with wartime allies, the USA and the UK at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. This was to help decide the fate of post-war Europe. It was dominated by Stalin and the conferences helped decide on the amount of influence countries had and who would make key decisions. Stalin also used his powerful position to strip assets from the Eastern countries mentioned above to help rebuild Soviet industry. By doing this they could deal with the fact that Stalin was fearful of the USA because of their development of the atomic bomb and the increasing tensions between the two countries. The tension between the USSR and the USA also explains to some extent to why Stalin continued to ignore agricultural production and focus on industrial production as mentioned above. The situation got worse first during the war when the general public faced starvation because there was a lack of food and this continued to get worse as famine affected the USSR in 1946 & 47 when other Baltic states e.g. Moldova had to deal with drought. Agricultural production during the development of the cold war therefore continued to get worse as the planned 1950 target wasn’t met (didn’t get close). Another reason that could be suggested why Stalin ignored agricultural production was because there was a lack of competition with the USA in terms of agriculture, and therefore to him it didn’t really matter. Stalin’s rural economy was consequently a failure, which clearly underperformed and was obviously a weakness in the Soviet regime. The fact was because money was being directed towards industry there wasn’t any many to spend on producing food and providing modern equipment. My last point is what was known as â€Å"comecon† or short for The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. The Comecon was founded in 1949 by the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. The primary factors in Comecon’s creation were that Stalin’s desire was to co-operate and strengthen the international communist relationship at an economic level with the lesser states of Eastern Europe. This was a response to the USA’s marshal plan which provided aid and money to European countries that were affected by the war. Again this gives the sense of competition that Stalin liked to implement and show that the USSR was more than a match to the USA. The programme also encouraged trade and industrial between the communist countries. There was also an important legacy of this brief period of activity; the Sofia principle which radically weakened intellectual property rights, making each country’s technologies available to the others which greatly benefited the USSR because in terms of technology they were far behind most countries. If it wasn’t for the USA’s Marshall Plan then the USSR would probably not have gained advanced technology, but because of the influence of the cold war Stalin wanted to compete with the USA at everything and make them look superior in any way possible. In conclusion I believe the development of the cold war greatly influenced Stalin’s policies in the USSR. The fact that Stalin saw the USA as major competition in terms of being the ultimate superpower in the world also drove these policies faster than they might have been without the tensions of the cold war. But the fact that Stalin became more paranoid and suspicious as this reign went on also explains some changes in his policies e.g. becoming stricter on Jews. However in my opinion most of his policies including focusing on industrial production, ignoring agricultural production, introducing Comecon and the upsurge in Russian Nationalism can all be accounted for by the influence of the cold war.

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 23

23. Brat in the Paper Aisle MAKEDA She stood under the eave of a post office that looked out on the Safeway parking lot, watching the old man with the dogs pounding at the door. Well, that would make seven. She knew she should wait for the others, but what fun was there in that. A lean black guy let the old man and his dogs into the store, then locked the door behind him. She moved to the side of the building, then along the front behind a long train of shopping carts, where she could look through the windows without being seen herself. They were spread out, each working an aisle to himself. She really should call for the others. Neither would be that far away, but she did so little on her own anymore. She examined the window. Thick Plexiglas, she wasn't going through that. She could kick the door down, of course, but then they would run and there'd be chasing and if any got away Rolf would pout with disapproval for months. Not that she wasn't beyond pouting herself. She once awakened to find Bella and Rolf merged together in mist without her and refused to take solid form for a year except to feed. That was how they began each night, merged in mist form, still inside their titanium chamber, experiencing every corner of each other's consciousness, every memory, every emotion, every want, every fear-complete knowing, complete intimacy. After an hour or so, they would assume their solid forms, then leave the chamber and feed, or watch a video of a sunrise or sunset. That was it! Mist. She would go into the store by stealth. Except for the one with the dogs, they were all young men, weren't they? She knew she could hold the rapt attention of a young man. She'd take each one, drain him without the others even knowing what happened, then share the experience with Rolf and Bella tomorrow night. It was always fun to bring something new and dangerous to their night. She wouldn't be able to wear her special suit, or take any of the weapons, but it was just as well. She couldn't leave bodies. Seven. She'd be as full as a tick, ready to pop. She checked that none of them was by the door, hid her weapons under the shopping carts, then lay down and oozed out of the Kevlar bodysuit, across the sidewalk, and under the door. Rock and roll was blasting out of the PA system, filling the store with a relentless chainsaw rhythm guitar that drowned all other sound. She swirled around the registers, then started to make her way across the aisles. The first two were empty, then in the third, the old man was sitting all by himself on a milk crate. Scented candles were lit up and down either side of the aisle, as if someone had laid out a landing strip. She could sense the others around her, but her perceptions weren't as sharp in mist form and the odor and heat from the candles made it nearly impossible to tell how far away they were. Their heartbeats and breathing were lost in the music, but there was blood in the air. All over in the air. She floated up to the ceiling, where she could see over the tops of the shelf gondolas. There were two of them working on the other side of the store, bobbing in time to the music. Rolf would have wafted back out the door and called the others, and Bella would have drawn an elaborate plan to stalk them, one at a time, and pick them off when they were alone, but that was exactly why she wasn't going to do either of those things. As she pulled herself into solid form she felt a horrible wrenching in her chest, like her heart caving in on itself. Not a physical pain, but a sudden absence. One of the others was suddenly not there. Rolf. Just not there. She stood there in front of the old man, naked, shaking, trying to bring herself back to the hunt. â€Å"Don't scream,† she said. THE EMPEROR He didn't like that the men were locked in the walk-in cooler, and he didn't like that the Animals had tied him up, rubbed liver and steaks all over him, and set him on a milk box, but he had done his duty to his city. He had alerted the only people who would listen to the presence of the black ship, told them what the strange faux-Hawaiian had said about the old vampires coming for them, and he could have some peace of mind in that. They didn't have to duct tape his hands so tightly, and tape his ankles to the milk box. They could have just asked. Ah, youth. She materialized about twelve feet in front of him, nude, nubile, and athletic, so black she might have been made of polished ironwood, yet the death-pallor made her lips appear lavender. Her hair was trimmed close to her scalp, her eyes appeared to be gold, but he couldn't tell for sure. She shivered for a moment, as if a current was being applied to her body. He watched her muscles tensing and relaxing, rippling under her skin in waves. Then she stopped shaking and opened her eyes. â€Å"Don't scream,† she said. Blood tears formed in the corners of her eyes. â€Å"Oh my, if you aren't lovely,† said the Emperor. She smiled and he saw fangs there, and he suddenly felt as if he might wet himself. She moved a few steps closer to him. â€Å"Are those steaks on your shoulders?† she said. â€Å"Yes. There's liver in my pockets as well.† She cocked her head as if listening. â€Å"Where are the others?† â€Å"I don't know,† he said. Her hand shot out and in an instant her fingers were wrapped in his beard and she was pulling his head back, not yanking, but pulling with an irresistible strength, as if he'd been hitched to a power winch. â€Å"Where are they?† He could feel his vertebrae cracking, feel her raking her fangs over his neck. Then the sound of a high-pressure gas burst and she wasn't there, and there was a length of heavy nylon line in the space where her face had been. â€Å"Down!† came Lash's voice, as he, Troy Lee, Jeff, and Drew all rolled out of the shelves where they had been hiding behind rows of toilet paper and paper towels. The vampire woman's head was pinned to a bale of paper towels with the stainless-steel spear from Barry's spear gun. She screeched like a wildcat and pulled herself away and leapt at Drew, who was leveling a Super Soaker. Lash yanked the spear gun and the nylon line whipped her around. Jeff and Troy Lee opened garden sprayers on her from the front, while Drew unloaded the Super Soaker from the back. She screeched and writhed in the streams, but her flesh was coming off in great slimy chunks, as if she were wax and had been dropped into a foundry furnace. It was all over in ten seconds, and every item for twenty feet in either direction had been knocked off the shelves, the Emperor was on his back, unable to right himself, and the ancient vampire was a puddle of red goo that still bubbled as it broke down. â€Å"What do you know,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"Grandma's tea worked.† Lash nodded and threw the spear gun to the floor with a clank. â€Å"Clint! Clean up on aisle four!† JODY Because she never liked going to the gym, Jody decided to stake out the Raven from the roof of an office building next door instead of on the Bay Club. The fact that she'd been able to leap from brick balcony to brick balcony until she was on the roof, six floors up, proved what she had always maintained, at least when she was alive: working out is narcissistic bullshit. She almost wished that the girls she'd worked with at the Transamerica Building could see her now-all of them stuffing themselves into Spandex and nylon after work and heading to the Bay Club or 24 Hour Fitness in hope of meeting someone who wasn't a creep and, in the case of the Bay Club members, someone who was rich. She imagined them saying, â€Å"Do you want to come with us? We can get you a guest pass. Mohitos afterward?† â€Å"No thanks,† she'd say. â€Å"I'm going to go bench-press an Audi a couple of sets, grab the satchel with the three-hundred grand I stashed on a roof up the street, and go back to my loft and fuck my immortal boyfriend until dawn.† Okay, that wasn't really what she was going to do, but she for goddamn sure was not going to the gym and getting all sweaty so she could meet guys. She didn't even want to be on the roof of the gym, knowing that there was unprotected fitness going on below. She could see the Raven across the Embarcadero, and the Rasta kid was doing nautical stuff with different instruments. At least she thought he was doing nautical stuff. He could have just been dicking around with expensive equipment. None of the vampires was there. There were lights coming from a few of the ports below the cockpit, but she didn't see any movement. The sense of immediacy that had driven her here had evaporated somewhat. She thought about calling Tommy, but didn't have any idea what his new cell phone number might be. She used Abby's phone and dialed Foo's number, but it went to voice mail, which she didn't see as a good sign. If the other two vampires were out of the ship, and she had to wait for them to return, she'd never get a shot at them from this far away. If they didn't come back until dawn, she'd be caught outside at sunrise. There was a warehouse by the pier, perhaps that roof. And she'd set herself a time limit. If they didn't show by a half-hour before sunup, she'd head back to the loft. Even at a slow, human jog she'd make it in plenty of time. She'd have to sneak down the back of the building, though. You didn't want people to see you jumping two or three stories at a time. She understood why the vampires had to keep their secret, she really did, but not at the expense of them killing her friends. â€Å"Good view?† A woman's voice came from behind her. Jody rolled and whipped around, pulling Foo's UV laser from the waistband of her jeans. She didn't have on the sun-glasses so she pointed the laser at the figure coming across the roof toward her, closed her eyes, turned away, then fired. The laser buzzed out a blue beam that lasted two seconds, then started making a high-pitched whining sound as it recharged its capacitor. â€Å"Oh, very nice,† came the voice. It was definitely a woman, amazing figure, wearing a skin-tight black suit, a black mask, and sunglasses, and carrying some sort of weapon. She looked like a superhero. Jody was on her feet, in a crouch. The laser thing was still charging, but maybe it would fire a weaker blast, give her time to move. â€Å"Nah, nah, nah.† The woman raised her weapon, and fired. A stuttering stream of pellets peppered Jody's arm and she lost hold of the laser. Jody felt as if her arm were on fire. She looked to see ten tiny holes, each smoking, with a clear liquid, not blood running out of it. The woman whipped off her hood and sunglasses, but kept the weapon trained on Jody. She was stunning, a pale, Mediterranean beauty with waist-length hair like black silk and almost impossibly large eyes. â€Å"That light thing is sweet, but you should get one of these,† she said. â€Å"It's basically just a pellet gun modified to fire chemical pellets, but the chemical, there's the magic.† â€Å"It burns like hell,† Jody said. â€Å"Yes, it does. And I could cut you in half with this before you could get to me. That's the problem with light weapons, they don't have range and it doesn't take much to stop them. Like this suit, for instance. I mean, this thing has a UV light on it, but that's just to keep you from turning to mist. Can you do that, fledgling?† â€Å"That's what Elijah called me,† Jody said. â€Å"That's what he called all of us in our day.† Jody tried to figure out how to get to the woman. She knew she could move impossibly fast for a human, but this was another vampire, a very old vampire. She had once squared off against Elijah thinking all things were equal among vampires and he'd nearly ended her. As if she was reading Jody's thoughts the vampire fired her weapon and Jody felt her other arm light up with pain from shoulder to elbow. â€Å"Ouch. Fuck. You bitch!† â€Å"Bella, not bitch. And what were you going to do to me, fledgling? Do you have any idea what you've done? We have been together hundreds of years. You ended pieces of history. You took parts of me.† She fired again and Jody's right leg gave way. â€Å"What do you mean, pieces?† â€Å"You don't know what it is to merge with another being then? With a lover? We were lovers, Rolf, Makeda, and me, for hundreds of years, and now they are gone.† â€Å"I don't know what you're talking about.† â€Å"Both are gone, I could feel it. Funny, I didn't know I was always aware of their presence until they were gone. Not an hour ago. I'm alone now. I should let you live if only because we've lost two. There are fewer than a hundred of us, fledgling, and you might have been one of us.† â€Å"I didn't know,† Jody said. â€Å"I don't even care anymore. Maybe I'll just kill you and lie down and wait for the sun to come up. I'll never even know what happened.† â€Å"Trust me, that's not as painless as you think it is,† Jody said. â€Å"Don't!† said Bella. She raised her weapon again but this time, when the little UV light came on, Jody pushed off with her good leg, did a high backflip, and fell six stories to the courtyard below. She expected to feel bone-crushing pain, hear the crackle of vertebrae, maybe even the crunch of her skull, but instead she felt warm water envelop her. She had landed in the Bay Club's pool, which meant she must have launched herself a good forty feet away from the roof. Her predator mind, the one that had risen to tell her that the City was hers, now kicked in, assessing survival. She was under water, that was good. The pellet weapon wouldn't penetrate the water more than a foot before losing it's effectiveness. Plus, the pool water was flushing out whatever heinous chemical had been burning her. She felt herself healing, even as she hovered at the bottom of the pool. She could stay there indefinitely without breathing if necessary. The bad news was that Bella was still up there, and as soon as Jody left the water, the good news would end. It was very unlikely she could take the older vampire hand-to-hand, even if she could get past the pellet weapon, but she could run. Even if she was no faster than Bella, she knew this neighborhood. She'd worked here for years, and she wasn't three blocks from Okata's dismal little apartment. She dug in her jacket pocket and found Abby's phone. It was a weatherized model and the screen was still showing the time. Still four hours until sunup, and that was a guess. She had to cut it extremely close, but if she could bolt away from the Raven with just enough time to find shelter herself, but not enough time for Bella, she just might get away. And maybe in the meantime, Rivera and Cavuto would call out a S.W.A.T. team to storm the black ship. Or the Animals would blow it up, like they had Elijah's yacht. Maybe Bella would dive into the water after her, although losing the high ground would take away a distinct advantage. Maybe one of the people in the apartments above would look down and think there was a body in the pool, and she could make her escape when the EMTs came to rescue her. That's it. She assumed the yoga posture called â€Å"down-floating corpse† and waited, listening for any disturbance that might indicate she had company in the pool, and concentrated on her wound healing. Maybe if she healed enough she could go to mist and sneak out that way. She hadn't moved a lot in mist form, nor had she ever changed under water and she wasn't sure she could, but it might be worth a try. A shadow fell across the bottom of the pool, cast by the mercury lights above, and she flipped over to see Bella moving catlike at the edge of the pool. Then again, maybe not. CHET He'd watched them slaughter all of his fellow vampire cats and instead of running, as would have been his feline instinct, he tracked the killers, which was behavior born entirely of his human side. The three sides of his nature were in constant conflict. Even now, his cat side hated water, and wanted to flee, but his human side felt hate rising and wanted to attack. The vampire side told him to remain hidden, to approach in stealth, as mist, but his cat side told him to pounce, rip her throat out with claw and fang. It occurred to him, as he watched from the roof of the Bay Club as she paced around the pool in her skin-tight black suit, that water or no water, revenge or no revenge, he was going to hump the bejezus out of her before any other action took place. There was part tomcat in all of his natures. He'd started his pack by mating with any female in heat, then they turned males, and so on. And he continued his undead romp through the alleys and backyards of San Francisco, but as he grew larger, and the human part of him manifested, he was just too big to finish the deed. If he fed on them, they went to dust before he got to hump them, and if humped them, they didn't survive for him to feed on them, and he'd humped a bunch of cats to death before he figured that out. It turned out, size did matter. But here was the perfect solution. Moving strong and sexy, just the right size-he could lock his jaws on her neck and have at it, then drink her blood or bite her head off as the whim hit him, and all the time that horrible weapon would be pointed away from him. He went to mist and oozed down the side of the building in a stream that blended with the night fog creeping in off the Bay. JODY Jody just happened to be looking up at Bella's watery silhouette against the mercury light when she saw another shape appear behind Bella, leap on her back, and pull her away from the edge of the pool. Jody was not going to sit around checking references, whatever that thing was, it was an ally. She came out of the water like a rocket, and in two steps she leapt to the top of the twelve-foot security fence and looked back. Something had pulled Bella around and now had her face-down on the pavement and appeared to be humping the bejezus out of her. Jody knew she shouldn't, but she paused. Big kitty ears, big kitty tail, big kitty sinking his fangs into the back of Bella's neck. Kitty was as big as Bella, maybe a little bigger. Chet. Bad kitty, Jody thought. Bella shrieked, then launched herself backward with her arms, lifting both of them into the air, where they did a half-backflip and landed on the concrete with Chet's back as the point of impact. He let go with his jaws and Bella spun around and let loose with the pellet weapon. Chet yowled and jerked on the ground. Bella strafed his neck, which dissolved instantly into a mass of goo. He stopped moving. Jody had seen enough. She leapt off the fence to the sidewalk and took off into the financial district, taking a right at the next corner, then a left, going as fast as her legs would carry her-to hell with someone seeing. She tried to go to mist, but couldn't. Either the fear or her injuries were stopping her. She could hear Bella's footsteps behind her, a block away, now less than a block. What was the range of that pellet weapon anyway? Left on Broadway, left on Battery, right on Pacific, footsteps on her ass, now left on Sansome, next left, she heard the pellet gun sputter and she felt her right leg go out from under her. She rolled and tried to come up but the gun sputtered again and her left leg was gone. She rolled over onto her back, pushed away, scooting on her butt. The gun spat and her left elbow stopped working. â€Å"Fuck, how much ammo does that thing have?† â€Å"More than I'll need to turn you to soup,† Bella said. â€Å"Oh look, no swimming pool.† â€Å"Shame, I guess you won't get to enjoy another kitty fuck.† The gun spat. Jody's right arm folded behind her with a splash of pain. Bella ran her nails over her breast. â€Å"Didn't happen. This suit will stop light, even small-caliber firearms-â€Å" But evidently not blades, Jody thought. Because she was a vampire, and things happened more slowly to her predator eyes, she saw the blade come over Bella's shoulder, enter her body at her left trapezius, and zip across her chest and her kitty-dick-proof suit to exit just under her right arm. Bella's head and right arm slid right, her left arm and the rest of her body fell left. She had a rather surprised expression on her face that stayed there, even as her mouth continued to work soundlessly, as if she really, desperately wanted to finish that last sentence. â€Å"Hello,† Okata said. Jody looked past the swordsman to the sign on the corner that read: JACKSON STREET.

Selecting a suitable computer system

Task: Find three computer systems which are currently for sale and evaluate their specifications and select the one which you think is most suitable for Ben and Jerry. Write a detailed report to the family identifying the computers you have selected and explaining which computer that you consider to be the most suitable, justifying your choice. (Distinction Criteria) Dear Andrew, I received your letter regarding a new computer for your children and I looked up several computers matching the criteria you provided. I trimmed the list to just three computers and I gave you my honest thoughts about them including a critical, technical analysis of each computer. I hope you find my advice helpful. The first computer I wanted you to look at was the Apple Mac Pro which at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5691 is a high end, top of the line PC that is very expensive but very powerful nonetheless. The Mac Pro has a powerful quad core processor with two dual core processors capable of 16 GB of SDRAM. To have 16 GBs is unheard of in the computing world so Ben should find that whatever demanding application he uses, the computer still handles smoothly. At 2 TB it has a huge hard disk space that dwarfs other mainstream hard drive sizes. Having this amount of space would allow Ben to store as many games as he wants without worrying about the size of it. The graphics card is the impressive 512MB nVidia Quadro FX 4500 that has a 128 bit memory interface when most these days only have 64 bit. This graphics card however seems more appropriate for casual gamer, and those who are not in the market for the latest graphics card. I'm unsure that Ben is just a casual gamer or if he's a games enthusiast who is very interested in his gaming. Nonetheless, this graphics card is not only supportive of the latest graphics but it also possesses enough processing power to generate smooth gaming with out any noticeable lagging. The Mac Pro comes with one of the best professional video editing software programmes that's used by many Hollywood movie editors. Final Cut Pro is one of the leading video editing applications with thousands of effects and although, it looks complicated to begin with, eventually it does become much easier to use. Its image editing package is impressive as well with Adobe Fireworks, Illustrator and Photoshop available for Jerry to play around with. Illustrator is a vector based image editor and Photoshop is simply the best application for the editing of digital images.Windows 7 Check Your Understanding One mustn't discount the Photobooth feature which uses its webcam to take pictures and videos. It has a range of standard effects such as sepia tone, black and white, thermal camera, X ray, comic, mirror etc. There are range of backdrops like clouds, colour dots and rollercoaster available. This would please Jerry since he preferred a PC with a webcam to record. The price includes an Apple DVI to Video adaptor to connect the PC to your Television in order to view the movies you downloaded. An excellent aspect of this PC is the operating system it uses. The Mac OS snow leopard is a far more efficient OS when compared to Windows due to the fact that it's not susceptible to viruses and its stunning user interface. Every button has a glassy feel and all applications are organised very well. The finder application searches through the hard drive at incredible speeds to look for a document or another application. It has a futuristic feel that Windows Vista and 7 have recently tried to emulate, however, the original is always the best. It was largely well received by many critics and was referred to as the most advanced OS in the world. Apple Macs are reputed to have excellent screen quality and its 23 inch screen is suitable for gaming and having such a wide screen would allow Jerry to have a spacious desktop and to work freely when editing his images or videos. The next computer that maybe worth a look in is the Dell XPS 430 Desktop which at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½670 is very much cheaper than the Apple Mac Pro; in truth this is a very competitive price for a powerful machine such as this. In addition to this, Dell is market leader manufacturing high quality PCs with a glowing worldwide reputation. Most of the features match up to your criteria. For example, you said that Jerry has an interest in photo editing. The XPS 430 has the latest Adobe Elements package including Photoshop which is tailored for a person like Jerry. Adobe Photoshop is industry standard editing software that has a plethora of editing effects and capabilities and I assure you that it's perfect for an image editing enthusiast like Jerry. Granted Adobe Premiere elements is a scaled down version of the industry standard Adobe Premier Pro, however, it's still the best selling consumer video editing software because it has a range of advantages over its competitors. Features like real time rendering would help Jerry to immediately preview his edits to the timeline. This machine also has a deck-top docking area to conveniently dock, charge and cable route for portable devices – such as digital camera, in the case of Jerry. This undoubtedly makes things much easier where all Jerry would have to do is to doc k the camera and then edit straight from there! In addition to this, the XPS is a self-titled gaming computer which is perfect for Ben. By using ATI2 and NVIDIA2 graphic solutions, the XPS 430 is capable of delivering high end multimedia features including next generation graphics and HD quality video. Most impressive of all, the machine's processor is a top of the line Intel Quad Core 2 processor that was specifically built to handle the most demanding games. High detailed games are rendered by four hardware threads, which in turn distribute the AI and physics evenly. This powerful processor is tailor made for Ben who thrives on the latest games. Nowadays, many games take up several GB's of space meaning smaller hard drives would struggle. The XPS 430 has 2 TB's (that's a 2000 GB) of hard drive space which is more than three times the size of a hard drive on normal computer. Plus, there are plenty of USB ports (5 internal, 7 external to be precise) in case Ben wants to plug in a games controller or joystick. The speaker that come s with the package is the Bose Companion 3 Series II which is a multimedia speaker system that is unlike any other conventional speaker in the sense that it delivers crisp sound and stunning ambience that creates a life like atmosphere, be it playing games or watching a HD movie. Also, since the computer has a Blu-Ray disk drive, it has the ability to play games or watch films in true high definition. I'm also impressed with the Dell Ultrasharp widescreen display that completes the High definition capability of the PC. Since the monitor's widescreen, you get the sense that it's almost a widescreen television not a PC monitor. Its operating system Windows Vista is reputed to be a media centric OS so Jerry and Ben would enjoy using its 3D user interface which has an Apple Mac feel. The XPS 430's RAM is well above average too with 8GB. Most computers have 2, maybe 3 GB because that's an acceptable amount. RAM is a good indicator of how good a computer is because it shows how many programmes a machine can run without having to slow down. So the more RAM on store, the more programmes you can run without worrying about it slowing things down. Finally, we mustn't ignore the digital video capture capability in this PC. It has a built in 2.0 mega pixel camera which is capable of taking pictures, record videos and it's perfect when added with VOIP(Voice over Internet Protocol) software such as Skype. The XPS 430 also has 1 VGA and HDMI output to connect the PC to your TV, allowing you to watch downloaded films on your TV; This PC certainly ticks all your boxes. The last PC I picked out was the HP Pavilion Elite which is nearly twice as expensive as the Dell at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1279. The feature you immediately notice is the processor which is twice as capable as the Intel Quad Core 2 processor that was in the Dell XPS 430. The Intel Core i7-860 Processor is a processor that was specifically designed for multi-tasking purposes. That's why unlike the Intel Quad Core 2 it has 8 threads to share the workload. One of its features, Intel Smart Cache, was optimized to deliver a higher quality gaming performance with an improved capable cache system. In addition to this, other features like HD Boost and Turbo Boost technology handle the most demanding programmes maximising the performance leading to an overall improvement of a plethora of multimedia and computer intensive programmes. Its clock speed of 2.8 GHz is also marginally better than the Quad Core 2 Processor (2.66 GHz) – the clock speed measures how fast a PC can complete basic calculations and operations. This processor would be incredibly useful for both your children as it's perfect for high detail HD gaming and image editing which would need multiple applications to be open. The OS system Microsoft 7 Home premium is the latest OS from windows and has a range of multimedia applications that would satisfy both Ben and Jerry. The latest Windows media centre can act as a hub for all your children's multimedia needs. Here they can watch videos, photos and even play games! Applications that are included with the OS under Microsoft like Movie Maker, DVD Maker and photo gallery are standard multimedia programmes that are still competent in helping the user to maximise their multimedia experience. The graphics card would no doubt excite Ben who I understand is a games enthusiast. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 is a graphics card with Purevideo HD technology which like the graphics card in the XPS 430 allows the user to immerse themselves in true high definition gaming. Another added benefit to gaming, is the â€Å"7.1 HD audio support† that would undoubtedly create a unique gaming atmosphere. The disk drive size of 1.5 TB is enormous even though it's not as much the XPS 430 (2 TB in size) and it would mean that both your children can store plenty of games, videos and images without worrying about how big they are. It has an equal RAM capability to the XPS 430 at 8 GB, allowing the computer to run many programmes at the same time without worrying about it slowing things down. This is ideal for Jerry in particular who would be using multiple, highly demanding applications to edit his videos and images. This particular PC comes with a HP games console that has hours of free gameplay that would certainly entertain Ben. The fact that it has 10 external USB ports is useful if he were to plug in his joystick or games controller. This PC may however disappoint Jerry due to the fact that it doesn't have an image editing software included. However, it does have one of the world's best video editing software in Cyberlink DVDSuite. This application is not as competent as Adobe Premiere Elements but I still feel that it's an excellent video editing software that is suited for an amateur video editing enthusiast. This machine also doesn't have a webcam which is a downside but it does have a VGA and a HDMI port to plug the PC on to your television. In conclusion, the HP pavilion would not be recommended by me due to the absence of an image editing software. I feel for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1279 it doesn't suit the criteria and so would be a waste of money. It doesn't have a webcam either further deteriorating its credibility. However, this PC is very suited for Ben because of the quality of the graphics card, the audio support and the free HP games console that's included and not to forget the brilliant PC monitor. On the other extreme, the Apple Mac Pro is nearly à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6000 and for that money you're getting the best OS in the world, superb image editing software and a world class video editing application in Final Cut pro. Its Imagebooth applications boast the ability to take pictures and videos and have a range of effects. This makes it perfect for Jerry who loves editing videos and images. However, I don't believe it's suitable for Ben as the graphics card is a just a mainstream graphics card that may struggle with certain demanding games. The fact that it doesn't have a blu-ray disc drive is a negative as well as it would be unable to play HD games. For the amount of money, you'd expect this PC to be perfect but it's far from it. That leaves me with the Dell XPS 430 which I reckon is the most suitable PC as it satisfies the needs of both Jerry and Ben equally well. Its graphics card is incredibly powerful and the RAM it possesses is enough to handle the most highly detailed games. It even has a blu-ray disc drive to play HD games and its quad core 2 processor is one of the best for gaming. Ben is sure to be impressed with these specifications. Jerry on the other hand will be excited to have Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere which are excellent programmes for image and video editing. The XPS 430 even has deck-top docking area to conveniently dock portable devices like a digital camera. This would without doubt be convenient for Jerry as he can simply plug in his camera and get editing without wasting much time. It has a VGA and HDMI output to connect to the television and watch movies and its sound system gives an incredible atmosphere. Whether it's watching videos or playing games this sound system would simply maximise the viewing experience. One mustn't forget that it also has a 2.0 mega pixel camera that records and takes pictures and is suitable for applications like Skype. The icing on the cake without doubt has to be the fact that it's the cheapest PC from the ones I've listed at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½670 and that's why I recommend that you purchase the Dell XPS 430.

Description of the GIS techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Description of the GIS techniques - Essay Example Other whale types which do exist but are area to site include the sperm whale, killer whale and the fin whale. Sperm whales are famous for their massive heads and rounded foreheads. It is believed that they are rare because of intense hunting. However, data on the exact population of whales at the Scottish coast is hard to come by given that little research has been carried out to estimate their numbers (Clark, 1997). Some of the reasons for this state of affairs are the little research which has been carried specifically on this marine mammal. This may be explained by the fact that the United States has been keen to end the practice of whaling which kills whales for the sake of it. Therefore, a lot of research on whales has tended to be in waters around where the practice is prevalent such as Japan (Au, 2003; Griffin, 1998; Elnser, 1999). Industrialization and development around the Scottish coast is believed to have significantly led to the pollution of waters around the coast, compromising the quality of ecosystems these whales enjoy. This is because uncontrolled dumping of waste into the sea has negative effects on the environment, affecting the food chain in the process. Human activity along the coast has been increasing over the decades, increasing the frequencies with which accidents involving whales and other marine animals attack people. Sperm whales are known to dive to deeper levels in search of food. Even though their environment might have been affected, it is expected that still some would be around, assuming that their deeper diving can compensate for the declining food supply due to pollution. This is because pollution starves the plants and other marine animals such as fishes and seals fed on by the sperm whales of the oxygen and other nutrients needed for their nourishment (Elsner, 1999). Essentially this means that the whales are likely to have faced a drop in their food supplies. On the other part, such levels of pollution also have the

Sources of English Law and Examples of their Use Essay

Sources of English Law and Examples of their Use - Essay Example Statute law represents the primary legislation passed by parliament and consist of acts, as well as amendments to acts. Common Law: Common law is a form of law that is not based on any external set of rules or regulations. Instead, common law is derived from previous cases. . By this part of its nature, common law is unique as it self-generates. These cases are often poorly documented and summarised, making the determination of what is common law difficult It is primarily used in cases where there is no legislation that covers the case currently being considered, and is instigated by judges, often in cases of negligence. Equity: Equity is connected to common law, and was formed to assist in cases where common law was not enough. Equity occurs when common law has been applied in a situation, but the ruling doesn’t appear to make sense for the particular criteria or people involved. Equity does not happen in all cases; instead it is an option that the judge can take, rather than a right of those under the law. Initially common law and equity used separate courts, but now both occur seamlessly within the same court, and often the same judgment within the UK as well as other countries and colonies. Injunctions are one example of equity. As such equity occurs in areas of the law where common law is applied, as there is limited legislative backing for the situation, but the conclusion from common law does not fit the situation. European Law: This refers specifically to law that is connected to the European Union, which came into being towards the end of 1993. When the UK joined the European Union it was required to incorporate legislation from the European Union into the laws of the UK and to recognise the European Court’s jurisdiction in regards to European Union law. An example of a European law is the European Convention of Human Rights, which was incorporated into UK law in 1998. European Law, while applied in the UK, is developed through the European Union . Question Two There are many legislative acts created through statute law that are important in Britain. One of these that had a large impact on business was the equality act, introduced by the Labour Government in 2010. The act was designed to dramatically increase the rights of employees of all types, aiming to advance equality and protect against discrimination. This law had a major effect on businesses, increasing costs involved in dealing with disabled employees, as well as allowing avenues for issues of harassment and discrimination in the workplace to be addressed, which generally has the effect of improv ing employee morale . The case of Donoghue v. Stevenson was a case brought to the House of Lords in 1932. The case is monumental, as it was a case of common law that set the precedent for negligence in modern English law, as well as Scottish law. The case itself revolved around a snail that Donoghue claimed was poured in her ginger beer. She consequently brought action against the manufacturer of the water in the ginger beer, Stevenson. The case was important as there was no legal precedent, so the case fell into the grounds of common law . For businesses today, the case has important ramifications, as it has served as the basis of the concept that one person is able to owe another person a duty of care. The case of Seager versus Copydex was a case of damages and of breaches of confidence. The case was one of the early cases that

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Project management - Essay Example This research shows that the project had clear goals but unclear requirements and the frequent changes required rescheduling and resulted in budget overruns. Although the project had budget overruns, it however met the desired outcomes. This study has shown that the key elements of project management are critically important in meeting the objectives and goals of project and giving the desired outcomes. Project management is an art and a science that involves organizing, securing, planning and managing of resources with an aim to accomplish specified goals. A project can be defined as a short-term or temporary endeavor whose beginning and the end is clearly defined. Project management plays a significant role in facilitating execution of projects such as new software development, installation of new hardware or building a facility. As mentioned by Wessels, project management helps in selecting, managing and supporting of projects that are of significant importance in accomplishment o f an organization’s objectives, making it vibrant at marketplace and maximizing shareholders wealth. In an organization set up, various divisions and departments compete for scarce human and financial resources; project management plays an important role in rational decision framework enabling people to make the appropriate project investment decisions. Project management plays a critical role in management of outcomes mainly the cost, time and performance of the project. Projects are selected based on cost and benefit analysis where their return on investment is evaluated against cost of implementation. Role of project manager According to Lewis (2004, p. 19), project manager has the total responsibility to ensure that all project details are handled properly, this requires them to be highly proactive and not reactive. Project manager should follow up on things ordered or scheduled ensuring that things like requisition and purchasing are effectively running, project manager helps in project planning, controlling, monitoring and organization of project resources. Project manager plays a significant role in giving a project economic approach by determining its (ROI) return on investment. Project manager is also responsible for project risk management; he must identify risks, monitor and design effective response. He is also responsible for project reporting to the management of the organization. Key elements in project management Key elements in project management include managing and controlling project scope through clearly established aims, objectives and goals, managing cost element, managing risks, managing human resources, managing time planning, control and scheduling, and managing quality to meet the desired standards (Lock, 2007, p. 78). Project integration, management communications, procurement processes, and quality are also key element in project management. Managing the project scope Project management plays a critical role in ensuring that the aims, goals and objectives of the project are clearly and articulately established. Many projects fail due to wrong or unclear goals and requirements. With unclear goals, project experiences problems, however, with wrong goals, projects fail spectacularly (Rusell 2007, p. 45). Scottish Parliament has clear and articulate goals and objectives but had no clear requirements. Scottish parliament changed requirements of that projects several times, for instance they increased functions of the building demanding for more size and space, these changes caused various difficulties to the project team causing budget

Early Childhood Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Early Childhood Teacher - Essay Example A good early childhood teacher should have an understanding of what he or she needs to accomplish with his or her students. While the typical knowledge is that teachers need to impart knowledge like a person stocking meat inside a sausage casing, I believe that they should be more aware of the fact that students have this innate capability to learn and reason out. Thus, learning does not necessarily mean spoon feeding the children with the things that they need to know where the teacher takes an active role and the students wait passively. Teachers should be able to elucidate knowledge from the children by stimulating their young minds and enabling them to learn. The children need to take an active part in learning. They should not be there only to accept what the teacher imparts to them but they should be able to enhance their capabilities of bringing out the innate capacity to think and reason out. One of the best examples of this is Socrates' dialectics where he constantly asks questions to youth enabling him to stimulate their reasoning abilities. He makes his student's realize that they are capable of thinking beyond and out of the box (Socratic Seminars 2008). In a school setting, this should be used to small children in order for them to acquire the ability to depend themselves through rational thinking. For example, instead of directly saying that gravity pulls everything into the earth surface, the teacher should ask students what happens when something is dropped. Then follow it up with why they think it is so. Then, he or she could explain that this is because of a force which pushes everything down. The good teacher can also ask students instances when they think that the law of gravity is violated. Small children are very good imitators. In fact, they often learn things that they directly see in their parents, teachers, and other persons making up their immediate environment. Imitating words and actions are their way of learning and exploring their environment. Because of this, a good early childhood education teacher is one who lives up to what he or she teaches inside the classroom. A teacher should teach through his or her good example. It should be noted that when parents send their children to school, it is not just the mental and intellectual capacity which they expect to nourish but also their children's character. Thus, it is important that the teacher's attitude and behavior mirrors a decent individual who is morally excellent. A good early childhood teacher should be able to display a character which is pleasing to every parent or student. He or she should be aware that her actions will strongly impact and shape the moral development of his or her students. Name calli ng, bad words, impatience, dishonesty, and unfairness have no place inside a classroom where small children are intended to become decent citizens (Muir 2007). A teacher should be able to back by her actions the words that he or she preaches inside the classroom. It is irrefutable that small children honor and respect their teachers even more than their parents because of their knowledge. They see their mentors as

Construction Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Construction Business - Essay Example The construction business has some significant legal concerns as well, such as liquidated damages issue that should be taken into account. The business then requires finance for its operations and means of obtaining these finances are to be evaluated. It is important for the owners to study these matters to understand whether this business is well suited to them and to understand what kind of management skills, legal and financial expertise they should have in the enterprise for it to successfully turn it into a successful, profitable venture. When considering the legal form of business formation, the choices available to a business include sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and the newest form of business formation, the limited liability company (LLC). These forms of business may be compared in terms of ownership, liability of owners, continuity of business, and transferability of interest, among others. Since construction is a business with a potential for personal injury where employees and customers can experience a fall or some other injury at the construction site, it is best to select the form of business entity that provides liability protection for the business owners. Liability protection is also an important consideration because in times of financial adversity, it allows the owners to be accountable only to the extent of their share in the business and no charge is placed on their personal assets. The two options that provide protection of personal liability are corporation and LLC. Corporations ar e further classified into C Corporations and S Corporations. Typically the term 'Corporation' refers to a C Corporation, whereas the S Corporation is a special type of corporation that combines tax advantages of the partnership and the corporation. The LLC is a new alternative brought about by the new regulation and has gained much popularity because of its acceptance in all states and amendments in several states making it more attractive. (Hisrich, Peters, Shepherd, 2004) The LLC is considered a partnership-corporation hybrid because of its characteristics. Like partnerships have partners and corporations have shareholders, the LLC has members. These members do not own shares but rather an interest in the business. As mentioned earlier, the LLC allows owners to have limited liability protection, which would benefit the owners of a construction business by offering them protection from. The taxation for an LLC does not take place on the business level, instead the income, profit or loss is passed on to the owners and is treated as their personal income and reported in the owner's personal tax return. Liquidated Damages The construction industry is one in which legal issues arise very often. Breaches of contracts and failures to perform have to be dealt with by the employer as well as the contractor. Because this paper discusses considerations for owners of a construction business, we will look at the legal matters that can arise, from the viewpoint of the employer who assigns the task of constructing a particular project to the contractor. The relationship of an employer and contractor is such that According to the American Law Encyclopedia

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position Term Paper

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position - Term Paper Example And when it comes to instrumental values, I hold dependability and trust very close to my heart. I highly value these structures which I set for myself in terms of my career aspirations and my personal growth. I firmly believe that these are the value structures which are adopted by people in the nursing field. I also believe that personal development is the key to improve self-knowledge, identity, talents as well as enhancing the quality of life.   For me, nursing is not a career but a way of life. I thrive hard to be the best that I can be through my personal development and dedication in my line of duty. I firmly believe that my skills are a good match with your current position through my progress, my recent strength quest analysis and my interviews with my supervisors. Summary of Strengths Quest Findings:   Through my strength quest activity, I come to a final conclusion that I have the abilities that it needs to be in my current position and it increases my confident that I am good match for my current nursing position. The strength insight reports reflect my development, positivity, empathy, input and individualization. In the developer section, it mentions that one of my strength is that I engage myself in group activities and projects which is extremely important in my line of work. It states that I find purpose or meaning in the simple things that money cannot buy. Nursing is all about giving, rising up to the challenge and communicating with other people comfortably. It also mentions that I have a playful spirit to tackle serious challenges and opportunities. In the positivity section, I did quite well. It states that I acknowledged newcomers or outsiders to my world easily  and that I am comfortable having a conversation with a stranger. It mentions that I am carefree, cheerful and easygoing. It also states that I have the ability to pull together massive informations, ideas or facts for later use. These are also important factors to become a great nurse. As a nurse one should be able to put on a cheerful face, have the zeal to learn more and be practical in life. In the Empathy section, what makes me stand out is my ability to detect impending conflict sooner than most people. I also have the gift for helping people in resolving their difference which makes me resolve others differences politely and courteously. It also mentions that I have the ability to calm those who are struggling with the uncertainty of change. This is very crucial in a nursing field as we have to deal with people suffering from various diseases on a daily basis. In the input section, what makes me stand out is my courage to express my doubts about certain ideas, theories or concept which is a pivotal instrument to gain knowledge. I also have the ability to put aside my emotions and calmly absorb information. I also enjoy the act of reading and collecting information. In the individualization section, what makes me stand out is my ability to identi fy talents, skills, knowledge, motivations of an individual. It also mentions that I am a willing person to help others around me and that I find life’s joy through helping someone in need. Supervisor’s View of an Effective Leader: In my interview with my supervisor, I found out her view about what leadership skills constitute to become an effective  leader. Leadership is not about having the power to control others or dominating other people.

Capstone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Capstone - Essay Example Accordingly, the organization’s mission statement also addresses the establishment of prosperous and beneficial relationships with both internal and external groups that are associated with the activities of the business such as its employees, suppliers and other partners (FedEx Corporation 2013a). Not only does the mission statement of the company depict the organization’s commitment towards its primary stakeholders but it also provides a roadmap for the management and the employees as to how FedEx Corporation aims to conduct its business activities. As indicated by the formulation of the organization’s mission statement, the vision statement and mission statement of a company often represent messages or meanings that are one and the same while in other scenarios; the vision statement portrays a company’s aspirations or what it hopes to achieve in the future (Secord 2003). According to FedEx Corporation (2013a) the organization intends to serve its custom ers in the best manner possible by identifying the exclusive requirements of each market segment. The presence of this clause in the organization’s mission statement has been the driver of FedEx Corporation’s successful service to its global clientele which displays varying needs. For example, the initiation of takeovers in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and India in the recent years has been prompted by the organization’s dedication to â€Å"accommodate evolving customer needs† (FedEx Corporation 2012). 2. Analyze the five (5) forces of competition to determine how they impact the company. Porter’s Five Forces model operates as an effective and comprehensive framework for identifying, analyzing and evaluating the possible opportunities and threats to a company which are posed by various competitive forces within the industry (Hill and Jones 2007). On the basis of this understanding, the framework outlines five key areas of competition that play a fundamental role in the formulation and execution of strategies to effectively address the outlined threats and successfully capitalize on opportunities. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The nature of FedEx Corporation’s activities and the scale of its operations demands regular interaction with several suppliers that are located across the globe. The company’s suppliers are identified as fuel suppliers, producers of shipping materials and airplane manufacturers (Berger 2011). Berger (2011) states that dominant fuel suppliers command strong bargaining power over the organization because of the unavailability of substitutes which greatly limits the organization’s ability to engage in successful negotiations in order to lower operating expenses. Similarly, the aircraft manufacturing industry displays an oligopolistic situation with Boeing and Airbus being the primary suppliers of aircrafts which lends significant bargaining power to the manufacturers (Berger 2011). Contrary to this observation, Berger (2011) identifies that producers of shipping materials exhibit only limited bargaining power because FedEx Corporation has the option of choosing its designated suppliers amongst several companies in a market that is highly competitive. Bargaining Power of Buyers Hill and Jones (2007) comment that bargaining power of buyers is subject to change as per the changes in the external environment. In the case of FedEx Corpora

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid Essay Example for Free

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid Essay Professor C. K. Prahalad’s seminal publication, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, suggests an enormous market at the â€Å"bottom of the pyramid† (BOP)—a group of some 4 billion people who subsist on less than $2 a day. By some estimates, these â€Å"aspirational poor,† who make up three-fourths of the world’s population, represent $14 trillion in purchasing power, more than Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Japan put together. Demographically, it is young and growing at 6 percent a year or more. Traditionally, the poor have not been considered an important market segment. â€Å"The poor can’t afford most products†; â€Å"they will not accept new technologies†; and â€Å"except for the most basic products, they have little or no use for most products sold to higher income market segments†Ã¢â‚¬â€these are some of the assumptions that have, until recently, caused most multinational firms to pay little or no attention to those at the bottom of the pyramid. Typical market analysis is limited to urban areas, thereby ignoring rural villages where, in markets like India, the majority of the population lives. However, as major markets become more competitive and in some cases saturated—with the resulting ever-thinning profit margins— marketing to the bottom of the pyramid may have real potential and be worthy of exploration. One researcher suggested that American and European businesses should go back and look at their own roots. Sears, Roebuck was created to serve the lower-income, sparsely settled rural market. Singer sewing machines fashioned a scheme to make consumption possible by allowing customers to pay $5 a month instead of $100 at once. The world’s largest company today, Walmart, was created to serve the lower-income market. Here are a few examples of multinational company efforts to overcome the challenges in marketing to the BOP. Designing products for the BOP is not about making cheap  stuff but about making technologically advanced products affordable. For example, one company was inspired to invent the Freeplay, a windup self-power–generating radio, when it learned that isolated, impoverished people in South Africa were not getting information about AIDS because they  had no electricity for radios and could not afford replacement batteries. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY The BOP market has a need for advanced technology, but to  be usable, infrastructure support must often accompany the  technology. For example, ITC, a $2.6 billion a year Indian conglomerate, decided to create a network of PC kiosks in villages. For years, ITC conducted its business with farmers through a maze of intermediaries, from brokers to traders. The company wanted farmers to be able to connect directly to information sources to check ITC’s offer price for produce, as well as prices in the closest village market, in the state capital, and on the Chicago commodities exchange. With direct access to information, farmers got the best price for their product, hordes of  intermediaries were bypassed, and ITC gained a direct contact with the farmers, thus improving the efficiency of ITC’s soybean acquisition. To achieve this goal, it had to do much more than just distribute PCs. It had to provide equipment for managing power outages, solar panels for extra electricity, and a satellite-based telephone hookup, and it had to train farmers to use the PCs. Without these steps, the PCs would never have worked. The complex solution serves ITC very well. Now more  than 10,000 villages and more than 1 million farmers are covered by its system. ITC is able to pay more to farmers and at the same time cut its costs because it has dramatically reduced the inefficiencies in logistics. The vast market for cell phones among those at the BOP is  not for phones costing $200 or even $100 but for phones costing less than $50. Such a phone cannot simply be a cut-down version of an existing handset. It must be very reliable and have lots of battery capacity, as it will be used by people who do not have reliable access to electricity. Motorola went thorough four redesigns to develop a low-cost cell phone with  battery life as long as 500 hours for villagers without regular electricity and an extra-loud volume for use in noisy markets. Motorola’s low-cost phone, a no-frills cell phone priced at $40, has a standby time of two weeks and conforms to local languages and customs. The cell-phone manufacturer says it expects to sell 6 million cell phones in six months in markets including China, India, and  Turkey. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES CREATIVE FINANCING There is also demand for personal computers but again, at very low prices. To meet the needs of this market, Advanced Micro Devices markets a $185 Personal Internet communicator—a basic computer for developing countries—and a Taiwan Company offers a similar device costing just $100. For most products, demand is contingent on the customer  having sufficient purchasing power. Companies have to devise creative ways to assist those at the BOP to finance larger purchases. For example, Cemex, the world’s third-largest cement company, recognized an opportunity for profit by enabling  lower-income Mexicans to build their own homes. The company’s Patrimonio Hoy Programme, a combination builder’s â€Å"club† and financing plan that targets homeowners who make less than $5 a day, markets building kits using its premiumgrade cement. It recruited 510 promoters to persuade new customers to commit to building additions to their homes. The customers paid Cemex $11.50 a week and received building  materials every 10 weeks until the room was finished (about  70 weeks—customers were on their own for the actual building). Although poor, 99.6 percent of the 150,000 Patrimonio Hoy participants have paid their bills in full. Patrimonio Hoy at tracted 42,000 new customers and is expected to turn a $1.5 million profit next year. 8/27/10 2:14 PM Cases 3 Assessing Global Market Opportunities One customer, Diega Chavero, thought the scheme was a scam  when she first heard of it, but after eight years of being unable to save enough to expand the one-room home where her family of six lived, she was willing to try anything. Four years later, she has five bedrooms. â€Å"Now I have a palace.† Another deterrent to the development of small enterprises at the BOP is available sources of adequate financing for microdistributors and budding entrepreneurs. For years, those at the bottom of the pyramid needing loans in India had to depend on local moneylenders, at interest rates up to 500 percent a year. ICICI Bank, the second-largest banking institution in India, saw these people as a potential market and critical to its future. To convert them into customers in a cost-effective way, ICICI turned to village self-help groups. ICICI Bank met with microfinance-aid groups working with  the poor and decided to give them capital to start making small loans to the poor—at rates that run from 10 percent to 30 percent. This sounds usurious, but it is lower than the 10 percent daily rate that some Indian loan sharks charge. Each group was composed of 20 women who were taught about saving, borrowing, investing, and so on. Each woman contributes to a joint savings account with the other members, and based on the self-help group’s track record of savings, the bank then lends money to the group, which in turn lends money to its individual members. ICICI has developed 10,000 of these groups reaching 200,000 women. ICICI’s money has helped 1 million households get loans that average $120 to $140. The bank’s executive directory says the venture has been â€Å"very profitable.† ICICI is working with local communities and NGOs to enlarge its reach. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION When Unilever saw that dozens of agencies were lending microcredit loans  funds to poor women all over India, it thought that these would-be microentrepreneurs needed businesses to run. Unilever realized it could not sell to the bottom of the pyramid unless it found low-cost ways to distribute its product, so it created a network of hundreds of thousands of Shakti Amma (â€Å"empowered mothers†) who sell Lever’s products in their villages through an Indian version of Tupperware parties. Start-up loans enabled the women to buy stocks of goods to sell to local villagers. In one case, a woman who received a small loan was able to repay her start-up loan and has not needed to take another one. She now sells regularly to about 50 homes and even serves as a miniwholesaler, stocking tiny shops in outlying villages a short bus ride from her own. She sells about 10,000 rupees ($230) of goods each month, keeps about $26 profit, and ploughs the rest back into new stock. While the $26 a month she earns is less than the average $40 monthly income in the area, she now has income, whereas before she had nothing. Today about 1,300 poor women are selling Unilever’s products in 50,000 villages in 12 states in India and account for about 15 percent of the company’s rural sales in those states. Overall, rural markets account for about 30 percent of the company’s revenue. In another example, Nguyen Van Hon operates a floating sundries distributorship along the Ke Sat River in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta—a maze of rivers and canals dotted with villages. His boat is filled with boxes containing small bars of Lifebuoy soap and  single-use sachets of Sunsilk shampoo and Omo laundry detergent, which he sells to riverside shopkeepers for as little as 2.5 cents each. At his first stop he makes deliveries to a half dozen small shops. He sells hundred of thousands of soap and shampoo packets a month, enough to earn about $125—five times his previous monthly salary as a junior Communist party official. â€Å"It’s a hard life, but its getting better.† Now, he â€Å"has enough to pay his daughter’s schools fees and soon . . . will have saved enough to buy  a bigger boat, so I can sell to more villages.† Because of aggressive efforts to reach remote parts of the country through an extensive network of more than 100,000 independent sales  representatives such as Hon, the Vietnam subsidiary of Unilever realized a 23 percent increase in sales last year to more than $300 million. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES AFFORDABLE PACKAGING As one observer noted, â€Å"the poor cannot be Walmartized.† Consumers in rich nations use money to stockpile convenience. We go to Sam’s Club, Costco, Kmart, and so on, to get bargain prices and the convenience of buying shampoos and paper towels by the case. Selling to the poor requires just the opposite approach. They do not have the cash to stockpile convenience, and they do not mind frequent trips to the village store. Products have to be made available locally and in affordable units; fully 60 percent of the value of all shampoo sold in India is in single-serve packets. Nestlà © is targeting China with a blitz of 29 new ice cream  brands, many selling for as little as 12 cents with take-home and multipack products ranging from 72 cents to $2.30. It also features products specially designed for local tastes and preferences of Chinese consumers, such as Nestlà © Snow Moji, a rice pastry filled with vanilla ice cream that resembles dim sum, and other ice cream flavors like red bean and green tea. The ice cream products are distributed through a group of small independent saleswomen, which the company aims to expand to 4,000 women  by next year. The project is expected to account for as much as 24 percent of the company’s total rural sales within the next few years. BOP MARKETING CREATES  HEALTH BENEFITS Albeit a promotion to sell products, marketing to BOP does help improve personal hygiene. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diarrhea-related diseases kill 1.8 million people a year and noted that  better hand-washing habits—using soap—is one way to prevent their spread. In response to WHO urging, Hindustan Lever Company introduced a campaign called â€Å"Swasthya Chetna† or â€Å"Glowing Health,† which argues that even cleanlooking hands may carry dangerous germs, so use more soap. It began a concentrated effort to take this message into the tens of thousands of villages where the rural poor reside, often with little access to media. â€Å"Lifebuoy teams visit each village several times,† using a â€Å"Glo Germ† kit to show schoolchildren that soap-washed hands are cleaner. This program has reached â€Å"around 80 million rural folk,† and sales of Lifebuoy in small affordable sizes have risen sharply. The small bar has become the brand’s top seller.

Home Is Where the Heart Is Essay Example for Free

Home Is Where the Heart Is Essay Some say â€Å"home is where the heart is. † Home can be everything to some. Home is their safe comfort place they have in life. Home determines a sense of one’s identity. One poem called â€Å"The Youngest Daughter† by Cathy Song involves characters experiencing conflicting situations between the demands of their home and identity. One might think that this poem is simply about mothers versus daughters; however, this poem evokes a broader sense meaning that daughters are torn between either pulling away or pulling closer to home. In one sense, the daughter in this poem is frustrated with her current situation and aspires to do more with her life, rather than devote her time doing what her mother thinks she should be doing. Despite this feeling, she knows she should be caring for her sick mother. The role she has in her home has conflicting messages. Using the elements of tone, narrative poem, and word choice, the poem can be explicated to show how it creates and resolves the meaning of conflict between mothers and daughters. â€Å"The Youngest Daughter† utilizes the narrative type poem, which helps create and resolve the conflict in the poem. The main conflict in this poem is that the daughter has to choose between obligations and desires, while finding her own role in her home. A narrative poem tells a story, and this poem tells a story about a daughter taking care of her elderly mother. The poem is about what the daughter’s daily life is like. This shows the â€Å"obligations† part of her life. The first sentence of the poem is â€Å"the sky has been dark for many years. † This implies that everything that has been going on with her taking care of her mother has been going on for many years. Since her mother became ill, it has been the daughter’s obligation to take care of her. This obligation is based on cultural expectations. In many cultures, children are expected to take care of their parents once they age. The poem is organized into stanzas that are associated with a certain part of the story. One stanza describes what has been going on lately. Another is about â€Å"this morning. † The last stanza is about what goes on â€Å"in the afternoons. † Through the narrative type poem, the daughter is able to express the feeling that her identity is basically taking care of her mother. This identity is also her role in the family. This role limits her own self-identity. Because she is busy caring for her mother, she is unable to develop a sense of self. She is torn between two things: growing away from her mother, and pulling closer to her mother. She knows she has to take care of her, so that aspect makes her seem to pull closer to her mother. Contrary to that, this daughter is a grown woman, and she has a very limited and conflicted life. Her life is devoted to the mother. This is seen by the story of the poem. She wants to grow apart from her mother and do things in her life that interest her. The reader can see that the daughter wants to escape this whole situation because towards the end of the poem it says â€Å"She knows I am not to be trusted / even now planning my escape. † The readers learn here that the mother doesn’t trust the daughter, for reasons unknown. The second line of the above quote shows the readers that this is what the daughter is currently doing to make her mother not trust her. The daughter also desires that her mother’s health improve, because in the poem is says â€Å"As I toast to her health. Love and pity toward her aging mother clash with the feelings of resentment and entrapment of herself. â€Å"The Youngest Daughter† uses word choice to show the conflict of mothers versus daughters, and the daughter’s internal conflict of obligations and desires. The daughter uses middle diction to show her emotions. Like noted in a previous paragraph, the first sentence of the poem is â€Å"the sky has been dark for many years. † This shows that the daughter has been dealing with her mother’s illness for quite some time, and she hasn’t been able to see the sun. She hasn’t been able to do what she wants to do because she has been so overwhelmed with taking care of the mother and fulfilling her obligations. When describing the mother, the daughter says â€Å"her breathing was graveled / her voice gruff with affection. † The word choice of graveled and gruff is interesting. This demonstrates the effort required to breathe and be affectionate. It’s almost as if the writer of the poem wanted the readers to hear what her breathing and voice sounded like by including those two words in there. This implies in a way that the mother has an opinion with the situation too. These two words make these two lines more effective. The daughter says â€Å"I was almost tender / when I came to the blue bruises. † This shows that the daughter feels sorry for what the mother has to go through. Tender is another interesting word choice. The poem also says â€Å"I soaped her slowly,† meaning that the daughter takes her time when washing her mother, because her life has been accustomed to nothing. Another aspect of obligations is that the daughter says â€Å"I scrubbed them with a sour taste in my mouth. The daughter obviously doesn’t want to scrub the mother, but it is obligation, her duty, so she must. Using the sentence â€Å"We eat in the familiar silence† shows that there is tension between them, because if there was no tension, they would be talking when they are eating. Despite this tension, this still occurs each day, and they continue to follow the same routine. If this line just had said â€Å"We eat in silence,† it would have a much lesser effect on the poem as a whole. By adding the word â€Å"familiar,† it allows the reader to understand that eating that way is a commonality and part of a consistent routine. The words â€Å"familiar silence† contrast each other. Familiar is something that has occurred so often that it becomes accustomed. And what is familiar in this poem? Silence. Silence, though it means quiet, is essentially nothing. Quietness, or nothing, has occurred so much that it is accustomed. The word choice is contrasting obligations with desires. The daughter is obligated to care for her mother. This is evident throughout the entire poem when the daughter describes everything she does for her mother. Despite this, she desires to do something different than just solely care for her mother. This desire is evident when the poem says â€Å"She know I am not to be trusted / even now planning my escape. † The daughter wants to escape, and the mother is aware of it. This contrast between obligations and desires makes the reader of the poem feel that this is an either/or situation. The daughter can either take care of the mother, or she can go off on her own. The last two lines of the poem are very meaningful: â€Å"A thousand cranes curtain the window / fly up in a sudden breeze. These word choices are effective because the words allow the readers to see an ending image. It seems like the cranes flying away is associated with the daughter being set free and escaping her life. It’s ironic how the first line of the poem uses words that talk about the sky, and in the last few lines of the poem the cranes fly into the sky. This line is used as a way for the author of the poem to show that the resolution has occurred. By the end of the poem, the conflict of obligations versus desires is resolved. One of the last lines of the poem says â€Å"As I toast to her health. This shows that the daughter finally realizes that caring for her mother is what’s best for her at this moment. By toasting for her health, she reveals that even though she is sick of caring for her mother, she would rather care for her mother than have her mother be dead. The daughter realizes that there will eventually be a time when the mother dies, and at that time the daughter will be able to do whatever she desires, but right now, her focus needs to be on her mother. The cranes flying into the sky reiterates this fact. When this time comes, even though the daughter will be able to do what she wants, she will be without a mother. She will have no obligations, which in a sense is good for her, because she will be able to do what she wants, yet a part of her life will be missing. Death is always hard to deal with, and even though in the poem she talks about how she wants to escape, in reality she really would miss her mother. The tone is this poem is bittersweet and affectionate; children should care for their aging parents, yet children need to live their own lives. In a way, the tone is also both happy and sad. The way the tone changes correlated with both of the conflicting sides of the poem. It’s happy in the way that the poet shows that there is affection and love between mothers and daughters, yet it is sad in the way that it shows that sometimes conflicts arise between mothers and daughters. This also explains how it is bittersweet. The tone shows that there are moral ties between children and their parents. These moral ties tie in with the obligational part of the conflict. Morally, the daughter feels obliged to care for her mother. The speaker is the youngest daughter of a family, and her duty is to take care of her aging parent. As one can see, looking at a poem through elements can help a reader understand the meaning of it. In â€Å"The Youngest Daughter,† the poem creates the meaning of conflict between mothers and daughters related to the daughter either pulling closer or pulling away from family and having to choose between obligations and desires. The elements of tone, word choice, and narrative poem together effectively create this meaning. In this poem, the home determines one’s identity. The daughter is conflicted between either pulling closer to her home life and her mother, or pulling away from it all and going after her own aspirations. Readers can relate to this poem because many people go through the same predicament in life: taking care of an aging parent. People do it because they love their family. Even though this daughter is having conflicting feelings about taking care of her mother, she does it anyways because family always comes first.

The Use Of Sewage Sludge As A Fertilizer Environmental Sciences Essay

The Use Of Sewage Sludge As A Fertilizer Environmental Sciences Essay Fertilizers necessary for the maintenance and increase of soil productivity are classified into two categories: 1) organic fertilizers consisted of crop residues, sludge and manure, and 2) inorganic fertilizers which are synthetic fertilizers consisted of 3 key elements: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (Merrington, 2002). Organic Fertilizers Sludge Sewage sludge also known as bio-solid is the remainder product of domestic or urban waste water cleaning at waste water treatment plants. It has high levels of organic content as well as plant nutrients. Although it would make a good fertilizer, the pollutant capability of sewage sludge is high as it is also composed of industrial waste (Merrington, 2002). The process where sewage sludge or materials obtained from it are sprayed, injected or spread on land is defined as land application. It is applied on or below agricultural land surface, forests and lawns because it is high in nutrient content and can enhance soil quality (EPA, 1994). In addition, it serves as a fertilizer supplying the necessary nutrients for crops and other vegetation. Sewage is applied in bulk meaning in large amounts by commercial and municipal appliers for various purposes such as agriculture, golf courses and recovery of mining sites (EPA, 1994). In sites such as mining sites which are completely destroyed and barely have soil substrate for vegetation, nitrogen and organic material content need to be higher than normal level before the site is seeded. For the use of sewage sludge in home gardens or lawns, it is available in a bag or small container intended for small-scale use (EPA, 1994). In the use of sewage sludge, it is crucial to keep in mind the negative impacts it can have if not utilized properly. Nitrates which are easily soluble and have high potential for contamination make up majority of the sewage sludge components (EPA, 1994). As a result, great care is taken in its application and the applier as to fulfill requirements set by the government. Although sewage sludge is applied on land to enhance quality of soil, it is also used as a technique for disposing land (EPA, 1994). Sewage sludge is supplied by water companies for famers to use on their land. Although it contains toxic elements, it still has beneficial effects. According to a study done, farmers who use sewage sludge as fertiliser have a saving of 15 million pounds yearly as it contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous as well as necessary micronutrients. In addition, it enhances the structure as well as water retention capacity of soil through the organic matter it supplies (Stout, 1979). Usage of sewage sludge as a fertilizer is not a concept that is applied in many regions of the world. Although before application of sludge on land, it undergoes treatment such as anaerobic digestion to have low pathogen count it still contains potentially dangerous contaminants such as copper, cadmium, zinc, PAHs and PCBs. The amount of contaminants present in sewage sludge is dependent upon the source of the sludge (Merrington, 2002). Toxic metals forming a large component of sludge is a well known fact however, the level at which those metals become harmful is the point of debate (Renner, 2001). As a result, some countries are becoming more restricting or banning to protect the health of individuals. Research compiled indicates that individuals who live in areas within 1 km of land-application sites have been found to show irritation of the eyes, throat, skin and lungs preceding exposure to wind from fields that have had sludge applied. It was found that Staphylococcus aureus was the bacteria involved in the irritations observed on exposed individuals. Although sewage sludge may be low in pathogen count, it is crucial to take into consideration possible interaction of pathogen with chemical contaminants and as a result becoming unsafe for the health of individuals (Lewis, 2002). Manure Manure is composed of three key elements; nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These elements are a necessity for the growth of plants as well as the enhancement of soil quality through increasing organic matter and water-holding capacity. In addition, acidity is neutralized and compaction is reduced. Manure serves as a great substitute for synthetic fertilizers whose prices increased dramatically in the recent years (MacDonald, 2009). Land application of manure is possible either by grazing animals or transportation from manure storage facilities. Study found that nitrogenous commercial fertilizer doubled in prices in the 2000- 2007 timeframe and then increased again by 62% in between December 2007 and September 2008. Moreover, phosphate commercial fertilizer prices have increased by 115% in the 2000- 2007 timeframe followed by 177% increase between December 2007 and September 2008 (MacDonald, 2009). Although those high prices make manure more appealing, there are limitations that come along with the use of manure. Manure transportation is pricey even if it is not transported very far. (MacDonald, 2009) In addition, manure may not be composed of the exact combination of nutrients required for the growth of specific crops or fields. Moreover, waste that can be transmitted through runoff of nutrients, pathogens and organic matter from land to surface water pose great environmental as well as health risks. Leaching of nutrients and pathogens to ground water, volatile gases and odours contaminating the atmosphere are additional problems faced (MacDonald, 2009). According to the regulations, industrialized livestock production cannot concentrate manure on limited acres as that would exceed the acceptable limits. As a result, it becomes necessary to distribute manure into larger land which in turn requires better transportation as well as application techniques. Storage of manure before it is applied on land can result in problems such as flooding, manure odour and seepage (MacDonald, 2009). Inorganic Fertilizers Nitrogen Nitrogenous fertilizers are a result of combining atmospheric nitrogen with hydrogen to yield final product ammonia. Ammonia is the base found in at least 90% of fertilizers. It is found in the U.S.A. 38% of the ammonia produced is used for fertilizers while the remaining is utilized for the production of Urea. Urea production has increased over the years with an 11% increase from 1967 to 1973 and has become reliable nitrogen source. Hydrogen required can be obtained from varied sources such as natural gas, fuel oil, coal, naphtha and hydrolized water (Stout, 1981). The following chemical equation represents formation of nitrogenous fertilizers 2N + 3H2 -> 2NH3 There is a continuous increase in the use of inorganic fertilizers despite the fact that they require large quantity of energy to produce. Table 11 below displays the use of oil and natural gas for nitrogen fertilizers worldwide. Developed countries utilized approximately four times as much oil and natural gas for nitrogen fertilizer in 1975 (Stout, 1981). Research has shown the greater use of fertilizers in the developed nations has increased yields per hectare. Phosphate Phosphate fertilizers are produced by the use of phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid or nitric acid to decompose phosphate rock. If nitric acid is used further treatment with ammonia is required for it to be utilized as a fertilizer. Although there is lots of phosphate rock available, there are environmental problems associated with mining of those rocks for the production of fertilizers. The sulphur necessary for carrying out the process is obtained from ore-deposit or a by-product of other process. Use of sulphuric acid is very efficient but has the downside of producing large amount of sulphate waste resulting in environmental problems. In addition, world reserve of ore is being depleted and obtaining sulphur from the by-products of other processes is very costly (Stout, 1981). Research shows there is a minimum of 90 * 10^8 metric tons of phosphate rock found in the world and because production in 1972 was only about 13* 10^6 metric tons, there is no concern that phosphate reserves will be diminishing for a while. However, there are environmental problems associated in the mining of phosphate rock such as temporary demolition of land and soil erosion (Stout, 1981). According to the table below it can be seen that phosphate recovery is relatively cheap in North America and Africa followed by Europe while obtaining phosphorous from region such as Oceania, South America and Asia is more costly. Potassium Potassium is the 7th most abundant element in the world and is widely dispersed throughout the world. It is found in soils, rivers, lakes and rocks. Studies have shown that 95% of potash required for production of potassium fertilizers is obtained from underground mines where deposits are 3, 000 feet below the surface in Saskatchewan and 2,500 feet below the surface (Production and Use of Potassium, 1998). There are potassium deposits that are isolated in few parts of the world. Canada, Germany and U.S.S.R. are the top three countries with the highest level of potassium resources. Consumption of potash has exceeded demand over the years (Production and Use of Potassium, 1998). However, research shows that will change in the future and Canada having high potash resources is willing to increase production to meet demand requirements (Stout, 1981). The following table depicts potash distribution in various regions of the world with Canada having the highest in mine production as well as reserve base. Comparisons Between Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers Manure Versus Inorganic Fertilizers Organic and inorganic fertilizers both have their advantages and disadvantages. The following table compares the nutrient content of manure and inorganic fertilizer. It is observed that the level of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are significantly higher in fertilizer as opposed to manure. Animal and human excrements contain lower levels of the key 3 elements required for growth. The nutrient content of animal excrement is variable and is dependent upon factors such as type of species and the type of nutrient of feed (Stout, 1981). Sludge Versus Inorganic Fertilizer (Nitrogen Fertilizer) Many studies have been done to test the effect of sludges, synthetic fertilizers and manures on the final yield of crops. Given the same level of water and nutrients, the use of sludges, fertilizers or manure did not have any large impact on crop yield. However, in the long term, due to the presence of micronutrients in sludges, there is potential for damage if metals such as copper, nickel and zinc accumulate (Harrison, 2003). A study was performed to determine the amount of bio-solids necessary to replace nitrogen fertilizer. Different rates of sewage sludge and nitrogen fertilizer were applied in 6 different farms through discing a technique used to turn and loosen the soil in order to prevent the loss of ammonia nitrogen as much as possible. It is important to apply other nutrients to all areas to ensure nitrogen as the only limiting nutrient (Binder, 2009). The above graph shows that sites receiving more sludge (site four and six) had higher yields in comparison to sites that received nitrogen fertilizer. It can be observed that there was minute response to nitrogen fertilizers in all three sites. Results can be explained by the presence of nutrients found in sludge that are not present in nitrogen fertilizers (Binder, 2009). Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages of organic fertilizers Rapid decomposition of organic fertilizers makes nutrients highly available. Organic fertilizers are bulky and readily available. Energy is not directly needed in the manufacturing process and they are highly renewable. In addition, they also have little direct cost and provide a method to dispose waste. Although they dont have high amounts of the three key elements they have other minerals that are not found in synthetic fertilizers that contribute in increased water retention capability of soil, its structure and its resistance to erosion. (Morris, 2007) Disadvantage of organic fertilizers Organic fertilizers are not very high in nutrient and analysis of components is not very precise. Decomposition of organic material cannot be controlled as it is dependent on temperature and soil moisture. This results in the release of nutrients when they are not needed. It is very difficult to meet necessary nutrient levels for crop growth solely through the use of organic fertilizers. Waste from humans and animals consist of disease causing microorganisms and therefore need to be disposed of safely (Morris, 2007). Advantage of inorganic fertilizers Inorganic fertilizers on the other hand are very high in nutrient concentration and transportation of handling is fairly easy. In addition, it is analysis of content is very precise and can utilize waste from other manufacturing process (Morris, 2007). Disadvantage of inorganic fertilizers Inorganic fertilizers have increasing cost and are produced from finite resources. It requires large use of energy for manufacturing. Unlike organic fertilizers, availability is dependent on production, cost and region. Moreover, inorganic fertilizers create waste in processing. Although both organic and inorganic fertilizers contribute to water pollution, the manufacturing process of inorganic fertilizers alone results in water pollution. Nitrates pose a big threat due to the increased algae growth in lakes and water supplies. Phosphate fertilizers also have fluorides and sulphur oxides as a by-product (Morris, 2007). Blue-baby syndrome resulting in babies having pale/blue skin as well as lethargic eyes is caused by nitrates found in organic fertilizers contaminating drinking water. Other reproduction problems are also caused as a result of inorganic fertilizers (Morris, 2007). Nitrates from inorganic fertilizers pose a big threat due to the increased algae growth in lakes and water supplies. Algal Blooms result in formation of increased biomass, decreased sunlight to plants found in water, decreased oxygen levels and disruption of food webs. As a result, it is an issue requires great care (Morris, 2007). Regulations and Safety Although animal manure serves as a great fertiliser and soil amendment it has risks associated with it as it can exceed limits resulting in severe environmental problems. To deal with these problems government has ensured to have regulation and conservation programs. In some states there have been lawsuits initiated against livestock operations as a result of damaging water resources from manure (MacDonald, 2009). To meet the requirements of those regulations the livestock operations have to deal with increased costs and as a result it is predicted there will be changes made to manure use. Prices are dependent on the excess manure that needs to be disposed. In addition, if farmers are not willing to take in manure for use in their cropland livestock producers must transport the excess manure farther to use for their crop (MacDonald, 2009). It is absolutely necessary to ensure that sewage sludge applied does not cause any harm to the environment or humans. To ensure safety, requirements that must be met before application have been prepared although they differ from region to region. The following table presents the requirements set by Maryland Department of Environment for application of sewage sludge (OMalley, 2009). In addition, acceptable maximum concentrations of contaminants found in sludge to be applied in land have also been set by the NYSDEC. Cumulative limits represent the maximum level of chemical that can be applied in land repeatedly and over time. The following table displays acceptable limits for various types of contaminants (Harrison, 2003). Restrictions set by NYSDEC for applying Class B sludges makes certain that appliers obtain permits specifically for the sites they want to utilize which also includes acceptable limits of contaminants. Nitrogen levels should also not exceed limits. A mandatory waiting period of 14 months in the case of above ground crops and 38 months in the case of below ground crops have been set by NYSDEC. It is recommended that appliers check with their local regulations as it may vary from region to region (Harrison, 2003). Conclusion In this section we have talked about how organic fertilizers are compared to inorganic fertilizers, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. Sewage sludge is categorized as an organic fertilizer. It is a good fertilizer because of the amount of nutrients it contains. However, regulations are made to ensure that its application is safe to us, animals, and the environment because sewage sludge also contains many dangerous contaminants. In Conclusion The purpose of this report is to provide information about the compositions, the treatments, and the applications of sewage sludge. Sewage sludge comes from wastewater filtration and is often perceived as environmental waste that needs to be eliminated. However, sewage sludge can be used as a fertilizer in agriculture because of the nutrients it contains. The only downside is that sewage sludge also contains many toxic and dangerous substances that must be limited or removed before it can be safely used. Many treatments were developed to limit these toxins and pathogens. Government also made regulations on the applications of sewage sludge to protect the environment. Overall, sewage sludge plays a role in our life and environment. Understanding the importance of sewage sludge makes us appreciate its existence as more than just a mere waste.