The Prefabricated Houses Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Prefabricated Houses - Term Paper Example One of these types of buildings is known as "prefabricated house" that kind of housing can be finished in short period and manufactured off-site in advance. It consists of standard sections that can be easily shipped, assembled, and dis-assembled. Moreover, the cost of  prefabricated  unit  is equivalent to  30-40%  of the cost of typical unit. This paper explores prefabricated housing, benefits, types, installation procedure, misconceptions, and future prospects. Prefabricated Houses Defined Prefabrication is a process of assembling the components of a particular structure in a factory and transporting the finished assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the final product is to be installed. The process is an alternative to the traditional on-site construction practice where raw material is gathered and assembled on location of construction (Daab, 2008). The primary principle of prefabrication is grouping comparable construction tasks and applying assem bly line techniques on construction site where skilled labor is available. The process is also called off-site manufacture (OSM). The practice is more effective when modularization is also employed, that is, the process of repeating units of form throughout the structure, or when several replica of the same basic structure are to be built (West 1). According to Callcutt Review of House building Delivery (2007) prefabrication is time-saving, economical, and provide high quality end product. In addition, the process has a potential to offer faster construction, cleaner and safer working conditions, reduced housing faults, reduced construction waste, and more energy efficient homes. On the other hand, some of the challenges of prefabricated housing include: interface detailing, handling and supply chain logistics, transportation to location, investment ability, and social stigma (West 1).Schweitzer and Michael state: "The earliest known examples of successful prefabricated housing in A merica came soon after, however, the "great house" of Edward Winslow was sent from England to Cape Ann northeast of Boston in 1624 to provide for the fishing fleet already operating there. The building was reportedly moved several times subsequently and parts of its supposedly were built into a house in Salem, Massachusetts, still standing today, more than 300 years later."(57) Types of Prefabricated Housing According to BRE and UK Department for Communities and Local Government (Callcutt, 2007) there are three types of prefabricated systems used by housing market. It includes volumetric systems, partial modularization, and prefabrication of elements. Volumetric systems include completely assembled three-dimensional modular units manufactured in a factory and installed on location. Partial modularization includes standardized units or elements while prefabrication of elements refers to an assortment of individual systems including 'frames' and 'structural insulated panels (SIP)'.Eac h of these systems has its own pros and cons, however, all of these are important for prefabricated housing market because of their use in isolation or combination as hybrid techniques(Callcutts,2007). Three types of prefabricated housing market sections include modular, penalized, and precut. A modular home system consists of three-dimensional unit. It includes interior and exterior walls, plumbing, wiring, and other kinds of utility

Religion and the media

Religion and the media Introduction: â€Å"These days politics, religion, media seem to get all mixed up. Television became the new religion a long time back and the media has taken over.† ~ Van Morrison (Inspires Today, 2007) With time, the media has attained great power, as they play a significant role in our everyday lives. The above quote by Irish singer-songwriter and musician, Van Morrison, would aptly describe how the media can be seen as the new religion for some people. People have begun to obliviously believe in what is presented to them and failed to criticize the world around us. Language, in fact, has gained a great influence on our lives. World renowned and long-serving British Linguist, Roger Fowler argued that â€Å"language influences thought, in the sense that its structure channels our mental experience of the world.† Language has become influential in our everyday lives, and media, especially television and the World Wide Web are the ones that have mastered this medium and greatly influence our perception of reality. This is because the way we think about the world around us is influenced by numerous factors, such as the society we live in, mass media, and the language itself. This in turn has influenced the manner in which we live, the politics that we preach and the way in which we practice the religions we follow. As we develop as a society and move further into the 21st, we can clearly see the trends that will govern our ideas of religious practices and society. These ‘challenges’ as I would like to call them, are the rebirth of religion as a national and global force. In contradiction with the past predictions that it would fade because of modern life and society, religion has instead gained a new identity and prominence throughout the world because it has been influencedby virtual religion and mass media. What is digital media? Digital media as defined by Microsoft Windows is â€Å"Digital media refers to audio, video, and photo content that has been encoded (digitally compressed) which can be easily manipulated, distributed, and rendered (played) by computers, and is easily transmitted over computer networks.† (Microsoft 2010). In layman terms it is any sort of storage device that can store digital data namely computers, smart phones, iPad’s etc. What is virtual religion? Virtual religion as opposed to digital media is difficult to define. Essentially it is religion in its electronic expression. Many religious leaders can argue at the point that it is simply a ‘copy and paste’ form of ‘old’ religion into a newer virtual world. Virtual religion goes beyond the physical boundaries of religious practices and brings religions into the immaterial territory of the web and Cyberspace. It aims to help explore the virtual realities made possible by new technologies. Popular Culture and Religion Popular culture as defined by urban dictionary, â€Å"simply denotes a group of practices or customs accepted by masses.† It is the form of culture where it is widespread and based on the ideas and tastes of ordinary people. Due to the rise of the realm of popular culture and media, technology has become convenient in this fast placed lifestyle. Media provides a platform for rich symbolism and visual pop culture, allowing space for ever changing identities. This fits the evolving patterns of the developing society we live in. The above, all dictate what is modern and what we accept culturally and socially. This is where the battle begins between religion, which is seen as ‘time-honoured’ and ‘authentic’ as compared to media which is ‘modern’ and ‘superficial’, as stated by Stewart M. Hoover in his thesis on media and religion. The question of ‘is new always better?’ is posed. The convergence of these two facets h as always been a topic for much debate but the eventual collaboration of these would lead to a mutualistic relationship as one would develop the other. It is said that through media, religion is slowly losing its authenticity and merely becoming a merely making scheme. It has slowly become a farce but on the other side of the coin, media has become far too etched in religion and religion in media. Online religion and religion-online Firstly, I would like to state a difference in diction between that of online/virtual religion and religion online. As stated above online/virtual religion is an electronic expression of religion, basically scriptures online or being able to practice rituals online while religion online as defined by Christopher Helland merely â€Å"presents information about religion.† (Helland 2000).Helland states that because of the difference between these two concepts there are different perceptions of how the Internet should be used for religious purposes. Religion online can be seen, in sporting terminology, as a golfer. He is solitary in is game and does not depend on his competitors and he lacks teammates. This is a rather solitary, one-to-many ideal. There lacks contribution between the members participating as they are unable to give feedback and share their views and beliefs. This notion is quite evident when visiting www.vatican.va, the official site of the Vatican. This one sided concept presents prayer and scriptures but lacks the sense of freedom of speech and belief, therefore restricting an external view. Many religious groups use professionally designed religious sites as a medium to merely convey information to their readers via religion online. This regulated space allows them to maintain institutional structure and control. They present the ‘chapter and verse’ of the religion. By keeping it as a one-to-many structure, they see this as a ‘tool’, as described by Helland, of not ‘losing control’ of their followers. In my opinion, this is a form of indoctrination as the readers only see what these religious groups want them to see. Is this any different from what Hitler and the Nazi’s were doing? They insist on such a manner because with the advancement of technology and the thinking of man, religious institutions have lost their prominence and their clerical authority has become less important in determining what people believe and the way in which they live their lives (Hoover 2008). This is a way of being subtle dictators trying to keep domination over their followers. Online religion can be viewed as if it is a team sport, a ‘many-to-many’ fashion, where you interactive and depend on one another. It allows the reader to interact and voice their opinion. This is permitted through opinions like hyperlinks, allowing activities like prayers online, meditation and chat rooms on sites like virtualreligion.net. The unofficial religious sites used for online religion are seen as far more accessible and user friendly. It caters to the needs of the reader rather than forcing religious material onto them. People now take responsibility for their own faith, spiritualities and religious identities. This non-domineering environment allows the expression of views and religious experiences. Online religion, unlike religion online, is not seen as a tool but rather a ‘place’ where you can find purely information but rather spiritual and religious enlightenment and liberation. This increased supply of mediated religion means that religion and spirituality are increasingly available outside the boundaries of ‘formal’ religions; such has world-charging implications for those institutions. (Hoover, 2008). An example would the 9/11Twin Tower bombing where online prayers and virtual candles were ignited in memory of the lives lost. Knowledge about Islam was also available to reader s and they were allowed to communicate those who follow the Islamic faith and in turn learn more about the religion and their beliefs. This prevented Islam form having stereotypical tags attached to them, as Osama Bin Laden gave the world the idea that it was a terrorist religion that killed for God. With this we can knowingly state that the internet itself cannot be seen as a medium that confines or liberates as the choice is ours to make. It also depends on religious leaders and webpage designers and whether they seen as a chance to enforce power and see it as a ‘tool’ or as a form of liberty and see it as a ‘place’. Therefore, it is fair to say that the internet can be described in a single quote by Frederick Langbridge: â€Å"Two men look through the same bars, one sees mud, the other sees stars.† Is Virtual Religion the answer to all our prayers After downloading an application on Google play called â€Å"Virtual Hindu Temple Worship†, I was rather surprised at the feeling of enlightenment experienced after participating in this online version of worship. I was able to turn a wicked lamp and ring a bell as if I were worshipping in a temple. A mantra, a Sanskrit word meaning sacred utterance, played in the background giving off this aura of calm and oneness with God. I was also able to choose a deity that I would like to pray to. This showed the convenience and ease of my access to this application. My initial opinion of this form of religion was one that was negative but with actually experiencing it first hand, the excitement of something unknown and different was what that captured my attention. I visited a blog by Dariush Nothaft on Yale Daily news; I was astonished to see the levels to which virtual religion had climbed. Here he spoke about stumbling uponsaranam.com, a virtual portal for ordering prayers at Hindu temples in India, for a fee, I might add. The founder ofsaranam.com, Mahesh Mohanan, had this eureka moment after the realization that post nuptial pilgrimages were becoming an arduous experience. These pilgrimages were customary as there had to be performed to further bless marriages and prevent the marriage from having ‘bad eyes’ or bad luck put upon the couple. The guru or ‘franchisees’ as they were called now perform this ritual; in your stead (Nothaft 2007). A ritual as defined by the Oxford dictionary is â€Å"A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order†. The online version of these rituals was obviously shorter and avoided the inconvenience of attending a crowded temple. After participating on a similar ritual online, it was evident that I was done quicker and I could choose when and where I could do this prayer as well as fitting it into my schedule, rather than having to make time and then ending up complaining about something I should want to invest my time and effort in. As a person who is committed to the Hindu faith, I was astounded by this. My conscience would never allow me to participate in such practices. Even though it solved many problems and become an easier, more accessible route to those who lived fair away or were too busy, my thought would be that the sacrifice behind it all be it of your time or money was part of the ritual. The fact that you had made time for God was the important part. The question lies, ‘Are you really invested in this ritual?’ You are unaware of what is happening and this would result in it being conducted without reverence or much thought. In contention, we cannot blame Mohanan’s ingenuity as the demands of work, family and life make fulfilling all our religious obligations difficult. Nothaft concluded by stating that to participate in virtual religious activities one must be of ‘open, outward-looking mind’ and that he rather people invest in the religious processes in some respect than in no respect at all. An article posted on TechNews Daily (Fox 2010) recently stated that â€Å"Technology changes how people relate to each other, and that is what religion is concerned with†. With the introduction of applications such as Bible quotes and verse and Torah chanting practices on devices such as iPhones, it allows worshippers to mould a personal religious environment in this blasphemous society. Religious leaders argue that smart phones and their ‘attention-diverting’ nature result in worshippers being unable to engage in real time practices. They detected a vast change in the way worshippers process religion as a whole. They become disengaged from the communal society. The nervous, excitement now given off by them is quiteopposite to the usual calm and soothing nature that suppose to be surrounding a place of worship. Leaders fear that new followers will now see the ‘old’ religious ceremonies as strange and boring this will lead to their loss of prominence in our daily lives. Virtual religion and technological advances will lead to the end of familiar worship and begin a form that is unpredictable and uncontrollable.â€Å"The future is very bright, but we have yet to get our mind around a world were some people get their whole religious experience through a device.† said Dudley Rose, a Dean at Harvard University. Conclusion In the essay above, my focus was based on the practice of virtual/online religion with reference to media and religion. Firstly, the realm of popular culture was discussed showing how media and technology have become more culturally accepted in the 21st century. Secondly the differences between online religion and religion online were discussed in depth, concluding that religious leaders prefer the ‘religion-online’ format as they have far more structural control over their worshippers, while the worshippers themselves took a liking to online religion as it allowed them to express religious views and opinions and giving them the freedom of interaction. The positives of virtual religion were shown through its influence during the 9/11 attacks. Lastly, a blog and an online article were reference, highlighting views of real men and woman of how media, technology and virtual religion’s effect on ‘old’ religion and it is not merely a theory but a large part of reality. I would like to conclude by quoting Thomas Merton who once exclaimed: â€Å"Technology is not in itself opposed to spiritualityand to religion. But it presents a great temptation.† References: Inspires Today, 2007.Available from: http://www.inspirestoday.com/quote/41015.html [16 April 2014] Fowler, Roger. Language in the News : Discourse and Ideology in the British Press. New York: Routledge, 1991. Microsoft Windows 2010. What is Digital Media?Available from: [16 April 2014] Helland, Christopher 2000, â€Å"Surfing for Salvation†, Religion,Vol. 32, (4), 293-302. Available from: Google scholar citations[16 April 2014] Hoover, SM 2008, Media and Religion, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, A White Paper from The Center for Media, Religion, and Culture. Nothaft, D 2007, ‘Virtual’ religion raises interesting questions. 9 February 2007. Yale Daily News. Available from [17 April 2014] Fox, S 2010, Technology changing the way we practice religion, smart phones allow religious practice in new times, spaces and ways, NBCNEWS.com, 7 July 2010. Available from: [17 April 2014]

explorers from 1500 :: essays research papers

ALBUQUERQUE, AFONSO DEAfonso de Albuquerque (14??-1515) was a Portuguese soldier and explorer who sailed to the Spice Islands (the Moluccas, a group of Islands in Indonesia) in 1507-1511, trying to monopolize trade with this area; from Europe, he sailed around Africa to the Indian Ocean. He was appointed the Viceroy of India by King Emmanuel in 1509. He forcibly destroyed the Indian city of Calicut in January, 1510, and took Goa (in southern India) in March, 1510, claiming Goa for Portugal. AYLLON, LUCAS VAZQUEZ DELucas Và ¡zquez de Ayllà ³n (1475-1526) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who tried to start a colony in North America in 1526. He was the first European colonizer of what is now South Carolina. His attempt to settle the coast of the Carolinas (near the mouth of the Peedee River at Winyah Bay) was unsuccessful. BALBOA, VASCO NUNEZ DEVasco Nunez de Balboa (1475-1519) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer. He was the first European to see the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean (in 1513), after crossing the Isthmus of Panama overland. CABEZA DE VACA, ALVAR NUNEZAlvar Nuà ±ez Cabeza de Vaca [Cabeza de Vaca means "head of a cow"] (1490?-1557?) was a Spanish explorer who sailed to North America from Spain, leaving in 1527. He traveled from Florida to Texas on a raft, then walked from Texas to Mexico City. He also explored the Paraguay River in South America. De Vaca and his fellow travelers were the first Europeans to see the bison, or American buffalo. CABRAL, PEDRO ALVARESPedro à lvares Cabral (1467-1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, explorer, and navigator who was the first European to see Brazil (on April 22, 1500). His patron was King Manuel I of Portugal, who sent him on an expedition to India. Cabral's 13 ships left on March 9, 1500, following the route of Vasco da Gama. On April 22,1500, he sighted land (Brazil), claiming it for Portugal and naming it the "Island of the True Cross." King Manuel renamed this land Holy Cross; it was later renamed once again, to Brazil, after a kind of dyewood found there, called pau-brasil. Cabral stayed in Brazil for 10 days and then continued on his way to India, in a trip fraught with shipwrecks (at the Cape of Good Hope), and fighting (with Muslim traders in India). After trading for spices in India, Cabral returned to Portugal on June 23, 1501, with only four of the original 13 ships.

Cartoon Analysis

A Show For decades people have migrated to America from all over the world in hopes of having that beautiful home with a white picket fence and a yard big enough for two children and a dog. Today, people are still chasing that dream. They haven't realized that the American Dream is merely Just that, a dream. These immigrants believe that by coming to America their life will suddenly be better and easier. What's worse is that President Obama and the government led the immigrants on by portraying theAmerican nation to be a place where dreams come true and everyone is welcome. That is exactly what is being illustrated in The New York Times political cartoon, Undocumented Fun For Undocumented Children. Brian McFadden uses eye-catching colors, the southern United States borderline, and U. S. Representatives to show how the U. S. Government continues to act as if they are willing and prepared to receive more undocumented immigrants. The most flamboyant technique that the creator uses in th is strip is the eye-catching colors.Red and yellow are the two brightest colors used in the strip. Red is also a color known to cause a physical reaction within the human body. I believe the creator uses these two colors to highlight the most important points throughout the cartoon. For example, there is a large red stop sign with written on it. This seems to be the main goal and message that the creator wants to get across. Then, the creator's main concern stands out four times in yellow and reads, â€Å"U. S. BORDER. By using these bright and old colors Brian McFadden is able to complete the first step in sharing his message by catching his readers' attention. The image that is most vivid in this cartoon strip is the map of the United States with its southern border left open to connect the dots. This type of imagery is brilliant in conveying the cartoon's message. If this picture were to be presented alone anybody would easily be able to grasp the underlying message. It is in th is section of the cartoon strip where the creator's point is most Leary stated.The issue presented is obviously the U. S. Border, which is represented by the eight dots to be connected. The creator also uses humor in this piece to lighten the mood of the readers but still gets the point across. The last well- presented elements in this cartoon strip were the characters. The characters featured were President Obama, the border patrol, three other U. S. Representatives, and a young undocumented child. We learn a lot about the U. S. Government through these characters. These U. S. Preventatives reveal to us how the government publicly portrays that they want to help immigrants. Though, McFadden makes it clear that the government is doing this solely to please the American people who are for immigration. For example, the Senate passed the immigration bill. In the strip, a U. S. Representative expresses how he can't seem to find the bill. This shows us how the government is actually brus hing off the immigration concerns of the people. There is a lot being said in Undocumented Fun for Undocumented Children.

Discuss and critically appraise how personal experience informed the political thought of Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft has been seen to be the founder of feminism, with radical ideas in terms of education, marriage and female emancipation. However it is necessary to consider what shaped those ideas, which lead to the emergence of feminism. It is necessary to consider what circumstances events and ideas circulating at the time influenced the politic thoughts of Mary Wollstonecraft. In order to understand what formed the basis of Mary's thoughts we will need to identify their thoughts in the context of a number of factors. Mary's ideas could be regarded as liberal feminism. Her ideas focused mainly around the individual woman and her rights. Her proposals were mainly for women's equality with men. Mary believed women should be treated like men and placed a lot of focus around women's education as being inferior to men's when in fact women were as intellectual as men and therefore should have a more equal education. Her reasoning for this was based around the idea that women need to be well educated to be successful mothers. Mary also emphasized in her writing the need for sexual freedom and argued how marriage could be dangerous to women as it leads to further oppression. Equality was needed in domestic relationships. However all though initially her focus was on equality for women it eventually shifted to equality of humanity. It needs to be contemplated that there are a number of influences in the ideas outlined above these include Mary's own personal experiences, social change and other events occurring at that time. Many people suggest that Mary's political views are ‘grounded in experience'; her personal life explains much about her proposals for women's equality, education, marriage and humanity. 1 Mary had a very varied background, she moved house six times in total with each time representing a downward social and economic mobility. This gave her insight into in to regional, class and gender divisions of eighteenth century Britain, enabling Mary to perceive class inequalities in society, and campaign for equality of every class rather than just women. In addition to this it could also be argued that another way in which her personal experience shaped her views on class inequalities was working for the kingsborough's, which allowed her to observe the lives of an affluent aristocratic family compared to the lower classes. This shaped her political thought in terms of her â€Å"resentment of the power and emptiness of privileged lives†2 and the injustice faced by the working classes. However It could be argued that Mary Wollstonecraft ideas were centred round achieving equality for middleclass women as much of her work is focused on how disadvantaged so called ladies of leisure are in having mere existences rather than equality faced by working class men and women. Mary still regarded women's domestic role as acceptable she believed women should still have the role of caring for children, family and other domestic duties; â€Å"mothers should stay at home and care for their children†. 3 It could be argued that this was because of the role she had to play in regards to her position in the family. For example, Mary had to leave her job as a lady's companion in 1781 to go back home to nurse her mother, which was considered as a female's role in her family. It is evident that her ideas of equal education were actually to enable women to become better mothers (she still saw women in a domesticated role), which could have stemmed from experience in her family of having such roles. Conversely it could be considered that her ideas for women still looking after children could be due to the values of society at the present time. A great deal of Mary's political thought was based around the education of girls. In her book entitled â€Å"Thoughts on the education of daughters† she reflects concern on adequacy of female education. She believed that women were constrained in their education compared with boys and it should therefore be more rational. It could be said that these ideas about the inadequacy of girl's education were based around her experiences of education. Mary attended a local day school for girls. Her school discouraged ‘to high notions' and attended to housewifery and morals to make girls such as Mary marriageable. It could be assumed Mary was an intelligent girl and she found her education â€Å"short and inadequate†3 this may have influenced her view about how inadequate women's education was and pushed her to campaign for reforming women's education. Mary gained knowledge in male dominated areas such as arithmetic, which showed to her that women could be just as capable as having the same knowledge as men. However it could be contended that rather than personal experience influencing her ideas on education her class ideology directed her ideas on reforming education. This could be shown in Mary's belief of selected education where the mechanically minded children should be placed in separate schools to those of superior abilities5, which was a typical attitude of the middle/upper classes. In her book ‘A vindication of the rights of women' Mary highlights her views on the subordination of women in society. Mary argues against the social forces that keep women ignorant and the superficiality they are encouraged to engage in6this enables men to remain dominant over women as women become physically and economically dependant on men. Mary believed that women needed freedom as they were being dominated by male patriarchy and in this sense were open to abuse by males. It seems apparent that the above ideas and assertions on male abuse and dominance of women stemmed from her own life experiences and those of her female relations as she witnessed male abuse to family around her; As a young girl Mary used to be subjected to witnessing her fathers drunken violence against her mother. By viewing her mothers abuse and helplessness Mary came to realise the lack of protection available to women. Her past experiences of her and her family may have also influenced her views on relations with males including marriage. In a letter to George Blood in 1789 Mary describes marriage as â€Å"legal prostitution†6. Mary had witnessed cruelty of men to her mother, sister and friend fanny in their marriages. She believed that her sister condition of ill health was due to the mistreatment of her husband; she took steps to help Eliza arrange legal separation. â€Å"On three different occasions Mary did see the lives of women ruined by cruel dissipated, husbands† (Bouten 1922:131). Witnessing the abuse faced by three people close to her in their marriages may have guided her ideas on marriage which she regarded as slavery and influenced her decision not to marry through most of her life. Alternatively it could be said that her ideas arose from the laws of society at the time, as there was little recourse from the victims of abuse. The laws also gave rights to the husband and took them away from women at the same time in the procedure of marriage. The norms of society may have therefore informed Mary's political thought as it made obvious inequalities in marriage and the dominance of women. There were some aspects of feminism that Wollstonecraft didn't consider such as legal property rights of women and voting rights. This may be due to her not experiencing these issues in her life, which further confirms her ideas were based around her personal experiences. However it has to be considered that her personal experience was not the only factor contributing to her political thought. In the 18th Century Mary was subjected to experiencing and participating in a series of social revolutions both in Britain and in France. One was enlightenment, which put reason as the focus of human identity and as the main justification of rights. 7 This may have influenced Mary's political ideas as she based her argument for equal rights on the fact that both men and women had the same human identity, which echoes the ideas of enlightenment. Britain was also experiencing rapid change with the industrial revolution. These rapid periods of change may have influenced Mary to challenge the existing social order regarding the position of women as traditional institutions and conceptions were being outgrown; â€Å"The time was ripe for an intellectual questioning of society†8. Although Wollstonecraft's feminist thought went against the traditional ideas of sexual opinion reflected in 18th century Britain, it could be argued that her political ideas actually reflected the spirit of innovation around at the time; â€Å"the century prior to the rights of women had seen a steady flow of writings by enlightened literati of both sexes arguing for higher valuation of woman's characters and an enhancement of female intellect and status†. In which case it could be said that Mary's political thought was informed by changes in society. It also has to be considered that the late eighteenth century there was an expansion in literature as a profession for women. 9 This may have encouraged the thoughts of Mary's, which may have developed due to her writing. It is possible that the French Revolution that begun in 1789 with its struggle for social justice also influenced her political ideas especially in terms of her ideas on the rights of humanity. Prior to the French revolution Mary concentrated on the rights and freedom of women, but later on changed her focus towards the rights of humanity as a whole including men, This lead to her considering the rights of women in terms of the rights of men. â€Å"Her vindication was that of men but in relation to men, the human race, and the entire human experience† 10. Therefore it could be argued that the revolution influenced the change of Mary's political ideals from concentrating on women to human kind. On the other hand it could be argued that the French Revolution did not influence Mary's ideas, which were primarily based on equality for women, as the new constitution of France did nothing to remove the inequalities between men and women. Many supporters of social justice in the French revolution were the most active opponents of women's rights. 11 Religion is another possible factor outside Wollstonecraft's personal experience that may have influenced her political thought. Wollstonecraft believed that education would make women more virtuous. This could be regarded as one of the reasons for her views on education of girls. Mary believed education would give women the chance to prove in the reality of good and evil and she put her faith in to the goodness of god. 12 Alternatively there is also reason to suggest that Mary Wollstonecraft wasn't religious as she rejected many religious doctrines such as pacifism of Christ. An alternative argument regarding the reasons behind Wollstonecraft's feminist thought is put forward by Freudian Psychiatrists. They argue the basis of her political thought was due to her hatred of men. â€Å"Hers was hatred of creatures that seemed capable of doing everything while women seemed to her capable to her of doing nothing†13 They therefore argue her feminist thoughts arose out of her illness of being neurotic and compulsive. 7 However it could be argued that Freudian analysis is subjective and therefore has no objective basis for explaining reasoning for Wollstonecraft's political ideas. Overall it is clear Mary had many painful experiences and experiences of social changes in her life, which helped shape her political views. Therefore it can be attained that personal factors influenced political thought, although it also has to be taken into account that her political thought was also influenced by outside factors such as social change and institutions such as religion. This coincides with concept of the â€Å"personal is political† where the experience of our personal lives are defined by broader political settings. To feminism personal experience such as that encountered by Mary can be seen as a valid way of knowing the social world and deriving political thought. However it could be argued that the experiences of Mary didn't provide a sufficient claim of truth, as it doesn't necessarily mean that Mary has political insight. Therefore it could be said that this isn't the most objective way to gain an insight into the political sphere of society.

How to Make Nylon - Nylon Synthesis

How to Make Nylon - Nylon Synthesis Nylon is a polymer you can make yourself in the lab. A strand of nylon rope is pulled from the interface between two liquids. The demonstration sometimes is called the nylon rope trick because you can pull a continuous rope of nylon from the liquid indefinitely. Close examination of the rope will reveal that is is a hollow polymer tube. Nylon Materials a solution made from 6 g sebacoyl chloride in 70 ml heptanea solution made from 3 g 1,6-diaminohexane in 70 ml watermetal tweezers or forceps Make Nylon Use equal volumes of the two solutions. Tilt the beaker containing the 1,6-diaminohexane solution and slowly pour the sebacoyl chloride solution down the side of the beaker so that it forms the top layer.Dip tweezers into the interface of the liquids and pull them up to form a strand of nylon. Continue to pull the tweezers away from the beaker to lengthen the strand. You may wish to wrap the nylon rope around a glass rod.Rinse the nylon with water, ethanol or methanol to remove the acid from the nylon. Be sure to rinse the nylon before handling it or storing it. How the Nylon Rope Trick Works Nylon is the name given to any synthetic polyamide. Acyl chloride from any dicarboxylic acid reacts via a substitution reaction with any amine to form a nylon polymer and HCl. Safety and Disposal The reactants are irritating to the skin, so wear gloves throughout the procedure. Remaining liquid should be mixed to form nylon. The nylon should be washed prior to disposal. Any unreacted liquid should be neutralized prior to washing it down the drain. If the solution is basic, add sodium bisulfate. If the solution is acidic, add sodium carbonate. Reference Chemical Magic, 2nd Ed., Leonard A. Ford (1993) Dover Publications, Inc.

Genitically Engineered Food essays

Genitically Engineered Food essays The biggest experiment in human history has begun, with us as the guinea pigs and planets ecological system as the test site. Need more hints about the topic. We find it mixed in our food on the shelves in the supermarket and we find it growing in the test fields. Give up? The topic is genetically engineered food. Everyone is talking about it. Well whats the big deal? you ask. Its nothing new. Humans have been using bio-technology for the preparation and manufacture of food for hundreds of years; using yeast for making beer and bread and selecting the breeding plants and animals for higher productivity and nutritive value. (1) Genetic engineering is a new technology that breaks down the genetic barriers between species, humans, animals and plants. It combines genetic engineering with conventional breeding methods. Its the process of artificially modifying genes. In reality its frightening. Genetic engineering poses ethical and social concerns as well as serious challenges to the environment, human health and the future of agriculture, but is it really safe? Many are against it and are trying to find answers to the problem? First things first, to find out what genetically modified foods are, we will have to know what genetic engineering is. Well its the movement of genes from one organism to another and is often termed recombinant DNA technology, also known as genetic modification or genetic manipulation, but for those who prefer the ultimate truth, its cutting out genes and splicing in new genes from totally unrelated species. (2) Scientists are being able to transfer genes from fish to tomato, human to pig, scorpion to potato, and about any other unsavoury combination you can imagine. Each experiment in this field presents unique problems, but all share four separate stages: Stage 1. Cleavage. The first stage is the generation of specific DNA fragments by cl...

Biography of Diane von Fürstenburg, Fashion Designer

Biography of Diane von Fà ¼rstenburg, Fashion Designer Diane von Fà ¼rstenberg (born December 31, 1946) is a business executive and  fashion designer. She is most famous for her wrap dress, made out of knit jersey fabric, which was first popularized in the 1970s. Fà ¼rstenbergs clothes have been worn by such influential figures and celebrities as Michelle Obama, Madonna, Kate Beckinsale, Susan Sarandon, and Jessica Alba. Fast Facts: Diane von Fà ¼rstenberg Known For: Fà ¼rstenberg designed a wrap dress that had a huge influence on womens fashion.Also Known As: Diane Prinzessin zu Fà ¼rstenberg, Diane Halfin, Diane Simone Michelle HalfinBorn: December 31, 1946 in Brussels, BelgiumParents: Leon Halfin and Liliane NahmiasEducation: University of GenevaSpouse(s): Prince Egon von Fà ¼rstenberg (m. 1969-1972), Barry Diller (m. 2001)Children: Prince Alexander von Fà ¼rstenberg, Princess Tatiana Desirà ©e von Fà ¼rstenbergNotable Quote: Fashion is mysterious, as a rule. Why are blue jeans a classic? You just hit on something that happens to be timeless and right. Early Life Fà ¼rstenberg was born Diane Simone Michelle Halfin in Brussels, Belgium, on December 31, 1946. Her father Leon Halfin was a Moldavian emigre, and her mother Liliane Nahmias had been liberated from Auschwitz only 18 months before Dianes birth.  Both parents were Jewish. Education Fà ¼rstenberg was educated in England, Spain, and Switzerland. She studied at the University of Madrid and later transferred to the University of Geneva, where her field of study was economics. After college, Fà ¼rstenberg worked as an assistant to Albert Koshi, an agent for fashion photographers in Paris. She then moved to Italy, where she worked for textile manufacturer Angelo Ferretti and designed silk jersey dresses. New York and Independence At the University of Geneva, Fà ¼rstenberg met a German prince who was born in Switzerland, Egon zu Fà ¼rstenberg. They married in 1969 and moved to New York, where they had a high-profile society life. The princes family did not like that Fà ¼rstenberg was of Jewish heritage. Two children were born in quick succession: a son Alexandre in 1970, six months after the wedding, and a daughter Tatiana in 1971. In 1970, with the princes support and likely influenced by the rise of feminism, Fà ¼rstenberg sought financial independence by opening the Diane von Fà ¼rstenberg Studio. She designed her own prints and made easy-to-wear dresses made out of silk, cotton, and polyester knits. The Wrap Dress In 1972, Fà ¼rstenberg designed the wrap dress that was to bring her so much recognition. The dress was made of cotton jersey fabric; Furstenbergs intent was to create something both feminine-looking and easy to care for. The iconic original dress is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (alongside famous garments by Thom Browne, Rei Kawakubo, Marc Jacobs, and other designers). Fà ¼rstenberg has described her design as simple, effortless, and classic: The wrap dress is the most traditional form of dressing: Its like a robe, its like a kimono, its like a toga. It doesnt have buttons or zippers. What made it different was that it was jersey; therefore, it was close to the body and it was a print. The design had a huge influence on 1970s fashion; by the middle of the decade, Fà ¼rstenberg had sold millions of dresses and made herself a household name. Divorce and Business Expansion In 1972, Fà ¼rstenberg and her husband divorced. She lost the right to the title of Princess zu Fà ¼rstenberg and rebranded herself as Diane von Fà ¼rstenberg. In 1975, she created the fragrance Tatiana, named for her daughter. The fragrance sold well, and by 1976 Fà ¼rstenberg was so well known that she appeared on the cover of Newsweek. Fà ¼rstenberg sold her studio and licensed her name to be used on other products. In 1979, products with her name represented sales of $150 million. By 1983, however, she had closed her cosmetics and fragrance business. Comeback From 1983 to 1990, Fà ¼rstenberg  lived in Bali and Paris. She founded a publishing company in Paris called Salvy, which released works in translation by authors such as Vita Sackville-West, Barbara Pym, and Gregor von Rezzori. In 1990, she returned to the United States, and the next year launched a new home shopping business, Silk Assets, which sold products on the cable channel QVC. Her first product did $1.2 million in sales in two hours. Selling on QVC was a success. In 1997, Fà ¼rstenberg went into business with her daughter-in-law Alexandra, re-launching her eponymous company. With the revival in the 1990s of 1970s fashions, Fà ¼rstenberg brought back the wrap dress in new prints and colors. Fà ¼rstenberg published a memoir in 1998, Diane: A Signature Life, recounting her life story and business successes. In 2001, she married businessman Barry Diller, who had been a friend since the 1970s. Fà ¼rstenberg also became involved in books and movies, producing Forty Shades of Blue, which won a prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Fà ¼rstenberg released another memoir in 2014, The Woman I Wanted to Be, which one reviewer described as an honest an introspective look into the labyrinthine history behind one of the most iconic female entrepreneurs in fashion. Fà ¼rstenberg has also released a series of coffee table books, including Beds, a look at the intimate spaces of the rich and famous. By 2005, Diane von Fà ¼rstenberg boutiques were in operation in New York and Miami in the United States, and in London and Paris in Europe. Fà ¼rstenberg has served on a number of corporate boards. Her company is currently headquartered in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. Fà ¼rstenberg has been named one of the most powerful women in the world. Notable Clients Fà ¼rstenbergs clients include a range of celebrities, artists, and other luminaries. former First Lady Michelle Obama- a woman known for her taste in fashion- wore a Fà ¼rstenberg wrap dress in 2009 for the White House Christmas card. Other major clients include Gwenyth Paltrow, Rooney Mara, Bella Thorne, Demi Moore, and Marisa Tomei. Causes Fà ¼rstenberg has supported numerous causes, among them the Anti-Defamation League and the Holocaust Museum. She has been honored for her work in redeveloping space in New York City and for her work against AIDS. With her husband, she funds a private family foundation, The Diller-Von Fà ¼rstenberg Family Foundation. In 2010, as part of an initiative by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, she pledged to donate half her fortune to philanthropic efforts. Sources Ferla, Ruth La. â€Å"The Dress Heard Round the World.† The New York Times, 15 Jan. 2014.Fà ¼rstenberg, Diane Von. Diane: a Signature Life. Simon Schuster, 2009.MacFarquhar, Larissa. â€Å"The Huntress.† The New Yorker, 25 Sept. 2006.

A feminist critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A feminist critical analysis - Essay Example In Ibsen’s dramas the readers and spectators won’t find exceptional people, events and characters, who act as â€Å"a mouthpiece for the author’s ideas†. We see ordinary people with their problems and passions, accomplishments and shortcomings, who live in representative conditions of the era. The play A Doll’s House, written in 1879, is a full transition of the playwright to a new, realistic drama. This play was appreciated primarily as a work written in defense of the emancipation of women. But Ibsen mentioned that the play was more meaningful: in A Doll’s House he touched upon the central subject of his oeuvre - personal freedom in general and achievement of personhood. At first thought, Nora, the main heroine of the play, is just a doll, a cheerful and small-minded mistress of a quiet and tidy house. Husband of Nora, Torvald Helmer, treats her not as an equal individual, but as a toy. For eight years they lived together, Torvald has never talked with Nora seriously. Torvald’s attitude to wife was vividly demonstrated in the episode when he led Nora away from masquerade right after tarantella just to â€Å"keep effect on the audience† she made by a beautiful dance.

Financial economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial economics - Assignment Example Most investors as well as investment managers always assume that they can pick securities which can beat the market. As such, they always utilize available public information when making promising investment decisions. According to Lengwiler (2004), when investing, shareholders utilize financial information as their core decision-making tool. That is, if a market is termed as efficient, shareholders will purchase the security most probably at its present market price, though depending on accessible public market information. Consequently, investors who purchase other securities or the stock perceive that market information as an indispensible appraisal. Market efficiency commands that any market price of a security indicates the consensus projection of the market value of such security. As such, efficient market is can only be achieved if the security price is a replica of the accessible public market information. That is, information concerning the economy, financial markets, and th e specific companies involved. However, as a consequence, the market prices of such securities adjust very swiftly to fresh market information. In Finland Stock Exchange (FSE), it was affirmed that the market did not exhibits weak-form market efficiency since stakeholders are capable of utilizing the time series data concerning prior stock prices to differentiate the design of price changes when forecasting prospective stock return. To establish if variation in current stock price is not caused by changes in prior stock prices is our concern. As an effort to tests, with regards to data from Finland`s Stock Exchange, how market prices exhibit weak-form efficiency, a variance ratio test, nested if instructions, and run test was done on past and present stock price. This was done by investigating whether market value data, liquidity data, debt data, and profitability data have any effect on future stock returns. By collecting the data of various companies listed in

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 86

History - Essay Example Critical thinking is paramount in our day to day lives and provides us with an intellectual approach that facilitates us to choose from the available kind of information what is relevant and applicable in our lives and leave out the rest. The class has enabled me to look at present day as a stepping stone onto the future and that fifteen years from now, the world will have undergone massive transformations ranging from health, infrastructure and the general well being of society (Fea, 2013). Lastly, understanding historical events is essential for effective understanding of the condition of man. This will permit man to build and may also be important in initiating change upon a secured foundation. The most significant determinant of history is time. Time creates history and history exists because of time. And in conclusion, history is situated in time-space, which anchors the cosmos together, framing both the past as well as the present (Fea,

Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation Assignment

Knowledge Management, Social Networks and Innovation - Assignment Example an explicit asset will be its ultimate product, because as Lytras, Russ and Maier (2008, p. 144) described, KM aims to productize and distribute knowledge within the organization. KM’s overall benefits include forming an ‘organizational learning’ system whereby people in the firm will be bale to gain wide knowledge that is useful for their as well as organization’s common benefits. As Forster (2005, p. 397) denoted, KM is a process that collects, shares and utilizes experience, knowledge, skills and wisdom of employees and they are then converted to a collective organizational learning process. This is how KM helps organizations improve the performance and effectiveness of organizational activities. For instance, a firm may recruit old workforce believing that old-workers are more knowledgeable than young people and they will be retained with a view to make use of their knowledge and experience. This is a strategic way to create new knowledge. They have mor e experience, which can later be transferred to other workforce through collaborative team work or other progressive activities. This is how experience can be converted to knowledge, or knowledge can be created from experience. Young workforce, for instance, will later be able to use their acquired knowledge for the overall organizational benefits. Explicit or Tacit nature of knowledge in relation to creation and sharing Knowledge creation, sharing, transferring and utilizing can be carried out through either papers, documents, database etc or through people’s mind. Explicit knowledge refers to that information being processed through papers, documents or database etc, whereas tacit knowledge is the information that is processed... This paper highlighted that knowledge sharing helps an organization foster innovation as people within its workplace will be motivated to gain newer knowledge, think creatively and bring newer ideas that in turn can help the organization perform better. Social networking is an essentially important means that almost all companies in recent years are extensively using for better knowledge sharing experiences. This paper described the conceptual framework of how social networks improve the effectiveness of KM and the practical issues that are faced by the management in relation to KM and innovation development. This paper approves that KM comprises of people, process and technology. How people use technology for knowledge sharing also impact the results of KM strategy. For far better results, the organization may need to facilitate extensive training for using technology in the KM. People in an organization may be well-versed in using computers, database, software, social networking, etc and as a result the result also will be better than the other way. This paper makes a conclusion that people’s approach and organizational learning culture also impact the KM effectiveness. Management may face severe issues related to employees less awareness of the KM practices, irresponsibility of concerned people, lack of motivation to get involved etc. Problems related to artifacts are also to be considered while implementing a better system of the KM. Artifacts such as manuals, software, networking, papers, documents etc that are used in the KM practice must be appropriate for the ultimate purpose of the processed knowledge.

EU Law on SGEIs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

EU Law on SGEIs - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Article 106(2) TFEU was a provision that allows regulatory measures that derogate from Treaty rules that invoke it by necessity to enable undertakings that are entrusted with services of SGEIs that fulfill their obligations. SGEI is a constitutional concept in EU law where it is subject to articles of Article 14 of TFEU, and it is subject to the Protocol of SGEIs. SGEI is considered as services that allow balancing of the EU market integration in pursuit of legitimate national policies that are associated with public services. It can also be considered as a political concept where its legal interpretation becomes sensitive. SGEI cannot be contrived to be a narrow concept of the EU competition law that is understood as a public service concept that involves public authorities, undertakings, and public service obligations. CJEU understanding of SGEI in its EU concept is regarded from the Hirschman’s theory that talks of exit, voice, and its background in case law. It exits from market rules in EU for purposes of public services and identifying SGEI voice that has enabled it to the Treaties. CJEU notions of public service obligations and tasks are regarded as using the Treaty SGEI laws effectively without showing their political use in the Institution of Europe and all signatories. SGEI competence lays with members states, therefore, implementation and funding depend on them. Obligations of public service refer to services of a certain kind that benefit certain services for the benefit of consumers and companies. Such obligations include commercial and nonprofit services with service producers where the public authorities that are entrusted with public service obligations. Services that are beneficial and are of public benefit are regulated as service for the public with obligations. Member states impose public services obligations that are enforced and fulfilled by the private and public companies and this est ablishes the difference provided by such public authorities. If the service is for economic general interest application of Community law is applied by, member states as the competition rules and state aid rules and rules of public procurement.

President Bush Faces His Own Storm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

President Bush Faces His Own Storm - Essay Example In fact, nearly every post-hurricane project the President described hinges on a degree of federal involvement not seen in roughly 30 years. Even before the Aug. 29 hurricane devastated many areas along the Gulf Coast, the President's approval ratings were at an all-time low, largely because of Iraq, fuel prices and the economy. In the initial days after Katrina, Mr. Bush's hesitancy to act and apparent insensitivity to the plight of people too poor to evacuate dismayed even Republicans, especially candidates in congressional races next year. Comparatively, Hurricane Katrina is a different kind of crisis for a president already tested by terrorist attacks on American soil and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The immensity of this calamity has overwhelmed even the federal government. Bush faced not only the hurricane's aftermath, but the public perceptions formed by round-the-clock television coverage and the political pressures that follow. His wrong decisions blew the tops of people and ultimately gathered blame because of the government's laxity and slow paced disaster relief operations. Some even say that the disaster might not have been this "disastrous" if the government made proactive efforts to prevent all the damages. However, a reversal of President Bush's reaction, as he admitted responsibility on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, is exemplary on his part.

EU Law on SGEIs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

EU Law on SGEIs - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Article 106(2) TFEU was a provision that allows regulatory measures that derogate from Treaty rules that invoke it by necessity to enable undertakings that are entrusted with services of SGEIs that fulfill their obligations. SGEI is a constitutional concept in EU law where it is subject to articles of Article 14 of TFEU, and it is subject to the Protocol of SGEIs. SGEI is considered as services that allow balancing of the EU market integration in pursuit of legitimate national policies that are associated with public services. It can also be considered as a political concept where its legal interpretation becomes sensitive. SGEI cannot be contrived to be a narrow concept of the EU competition law that is understood as a public service concept that involves public authorities, undertakings, and public service obligations. CJEU understanding of SGEI in its EU concept is regarded from the Hirschman’s theory that talks of exit, voice, and its background in case law. It exits from market rules in EU for purposes of public services and identifying SGEI voice that has enabled it to the Treaties. CJEU notions of public service obligations and tasks are regarded as using the Treaty SGEI laws effectively without showing their political use in the Institution of Europe and all signatories. SGEI competence lays with members states, therefore, implementation and funding depend on them. Obligations of public service refer to services of a certain kind that benefit certain services for the benefit of consumers and companies. Such obligations include commercial and nonprofit services with service producers where the public authorities that are entrusted with public service obligations. Services that are beneficial and are of public benefit are regulated as service for the public with obligations. Member states impose public services obligations that are enforced and fulfilled by the private and public companies and this est ablishes the difference provided by such public authorities. If the service is for economic general interest application of Community law is applied by, member states as the competition rules and state aid rules and rules of public procurement.

Based on Feminist theory, which may include patriarchy (e.g Assignment

Based on Feminist theory, which may include patriarchy (e.g. MacKinnon; Pateman), the essay is about The pay gap between men and women in Australia) - Assignment Example The gender wage gap is larger for the private sector than the public sector, and it is highest in the health care and social assistance sector. As women grow older, the wage gap also increases. This item is relevant to the study because it provides statistics for existing wage gap differences and where they can be found. It is also linked with other statistics and studies that determines that gender discrimination is the predominant cause of the gender wage gap. Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips established The International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International) in 1930. BPW International is part of international networks of business and professional women with affiliates in 95 countries. This web page offers numerous articles regarding gender pay gap across the world. It shows that Australia’s wage gap is lower than Austria, Germany, and Belgium, but higher than New Zealand and France. Eveline, J., & Todd, P. (2010). Gender mainstreaming: The answer to the gender pay gap? In C.L. Bacchi (Ed.), Mainstreaming politics: Gendering practices and feminist theory (pp.163-190). South Australia: University of Adelaide Press. Eveline and Todd (2010) examined if gender mainstreaming is an effective policy in decreasing wage gaps between men and women. They conducted a systematic review of gender mainstreaming in Australian states. They defined gender mainstreaming as a strategy for embedding gender concerns into studying and developing institutional arrangements, market structure, wage policies, and social norms. They stressed that the application of the enterprise bargaining system since the 1990s worsened gender wage gap in Australia. They noted from their review that gender mainstreaming cannot be effective as a gender wage gap corrector without supporting industrial relations policy changes. This item is relevant to the topic because it studies the effects of gender pay gap in Australia and focuses on the

Is Virtue Knowledge Or Teachable Philosophy Essay

Is Virtue Knowledge Or Teachable Philosophy Essay Plato presents Socrates views on the question whether virtue is knowledge and whether it can be taught in several dialogues, most notably in Meno. In this dialogue, Socrates makes many different arguments on the subject of virtue. These arguments include how virtue is defined and whether or not people can acquire it. He examines the ways that virtue can be attained; whether or not one is born being virtuous, whether virtue can be taught or it is another factor for virtues people have. In this essay I will focus on the question of whether virtue can be taught. Platos answer is that virtue cannot be taught. In this essay I will suggest that Plato could have framed the questions a bit differently, which would have probably given him a different answer. In particular I will argue that Plato might have done better to ask whether virtue could be learned instead of asking whether virtue can be taught. The Meno begins with Meno asking Socrates whether virtue can be taught. The argument then is drifted then to another question, what is knowledge. Then Meno proposed an interesting paradox: one can never find out anything new: either one knows it already, in which case there is no need to find it out, or else one does not, and in that case there is no means of recognizing it when found (Plato 1997, 80d-e.). In other words if one does not already know what arà ªte (virtue) is, he cant even search for it, because if he does not know what it is already, then even h he searches, he wont be able to know when one has found it. Socrates suggests a way to solve this dilemma which is based on the Pythagorean view of the immortal soul. According to that notion, the soul, after the physical body dies, is reincarnated and thus never destroyed. If one can never acquire any new knowledge and at the same time it is obvious we are always learning new things, then it is be concluded that learning mus t be a matter of recollection of past life experiences and knowledge. In other words there is no such thing as teaching, but only remembering. In the Meno he demonstrated with a young slave boy who apparently didnt have any knowledge of geometry. By asking the young boy questions he managed to show that the boy had knowledge of certain mathematical theorems. Meno asks again his original question, that is whether one can be taught virtue, or one gets virtue by nature or in some other way. Socrates consents to proceed but argues that they need a common ground due to the fact that neither of them can say at this point what virtue is. Then Meno is made agree that if virtue is not knowledge then it cannot be taught, and if a knowledge then it can be taught. He points out that one can teach something only if one knows what it is that he is teaching. Someone who does not know himself how to drive a car seems unlikely to be able to teach someone else how to. Socrates and Meno much agree that there is no one that truly knows what is meant by virtue and because of this reason cannot be taught. According to Socrates, If virtue could be taught, we should be able to know not only those who teach it but also those who learn from them, which in truth we cannot easily do (Plato 1997, 96c). Socrates claims that teachers for horsemanship, medicine, etc. exist and everybody recognizes these as genuine teachers, whereas people dont agree about whether the Sophists really do teach virtue. Socrates goes one to speak of Thucydides, who had two sons, neither of which was considered to be virtuous. However, it is said that Thucydides educated his children in many different disciplines, but it seems that he could not find a teacher of virtue even though he found teachers for other aspects of life he found valuable. He could not teach it himself either, even though he himself was known to be virtuous. Therefore it seems virtue cannot be a form of knowledge. In order for something to be knowledge, someone must be able to teach it to others. Socrates concludes that virtue cannot be taught an d that there is no means or method by which virtue can be acquired. Virtue is simply shown as coming to us, whenever it comes, by divine dispensation (reference?) In my view, if Plato had framed the questions somewhat differently, he might have gotten a different answer. That is Plato could have better asked whether virtue could be learned instead of asking whether virtue can be taught. What I mean to say is that asking whether one can be taught something entails that the relationship of a student and a teacher, whereas asking whether something can be learned implies only that there is a student (whose life experiences might be said to be a teacher.) For example, to ask whether I was taught geometry is to ask whether a teacher taught me geometry. Whereas to ask whether I learned geometry is simply to ask whether I learned it, whether or not I was taught it by a geometry teacher or learned geometry myself either from (lets say) a book or by some other means. Learning can come in various forms. In order to learn something, one does not require a teacher in the strict sense. For instance, learning can be achieved from studying people who have virtue and yet the latter may not be aware that they are studied. So a man may be learning virtue, and his teachers may be virtuous, even though the teachers might not even be alive. Another form of learning is experience. Virtue may be learned through personal experience. In this example, the teacher would be both life experiences and the reflective nature of the learner. There is still another form of learning. A man can learn, even if he cannot offer an explanation of how he learned or of what he exactly knows. For instance, after someone has been through a particular problem in his life, he can then detect that a relative of his is going through the same problem. And although he can know it, he cannot give an explanation of how he recognized it. Another example is that of the musicians or painters who have learned their craft and are able to perform well, but find it almost impossible to give an explanation of what they have learned. So the question whether virtue can be taught is a much different, and narrower, than whether virtue can be learned. Plato is right in suggesting that virtue cannot be taught. I believe that we all know or have heard of people who recite rules of virtue (such us be compassionate or be honest,) but find it impossible to put them into practice. Certainly in this sense virtue cannot be taught. A mentioned above, having the ability to be virtuous is like having the ability to be musical, which is to some extent instinctual. So, for example, it could be argued that knowing when, for example, to offer help to a friend when he needs it, is a matter of instinct or judgment. All of this means that although virtue may not be taught, this is not to say that virtue cant be learned. Plato suggests the notion that virtue is inborn. Certainly this is to some degree true. There are some people with an exceptional capacity for virtues like compassion, etc. since they were born. Yet others look as if they are born with little to no moral conscience, which seems to be necessary for virtue to exist. However what this means is just that the foundation of virtue is inborn, not that it cant be learned. In the same way that we comprehend the fact that one can be preached how to be virtuous but fail to be virtuous in practice, the converse is also possible: people can refine the ways they understand virtue, they may become more virtuous by reflective practice, and their views of how to act in a virtuous way changes significantly as they grow up. In my view, if Plato put his questions in a different way (that is if he had asked whether virtue can be learned, instead of whether virtue can be taught) he might have found a much more affirmative answer. Bibliography

Essay --

Cyber Crimes are crimes committed via the Internet. In some cases, the source of attack is the computer system. These types of attacks can come in the forms of computer viruses such as worms or Trojan horses, DOS (denial of service), and electronic vandalism. (OJP, 2013). The computer can also be used to commit theft such as embezzlement, financial information, and fraud. Other uses involves malicious adware, phishing, spoofing, spyware, and hacking; to name a few. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, over the past few years, have worked diligently monitoring and combatting criminal behavior occurring on the Internet. To do this, they have joined forces with the National White Collar Crime Center and formed an organization known as the IC3. The IC3 was developed in 2000 with its purpose of combating Internet crimes. This organization accepts criminal complaints that occur on the Internet. The IC3 conducts investigations into the complaints and with sufficient evidence or cause, refers them to state, local, federal or international law enforcement agencies for further investigations. The IC3 mission is to â€Å"serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cybercrime.† (IC3, n.d.). According to the IC3, in 2008, they received 275,284 complaints. Compared to the 2007 complaints, there were 33.1% more complaints. The majority of the complaints filed were related to both fraudulent and non-fraudulent issues on the Internet. The crimes reported consisted of non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment which was 32.9%, auction fraud represented 25.5% of the complaints, credit and debit card fraud represented 9.0% of complaints, Confidence fraud, computer fraud, and check f... ... loss: $4,187.†(IC3, 2012). In 2012, the IC3 received 289,874 complaint submissions. Of these 39.64% reported financial loss. The 2012 Internet Crime Report indicated that the overall statistics were as so: Total complaints received: 289,874, Complaints reporting loss: 114,908, Total Loss: $525,441,110.00, Median dollar loss for those reporting a loss: $600.00, Average dollar loss overall: $1,813.00, Average dollar loss for those reporting loss: $4,573.00. (IC3, 2013). Based on the statistics and rise in Internet crime since the organization was formed in 2000, the need for additional staffing has been sufficient enough to withstand the number of complaints received on a monthly basis. For states that experience high levels of a particular Internet crime, the IC3 should consider increasing staff in an effort to combat the crimes that plague that particular area.

Comparing My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke and Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke and "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden My Papa's Waltz, by Theodore Roethke, and Those Winter Sundays, by Robert Hayden, are two somewhat similar poems about respected fathers. To most people a father is not just the man who fertilizes their mother's egg, but a man that spends time with and takes care of them. While doing this, he gains their love and respect. In these two poems Roethke and Hayden take an admiring look back at the actions of their fathers, although; they both imply that their parents were not perfect. In My Papa's Waltz, Theodore Roethke describes an episode in his childhood. In this, what seems to be regular, occurrence his drunken father comes home for the night reeking of alcohol and begins dancing with him. Roethke describes his father's hands as being battered on one knuckle and extremely soiled. They "romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf" (5-6). This made his mother so upset that she could do nothing but frown. Finally, his father "waltzed" him on to bed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In ?Those Winter Sundays'; by Robert Hayden, the poet also relinquishes on a regular occurrence in his childhood. On Sunday mornings, just as any other morning, his father rises early and puts on his clothes in the cold darkness. He then goes out in the cold and splits fire wood with which he uses to start a fire in the house. After the entire house is warm he calls the rest of his family out of bed. He does not get any thanks for doing this, but that does not seem to matter.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In both poems the poets seem to look back on their childhoods with much love and respect for their fathers. In ?My Papa?s Waltz'; the title suggests a sense of love and honor. Usually when a child calls his father Papa they have a very close relationship in which the child respects and admires his father. Also, the use of the word Waltz suggests a Happy dance of high class people. This is ironic because Roethke?s father is drunken and dirty when this dance takes place, but when one thinks of the waltz they think of a dance between two high-classed people in an extravagant ballroom. Another example of the child?s love and respect for his father is illustrated in the things he overlooks just to be able to carryout the dance. Although ?The whiskey your [his father?s] breath could make a small boy dizzy'; (1-2), the child ?hung on like death'; (3). The speaker also overlooks the pain of his ear

Blind Side

Letter: Dear Sean Tuohy, Over the last couple of months you and your outstanding family have provided everything I have every wanted a ‘family’. My life growing up consisted of running, drugs, unreliable parents a couch and others aspects. I have faced many obstacles and challenges in my life. I have been through some things no child my age should have to experience. I have learnt to face my everyday challenges by facing the fact that I can get through it, plus the support of others was very helpful, and knowing someone on earth would be having a worse day.When I was a young child I had many scaring and frightening moments. I have seen a lot of habits my mum got into, taking drugs and being a big disappointment to my family. Then I soon later found out I had 12 brothers and sisters. My mother would tell me to shut my eyes when I was scared or anything she didn’t want me to see, after that she would then tell me to count to 3 and then I could open my eyes. I suffer ed a lot as a child and faced a lot of hardships, I struggle to learn but yet I can apparently write?You and your family have given me hope and believed in me. I have been through a lot and watching my mum throw her life away doesn’t mean I was going to follow in her footsteps. After I crashed your car with SJ I thought you weren’t going to trust me again, but yet you gave me so much more. You took me under you wings, you gave me an education, and you let me go to college. I’m so grateful that someone has given me the opportunity to prove myself to them and let me show them who I am and my potentials.I am glad that I could I write to you to express how I feel. I struggled a lot and I use to be a quiet and shy boy, but now I am a confident and free spirited person and you and your wife have given me reason to believe again. Thankyou From Michael Oher Discuss what your character learnt: In the movie, Michael Oher’s character capabilities change majorly. Thr oughout the film, he grows from a shy, unschooled boy into a young man who fits into a family. The film begins with Oher as a homeless boy struggling to find a place to sleep.He then learns to become a more confident and sophisticated man. Michael Oher has grown and learnt a lot of skills and matured into a young intelligent man. He learnt that because his childhood was so traumatic doesn’t mean he is traumatised for his whole life; everything can change when you start believing. Michael struggled a lot being a foster child, being black, moving and living not with his family, and yet they are complete strangers to him that he would often run away and try and find his mother again.When he meet the Tuohy’s He grew a lot stronger in that because he was living with a Christian, wealthy family who took him in without any weight on their shoulders just out of kind heartedness. He also learnt that he didn’t have to be the smartest to achieve what he wanted he had to wo rk rad and be persistent, to stay focused. He grew so much into a star having every quality that a magnificent football player need but only some granted with this special ability. Michael learnt that being whoever you are or being whatever you wanted was you!! He had a very distraught childhood and often struggling to once believe again.He was always a determined to get what he wanted especially as a child. Michael has grown up so much, from not trying and struggling to read to now getting 2. 52 in his final result meaning he could do what he wanted for footy. He had the skills to get in but did not have the determination of getting and staying focused. Michaels tutor was a massive bonus to him and was a great peer leader. She encouraged him and helped him improve his marks a lot. Along with the hardships Michael has faced he learnt that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.He has grown and learnt so much and he is so lucky and happy to be able to have the opportunities he has been offered let alone half. Review: The blind side has proven to be a wonderful structured film, as it has been based on a true story it gives it a bit more of a overlooking and understanding of the abilities and inabilities this boy has been through. A family of all white has taken this black boy in, he would’ve felt un-invited, not fitting in and questioning why they are being nice especially when there from the complete other side of town.Michael struggles to take in that a family of complete strangers is offering there house and couch to him. The Blind Side is a film about compassion, prejudice, family, chance, and the virtues of hard work. It tells the inspirational true story of Michael Oher, of a disadvantaged African-American child, and his relationship with Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wealthy white woman from the other side of town the rich and wealthy side and he is from the dirty, disgraceful, depressing side. They help him out with a lot of situations. They provi de a wonderful education, house, family.After his mother being a fall out he tried to get his life back on track by believing he could be different and show that he could do anything if you put your mind to work. Michael Oher shows a massive and exciting interest in football and Leigh Anne Tuohy does not hold back on the enthusiasm for him. He has been born with skills that a person could dream about, even though Michael Is a big boy these skills come in handy when he gets a number of offers to be in a professional team. They then provide Michael with a tutor to improve his grades to get him into NCCA div 1.Athletic scholarship. This young man growing up in Memphis would only dream of being able to professional football or any real contact with a ball, he was born too and all of a sudden his dream came true and was right in front of his eyes because of the Tuohy’s. I believe the film deserves a rating of 5/5, when you look at the poster or the movie cover or the book cover yo u don’t know what to expect, but then you get a great message from the film inspiring everyone to show that â€Å"if you believe you can achieve†.The message is trying to explain that you can be in any situation and find a way out of it, if you try and work your way out of it. It was a fantastic book based on a real life story. It’s very inspiring and proven to everyone that you can be from somewhere that struggles into someone who is wealthy. Bibliography: The blind side 2009, DVD, warner bros, Hollywood http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0878804/plotsummary, http://www. pacejmiller. com/2010/02/24/movie-review-the-blind-side-2009/

Telstra and Mcdonalds

Exam cases: †¢ McDonald’s †¢ Telstra Pre-seen exam information Semester 1 2013 CPA Program professional level Global Strategy and Leadership  © CPA Australia Ltd 2013 Case Study 1 McDonald’s case facts McDonald’s Corporation: A strategic approach to global growth McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33 500 restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in 119 countries each day (McDonald’s 2012a). In 2011 the company generated USD 27 billion in revenue from its global operations and USD 8. 5 billion of operating profit.Headquartered in the United States, McDonald’s Bar-B-Q restaurant was opened in California in 1940 by brothers Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald as a typical drive-in featuring a large menu and car hop service (where customers stay in their car and are served their food). In 1948 the brothers closed the business for three months of renovations and reorganised the business as a hamburger restaurant, using production line principles and featuring a simple menu of nine items including the staple 15 cent hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and a slice of pie.In 1954 Ray Kroc, a salesman for Prince Castle Multi-Mixer, visited the restaurant intending to sell the brothers some items. Kroc was fascinated by the operations and learned that the brothers were looking for a franchising agent to expand their restaurant chain nationally. Kroc joined the company in 1955 as National Franchising Agent, and opened his first McDonald’s in Illinois. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers.McDonald’s Corporation was created in 1965 when the company had its first public stock offering on the New York Stock Exchange at USD 22. 50 per share (McDonald’s 2012b). The famous ‘golden arches’ of McDonald’s were created in 1969 when the companyâ₠¬â„¢s logo underwent a major change, and remodelling of the restaurants was also undertaken to re-brand the company. The original red-and-white tiled buildings were replaced by more contemporary buildings emphasising the golden arches as the company’s branding.Under Kroc’s leadership McDonald’s expanded quickly across the United States. International expansion commenced in 1967 with restaurants opened in Canada and Puerto Rico. In the next 10 years the company would grow rapidly, such that the 1978 opening in Japan marked the 5000th restaurant. By 1983 the company had an interest in 7778 restaurants in 32 countries (McDonald’s 2012b). Although Kroc died in 1984, he left a lasting legacy with the company continuing to grow to date.In addition to outlet expansion, McDonald’s has constantly trialled and introduced new product items and categories in order to increase the company’s share of food consumption and meet changing customer tastes and needs. The company has also extended into complementary product categories, such as the launch of McCafe in 2003. More recently, the company has introduced more premium offerings such as the Angus beef burger in Australia which is made of premium Angus beef, and a higher price is charged compared to its core burger range.McDonald’s is expected to face stronger competition in the future, given the rising popularity of healthier fast-food operators such as Subway, which has a larger number of franchise stores across the world and recently eclipsed McDonald’s as the world’s largest fast-food operator in terms of establishments. This will increase pressure on McDonald’s to promote and expand its new healthier product options and to improve the nutritional content of its food if the company wants to stay the market leader. The following information is based on a number of McDonald’s corporate publications.Part A provides an overview of McDonald’s strategic direction and operating model. Part B provides a review of the 2011 Chairman and CEO reports. Part C provides a summary of the franchising model used by McDonald’s for its restaurants. Part D is a timeline of the development of McDonald’s. Part A: McDonald’s strategic direction, operating model and global priorities Strategic roadmap: The Plan to Win Jim Skinner, Vice Chairman and CEO, states in the 2011 Annual Report: ‘Our performance is driven by two key factors.The first is our ongoing commitment to [our strategic framework] the Plan to Win which was launched in 2003 and has served as our operations roadmap for nine years. The Plan focuses on the core drivers of our business—People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion †¦ It keeps us disciplined around our brand holistically and enhancing the customer experience across our entire business—from our menu and service to our value and convenience’ (McDonald’s 2011 , p. 1). Global Strategy and Leadership Page 1 of 20McDonald’s has ‘enhanced the restaurant experience for customers worldwide and grown comparable * sales and customer visits in each in each’ year to 2011 (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). This framework has also delivered strong results for the company’s shareholders. McDonald’s has exceeded its long-term ‘financial targets of average annual †¦ sales growth of 3 to 5%; average annual operating income growth of 6 to 7%; and annual returns on incremental invested capital in the high teens every year since the Plan to Win was implemented’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 0). Operating model: Our System partners The 2011 Annual Report goes on to describe the second factor: ‘the collaboration of Our System partners. From our worldclass franchisees, who are dedicated to running great restaurants and being leaders in their communities; to our unparalleled global suppliers, who provide us with safe and high quality products each and every day; to our talented company employees led by President and Chief Operating Officer Don Thompson and our †¦ global leadership team.And, of course, our restaurant managers and crew—the 1. 7 million men and women who work to deliver the best experience every day’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 2). Also known as the ‘three-legged stool’ business model, the philosophy set by founder Ray Kroc, this business model balances the interests of all three key stakeholder groups, and provides a foundation only as strong and as stable as each of the three legs. Each leg represents the company, the franchises and the suppliers respectively.This model is embedded in the current operating philosophy and Jim Skinner, in his address, refers to ‘Our System partners’ with the motto of ‘Your Success is Our Success’. All three groups are strongly aligned around common goals. ‘The strength of th e alignment between the Company, its franchisees and suppliers †¦ has been key to McDonald’s success’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). Three global priorities ‘We hold a strong competitive position in the market place, and we intend to further differentiate our brand by striving to become our customers’ favourite place and way to eat and drink.Growing market share will continue to be a focus as we execute our three global priorities’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 11). 1 Optimising our menu—‘delivering even greater excitement around our food, beginning with our iconic core favorites—Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets and French Fries—and evolving our menu with new innovative local offerings. We’ll continue by growing McCafe beverages, from specialty coffees to real fruit smoothies, differentiating our brand as a beverage destination.We’ll stay focused on adding greater choice and balanced options around the world [ to enhance our food image], from wraps to oatmeal to new Happy Meal alternatives, as we stay in step with our customers’ needs’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 2). Modernising our customer experience—‘continuing to modernize our restaurants to provide a superior experience for our customers, as well as our managers and crew. We’re adding new features and technologies that are making the drive-thru, ordering and payment processes easier.In addition, we’re moving ahead on our reimaging efforts, remodeling a growing number of restaurants with our contemporary new designs. With roughly 45% of our interiors and 25% of our exteriors reimaged around the world, we still have ample opportunity to keep reshaping our brand and delighting our guests with our updated restaurants’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 2). ‘The customer experience efforts will include accelerating our interior and exterior reimaging efforts and providing our restaurant teams with the appropriate tools, training, technology and staffing’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 1). 3 Broadening our accessibility—‘making the McDonald’s brand more accessible is another important priority. Continuing to deliver strong value across every price tier, extending our operating hours at more locations and strategically opening new restaurants in both emerging and mature markets will make us more available more often, when and where our customers want us’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 3). 2 ‘As we keep elevating all of these aspects of our business, we’re strengthening our brand as well. We will continue to use our size, scope and esources to make a positive difference for children, families, and communities around the world. Giving back is a part of our heritage, so we remain committed to taking leadership action across the broad spectrum of sustainability— including nutrition and well-being, a sustainable supply chain, env ironmental responsibility, employee experience, and the community’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 3). * ‘Comparable’ refers to same stores. That is, stores that were opened in both years, so as to remove the effect of store openings and closures. This is a common method for monitoring store performance in retail networks.Global Strategy and Leadership Page 2 of 20 Part B: McDonald’s 2011 performance Jim Skinner, Vice Chairman and CEO, states in the 2011 Annual Report: ‘2011 was another strong year for McDonald’s. Global comparable sales increased 5. 6%, our ninth consecutive year of same store sales growth. Operating income grew by 10% in constant currencies and we continued to extend our market share lead around the world. In addition †¦ we delivered a 35% total return to investors, making us the top performing company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for 2011’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. ). ‘Specific menu pricing actions ac ross our system reflect local market conditions as well as other factors, notably the food away from home and food at home inflation indices. In our Company-operated restaurants, we manage menu board prices to ensure value at all price points, increase profitability and mitigate inflation, all while trying to maintain guest visit momentum. In order to accomplish these objectives, we utilize a strategic pricing tool that balances prices, product mix and promotion. Franchisees also have access to, and many utilize, this †¦ tool.In general, we believe many franchisees employ a similar pricing strategy. In 2011, we increased average price at Company-operated restaurants in each area of the world, although increases varied by market and region. We look to optimize product mix by utilizing a menu with entry-point value, core and premium and fourthtier (a range of tasty and appealing items in smaller portion sizes) offerings. We also introduce new products that meet customer needs, wh ich can expand average purchase and increase our visitor counts’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). ‘Our success continues to be truly global, with all areas of the world contributing.Such balanced growth highlights our deepening connection with customers everywhere, as well as the underlying strength of our business in today’s ever increasing global economy’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 1). The company is organised into three key regions being ‘the United States (U. S. ), Europe and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA)’. The company’s three global priorities ‘represent areas where we are intensifying our efforts to drive †¦ sales and customer visits despite challenging economies and a contracting Informal Eating Out (IEO) segment in many markets’ (McDonald’s 2011, pp. & 10). Tables 1 and 2 provide a summary of the performance of McDonald’s for the years 2009 to 2011. Table 1: McDonald’s finan cial performance, 2009 to 2011 (USD in millions) 2011 US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total revenue US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total operating income US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total assets US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total capital expenditure 8 528. 2 10 886. 4 6 019. 5 1 571. 9 27 006. 0 3 666. 2 3 226. 7 1 525. 8 111. 0 8 529. 7 10 865. 5 12 015. 5 824. 2 4 285. 1 32 989. 9 786. 5 1 130. 1 614. 1 199. 1 2 729. 8 2010 8 111. 6 9 569. 2 5 065. 5 1 328. 3 24 074. 6 3 446. 5 2 796. 8 1 199. 9 29. 9 7 473. 1 10 467. 7 11 360. 7 5 374. 0 4 772. 8 31 975. 2 530. 5 978. 5 493. 1 133. 4 2135. 5 2009 7 943. 8 9 273. 8 4 337. 0 1 190. 1 22 744. 7 3 231. 7 2 588. 1 989. 5 31. 7 6 841. 0 10 429. 3 11 494. 4 4 409. 0 3 892. 2 30 224. 9 659. 4 859. 3 354. 6 78. 8 1 952. 1 Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, ‘Segment and geographic information’, p. 38. Global Strategy and LeadershipP age 3 of 20 McDonald’s ‘revenues consist of sales by Company-owned restaurants and fees from restaurants operated by its various franchisees’. Revenues from franchised, licensed and affiliate restaurants include rent and royalties based on a percentage of sales along with minimum rent payments, and initial fees. ‘Fees vary by type of site, amount of Company investment, if any, and local business conditions. These fees, along with occupancy and operating rights, are stipulated in the franchise/license agreements’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 9).Table 2: McDonald’s revenue by store type, 2009 to 2011 (USD in millions) 2011 US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Company-operated revenues US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Franchised revenues US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total revenues 4 433 7 852 5 061 947 18 293 4 096 3 034 958 625 8 713 8 529 10 886 6 019 1 572 27 006 2010 4 229 6 932 4 297 775 16 233 3 883 2 6 37 769 553 7 842 8 112 9 569 5 066 1 328 24 075 2009 4 295 6 721 3 714 729 15 459 3 649 2 553 623 461 7 286 7 944 9 274 4 337 1 190 22 745Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, ‘Revenues’, p. 14. Regional highlights for 2011 United States †¢ †¢ †¢ Grew customer ‘counts and market share with comparable sales up for the ninth consecutive year, rising 4. 8% in 2011, while comparable customer counts rose 3. 3%, despite a slight decline in the IEO segment’. ‘Remained focused on maximizing our core business while providing customers with affordable products and value throughout our menu including options available on the Dollar Menu at breakfast and the rest of the day’. Highlighted core menu items like Chicken McNuggets that feature new sauces, breakfast products including new Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, additions to the McCafe beverage line and limited-time offerings such as the McRib Sandwich. ‘National launch of the McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and Mango Pineapple real-fruit smoothie provided †¦ extensions to the McCafe beverage line’. ‘Convenient locations also continued to provide a competitive advantage with extended hours and efficient drive-thru service’. Modernizing the customer experience †¦ with the expansion of our major remodeling program to enhance the appearance and functionality of our restaurants and make our restaurants more relevant to our customers’ daily lives. Over 900 existing restaurants were remodeled during 2011 with the majority adding drive-thru capacity to capture additional customer visits’. ‘Completed our two-year, Systemwide roll-out of a new point-of-sale system. This allows us to continue expanding our menu offerings while making it easier for our crew to fulfill every order accurately’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Global Strategy and LeadershipPage 4 of 20 Europe †¢ †¢ Comparable ‘sales rose by 5. 9%, marking the eighth consecutive year’ of growth, with comparable customer visits increasing by 3. 4%. ‘Major contributors were the U. K. , France, Russia and Germany’. ‘Initiatives that helped drive our business included †¦ our tiered menu featuring everyday affordable prices, menu variety including new and limited-time offerings, and reimaging over 900 restaurants’. We also ‘offered new premium menu items such as the 1955 burger and expanded McWraps across several European markets’. And we ‘continued to offer a fourth-tier platform—such as Little Tasters in the U.K. ’. Expanded ‘our coffee business and have over 1500 McCafe locations, which in Europe are generally separate areas inside the restaurants that serve specialty coffees, indulgent desserts and snacks’. Increased ‘accessibility and convenience’ with the completion of ‘the rollout of the new drive-thru customer order display system in over 4500 restaurants’ and ‘extended operating hours’. Continued ‘building customer trust in our brand through communications that emphasized the quality and origin of McDonald’s food and our commitment to sustainable business practices’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 0). †¢ †¢ †¢ APMEA †¢ †¢ ‘Our momentum continued with nearly every country delivering positive comparable sales, led by China and Australia. Comparable sales rose 4. 7% and comparable guest counts by 4. 3%’. Performance was ‘driven by strategies emphasizing value, breakfast, convenience, core menu extensions, desserts and promotional food events. Australia launched a Value Lunch program that features meals at discounted price points for certain hours while China and Japan concentrated on affordability by continuing their Value Lunch’ programs. New menu ite ms such as real-fruit smoothies and frappes in Australia and the extension of the Value Breakfast program in China were popular with customers’. ‘Japan executed another successful U. S. themed burger promotion and celebrated its 40th anniversary by offering popular core menu items at reduced prices’. ‘Desserts continue to play a meaningful role as we seek to deliver on customers’ menu expectations through products such as the McFlurry and unique storefronts like the dessert kiosks in China, where we are now one of the largest ice-cream retailers’ (McDonald’s 2011, pp. 10–11). †¢ †¢ †¢Part C: McDonald’s franchising approach McDonald’s believes ‘franchising is important to delivering great, locally-relevant customer experiences and driving profitability. However, directly operating restaurants is paramount to being a credible franchisor and is essential to providing Company personnel with restaura nt operations experience. In our Company-operated restaurants, and in collaboration with franchisees, we further develop and refine operating standards, marketing concepts and product and pricing strategies, so that only those that we believe are most beneficial are introduced’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. ). The company continually reviews, and as appropriate adjusts, the mix of company-operated and franchised (conventional franchised, developmental licensed and foreign affiliated) restaurants with the ‘goal of improving local relevance, profits and returns’, while maintaining a strong presence through company-owned restaurants seen as important to success (McDonald’s 2011, p. 16). As a franchisor McDonald’s sees its role as providing clear and positive leadership with vision, competence and integrity, to ultimately protect the strategic vision of the brand.Listening and responding to customers’ wants and needs through constant innovation has been a key driver to success. This success places pressure on all Partner System parties who have a responsibility to consistently rise to the occasion each time and deliver an exceptional customer experience. As McDonald’s must deliver this leadership as the franchisor, it needs its franchisees to do the same for the company’s continued success. The mix of McDonald’s franchises and company-operated McDonald’s restaurants is set out in Table 3.The difference between types of franchise stores is outlined in the ‘Franchise investment’ section below, and is dependent on how much capital investment McDonald’s has in the business. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 5 of 20 Table 3: Summary of McDonald’s stores in 2011 Store type Conventional franchise Company operated Licensed to foreign affiliates (primarily in Japan) Development franchise Total worldwide stores Number of stores 19 527 6 435 3 929 3 619 33 510Franchise ‘sale s are not recorded as revenues’ by McDonald’s, but ‘are the basis on which the Company calculates and records franchised revenues and are indicative of the health of the franchise base’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 9). ‘Franchised margin dollars represent revenues from franchised restaurants less the Company’s occupancy costs (rent and depreciation) associated with those sites †¦ The franchised margin percent in APMEA and Other Countries †¦ is higher relative to the U. S. nd Europe due to a larger proportion of developmental franchises and/or affiliate restaurants where the Company receives royalty income with no corresponding occupancy costs’ (McDonald’s 2011, pp. 15–16). Table 4 presents franchised sales and margins for the years 2009 to 2011. Table 4: McDonald’s franchised store sales and margins, 2009 to 2011 (USD in millions) 2011 US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total franchised sales US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Franchised margins Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, p. 5. 2010 28 166 15 049 11 373 6 559 61 147 3 239 2 063 686 476 6 464 2009 26 737 14 573 9 871 5 747 56 928 3 031 1 998 559 397 5 985 29 739 17 243 13 041 7 625 67 648 3 436 2 400 858 538 7 232 Selection of franchisees for a cultural fit with McDonald’s One of the key reasons McDonald’s believes it is successful is that it maintains the highest standards of operational excellence while creating individual opportunities.Having dynamic individuals who are able to create high performance environments within their local stores is crucial for franchisee success. Franchisees must also be great brand ambassadors and run outstanding restaurants to deliver on the McDonald’s brand promise. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 6 of 20 For example, great care is taken in recruiting, screening, training, developing and retaining qualified franchise es.When considering potential franchisees, the company looks for people who †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ are looking to make a 20-year commitment; aspire to become an integral part of the community as an employer, service provider and local business leader; are energetic and take a hands-on approach; have had a successful business or career, demonstrated significant team leadership and know how to get the most out of people; accept that McDonald’s will be the franchisee’s only business, and the franchisee must be prepared to put in hard work and long hours to make it a success; will commit themselves to being full time in the business rather than an absentee investor; and are able to make a significant financial investment. McDonald’s provides extensive training and ongoing support to franchisees. Franchisee candidates must complete the McDonald’s Applicant Training Program which goes for a minimum of nine months full time and i s unpaid. This is a comprehensive program designed to provide training in all aspects of operating a McDonald’s restaurant and to assist McDonald’s in evaluating a franchisee applicant.It also allows the applicant to evaluate McDonald’s and get a true understanding of what it takes to run a restaurant. Most of this training takes place in a restaurant, with some formal classroom sessions which include seminars, conferences and one-on-one sessions with corporate staff. It is essential that they agree to the philosophy of working within the framework of the McDonald’s system. McDonald’s is looking for people who are prepared to follow a proven system—one based on 50 years of experience. Franchisees are advised that if they are not good at taking advice, they should not become a McDonald’s franchisee. McDonald’s does not ‘expect franchisees to re-invent the wheel’, but ‘to make it turn faster’ (McDonaldâ €™s NZ 2012, p. 3).Franchisees must operate the franchise according to McDonald’s quality, service, cleanliness and value standards. In addition, franchisees must use McDonald’s †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ formulae and specifications for menu items; methods of operation, approved suppliers, inventory control, bookkeeping, accounting and marketing; trademarks; concepts and restaurant design, signage and equipment layout; and information systems. Franchise investment Under the conventional franchise agreement, franchisees provide a portion of the capital required by initially investing in the equipment, signs, seating and decor of their restaurant business, and by reinvesting in the business over time.The company owns the land and building or secures long-term leases for both company-operated and conventional franchised restaurant sites. This maintains long-term occupancy rights, helps control related costs and assists in alignment with franchisees. In ce rtain circumstances, the company participates in reinvestment for conventional franchise restaurants. Under developmental franchise arrangements, franchisees provide capital for the entire business, including the real estate interest, and the Company has no capital invested. In addition, the company has an equity investment in a limited number of affiliates that invest in real estate and operate and/or franchise restaurants within a particular market where foreign ownership may be restricted, such as Japan and China.As a matter of policy, McDonald’s does not make direct sales of food or materials to franchisees, instead organising the supply of food and materials to restaurants through approved third-party logistics operators. For successful applicants, the franchisee must make a substantial financial contribution to the business, summarised as follows in Table 5 for an Australian franchise. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 7 of 20 Table 5: Example of McDonald’s Aus tralia franchisee investment and ongoing contribution Term of franchise Ongoing fees 20 Years A monthly service/royalty fee based on a percentage of the restaurant’s gross sales (currently 5%).A monthly rental, being a fixed base rent and a percentage of the restaurant’s gross sales. A monthly advertising contribution of not less than 4% of gross sales. All outgoings including rates and utilities. Initial costs Licence fee paid to McDonald’s on or prior to the commencement of the franchise. Stamp duty may be payable on the documentation (stamp duty laws vary from state to state so franchisees must obtain their own legal advice). Security deposit for the performance of the franchise. Documentation fee. Approximate cost of staff training, salaries, purchase of trading stock, living expenses whilst training and other start-up expenses.Approximate cost of kitchen equipment, signage, seating, decor, air conditioning and landscaping (paid to suppliers). AUD 15 000 AUD 3 000 AUD 160 000–AUD 200 000 (indicative) AUD 1. 7 million (indicative) AUD 60 000 plus GST Source: Adapted from McDonald’s Australia (2012), ‘Becoming a key ingredient in our success: McDonald’s Australia franchising overview’, p. 6. In addition, a franchisee must maintain a maximum of 75 per cent debt to assets ratio for the entire term of their franchise agreement. Hence, McDonald’s will not allow borrowings to be more than 75 per cent of the total asset value of the restaurant. If purchasing an existing restaurant, McDonald’s will not permit the purchaser to borrow more than 75 per cent of the McDonald’s agreed valuation.These stringent financial requirements are to ensure a sustainable return for the franchisee and the long-term viability of the restaurant for McDonald’s. In 2011, McDonald’s total revenue from franchisees was USD 8. 7 billion, comprised as follows in Table 6. Table 6: McDonald’s Corpo ration revenues from franchised restaurants, 2009 to 2011 2011 Rents Royalties Initial fees Total franchised sales 5 718. 5 2 929. 8 64. 9 8 713. 2 2010 5 198. 4 2 579. 2 63. 7 7 841. 3 2009 4 841. 0 2 379. 8 65. 4 7 286. 2 Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, p. 35. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 8 of 20 Part D: A timeline of McDonald’s developmentWhen 1940 1948 1949 1955 1958 1959 1962 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1971 1973 1974 1975 1978 1979 1981 1983 1987 1990 1996 2000 2002 2003 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Milestone Dick and Mac McDonald open McDonald’s Bar-B-Q restaurant in California, US, with a large menu and car hop service Restaurant closes for three months of renovations and re-opens as a self-service, drive-in restaurant French fries replace potato chips on the menu, triple-thick milkshakes make their debut Ray Kroc becomes National Franchising Agent and opens McDonald’s franchise in Illinois, US The 100 millionth ha mburger is sold The 100th restaurant is opened in Wisconsin, US McDonald’s in Denver, Colorado, US, becomes the first restaurant with inside seating The 500th McDonald’s opens in Ohio, US First public stock offering at USD 22. 50 per share; 700 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the US First TV commercial. Ronald McDonald appears in his first US TV commercial, appearing on a flying hamburger in one-minute colour spots on the NBC and CBS networks McDonald’s goes international—the first international restaurants open in Canada and Puerto Rico The Big Mac, developed by an owner/operator in Illinios, US, is added to the national menu Ronald McDonald gets new friends—Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Big Mac join Ronald McDonald in McDonaldLand Quarter Pounder with heese is added to the menu First Ronald McDonald House opens in Philadelphia, US Breakfast at McDonald’s—the Egg McMuffin, created by owner/operat or from Santa Barbara, California, US, added to national menu The 5000th restaurant opens in Japan Happy Meals debut to coincide with the International Year of the Child First restaurants open in Spain, Denmark and the Philippines 7778 restaurants by year end in 32 countries Fresh salads added Moscow, Russia, restaurant opens McDonalds. com launched Fruit ’n Yoghurt Parfait introduced McHappy Day first held—20 November 2002 designated as World Children’s Day, with McDonald’s donating USD 1 from every Big Mac sold to children’s charities worldwide Plan to Win strategic framework launched Snack Wrap introduced—grilled and crispy chicken wraps Global packaging redesign, focused on environmentally friendly and common packaging worldwide McCafe goes national in US.McCafe coffees including lattes, cappuccinos and mochas added to menu McCafe Real Fruit Smoothies and Frappes introduced Opens restaurants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Trinidad and Tobago —now operates in 119 countries Shamrock Shake, a mint green milkshake which was launched in 1970 and sold on St Patrick’s Day only, now added to menu and sold all year round in US Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2012b), ‘Our company, McDonald’s history’ (accessed February 2013). End of Case Study 1 case facts. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 9 of 20 Case Study 2 Upwardly mobile: The Australian mobile telecommunications carrier industry A Introduction—Mobile telecommunications around the world The global mobile telecommunications carrier industry is one of the largest global communication sectors, with global revenue growing at around 5 per cent annually. Mobile telecommunications is now an established industry separate from the broader telecommunications industry.This industry has over six billion users worldwide and about USD 970 billion in annual revenue (Vodafone 2012). The industry comprises companies, known as carriers, who p rovide mobile telephone services to business and consumer customers. The global industry has several major segments including mobile voice, text and data services. Having experienced fast growth over the last 30 years, mobile voice and text services have reached maturity in the developed markets of Europe and the United States. This maturation is primarily due to increasing competitive and regulatory pressures 1 that have lowered prices, together with the slower pace of economic activity.Global emerging markets, such as those in Asia and Africa, are experiencing strong demand for traditional voice and text services as mobile phone penetration grows in tandem with economic growth. In contrast, the increasing demand for data services is providing strong growth in the developed markets. For example, in 2006, data services accounted for 6 per cent of mobile telecommunications carrier revenue, whereas in 2011 they accounted for 20 per cent and are expected to rise further over the medium term. Demand for data services is driven by the higher penetration of ‘smartphones’ that integrate voice, text and multimedia messages, with internet, music and social networking (e. g. iPhones), combined with significant enhancements to network data speed and coverage, and an increased range of mobile applications (Vodafone 2012).Data services are forecast to be the strongest growing segment of the global mobile telecommunications carrier industry, with estimates that, from 2011 to 2016, worldwide mobile data revenue will grow by USD 142 billion, compared to a USD 27 billion decline in voice revenue over the same period (Vodafone 2012). Another key driver of growth in developed markets globally is technological innovation in the form of upgraded networks 2 and innovative products and services. Innovations in technology are also bringing new competitors in the form of internet service providers (ISPs) and software companies who offer converged services such as Voice ov er Internet Protocol (VoIP; services (e. g. Skype) which provide internet transmission of voice communications).Japan is a global leader in many aspects of telecommunications, and the Japanese Government has played a strong role in shaping the development of the telecommunications industry. Japan has ‘one of the world’s leading mobile telecommunication markets, not only in terms of size but also in terms of innovation and its ability to be early with the introduction of advanced technologies’ (Budde 2012a). The trends in the Japanese market suggest ongoing competition on price and the importance of continual product and service innovation such as cloud-computing services and online storage, which encourage greater data usage by allowing users to store data on shared (‘cloud’) servers rather than mobile devices.Similarly, South Korea is a leader in the global mobile telecommunications industry, with strong government support to help transform that cou ntry into the knowledge era. The industry has experienced strong growth and a trend toward value-added products and services. This growth is coming at the decline of traditional fixed line services. For example, in the United States about 22 per cent of households are mobile only and do not have a fixed line, whereas in Australia about 14 per cent of households are mobile only—up 2 per cent from the previous year and suggesting an ongoing trend away from fixed line to mobile-only households (Bartholomeusz 2012). 1 2 Regulators continue to impose policies to lower the cost of access to mobile networks through setting lower mobile termination rates (the fees mobile companies charge for calls received from other companies’ networks) and to limit the amount that operators can charge for mobile roaming services’ (Vodafone 2012, p. 18). A mobile network is a number of transceivers or base stations located across an area of land that provide radio frequency coverage fo r the transmission of voice and data signals between communication devices such as smartphones. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 10 of 20 B The Australian mobile telecommunications carrier industryAustralia’s mobile telecommunications carrier (AMTC) industry is one of the most profitable industries in the broader Australian telecommunications sector, with revenue of AUD 20 billion in 2011–12. The industry is made up of carriers who supply, operate and maintain mobile telecommunication network services that deliver communications through the airwaves rather than through fixed copper or fibre cables. Consistent with the trend in the global industry, the AMTC industry is moving toward the maturity stage of its life cycle, with some segments in the industry expanding faster than the Australian economy as technology drives growth through network upgrades and innovative products.The industry currently has over 30 million mobile phone subscribers in Australia, with mobile phone penetration level at around 90 per cent (ACMA 2011a), or 130 per cent when customers with multiple SIM and mobile broadband cards 3 are included (Shulman 2012b, p. 7). 1 AMTC industry products and services Growth in the industry has shifted from mobile voice communications to data transmission services, such as multimedia messaging service (MMS), mobile TV and internet, music streaming, interactive gaming and global positioning system (GPS) mapping. Smartphones have enabled the convergence of the industry with this growing range of products and services functional on the one device. Revenue for the major segments is set out in Table 1, with key segments discussed.Table 1: AMTC industry revenue by segment (AUD in millions) Year 2005–06 (a) 2006–07 (a) 2007–08 (a) 2008–09 (a) 2009–10 (a) 2010–11 (a) 2011–12 (a) 2012–13 (f) 2013–14 (f) 2014–15 (f) 2015–16 (f) 2016–17 (f) Equipment 990 1 190 1 330 1 650 1 990 2 090 2 603 2 750 2 810 2 900 3 100 3 300 Voice 10 010 9 790 9 490 9 150 8 800 8 450 7 210 6 120 5 450 4 690 4 010 3 450 Messaging 1 090 1 450 1 862 2 060 2 450 2 940 3 405 3 450 4 040 4 600 4 900 5 450 Non-messaging data 320 650 1 290 2 100 3 020 4 050 5 608 6 420 7 300 8 200 8 990 10 032 Mobile commerce 310 390 560 760 900 1 010 1 204 2 270 2 550 3 800 4 280 5 349 Total industry 12 720 13 470 14 532 15 720 17 160 18 540 20 030 21 010 22 150 24 190 25 280 27 581 Note: (a) = actual, (f) = forecast. The figures provided in this table are simulated. aEquipment The sale of handsets and other mobile devices provides a significant and growing share of industry revenue, driven by innovations in high-value smartphones and tablets (mobile computers such as iPads and Kindles that are operated primarily by touchscreen). b Voice Voice services, made up of call charges and access fees, generated the largest source of revenue in the industry in 2011–12. This segment has benefi ted from the migration of consumers from fixed services (landlines) to mobile services as adoption of mobile technology has become widely accepted. However, the segment has become saturated and commoditised, 4 and is now in the decline stage of its product life cycle. In order to reduce customer ‘churn’ (loss of customers to rival carriers), there has been a trend to offer capped plans with free call minutes and message services.This trend has resulted in decreasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and hence voice revenue as a 3 4 SIM (subscriber identity module) and mobile broadband cards store and verify the identity of the mobile phone user. ‘Commoditised’ means the price of a product or service falls as it become widely available and standardised. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 11 of 20 proportion of total mobile revenue has fallen during the last five years. This decrease is expected to continue as competition in the voice segment continues to inte nsify, and as consumers continue to switch to mobile VoIP and the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax 5) mobile broadband system. Messaging The increasing demand for text/SMS (short message service) and MMS has provided major growth for the industry over the last five years, as consumers switch from voice calls to these types of communications. As well as individual use, businesses are increasingly using SMS as a form of customer communication. d Non-messaging data Technological innovations in the form of new generation networks and integrated handset products have driven strong growth in the demand for, and use of, non-messaging data (ACMA 2011b). Non-messaging data includes mobile internet, media updates, music streaming, mobile TV, gaming and GPS mapping (Shulman 2012b, p. 15). This growth is expected to continue through to 2016–17, boosted by the proliferation of high data usage devices such as smartphones and tablets (Shulman 2012b, p. 15).Mobile carri ers have enabled the growth of non-messaging data through the provision of mobile broadband that has enabled high-speed internet access to mobile devices, increased data usage allowances, and access to a variety of content. e Mobile commerce Mobile commerce (M-commerce) refers to commercial transactions, typically payment services, between customers and merchants that are operated on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. M-commerce provides customers with a convenient and accessible service for making transactions. Applications include mobile banking services, buying goods and services, and paying for car parking, flights and concert tickets (Shulman 2012b, pp. 15–16).M-commerce is predicted to provide a source of revenue growth in the AMTC industry, as consumers increasingly make these transactions using their mobile devices rather than desktop or laptop computers. 2 AMTC industry trends Australia is an advanced country in terms of mobile telecommunications. About 9 0 per cent of adults own a mobile phone, with a high level of smartphone penetration with about 37 per cent of mobile phone subscribers using a smartphone (ACMA 2011b). Following in the steps of the global industry, the AMTC industry is transforming into a digital era of new generation networks, increasing data usage, and innovative mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.Industry growth is underpinned by the fact that mobile phones, and in particular smartphones, have become the primary means of communication in Australia. This growth has also been driven by lower prices that have commoditised voice services and tightened business margins. a Network upgrades Mobile network technologies and infrastructures provide a set of standards for mobile devices and telecommunication services that comply with international standards. Periodically these network technologies are upgraded to a new generation. Each new generation of mobile technology is typically characterised by different frequency bands, wider bandwidth and improved data transmission rates. The improving availability and coverage of upgraded carrier networks has driven increased demand in the industry.The progression from second generation (2G) to third generation (3G) networks, and the rollout of fourth generation (4G) from 2011, continues to invigorate industry growth with superior functionality and lower data transmission prices, leading to increased demand. 6 The rollout of 4G technology will enable a variety of data services, such that revenue from data is forecast to outweigh revenue from voice over the years to 2016–17 (Shulman 2012a, p. 4). 5 6 WiMax is a fourth generation mobile broadband system that provides data speeds of up to 1 gigabyte per second, and data exchanges across greater distances. WiMax applications include mobile broadband connectivity between cities and countries, and are an alternative to cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) for ‘last mile’ broadban d access to customers. G, introduced in Australia in 1987, was an analogue network that was superseded by the 2G digital network from 1993. 2G offered data services (e. g. texting), and improved network capacity and data security. 3G commenced in 2005, with enhanced speed and services, including internet connectivity, MMS and music/video downloads. (Next G is a Telstra 3G network. ) 4G commenced rollout in 2011 and is designed especially for data transmission, with faster speeds and reduced network congestion that let users access fast internet connection, high definition TV and video conferencing from their mobile devices. GSM is one of the early, very basic, networks. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 12 of 20Wireless networks now cover 99 per cent of the Australian population. Telstra was the first telecommunications company in the world to build a nationwide 3G network. More broadly, the rollout of 4G, combined with the implementation of the Australian Government’s AUD 43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), 7 will speed the entry of the Australian economy into the digital era. This in turn will embed the importance of telecommunication services in the activities of consumers and businesses. b Data consumption Improvements in mobile and smartphone technologies have underscored a shift in demand from voice traffic to data traffic, 8 including messaging, non-messaging data and M-commerce.The development and widespread uptake of applications for mobile devices, in particular smartphones, has generated large revenue gains in non-messaging data. Australia has the third highest penetration of 3G handsets, behind only Japan and South Korea (ACMA 2011a). Online banking, internet browsing and video streaming from sites such as YouTube and live sports websites have contributed significantly. According to Shulman (2012a, p. 4), this trend will continue to 2016–17, with data becoming the primary source of industry revenue. A second key driver of t his trend to data traffic is improved network capacity and functionality and cheaper data prices, which are helping to drive strong growth in data consumption.Faster speeds and lower data prices are supporting ‘new value added features for mobile phones and will improve the functionality of Internet connectivity via a wireless data card. This will further increase bandwidth usage as internet browsing, mobile applications (apps [software that allows users direct access to content or websites such as as banking, shopping, entertainment, and social networking]), mobile TV and M-commerce are all forecast to grow concurrently with accelerating network speeds’ (Shulman 2012b, p. 9). The rollout of 4G is expected to provide a further boost to data consumption from mobile and data cards, with the advent of demand for super-fast mobile services. c Convergence Advances in technology have broken down industry barriers in the telecommunication sector.The bundling of products and se rvices is now an industry standard. Voice, video, transaction, media and information services are packaged together on mobile devices. Smartphones in particular have driven the convergence of communication products and services in the AMTC industry. Overseas trends suggest that industry convergence will continue as the importance of data increases and the distinction between ISPs and mobile telecommunication carriers dissolves. The global trend is for companies that previously operated in non-telecommunication industries, such as cable operators, mobile-TV technology providers, content owners and search providers, to look to move into the telecommunications sector.To gain greater control over the supply chain major market, participants will want to fully integrate and operate across key distribution channels. This will necessitate that the wired and mobile markets coexist within the media, IT and communications sectors (Shulman 2012a, p. 10). While convergence will drive growth in t he AMTC industry, it will also increase the level of competition and hence have a neutral impact on profitability. d Consumer behaviour As the segment composition of the industry has changed over time, so has customer behaviour towards carriers. Mobile communication consumers select a carrier to provide their mobile telecommunication needs.Portability of mobile phone numbers means that a consumer can take their number with them if they change from one carrier to another. Consumers can sign up with a carrier with either a prepaid or postpaid plan. 9 With the proliferation of higher functionality smartphones, there is a trend from prepaid to postpaid subscription by consumers. This shift will increase ARPU, which is currently AUD 61 for postpaid subscribers versus AUD 18 for prepaid subscribers. The Generation Y demographic (18–35 year olds) will produce increasing ARPU over the years to 2016–17 as they take up postpaid contracts for access to high cost and high value 3G - and 4G-enabled smartphones and use significant data services.Growing consumer understanding and acceptance of mobile devices, and the variety of mobile data services available, will support greater demand in the industry. Smartphone penetration and turnover is higher in the Generation X and Y demographics (people born between 1966 and 1994), as these groups look for new features and products. These trends are significant, given that the Generation X and Y demographics are the largest in Australia, making up over one-third of the population. 7 8 9 The NBN involves the rollout of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), or high-speed fixed-wire broadband, to 93 per cent of premises in Australia. Data traffic is a term used to describe the transmission and flow of data. This includes messaging, non-messaging data and mobile commerce. Prepaid plans have a contract period (e. g. 4 months) and the consumer pays in advance per month for a set amount of value for calls, SMS and mobile internet data. Whe n the limit is reached, usage is restricted or charged at substantially higher rates. Postpaid plans are usually monthly contracts that provide a set amount of value which can be exceeded and charged at the same rate and which the customer pays in arrears. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 13 of 20 An increasing proportion of Australians now have a range of communication devices and options, with a shift from fixed to mobile voice and data. Young Australians in particular are choosing to communicate using mobile devices or social networking via their computers or laptops, smartphones and VoIP.According to ACMA, ‘gender, age and location appear to be primary drivers of the shift towards mobile phone-only living, with males, those aged 25–34 years, and people residing in metropolitan areas of Australia most likely to not have a fixed-line telephone in the home’ (ACMA 2011a, p. 17). With the growing range of voice and data communication devices comes a greater dep endency of households and businesses as they subscribe to these mobile services: ‘The all-encompassing product range is allowing a growing number of consumers, sole proprietors and small businesses to rely solely on wireless services for delivering all their communication needs. Such dependency is facilitating a boom in mobile usage’ (Shulman 2012a, p. 7). Government oversight Historically, the Australian telecommunications sector was subject to strong government controls and monopoly structures protected by legislation in the form of Telstra (formerly Telecom Australia, renamed Telstra Corporation Ltd in 1993), the previously government-controlled telecommunications company (Shulman 2012). Since 1989, the sector has been progressively deregulated and opened to competition. The Telecommunications Act 1991 (Cwlth) issued two additional mobile network licences, granted to Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), which has set up a tripartite market. Legislation in 19 97 established a regulatory framework and industry codes and standards, and provided greater scope for industry self-regulation.Pricing, spectrum licensing and access are the three main areas of regulatory control, as described below. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has the power to set the pricing that carriers can charge for access to their networks. This pricing power encourages competition in the industry and acts to limit the power and profitability of the three main carriers. Telstra notes that ‘we are required to provide certain services to our competitors using our networks based on the ACCC calculation of the efficient costs of providing these services. In many cases we believe that the ACCC proposes prices that are below our efficient cost of supply †¦ There is no right to a merits review of ACCC decisions’ (Telstra 2012a, p. 16).The Australian Government controls the availability of the spectrum licences that assign the specific airspace on which mobile signals are transmitted and which operators require to provide mobile services within geographic areas and frequencies. 10 According to Shulman (2012b, p. 27), government policy decisions are required to reissue spectrum licences, and release new spectrum licences. Access to spectrum is a key factor in supporting the rollout of new mobile devices and services. The regulation of access to mobile network services is a third critical factor in the AMTC industry: ‘Under the Trade Practices Amendment (Telecommunications) Act 1997, network services can be â€Å"declared† whereupon carriers supplying network services are under an obligation to supply the services to requesting service providers.Thus, once a service has been declared, it is essentially under the control of the regulatory framework’ (Shulman 2012, p. 39). Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 11 services are declared services subje ct to regulated access pricing, while the 3G network is not subject to regulation. The potential for the government to mandate the opening up of a carrier’s mobile network to rivals is likely to increase competition and reduce the profitability of one or other of the three main carriers. There is speculation, for example, that the Australian Government may make the 4G network a declared service. 3 AMTC industry competitionStrong industry growth, combined with industry deregulation, contributed to the globalisation of the AMTC industry with the entrance of competitors, most notably Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA). a Industry competitors As at 2012, the AMTC industry is highly concentrated with the three major competitors—Telstra, Optus and VHA— accounting for about 90 per cent of industry revenue (Shulman 2012b, p. 22). Over the last seven years the market shares of these competitors have not changed significantly, with Telstra at about 40 per cent, Optus 30 per cent, and VHA 25 per cent. Competition is intense among these carriers, each of which has its own full-coverage mobile networks.VHA and Optus introduced strong price competition to the market with capped plans (prepaid and postpaid) and handset subsidies that give consumers low-price handsets as part of their contract. Shulman (2012b, p. 24) estimates that prices have fallen by around 5 per cent per annum over the past five years. 10 11 This airspace is becoming scarce due to the boom in mobile data transmission. CDMA is a transmission method that allows multiple users to use the same channel. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 14 of 20 The level of competition in the AMTC industry is high, given the regulated access to networks and the commoditised nature of voice and messaging services in which competition based on price is very strong.The three major carriers compete against telecommunication resellers who buy capacity on their network services then resell it to con sumers, and they also compete against mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) such as Virgin Mobile. MVNOs use an existing mobile network to sell a service linked to other branded services. For example, Woolworths, an Australian listed company with a significant presence in the retail sector, established an MVNO with Optus (Shulman 2012b, p. 26). Telstra The largest industry competitor, Telstra, is discussed in detail in Section C of this case study. Optus Optus is an integrated communications company that provides mobile, national and international services, local telephony and internet services to 9. 5 million customers in Australia. It is the second largest competitor in the AMTC industry.Optus is now a 100 per-cent-owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel), the biggest Asian-based communications group, with operations in over 20 countries and about 470 million mobile customers. SingTel is restructuring Optus following a drop in sales and revenue in 2012. â €˜SingTel †¦ reduced the workforce at Optus in Australia by about 10 per cent and is changing how it sells to consumers †¦ Customers will see more Optusbranded distribution channels †¦ Optus is cutting licensing to other retailers and adding its own stores to compete with its rival [Telstra], which has rolled out faster mobile-phone networks to expand market share’ (Chen 2012).Optus was the second carrier in Australia to commence the rollout of a 4G network in some of Australia’s metropolitan areas in September 2012: ‘Optus has revealed prices that are cheaper, with larger download limits, than Telstra’s plans †¦ [However] Optus cannot extend its 4G network into regional areas for several years because it does not yet have suitable low-frequency spectrum available’ (Battersby 2012). With the slowdown in customer growth in the Australian market, Optus is now focusing on improving the customer experience in order to achieve more profitable growth. VHA VHA is a joint venture between the Vodafone Group and Hutchison Whampoa.The Vodafone Group is one of the world’s largest mobile companies with a well-known brand, operations in over 70 countries and over 400 million customers. The large scale of the Vodafone Group provides strong economies of scale in purchasing and the rationalisation of operations, as well as off-shoring shared services to lower-cost locations such as India and Hungary. A key part of the Vodafone Group strategy is to achieve growth in mobile data services, particularly in the developed markets. The Vodafone Group aims to grow revenue from data services by upgrading and improving its networks to lead the market. This entails providing a faster and more reliable service, greater network coverage and capacity, and enhanced customer service.To enable this growth, the Vodafone Group plans to stimulate demand by informing and encouraging customers to take up the range of data services that are available now and that are being developed as networks are upgraded and new mobile devices released: ‘Vodafone, together with a number of other leading operators, has developed the next wave in personal mobile communications known as rich communication services which will enable data services such as instant messaging or live chat, live video sharing and file transfer across any device and on any network †¦ Vodafone is also developing a range of new services to generate additional revenue and enhance the customer experience such as mobile commerce, machine-to-machine and operator billing’ (Vodafone 2012, p. 19).Hutchison Whampoa, the other partner in the VHA joint venture, is also a leading global operator of mobile telecommunications and data services, with over 60 million customers and a strong focus on innovative mobile technology. VHA operates the Vodafone, 3, and Crazy John’s brands, and has nearly seven million customers. VHA provides 3G coverage to 94 per cent of Australians. VHA has performed poorly in recent times due to network coverage difficulties, delays to network upgrades, and poor customer service that has resulted in the loss of one million customers in the two years to July 2012. In the first half of 2012 Bill Morrow was appointed as the new chief executive officer (CEO), with a focus on improving network coverage, capacity, speed and reliability, and improving customer experience.VHA has invested AUD 1 billion in upgrading its network with the rollout of a new 3G network, and in 2013 plans to commence the rollout of 4G in an effort to match Telstra and Optus: ‘For Vodafone customers, this is translating into better coverage, better call quality and an improved mobile data experience on smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband devices’ (Hutchison Telecoms 2012). Global Strategy and Leadership Page 15 of 20 b Alternative products and services The relatively high pricing of 3G and 4G network use has e nabled competition from alternative services that operate on lower cost bases. This is offset by the carrier’s substantial investment to improve the availability and coverage of their networks. 1 2 Fixed telecommunications.This product has been in strong decline as consumers have terminated their fixed line phones and switched to mobiles as their first means of communication. Mobile and fixed VoIP. With the growth of the data services segment it is expected that: ‘internet service providers †¦ that offer mobile connectivity via fixed networks will become direct competitive threats †¦ For example, Skype allows users located in hotspots [sites (e. g. cafes and libraries) with wireless internet access for customers] to make free calls and send text messages via their mobile phone while completely bypassing traditional mobile networks’ (Shulman 2012b, p. 11). Wi-Fi 12 and WiMax. These fixed wireless networks provide data services at cheaper prices than the mobile networks.The use of these services is growing and they are predicted to become a profitable niche, particularly as the mobile networks are likely to struggle to cope with increased demands on their capacity. As the importance and usage of data transmission increases, ISPs offering WiMax technologies are forecast to pose a greater competitive threat to the AMTC industry. 3 c Barriers to entry There is a range of barriers to entry to the industry. The AMTC industry is capital intensive. According to Shulman (2012b, p. 27): ‘Upfront investment costs involved in the rollout of a network can be substantial; for example each GSM network station can cost up to $500 000 on top o