Undersea Release of Methane Is Under Way Article Critique Essay

Undersea Release of Methane Is Under Way Article Critique - Essay Example Cornelia Dean has used an important subject of science for this article. Global warming is an issue of concern for the entire world and Dean has explained the new atmospheric changes that can worsen the situation and promote further warming of the environment. The article has been supported by the research work which has been carried out by different countries including Britain, Germany and the United States. This highlights the fact that the subject is essential for all the countries across the globe and scientists are working towards checking for the climatic changes of the world. The article portrays a new research which must be new to a large group of readers. Many people would be unaware with regard to the fact that undersea release of methane could be an ongoing process. The author has written the article in a very understandable way and the writer has provided evidence from different studies. Thus, the article is readable by the common man and it will be of further assistance to the people possessing scientific knowledge. Â  It also serves to explain the subject in a complete manner by providing a proper history of the release of methane gas into the atmosphere followed by the negative effects of increased amounts of the gas in the atmosphere. The article explains the entire global climatic situation which results from the release of methane gas into the atmosphere. It highlights the fact that the increase in methane gas in the atmosphere occurred following the era of industrialization.... He also explained that the release of methane from under the sea bed was not in great amounts but this situation could take a different turn. Cornelia Dean has used an important subject of science for this article. Global warming is an issue of concern for the entire world and Dean has explained the new atmospheric changes that can worsen the situation and promote further warming of the environment. The article has been supported by the research work which has been carried out by different countries including Britain, Germany and the United States. This highlights the fact that the subject is essential for all the countries across the globe and scientists are working towards checking for the climatic changes of the world. The article portrays a new research which must be new to a large group of readers. Many people would be unaware with regard to the fact that undersea release of methane could be an ongoing process. The author has written the article in a very understandable way and the writer has provided evidence from different studies. Thus, the article is readable by the common man and it will be of further assistance to the people possessing scientific knowledge. It also serves to explain the subject in a complete manner by providing a proper history of the release of methane gas into the atmosphere followed by the negative effects of increased amounts of the gas in the atmosphere. The article explains the entire global climatic situation which results from the release of methane gas into the atmosphere. It highlights the fact that the increase in methane gas in the atmosphere occurred following the era of industrialization and it continued to increase owing to the activities of man which include agricultural activities as well

America Air Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

America Air Pollution - Essay Example The air pollution was in the first industrial revolution because of massive amounts high-sulfur coal usage in the production process. Great amounts of industrial production largely used high-sulfur coal hence producing abundant SO2 into the air. Air pollution specifically in the cities is not a new encounter. In the Middle Ages, using coal in the cities had escalated. The challenge of poor quality of urban air as early as in the sixteenth century depended on the use of coal. After the first industrial revolution, the air pollution problem formed and developed during the second industrial revolution as a form of â€Å"smoke†. Many industries were located in the cities and towns. The fumes from these industries and the coal from domestic heating in the home made the levels of air population in the urban region be high. In times of foggy situations, the level of pollution increased leading to the formation of urban smogs (a mixture of fog and smoke). This made the cities in America to be brought to a halt, interfering with the traffic and causing the rates of death to increase dramatically. The influence of pollution on vegetation and building was obvious. In the year 1960 to 1990, the congress of the United States enacted a number of clean air acts that were useful in strengthening the air pollution regulation. These initiatives were followed by many states in the United States. The Clean Air Act established some numerical concentration limits of th e basic air pollutants thus giving the reporting and mechanisms of enforcement.

Procter Gamble: Organisation And Development

Procter Gamble: Organisation And Development INTRODUCTION Procter Gamble was created in 1837 by William Procter who was a candle maker and James Gamble who was a soap maker. Since then the company was growing bigger and bigger as years past by. Nowadays, Procter Gamble is a multinational organization operating in more than 180 countries and producing over 300 products. Firstly, at this report, the strategic development of PG will be clearly evaluated and it will be followed by the evaluation of its resources and competences. Then, the evaluation of the companys external environment will be analyzed through the use of swot analysis, pest analysis and 5 forces analysis. Subsequently, a strategic group analysis of the industry that PG is engaged to will be carried out to illustrate their differentiate characteristics from other companies. Finally, the longer term strategy of PG will be clearly demonstrated with some future recommendations that could be supportive. Pattern of strategic development Since 1837 when Procter Gamble was founded, the company continued to grow and following the changes at the external environment, the corporate strategy of PG was changing as well. From 1945 to 2020, PG has three stages of corporate strategy, which are: Product diversification strategy (1945-1980), Globalization strategy (1980-2003), and Sustainable Development Strategy (2003-2020). Product diversification strategy (1945-1980) In 1946, PG introduced Tide washing powder. Tides performance was better than the similar products in the market and so it soon got as a big success. Subsequently, PG launched a lot of new products. The first fluoride toothpaste Crest Obtained certification by American Association of Dental Prevention, then it became the leading toothpaste brand quickly. In 1961, PG introduced Pampers which is disposable baby diapers, it is still one of the top product that PG sells (Ifeng Finance, 2010 ). The disadvantage of this strategy is that it is too difficult for the company to control and manage so many products and the company may over pursuit the market share and might not pay attention to develop the star products which have core competitiveness. As a result, the original core competitiveness is weakening and the company does not have its own characteristics, the concept of the companys image and product become blurred. Globalization strategy (1980-2003) Through the acquisition of Norwich Eaton pharmaceutical company  ¼Ã‹â€ 1982 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° and Rechardson-Vicks company ¼Ã‹â€ 1985 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¼Ã…’PG is active in personal care products industry. In the late 80s, early 90s, through the acquisition of Noxell ¼Ã…’Max Factor ¼Ã…’and Ellen Betrix, PG plays an important role in cosmetics and fragrances industry (Ifeng Finance, 2010 ). These acquisition activities have accelerated the process of PG globalization. Moreover, Pampers, Whisper, Pantene, Tide, Ariel, Crest, and Olay and other brands has become a world-renowned brands. However, the biggest problem when a company involved into other countries, is the cultural differences which will lead to different reactions on product on the consumers, thus the marketing strategies need to be changed accordingly. Also, the different national legal systems and the differentiation in consumers budgets is also greatly affecting the conduct of globalization strategy. Sustainable Development Strategy (2003-2020) At the current stage, the tenet of PGs organization strategy is sustainability which means improving peoples life quality. In order to achieve this strategy, PG to start work from the following aspects: Products: PG developed and sold sustainable innovation products which can significantly reduce environmental pollution. In 2007, PG replaced the packaging of detergent as half of the originals, and adjusted the solution to double concentrated formula. The method saved the use of packaging materials and reduced wastes. PGs purpose is to make the environment a better place (Adweek, 2007). Operations: PG established the sustainable development team in the offices. Through green recycling box, the company recycled more than 4800 kilograms of waste paper, and in exchanged for 69,000 new pieces of paper, moreover, the companys power consumption dropped by 10%, saving 17 million kWh which is equivalent to 560 families a months electricity consumption. In addition, in some factories and distribution centers, PG also installed solar power and rainwater collection and processing device, to further reduce energy consumption. (21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD, 2009) Social Responsibility: In 2009, PG signed United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and developed a global reduction in carbon footprint by 2012, and that will be published the results of carbon reduction stage. (21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD, 2009) So far, all of the efforts which PG has done are win-win situation of business and environment. When the company set up the environmental value chain, it will get financial gains from using energy efficiency and reducing wastes. Resources and Competences PG as we know it, is one of the worlds largest consumer products company but what does makes PG so successful while it competes in the huge consumer products industry? This part of the report is mainly focuses on the PGs resources and competences and how the resources and competences works together creating a competitive advantages for the firm. Resources Tangible resource The tangible resource is easy to be identified by looking at the financial report. Their net sale was $ 78. 9 billion in 2010, which is markedly stable by compared with the last two years net sales ($ 76.7million in 2009 and $79.3 in2008 respectively). The net earnings were $ 12. 7 billion and net operating income was $16 billion in 2010. This illustrates that PG has enjoyed a stable and healthy profits. Intangible resources The intangible resources are the brand equity, corporate culture and human resources. PG is the 6th Most Admired Company in Fortunes 2010 list; it was also one of the most valuable brands in the world. The corporate culture is unique, tough lives and improve life every day is PGs philosophy which encourages the PGners engaging to improve consumers life. PG is also very good at research develop. PG has invested $2 billion in consumer research over the last decade in order to understand consumers needs and to improve customers satisfaction. Additionally, at the same time RD increases the product innovation. Competences Marketing strategy Product differentiation: each product has different brands, for example shampoo has Rejoice, Pantene, and Head Shoulders. Only one product has more than three brands and detergent has as many as more than nine brands. Product differentiation can lower risk in case if one brand goes wrong. Various functions: one product has different functions and different packaging, for example, some of detergents have fragrance and others with the function of strong cleaning. This strategy will increase the market share for PG, such as in china along, the market share increased from 30% to 40% in 2010. Advertising: PG tends to use celebrities to advertise its products in order to attract young customers. Localization is another strategy that PG has adopted, for example in china, the company sells shampoo by suing Chinese girl who has black long hear, because this can represent the Chinese culture. Consumer understanding PG is a company that did most investigations in consumers and market research. More than 15,000 researches has been conducted each year. PG invested $350 million a year in consumer understanding in order to improve the customer needs. PG is the first company to focus on customer feedback. Innovation PG is the Innovation leader in the consumer products industry. Over the past 15 years, 125 PG innovations have earned a spot on the top 25 Pacesetters list more than six largest competitors combined. Innovation program: connect develop (C+D): PG is always seeking the opportunity to collaborate with people or company who has innovative ideas. The VRIO framework evaluates the competitive advantage from four aspects: valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized. From the evidence above the corporate culture was the Competitive parity. Because each organization has its unique cultures, it is inimitable. Human resources are the short term competitive advantage of the company. People are not fixed assets of one company, they can go to other company as well if they wish to. PGs competitive advantages are its brand equity, RD, marketing strategy, consumer understanding and innovation. External business environment At this part of the report, the evaluation of PGs external environment will take place. This evaluation will be contacted through the SWOT analysis, PEST analysis and Porters Five forces analysis. SWOT Analysis (Opportunities and Threats) SWOT analysis is a way to analyse an organisation and its environment. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are the internal factors, Opportunities and Threats are the external factors. At this report we are only consider about the external factors. Opportunities The increasing demand for the section of male health and beauty goods is one of the biggest opportunities of PG and with the acquirement of Gillette, PG is growing rapidly at this particular market. Moreover, PG has a huge opportunity with its reaction to the enormous technological growth of the internet by utilizing different marketing techniques and online social networks. What is more, taking into consideration their long-term aims, they have been disconnected from some products such as the oral-care toothpaste of Gillette, Zest brand have been acquired by Brynwood Partners, etc. so PG will pay their full attention at brands of their interest. PG is persistently growing into more and more countries so at the moment operates in 80 countries and now due to the recession it is easier to acquire any smaller firms because of their financial problems (Canadian Business 2011, Worldlingo 2011). Threats PG as a global giant company have a lot of competitors like Kimberly Clark, Unilever, Johnsons Johnsons, etc. who in various countries causes large threat at the market share. Moreover, the competitors of PG are increasing their goods range through getting hold of other smaller firms. As a result of the recession, the consumers budget has been decrease and therefore their spending power is limited as well. Also, raw materials prices are rising thus the production cost is rising and the different currency rate place a huge threat on PG. PEST Analysis PEST analysis stands for Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors and it is used by the analysers to identify the external factors that may affect the organisation in an opportunity or as a threat. Political Factors ProcterGamble have created the PG Political Action Committee (PG PAC), which is a scheme that it was created to give the opportunity to the employees of PG to support candidates at the federal, state and local level who contribute to the quality of life at the communities. Moreover, PG by offering economic support contributes in the political process (Procter Gamble 2011). Economical Factors PG is designed to go through any type of economy as they are very capable and they have a commitment to the consumers. Subsequently, even at the time of the recession PG had margins to reduce costs and offer products to consumers ( Business Week 2011). Social Factors With the creation of Live Learn and Thrive Program, PG helps children in need to drink clean water so it helps them to have a healthy beginning in life. Moreover, it is making places, tools and programs available to them for better learning (Procter Gamble 2011). Technological Factors PG as a big organisation and as it is specified in a lot of different markets, they are focusing on more sophisticate technology and they have managed to reduce any unwanted errors. PG have managed to create new products and further improve their existing products (Procter Gamble 2011). Porters Five Forces Model (SlideShare INC. 2011) Porters five forces model is a framework that was created by Michael E. Porter in 1979 and it is consider with the buyers power, supplier power, the treat of new entrants, the treat of substitute and the rivalry of a firm. Buyer Power Consumers are well informed for all different brands of a specific product that are available mostly through advertising. Brand name is very important but consumers are very perceptive with price level as well. Thus, buyers power is high so PG organisation must remain competitive to keep being successful. Supplier Power The power of the suppliers to PG organisation can be low because the raw materials are easy to be find from different suppliers and what is more, such big firms have the opportunity to produce their own raw materials. Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants is very low since PG and their well known competitors are already huge global firms with very famous brand names and consumers will not just change their brand goods as easily. Moreover, setting up this kind of firm will cost millions. Threat of Substitutes The threat of substitutes that PG have to face is high. That can be seen from the retailers shops and sometimes the substitutes have cheaper prices and same performance. Degree of Rivalry The variety of the goods between different companies started to be similar to each other so the firms must begin a differentiation with offers, vouchers or even better/cooler advertises. Strategic group analysis PG is one of biggest multiple customer goods company in the world. Thus each product could have its own competitors. However, the main competitors of PG are Kimberly-Clark Co, Johnson Johnson and Unilever. Net sale of PG and Unilever The chart above illustrates the net sale of PG and Unilever in the last six years. As it can be seen, Unilever has about 10 billion more sales than PG in 2005. Interestingly, as it can be seen from 2006 to 2010, the net sale of PG is considerably more than Unilever. Furthermore, in 2008, PG reaches the peak showing 20 billion Net Sales more than Unilever ¼Ã‹â€ PG official website 2010, Unilever official website 2009 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Product range and geographical scope Procter Gamble, Johnson Johnson, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark are the major international companies that sells their products all over the world. But as regard their geographic scope we can see huge differences. PG has been selling its products in more than 180 countries. Johnson Johnson is almost the same as Unilever, and they are both over 170countries. However, Kimberly-Clark has been developed up to 150 different countries. The product range of PG holds into 5 main product categories which are: Personal Beauty, House Home, Baby Family, Health Wellbeing and Pet Nutrition. Although the categories of PG are very similar with Unilever ¼Ã…’the food product of Unilever (Hearbrand, Lipton, sim-fast) gained an advantage over the other three companies. However, Johnson Johnson focuses its products on paramedical such as baby care, wound care and vision. In addition, Kimberly-Clark specializes in Health care products (PG official website 2010, Unilever official website 2009, Joh nson Johnson official website 2010, Kimberly-Clark official website 2010) Market share of shampoo in China With the development of shampoo market, the organization of PG became the leader of shampoo in Chinas market. PG basically owns five main shampoo brands which are Rejoice, Head Shoulders, Pantene ¼Ã…’Sassoon ¼Ã…’and Clairol; With these brands PG became the dominant position in many countries. Take china market as an example, PG take up nearly 60% shampoo market share in 2010. However, Unilever only accounted for 23%. The domestic brand C-bon only had 6.3% until 2010 (Bai Du website 2010). Successful factors PG adopts multi-brand strategy. When PG entered the China market, it launched Rejoice, Head Shoulders, Pantene, Sassoon and Clairol successively. What is more, each of these brands has its traits; for instance, the function of Head Shoulder should emphasis getting rid of surf and the function of rejoice is to soften the hair. Adopting the multi-brand strategy could have two advantages; Firstly, multi brand strategy can focus on different target market. Secondly, brand management can became very independent. In addition, at the same time it can reduce the risks. Supposing that one brand of PG frails, it will not affect the reputation of PG too much. On the other hand Unilever adopts the Monolithic Brand Strategy which with this method can save money on many advertisement fees, it lost the market share. PG always build the brand image with a massive advertising campaign. It is not only in newspaper, magazines, but also on major television channels. The advertisement of PG is very pertinence, because each of their brands are emphasizing its unique function (Bai Du website 2010). Long term strategy development of the organization References: Bai Du website (2010 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °Brand of shampoo strategy in China. [online] available from [20 January 2011] Bai Du website (2010 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °marketing analysis of PG and Unilever [online]available from [20 January 2011] Bai Du website (2010 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °PG took up more 60%market share in China. [online]available from [21 January 2011] Business Week (2011) PG is up [online] available from [19 December 2010] Canadian Business (2011) Brynwood Partners [online] available from [7 January 2011] Docstock (2010) PG Analysis [online] available from [29 December 2010] Ifeng Finance. (2010) Procter and Gamble Profile [Online] Available from [10 January 2011] Johnson Johnson. (2010) official website [online]available from [16 January 2011] Kai, H. (2009) Procter Gamble: Environmental Friendly Promoting Innovation. Newspaper of 21st Century Business Herald, 26 Kenneth R. Andrews. (1980) The Concept of Corporate Strategy. Richard D. Irwin, Inc Kimberly-Clark ¼Ã‹â€ 2010 Official website [online] available from [18 January 2011] PG (2010) Official Website [online] available from [5 January 2011] SlideShare INC. (2011) Fluff Pulp Fiction [online] available from [5 January 2011] Sustainable Packaging Coalition. (2007) PG Canada Liquid Laundry Concentrate [Online] Available from [8 January 2010] Unilever (2009) Official Website [online] available from [14 January 2011] Worldlingo (2011) List of Procter Gamble brands [online] available from [6 January 2011]

Doctor Faustus Essays: The Appeal of Evil in Dr. Faustus :: Doctor Faustus Essays

The Appeal of Evil in Dr. Faustus  Ã‚   Christopher Marlowe had a thorough idea of what his audience wanted. The audience of that time wanted to be wild and evil but due to the strong influence of the church this was not possible. Most people want to see violence, sin, and give in to temptation but could not because of the label that society and the church would place on them. Marlowe gave them a play where they could see and experience all of the things that people wanted to do but could not or would not because they were dangerous and sinful. In Act I Marlowe sets up the dramatic summoning of the Devil. First Marlowe lets Faustus describe the setting: Faustus. Now that the gloomy shadow of the night, Longing to view Orion’s drizzling look, Leaps from th’ antarctic world unto the sky And dims the welkin with her pitchy breath†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(I.iii, 1-4) If we look at this passage we see many references to how the stage looked and what the atmosphere of the audience was like. First, Faustus states that the setting is now perfect to begin the summoning of the Devil. Darkness would cover the stage and the audience as the gloomy shadow of night dimmed everything. The darkness loomed so low and black that Orion could not even be seen. Faustus went on to describe the scent in the air, the scent of Pitch, the scent of Hell! The audience was mystified and horrified at the same time. Now that the setting has been set and piqued the audience’s interest, the incantations can begin: Faustus, begin thine incantations And try if devils will obey thy hest, Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them. Within this circle is Jehovah’s name Forward and backward anagrammatiized, Th’ abbreviated names of holy saints, Figures of every adjunct to the heavens, And the characters of signs and erring stars, By which the spirits are enforced to rise: (I.iii, 5-13) Here we see that Faustus starts to summon the Devils from the depths of Hell. Faustus claims that he has sacrificed and prayed to them, that he has made Jehovah’s name anagrammatiized. At this point the audience would have been actually frightened. They would be fearful of what God might do for Faustus taking the names of holy men and changing the letters around and spelling words from them.

Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? Essay

In early March 2004, Alejandro Perez, president and CEO of Chilean forestry company, Arauco, was about to present his recommendations to the board of directors as to whether the company should invest US$1 billion to construct a new state-of-the-art chemical pulp plant. The plant, part of a multiphase project called Nueva Aldea, would increase Arauco’s capacity by approximately 800,000 tons to 3. 2 million tons, placing the company as the largest producer of market pulp, just ahead of Aracruz in Brazil. Two years earlier, Arauco’s board approved the first phase of the Nueva Aldea project for US$150 million, which consisted of building a sawmill, plywood mill, and energy complex. The second phase involved constructing a pulp mill following the inauguration of the new Valdivia plant on January 30, 2004. The Valdivia plant had a designed production capacity of 700,000 tons of pulp, with an operating life between 30 and 40 years and expected sales of USD $350 million per year. 1 Perez was concerned about the downward trend in market pulp prices over the last three years. In addition, major paper companies, the sole buyers of market pulp, were typically backwardintegrated into the production of pulp. Perez was confident, however, that the board would trust his judgment given Arauco’s tremendous success in recent ventures into remanufactured wood products (such as cut stock, blanks, clear rips, and decking balusters), plywood, and fiberboard panels. Perez anticipated the toughest question the board would pose: would shareholders be better served by a strong-willed forward integration move into paper manufacturing rather than the horizontal growth plan he was proposing? Furthermore, was a large resource commitment a good strategic move at this point? History of Arauco and COPEC Arauco was formed through a merger between Industrias Arauco and Celulosa Constitucion in 1979. Both companies had been created 20 years earlier by the Chilean government to develop forest resources, improve soil quality, and promote employment. In the late 1970s, the Chilean government had initiated an aggressive privatization program, which resulted in the sale of Industrias Arauco in 1977 to Compania de Petroleos de Chile (COPEC), a conglomerate involved in oil and gas, fishing, ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professors Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jorge Tarzijan (Universidad Catolica de Chile) and Research Associate Jordan Mitchell prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. 705-474 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? forest management, and pulp. Two years later in 1979, COPEC purchased Celulosa Constitucion, merging the two entities to create Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion SA (referred to as Arauco). Arauco began its expansion plan in the 1980s, which involved purchasing land and plantations and installing new technology equipment to improve efficiencies to compete effectively in the world market pulp arena. The expansion plan paid off as the company’s total holdings in hectares2 grew from 170,000 in 1980 to 1,200,000 hectares in 2003. 3 Throughout the 1990s, the company increased its production capacity by constructing a second line at the Arauco mill, introducing new bleaching systems, entering new product lines, and expanding energy generation at its plants. By 1996, Arauco moved across the border to Argentina to purchase the company Alto Parana, expanding the company’s overall product offerings, land holdings, and production capacity. In 2000, Arauco aggressively increased its capacity yet again by purchasing its third mill in Chile, increasing production in Argentina, and entering into the MDF (medium-density fiberboard) and HB (hardboard) markets through stakes in sawmill PANELS plants such as Cholguan and Trupan. In late 2001, the company commenced a three-year construction project of its new mill, the Valdivia mill, at an estimated cost of US$600 million. The Valdivia plant had opened in January 2004 with a total construction cost of US$1. 2 billion; US$900 million was apportioned to the purchase of the plant’s assets (a pulp plant and other assets), and US$300 million was for the creation of a 100,000 hectare forest. 4 The plant was the world’s fifth-largest bleached kraft pulp plant and the largest in Chile. By 2004, Arauco was one of the world’s premier forestry enterprises in terms of plantation areas and yields. It was also involved in the production of market kraft wood pulp, saw timber, and wood panels with forest plantations throughout Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Arauco had sales offices in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Holland, Japan, and the U. S. , and distributorships in Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and India. (Exhibit 1 shows Arauco’s corporate structure. ) COPEC was the majority shareholder with 99. 98% ownership of Arauco’s shares. COPEC: This company was founded after the stock market crash in 1929 with the intention of guaranteeing fuel supplies in Chile. 5 As of the end of 2003, the market capitalization of COPEC was approximately US$9. 3 billion, which represented 12% of the market capitalization of all publicly traded companies in Chile. COPEC was publicly traded with the majority of shares being indirectly held by the Angelini Group (via another company, AntarChile). Anacleto Angelini, part owner of the Angelini Group, was deemed to be one of the 10 richest men in Latin America by Forbes magazine. 6 COPEC’s consolidated sales were US$2. 7 billion, with operating income at $375 million. Although 35% of COPEC’s sales7 came from forestry, COPEC’s profits were tied closely to pulp prices, since 78% of the company’s EBITDA originated from Arauco. 8 Other sales were derived from fuels (60. 4%), fishing (1. 4%), and other investments (3. 2%). Arauco’s Strategy Arauco explained its central strategy in a letter to shareholders: The central idea behind our global strategy is to strengthen our position as one of the most important forestry companies in Latin America, employing [the company’s] size to achieve the necessary economies of scale for positioning [ourselves] as a company that provides a reasonable return to its shareholders while properly meeting its responsibilities to its employees, the country and the communities where it develops its activities. In the forestry area, Arauco’s strategy is to increase the value of it forest resources, consisting of radiata and 2 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? 705-474 taeda pine and eucalyptus through further purchases but especially through making intensive use of the most advanced technologies in genetic improvement, forest management and pest, weed and fire protection. 9 The company felt that it could achieve its strategy through implementing a capital expenditure plan aimed at increasing capacity, efficiency, and productivity in both pulp and wood products. While the company’s current strength was in softwood through its radiata and taeda pine forests, Arauco wanted to increase its hardwood pulp production by planting eucalyptus trees. By using advanced forest techniques, the company hoped that it would improve product quality and increase margins. An analyst described Arauco’s cost advantage in comparison with its northern counterparts: Arauco has a leading business position in the volatile market pulp industry due to its lowcost production capabilities. Unlike bleached softwood market pulp producers in the Northern Hemisphere, Arauco produces bleached softwood kraft pulp for less than $300 per ton. As a result, Arauco has been able to generate positive cash flows during troughs in the market pulp cycle. Nevertheless, like all producers of market pulp, Arauco is not able to escape the impact of pricing swings on its financial performance. This is reflected in the company’s credit protection measures, which have improved over the past two years as prices have risen. 10 Perez gave his view of Arauco’s performance against its strategy, in light of difficult economic conditions in Chile: During several years, the company has been concentrated in the pulp business because we had young forests. But while they were maturing, we developed other important businesses like woods and panels that gave a bit more stability to the results. As well, investments made to improve our assets, our operational strength, and economic conditions—like the favorable exchange rate for export industries—have all helped to reduce operational costs. And, there’s a third reason that we’re different from other large Chilean companies that have a presence in Argentina. We’re oriented to exports. The crisis in Argentina has shook us like it has others, but our focus has allowed us to gain access to other markets and weather the storm. 11 An industry observer commented on Arauco’s decreasing reliance on pulp: â€Å"The firm . . . has been diversifying their business lines to minimize the impact of the volatility of pulp prices—one of their principal sources of income. The search to expand the company’s horizons have already had some repercussions to the company’s image: traditionally, they’ve been called Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion (Celarauco) or Celco, but now the company is positioning themselves more frequently with the name Arauco. †12 Product Segments Arauco had three main product segments: pulp products, such as bleached and unbleached kraft pulp; forestry products like pulpwood and sawlogs; and wood products, which included flitches, lumber, remanufactured wood products and panels. (Exhibits 2 and 3 show Arauco’s overall financials, employee base, and sales by product segment. ) Pulp Pulp was used primarily in the manufacturing of paper and paperboard products, although pulp was also employed in other products like rayon, photographic films, cellophane and explosives. 13 3 705-474 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? Ninety percent of the world’s pulp originated from wood and 10% was produced through alternative materials such as straw bamboo, bagasse, kenaf, flax, hemp, and cotton. 14 Processes and types There were several types of kraft pulp traded throughout the world. Pulp could either be bleached or unbleached and derived from either hardwood or softwood. Two processes existed for producing pulp: mechanical (produced by shredding logs or wood chips) and chemical (made by cooking wood chips in a solution). Chemical pulp was further subdivided into two groups: sulphite pulp and sulphate pulp (more commonly called kraft pulp, meaning â€Å"strong† in German). By 2004, the kraft process was the world’s predominant chemical pulping method accounting for 95 per cent of all chemical pulp. Kraft pulp was brown in color, and was thus bleached for most applications. For example, in the manufacturing of white paper, pulp was bleached at the end of the pulping process. In contrast, brown paper bags were manufactured from unbleached kraft paper. Arauco elected to produce all of their pulp through the kraft process. a Each region specialized in a given category: for example, northern bleached softwood kraft pulp was produced mainly in Canada, the U. S. , Russia and Scandinavia and bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp was made mostly in Latin America. Arauco’s production of pulp Over 50% of Arauco’s revenues were generated by pulp sales. As of early 2004, Arauco had five pulp mills in Chile: Arauco I, Arauco II, Constitucion, Licancel, and the newly constructed Valdivia. The company also controlled another pulp mill, which was part of the wholly owned Argentinean company Alto Parana. (Exhibit 4 provides information about each mill. ) Arauco Mills (both I and II) were located 600 kilometers south of Chile’s capital, Santiago, in what was known as the eighth region15 of Chile. The annual capacity of Arauco I was 290,000 metric tons of eucalyptus kraft pulp or 200,000 metric tons of RADIATA kraft pulp. Arauco II produced only bleached radiata pine pulp, and its annual production capacity was about 500,000 tons. Both mills were equipped to produce elementary chlorine-free pulp—a pulp that avoided the use of environmentally harmful chlorine gases. Constitucion Mill was located 360 kilometers southwest of Santiago in the seventh region of Chile, and boasted a capacity of 355,000 metric tons of unbleached pulp. Licancel made elementary chlorine-free bleached radiate and eucalyptus kraft wood pulp, which was used primarily in the production of printing, writing, hygienic, and industrial papers. Its production was about 120,000 tons annually. Based in Misiones, Argentina, Alto Parana produced approximately 350,000 tons of bleached softwood kraft wood pulp from tadea pinewood, supplied both from its own plantations and independent sources. The company’s pulp mills were not affected by seasonality and generally ran at capacity throughout the year except eight to ten days of maintenance every 12 months. Arauco was the world’s largest single producer of unbleached softwood kraft pulp, holding 15. 8% of the total market. The company actively exported around the world, with Asia as its major destination for export sales. Pulp represented US$709. 8 million or 48. 7% of Arauco’s sales in 2003. (Exhibit 5 shows Arauco’s pulp exports. ) Arauco Electricity Generation To combat against rising electricity costs in Chile in the first half of the 2000s, Arauco installed two electricity generating turbines beside its pulp production facilities at an approximate cost of $60 million. Combined, the turbines have a capacity of approximately 250 megawatts (MW) per year. Arauco’s plants used 120 MW, leaving 130MW extra electricity generation capacity. Arauco had decided to install the additional capacity (which cost roughly $20 million of the total $60 million) so that it could sell the extra electricity to the Chilean a The word â€Å"kraft† was derived from the German word â€Å"strong. † 4 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? 705-474 electricity grid. Arauco was the only Chilean manufacturer who engaged in energy trading of such magnitude; revenues from selling off the additional energy averaged about $100 million per year. Selling market pulp Arauco marketed all bleached pulp under the name â€Å"Arauco† and unbleached pulp under the name â€Å"Celco. † Pulp was a commodity and was marketed by pulp producers mostly on price and service to nonintegrated paper manufacturers. Arauco aimed to establish long-term relationships with nonintegrated paper manufacturers by providing competitively priced and high-quality pulp. (Arauco’s cost of producing pulp per ton is shown in Exhibit 6). Besides these costs, there were selling and administrative expenses averaging approximately 9% of yearly revenues. The asset beta of pulp production and sales was 0. 9. Arauco also tightly controlled its inventories, attempting to sell its bleached and unbleached pulp at favorable market prices. (Exhibit 7 shows Arauco’s Chilean bleached and unbleached pine pulp prices (CIF) per metric ton. ) Forests Arauco’s forestry products were classified as either sawlogs or pulpwood. Arauco was Chile’s largest radiata pine owner, with 33% of the country’s total plantations. Radiata pine was a fastgrowing conifer tree and was highly regarded for its quality of wood. Chilean climatic conditions were ideal for the growth of radiata pine, and the country was generally considered to have the richest natural resources of radiata pine in the world. Common uses for the radiata pine were decorative veneer, form work, heavy and light construction, joinery, paneling, pulp/paper products, wainscotings, packing cases, boxes, crates, and building materials. In Chile, the harvesting of pulp logs could take place 16 to 18 years after planting and high-quality saw logs could be harvested in 25 years. In contrast, pulp logs cultivated in the northern hemisphere were harvested only 18 to 45 years after plantation and sawlogs required 50 to 150 years. Radiata pine in Chile had a high yield per hectare due to the quality of soil, making it possible to plant a larger number of pines by hectare. The first seven to 12 meters of the radiata pine tree was the highest quality part and was used in sawmills and plywood mills. The next eight to 13 meters was destined to sawmills or pulp mills depending on diameter and density of knot distribution. The top section was used for pulp and medium-density fiberboard (MDF) production. (Exhibit 8 shows a diagram of a tree and its multiple uses. ) Forests management Arauco’s forest holdings were geographically split by farmlands. To control forest fires, the company operated an organization dedicated to the constant identification and extinguishing of potential hazards. (Exhibit 9 summarizes Arauco’s land and forest holdings in Chile as of year-end 2003. ) In addition to the 900,000 hectares Arauco owned in Chile, it owned 200,000 hectares in Argentina and Uruguay. Bioforest Bioforest was the only forestry science and technology research center in Chile. In its laboratories, nurseries, and greenhouses, Bioforest conducted research and evaluated the latest techniques. The company fed innovations into the rest of Arauco’s operations but did not publicize its findings to the broader research community, nor did it offer consulting services to outside companies. The total spend on research and development was spread throughout several areas of the company and therefore, exceeded the research and development costs listed in the company’s annual financial statements. With advances in genetics and pest controls, Arauco was constantly seeking to improve the quality of its plantations. Bioforest had reached important achievements including the genetic 5 705-474 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? replication of high-quality radiata pine trees and eucalyptus trees. The company also researched soil fertility and insects aiming to develop strategies for plague control. Among other techniques to exterminate parasites, the company used natural predators biologically designed and reproduced in its own labs. Wood Products From its plantations, Arauco provided logs to sawmills and pulp mills, and to factories for the manufacture of panels. Arauco also sold logs and a variety of wood pieces on the open market. Arauco supplemented its production of pulp logs with purchases in the Chilean market. The plantations owned by Arauco covered approximately two-thirds of the raw material needed for production. The remaining one-third was purchased from providers and forest owners. The company hired independent contractors to perform most of its forest operations (planting, maintenance, thinning, pruning, harvesting, transportation, and access road construction). In 2003, the company employed over 10,000 workers through more than 300 subcontracting deals, with many contractors having long-standing relationships with Arauco. One important activity performed by independent contractors was the transportation from the forest plantations and between mills and ports. Fifteen years earlier, Arauco had owned a complete fleet of trucks, but by 2003 the company had outsourced the majority of its transportation needs. In some situations, Arauco provided capital to truck owners in order to expand and improve services. Arauco strove to establish long-term relationships and made renewable agreements of up to three years with truck owners and operators. Sawmills: Sawmills cleaned, dried, cut, and chopped logs into sawn timber. Arauco’s sawmills varied in capacity and capability, with some designed to produce green sawn timber (wood not dried in a kiln) and others designed to handle kiln-dried wood and remanufactured wood products. Arauco strategically built its sawmills close to its plantations to cut down on transportation costs and reduce time. The company owned 11 sawmills in Chile and two in Argentina that divided their production between sawn timber (green or kiln-dried) and remanufactured wood products, with an annual production capacity of 2. 5 million cubic meters of lumber. Arauco also owned five remanufacturing facilities that produced remanufactured wood products from reprocessed sawn timber. Like its forest operations, Arauco employed independent contractors to operate all of the sawmills and remanufacturing facilities. By 2003, Arauco’s sales of sawmill products represent 27. 5% of total sales. The mills had a total capacity of 5. 4 million cubic meters of sawlogs and 2. 65 million cubic meters of lumber. The Horcones II sawmill in Chile and the Misiones sawmill in Argentina were built in the first quarter of 2000 to increase production capacity by 520,000 cubic meters of sawn timber per year. The investment cost for Arauco was approximately US$52 million. At the same time, Arauco acquired Forestal Cholguan, through which it got the Cholguan sawmill, which further increased production capacity by 300,000 cubic meters of lumber per year. Panels Arauco produced plywood and fiber panels, which represented 20. 4% of the company’s sales in 2003. Arauco had expanded capacity first by building a plywood facility in 1997 at a cost of US$44 million, which increased production capacity by 230,000 cubic meters. In 2000, it built a second production line at a cost of US$30 million, and the total production of the facility reached 340,000 cubic meters. Maderas Prensadas Cholguan S. A. also became part of Arauco when the company bought Cholguan in 2000, increasing the capacity by approximately 300,000 cubic meters of MDF and HB. During 2002, two new mills MDF were set up, one in Chile and another in Argentina at a cost of US$135 million, amounting to a combined production capacity of 500,000 cubic meters. With all of these investments, Arauco’s current capacity was larger than one million cubic meters per year, making Arauco one of South America’s largest panel producers. 6 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? 705-474 Log Merchandizing Arauco used a process called â€Å"log merchandizing† to determine the location of cuts on each log and the order in which each section was sent to different adjoining facilities. Log merchandizing involved the use of a computer-driven scanner, which identified the log’s diameter, the shape of the knots and the optimal points for the cuts. After a log was cut, it was automatically grouped and then sent to one of three destinations: sawmills for timber, panel production or the chip plant (for eventual pulp production). It was estimated that the log merchandizing process saved millions of dollars per year as a 10-centimeter (3. 9 inches) error variation for an optimal cut in a major batch could result in $50 million in losses. The investment to install the specific assets related to log merchandizing cost about $30 million. As an Arauco executive stated: â€Å"You have no idea of the quality of the tree and the number of knots until you cut it down. The log merchandizing process ensures that we are using the parts of the tree for the right purpose. † Alto Parana Arauco acquired Alto Parana in 1996, with the main goal of kick-starting profitable businesses in Argentina. The acquisition included a pulp mill and plantations. Alto Parana was located 1,300 kilometers northeast of Buenos Aires, in the Misiones province of Argentina. The Alto Parana plant was the biggest pulp market producer in Argentina, with a capacity of 350,000 tons per year of bleached softwood kraft pulp. Arauco obtained raw material from Alto Parana’s plantations. While the plantations spanned 173,000 hectares, only 86,000 hectares were planted. Since these plantations were not sufficient for Alto Parana’s pulp mill capacity, approximately 50% originated from third parties. Alto Parana frequently entered into negotiations with third parties negotiating on the basis of price, quality, availability, and delivery. Sometimes, price negotiation escalated to local government as the forestry industry was the lifeblood of the Misiones province. The proximity of third-party resources was another vital concern as transportation costs ate into margins. Alto Parana was located far away from the main ports in Argentina. Thus, it was neither plausible nor cost effective to transport raw material from other countries. Argentina’s main forestry zones were located in the provinces of Misiones, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Chaco, and Patagonia. Apart from Misiones, where Alto Parana was located, Corrientes was the closest at 300 kilometers from the Alto Parana facility. In 2003, Corrientes had pine and eucalyptus plantations spanning 117,000 and 71,000 hectares, respectively. Exhibit 10 shows the approximate costs of lumber transportation inside Argentina. In addition, there were loading costs associated with moving raw materials from the forest plantations to the plants. Owners of Argentinean plantations had to choose between exporting the wood to foreign nations or selling the wood to local-based enterprises. It was estimated that the following firms would require approximately 50,000 tons of market pulp each. The main Argentinean firms that needed wood as a raw material were: †¢ Celulosa Argentina S. A. , specializing in the production of bleached pulp, and located in Santa Fe, 900 kilometers from Parana, with a capacity of 95,000 tons per year. †¢ Faplac S. A. , manufacturer of PBO (particle boards), located in the province of Buenos Aires about 1,000 kilometers from Alto Parana, with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year. 7 705-474 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? †¢ Ledesma S. A. , manufacturer of notebooks and commercial paper, with a production facility in San Luis, 1,400 kilometers from Alto Parana. Ledesma manufactured about 85,000 tons of paper a year, although most of the raw material it needed to produce pulp came from sugar cane. †¢ Massuh S. A. , manufacturer of pulp and paper, with a production of 120,000 tons per year. Its pulp and paper plant was located in Quilmes, Buenos Aires province, more than 1,300 kilometers from Alto Parana. †¢ Papelera Jujuy, paper manufacturer, located in Jujuy, 1,100 kilometers from Alto Parana with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year. †¢ Papelera Tucuman, paper manufacturer, located in Tucuman, about 1,000 kilometers from Alto Parana, with a capacity of 50,000 tons per year. Pulp and Paper Industry The global pulp and paper industry consisted of five main activities: forestry, pulp production, paper and board production, distribution, and converting. Most of the larger players in the industry had integrated operations that involved two or more of the above activities. The industry had undergone a number of mergers and acquisitions in the 1990s as pulp and paper manufacturers struggled to enhance efficiencies, increase capacities, and lower costs. Some industry observers felt that the highly fragmented nature of the industry meant that prices were less stable. Several of the larger companies were considered to be fully integrated with the ownership and operation of forests, pulp mills, paper factories, distribution, and converting facilities. Other firms chose to focus on a particular category. The overall paper demand was determined ultimately by consumers’ willingness to purchase products such as newspapers, magazines, office paper, stationary, and a host of home products such as tissue and toilet paper. Paper and paperboard in packaging was widespread and used across most consumer and industrial applications. The overall usage of converted paper products (newspapers, magazines, tissue paper, diapers, etc. ) created the demand, which determined the prices for pulp and paper. The main consumers of paper were from North America, with an average consumption of 326. 5 kilograms of paper per person per year. Western Europe, Japan, and China consumed approximately 190 kilogram per person per year. Developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America were also increasing their usage of paper products. For example, corrugated paper in China was estimated at 13 to 15 billion cubic meters a year, with growth rates projected to be 10% annually for the next 10 years. 16 The possibility of such growth had spurred several pulp, paper, and chemical companies to form joint ventures with Chinese firms. Pulp and paper prices fluctuated as producers lowered prices in times of soft demand, and moved to increase supply by building more capacity when demand was predicted to increase. Suppliers of pulp and paper controlled inventories tightly, releasing products to the marketplace at targeted times. (Exhibit 11 shows the worldwide consumption of paper. ) Environmental Considerations—Recycling and Substitutes to Paper Governments had been increasing regulations for pulp and paper companies to avoid clearcutting forests, to reduce chemical by-products such as chlorine, limit gas emissions from the operation of factories, and increase recycling. With greater environmental pressures, the three â€Å"R† slogan (reduce, reuse and recycle) was creating alternative industries and increasing global 8 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? 705-474 capabilities to recycle paper. For example, in the U. S. , it was estimated that approximately 42% of paper was recovered for recycling. 17 Recycled fibers from paper replaced the use of pulp in paper manufacturing. Using recycled fibers had several advantages, including lower costs to recycle paper than to produce pulp, the reduction of wood usage, lower residues released into the environment, and an overall drop in the cost of environmental treatment. The major disadvantage of using recycled fibers was that its output per comparable ton was much less than pulp. Recycled fibers could be reused between five to seven times; after seven times, the fibers became too short for papermaking. 18 Recycled fibers were experiencing modest growth, with production growing at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 6% moving from 48 million tons annually in 1980 to an estimated 150 million in 2000. Some industry observers felt that the increasing use of computers, handheld devices, and mobile phones would act as a substitute for paper. However, with more information passing through these mediums, other industry observers felt that paper usage would increase. The Paper and Paperboard Industry Over half of the material that went into making paper and paperboard was made using pulp. Other materials included recycled fiber, chemicals, and minerals. By mixing together different variations of softwood or hardwood pulp, the paper manufacturer could produce a product for a specific intent. Paper products ranged from uncoated free sheets (such as regular writing paper) to coated free sheets, tissues, newsprint, and coated and uncoated groundwood. The worldwide paper market was estimated to be greater than 330 million tons at the end of 2003. The paper market had experienced three years of soft demand with no real growth in dollar terms since 2000. As of March 2004, an analyst assessed the worldwide paper market: Global paper demand is on the mend. U. S. prices are likely to lead the way into price recovery with a meaningful positive effect on U. S. earnings in the second quarter and should gain further in the second half. The U. S. dollar sets the tone for the sentiment to invest in the paper sector. While a weaker U. S. dollar undoubtedly has negative implications for earnings in the near term the impact of a weaker U. S. dollar is dwarfed in comparison to the impact of higher prices. . . . European paper prices have bottomed in our view and it appears likely that higher prices should start to impact earnings in some early cycle segments from the third quarter onwards. Later cycle segments, such as newsprint and SC paper, should see a nice price rebound in the early stages of 2005. Prices have been on a downward trajectory since the fourth quarter of 2000 but the tide is now turning. 19 Paper and Paperboard Companies Most of the large paper companies chose to operate a completely integrated structure that included the ownership of forests, pulp mills, paper manufacturing facilities, distribution arms, and converting capabilities. However, there were a number of smaller local firms that produced paper based on the specific need of their markets. These smaller paper manufacturers typically purchased raw materials such as pulp from suppliers based on the type of pulp (bleached, unbleached, softwood, hardwood, etc. ), the cost, and the service details. Some industry insiders felt that maintaining a fully integrated structure allowed for greater negotiation leverage with the main suppliers to the industry, such as chemical providers and paper and pulp machinery manufacturers. 9 705-474 Arauco (A): Forward Integration or Horizontal Expansion? Exhibit 12 shows a list of 25 of the world’s largest paper companies. The top five producers included: 1. International Paper Co. (U. S. ) had revenues of $25. 2 billion and profits of $302 million in 2003. The company was a fully integrated enterprise producing plywood, paper, pulp, packaging, and chemical by-products from papermaking. It controlled over 10 million acres of forestlands in the U. S. , Brazil, and New Zealand. 20 2. Georgia-Pacific Corp. (U. S. ) had revenues of $20. 2 billion and profits of $254 million in 2003. Like its main rival, International Paper Co, Georgia-Pacific was a vertically integrated competitor in pulp, paper, lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, adhesives, and a number of paper consumer products. The company planned on spinning off its consumer products division but changed plans due to weak equity markets in 2002. However, it did sell majority ownership of its distribution arm, Unisource Worldwide. 21 3. Stora Enso Corp. (Finland) had revenues of $15. 2 billion and profits of $182 million. Stora Enso was involved in the manufacturing of a wide variety of products such as magazine paper, newsprint, fine papers, packaging, graphic products, office papers, wallpaper base, and sawn timber. 22

Persuasive essay on school uniforms Essay

Nearly all students do not support school uniforms; however they do not know the benefits in wearing them. Believe it or not, there are a lot more pros than cons when it comes to wearing school uniforms. First off, school uniforms will develop a better teaching and learning environment. They will also save families a good deal of money. And lastly, school uniforms will eliminate a lot of bulling and labeling. A school would be a better place, for teachers and students, if school uniforms were required. The most important benefit of school uniforms is the atmosphere it would create. With school uniforms kids couldn’t wear anything outrageous or abstract. This would limit distractions in the classroom, producing a better teaching and learning zone. Also, school uniforms would make for a better student teacher relationship because everyone would be looked at as an equal. Another distraction uniforms could remove is the problem with females wearing reveling clothing. Lastly, a majority of students can take up thirty minutes picking out there clothes for the next day. If uniforms were mandatory that time could be used to do school work or get a better night sleep for the following day. Read more: Should there be school uniforms essay Families would save an unbelievable amount of money from school uniforms. Students wouldn’t have to worry about buying the newest, hippest clothes which cost a fortune. That would save families hundreds of dollars. Sure, kids would still need clothes other than their uniform, but not as many. Families would also be more time efficient with uniforms. One example of this would be a smaller laundry load. In addition, you wouldn’t need to worry about rushing to get something washed for the next day because you already know what you will be wearing. Bulling and labeling would be cut down if school uniforms were accepted by a school system. If uniforms were mandatory everyone would be equal and no biases could be set by someone’s apparel. Like wise, students couldn’t label someone as a scrub or high maintenance. When someone gets picked on, it is most likely because they are wearing something that is â€Å"not in† or because they are dressed â€Å"different†. If school uniforms were worn this would be a non-issue. Lastly, you couldn’t be labeled regarding your personal  interests. For example, if you were wearing a band’s tee-shirt or a preppy clothing line. If this wasn’t and concern everyone would be open to each other and groups wouldn’t be made based on what you are wearing. The only reason Student do not wish to wear uniforms is because they only care about looking good. However, they don’t know they can till look good in a school uniforms. Also, much more students would be open to school uniforms if they knew all the success they would get from them. Student and staff would have a much better school year if school uniforms were worn.

Top 20 Best Summer Jobs for Recent Graduates

Top 20 Best Summer Jobs for Recent Graduates looking for a way to maximize your hireability come graduation time? the best strategy is to get a job or an internship related to the field you want to work in. but if that isn’t an option for you, then you want to maximize learning stuff and making money- while still leaving you time to, you know, have a summer. some of the most successful people in the world have a story or two about the crappy job they worked over a summer or two of their adolescence. here are 20  of the best possible options for you to mull over as you dust off your summer wardrobe:sales- no matter what you’re selling, these skills will come seriously in handy over the course of your career.post office worker- this one comes with surprisingly good pay, and guaranteed time outdoors!national park servicescamp counselors- pay isn’t great, but accommodation and food (and beautiful natural surroundings!) are usually freeresort or country club- you get paid to be by the beach or the pool or the golf course.tour guiderestaurant jobsweb designtutoring- set your own hours and make bank.telemarketing- same as sales; you do have to be that annoying person on the phone, but if you have a knack for it, you’ll  earn a lot of cash.campus jobs/working in the labs or libraries- check your university for openings.construction workervaletpet and house sittingwriting articles for sites that will pay youconvention worker- anything cool coming to your town? get involved.landscapinglifeguardsdog walkerbarista

How does the viscosity of a liquid affect the flow of a sphere through it Essays

How does the viscosity of a liquid affect the flow of a sphere through it Essays How does the viscosity of a liquid affect the flow of a sphere through it Essay How does the viscosity of a liquid affect the flow of a sphere through it Essay The resistance offered by a liquid/fluid (gases and liquids) on a moving object inside it is called viscosity. The flow of liquid occurs as the movement of layers at different speeds which in turn lead to a gradient of speeds and friction among them respectively.Stokes LawThe viscous force offered by a fluid on a ball is directly proportional to the radius of the ball and its speed at a given instant.F is proportional to rF is proportional to vF is proportional to rvK=6= coefficient of viscosityF= 6 ? ? r vF=Frictional Force?= coefficient of viscosityR=Radius of the SphereV=Velocity of the Sphere? =F/6?rv = N/mms-1 =Nm-2s =Pa sI believe that the density of the liquid will be directly proportional to the time taken for the sphere to drop.Viscosity of various fluidsFluidViscosity (Pa s)Hydrogen8.410-6Air17.410-6Xenon2.1210-5(Room temperature)Blood3x10-3Castor oil0.985Glycerol1.5Mercury1.510-3Water8.9410-4Up thrust (U)When an object is fully or partially immersed in a fluid, the fluid exerts a force on the object upwards.Archimedes PrincipleThe up thrust acting on an object that is partially or fully immersed in a fluid, is equal to the weight of the displaced liquid.Up thrust= the upward force on the object.According to Archimedes Principle,Up thrust= Weight of the displaced liquid.= Mass of the displaced liquid x g= Volume of the displaced liquid x density of liquid x gU= v p gU= Up thrustV= VolumeP=DensityG=Gravity on kgm3-1The motion of a sphere inside a viscous liquidWhen a sphere is moving inside a liquid, three forces are acting on it:Weight downwards,Up thrust and Viscous Force upwards.Since F= 6 ? ? r v, the viscous force is increasing with the speed.Since F is increasing, at some point the sum of U and F is going to be equal to W.At this point the resultant force on the sphere is zero, therefore, according to F=MA, a=0, that means the sphere moves at constant speed. This is called the Terminal Velocity.When the sphere is moving at terminal velocity, W= U+F.?= 2r2 g (d-p)/9vtD=density of the sphereP=density of the liquidThe density of the sphere and pulp must be calculated separately using the formula:Density=Mass /VolumeTo find vt, the speed of the sphere must be measured during few intervals to make sure it has reached the terminal velocity.Then the experiment can be repeated to study the change in viscosity with the concentration of the pulp.AimTo find the time taken for a sphere to fall through several viscous liquids and liquids with different concentrations of viscosity.Diagram/EquipmentMethodI filled up the cylinder container with the viscous liquid, which is wallpaper paste (mixed together beforehand).I then placed the sphere on the surface of the liquid.When I let go of the sphere I started the timer.When the sphere reached the bottom, I stopped the timer.Using a ruler I measured the distance travelled.Using Distance / Time I got the speed of the sphere, and the terminal velocity at each 10cm interva l.I then repeated the experiment.PreliminaryIn my preliminary experiment, I tested out different sphere sizes and also the maximum and minimum concentrations of the viscous solutions, so I would know which quantities would be best to use.The diameter of the sphere I chose was 1.3cm, as it was small enough to travel at a constant rate through the liquid.The minimum concentration contained 8g of wallpaper paste in 600ml of water, as it was just viscous enough to take a reading. The maximum was 26g of paste, because after that the sphere doesnt move at all.Results = First ExperimentInterval (cm)Water (ml)Density (kgml-1)Time 1 (Sec)Time 2 (Sec)Time 3 (Sec)Average Time (Sec)1020Total5000.9744s104s146s44s105s145s45s102s146s145.6s1020Total5100.9518396618406717386666.3s1020Total5200.9413355812351.0014335858.6s1020Total5300.9361624717248162424.0s1020Total5400.914101551115491414.6s1020Total5500.9038133713481313.0s1020Total5600.8937103710461110.3s1020Total5700.882572583677.3s1020Total5800.872 462562445.3s1020Total5900.861241241233.7s17g PasteChanging Water from 500ml upwardsResults = Second ExperimentPaste (g)Density (kgml-1)Time 1 (Sec)Time 2 (Sec)Time 3 (Sec)Average Time (Sec)80.970.410.370.380.38100.960.370.340.430.38120.960.440.500.500.48140.950.630.680.650.65160.951.281.501.281.35180.944.185.416.535.37600ml WaterChanging Paste from 8g upwardsThe graph for the first experiment shows that as Density increases, so does time, though they are not directly proportional because they dont go up in equal amounts. There is also an anomaly, which could have been caused by human or systematic error.For the second experiment the graph is quite different. This shows that as Density increases, time actually decreases. So the two quantities are inversely related. There is a constant pattern at first, but then due to human and systematic error there are a few anomalies.Evaluation/ConclusionYou can see from the first graph that density and time are directly proportional, so as one go es up so does the other. This shows that the relationship between density and time is valid.For the second graph, the two quantities are inversely related. This is because for that one the liquid is getting more viscous, so slowing down the sphere.To improve the experiment I could take better precautions to reduce the errors, especially the human errors as they can be prevented more easily.I could have tried to find out my reaction time and eliminate that from the time to make it more accurate.Some of the limitations are that you cant use very big objects, because they wont fit through the cylinder, and also different shapes, because they have sides of different areas.

History Of Bullet Proof Vests

History Of Bullet Proof Vests Humans throughout recorded history have used various types of materials as body armor to protect themselves from injury in combat and other dangerous situations. The first protective clothing and shields were made from animal skins. As civilizations became more advanced, wooden shields and then metal shields came into use. Eventually, metal was also used as body armor, what we now refer to as the suit of armor associated with the knights of the Middle Ages. However, with the invention of firearms around 1500, metal body armor became ineffective. Then only real protection available against firearms were stone walls or natural barriers such as rocks, trees, and ditches. Soft Body Armor One of the first recorded instances of the use of soft body armor was by the medieval Japanese, who used armor manufactured from silk. It was not until the late 19th century that the first use of soft body armor in the United States was recorded. At that time, the military explored the possibility of using soft body armor manufactured from silk. The project even attracted congressional attention after the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. While the garments were shown to be effective against low-velocity bullets, those traveling at 400 feet per second or less, they did not offer protection against the new generation of handgun ammunition being introduced at that time. Ammunition that traveled at velocities of more than 600 feet per second. This, along with the prohibitive cost of silk made the concept unacceptable. Silk armor of this type was said to have been worn by Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria when he was killed by a shot to the head, thereby precipitat ing World War I. Early Bullet Proof Vests Patents The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lists records dating back to 1919 for various designs of bulletproof vests and body armor type garments. One of the first documented instances where such a garment was demonstrated for use by law enforcement officers was detailed in the April 2, 1931, edition of the Washington, D.C., Evening Star, where a bulletproof vest was demonstrated to members of the Metropolitan Police Department. Flak Jacket The next generation of the anti-ballistic bullet proof vest was the World War II flak jacket made from ballistic nylon. The flak jacket provided protection primarily from ammunition fragments and was ineffective against most pistol and rifle threats. Flak jackets were also very cumbersome and bulky. Lightweight Body Armor It would not be until the late 1960s that new fibers were discovered that made todays modern generation of cancelable body armor possible. The National Institute of Justice or NIJ initiated a research program to investigate the development of lightweight body armor that on-duty policemen could wear full time. The investigation readily identified new materials that could be woven into a lightweight fabric with excellent ballistic resistant properties. Performance standards were set that defined ballistic resistant requirements for police body armor. Kevlar In the 1970s, one of the most significant achievements in the development of body armor was the invention of DuPonts Kevlar ballistic fabric. Ironically, the fabric was originally intended to replace steel belting in vehicle tires. The development of kevlar body armor by NIJ was a four-phase effort that took place over several years. The first phase involved testing kevlar fabric to determine whether it could stop a lead bullet. The second phase involved determining the number of layers of material necessary to prevent penetration by bullets of varying speeds and calibers and developing a prototype vest that would protect officers against the most common threats: the 38 Special and the 22 Long Rifle bullets. Researching Kevlar Bullet Proof Vests By 1973, researchers at the Armys Edgewood Arsenal responsible for the bulletproof vest design had developed a garment made of seven layers of Kevlar fabric for use in field trials. It was determined that the penetration resistance of Kevlar was degraded when wet. The bullet resistant properties of the fabric also diminished upon exposure to ultraviolet light, including sunlight. Dry-cleaning agents and bleach also had a negative effect on the antiballistic properties of the fabric, as did repeated washing. To protect against these problems, the vest was designed with waterproofing, as well as with fabric coverings to prevent exposure to sunlight and other degrading agents. Medical Testing of Body Armor The third phase of the initiative involved extensive medical testing,  to determine the performance level of body armor that would be necessary to save police officers lives. It was clear to researchers that even when a bullet was stopped by the flexible fabric, the impact and resulting trauma from the bullet would leave a severe bruise at a minimum and, at worst, could kill by damaging critical organs. Subsequently, army scientists designed tests to determine the effects of blunt trauma, which is injuries suffered from forces created by the bullet impacting the armor. A byproduct of the research on blunt trauma was the improvement of tests that measure blood gasses, which indicate the extent of injuries to the lungs. The final phase involved monitoring the armors wearability and effectiveness. An initial test in three cities determined that the vest was wearable, it did not cause undue stress or pressure on the torso, and it did not prevent the normal body movement necessary for police work. In 1975, an extensive field test of the new Kevlar body armor was conducted, with 15 urban police departments cooperating. Each department served a population larger than 250,000, and each had experienced officer assault rates higher than the national average. The tests involved 5,000 garments, including 800 purchased from commercial sources. Among the factors evaluated were comfort ​when worn for a full working day, its adaptability in extremes of temperature, and its durability through long periods of use. The demonstration project armor issued by NIJ was designed to ensure a 95 percent probability of survival after being hit with a .38 caliber bullet at a velocity of 800 ft/s. Furthermore, the probability of requiring surgery if hit by a projectile was to be 10 percent or less. A final report released in 1976 concluded that the new ballistic material was effective in providing a bullet resistant garment that was light and wearable for full-time use. Private industry was quick to recognize the potential market for the new generation of body armor, and body armor became commercially available in quantity even before the NIJ demonstration program.

The Phenomenon of Georgia OKeeffe Research Paper

The Phenomenon of Georgia OKeeffe - Research Paper Example With the combination of thin paint and her natural ideas put O'Keeffe years ahead of her time. O'Keeffe ancestors were of Irish and Hungarian origin. She grew as a thoughtful child who did things in a manner that was her own way. She decided to become a painter at a very early age and she said "That was the thing I can do the best because that was nobody else's business." Georgia O'Keeffe was a teenager when she moved to Williamsburg with her parents. At Williamsburg she attended the CPEI "Chatham Protestant Episcopal Institute" from where she graduated in the year 1905. In 1907 she joined Art Institute at Chicago and in the same year she also joined the Art Students League at New York. Her artistic ability developed when she started to draw the paintings using oil paint on the piece of canvas. She made a famous oil painting of "Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot." As a result scholarship was awarded to her and it was an early indication of O'Keeffe being a genius. (Weingarten, & Higgerson, 2001) This gave Georgia a sense of achievement as she felt her work very different from the other still painters of her time and the ones before her. For a very brief period she worked as a freelance commercial artist in the city of Chicago. Later she became an arts teacher at Chicago and considered this work to be more pliable. In the year 1914, she became supervisor of art for all the public schools in the city of Amarillo, Texas. In 1920 she became head of the department of art at the College of Normal in Canyon, Texas. (Weingarten, & Higgerson, 2001) In this period O'Keeffe stop painting for a while and studied the art theories of "Arthur Wesley Dow" who was a famous lecturer of art at the University of Columbia. Georgia learned to find and create two dimensional reality in pictorial art. Dow also taught her that these realities must be based on pure aesthetic principles and taught her that composition of pictorial art should be abstract and it must be based on color, line, dark masses and light, symmetry and repetition. O'Keeffe also learned that all these things are important along with solitude, state of isolation and emotional ferment. Georgia O'Keeffe Life in New York Georgia O'Keeffe had a boyfriend with whom she had a conflict over something and that gave her some personal touch in the field of art. All these factors contributed in starting full time painting once again. She experimented with watercolors, oil paints and also the drawing using charcoal. In 1915 Georgia mailed few of her charcoal drawings to her friend who lived in New York. These charcoal drawings brought her artistic immortality. The reason for this was that her friend showed these drawing to Alfred Stieglitz, who was a renowned photographer. Alfred Stieglitz exhibited all these drawing at "Art Gallery 291" on 5th Avenue in New York. These drawing drew the attention of general public. As a reticent person O'Keeffe went to New York to oppose the display of her drawings and demanded an immediate removal. However Stieglitz persuaded her and he wanted these paintings to remain and also wanted her to continue her carrier for her own interest in abstract designs. (Reily, 2007) The d esigns used by Georgia were bud-like forms which where rounded and jagged between undulating

Misogynistic portrayals of women in Othello Essay

Misogynistic portrayals of women in Othello - Essay Example In Shakespeares celebrated play Othello we find three women who play vital role. Towards the end of the play we find that only one woman survives. All the three women are deprived of an identity in the play. We find that all the three women are either married or maintaining relationship with a male. During the time when the play was written, women exercised no power in the society. The Venetian society maintained a hierarchy in which men possessed all powers and women were considered inferior to men. In Othello we find Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona being in relation with the male characters Cassio, Iago and Othello. In those days women were considered as creatures with no intellectual power. However we find that the women characters of the play speak sense throughout the play. Women characters are also found trusting other characters. All the women characters of the play represent a specific social level. Desdemona represents the highest social level and Bianca represents the lowest social level. Each sexual relationship initiates some feeling of jealousy between the couple. Bianca is not frequently found in the play like other characters. However, her presence is crucial in the matter of death of Desdemona and other crucial matters. Iago considers her as a prostitute. Even though she fell in love with Cassio, we never find Cassio acknowledging her affection because of his desire for status. He knew that her social standing would highly influence this matter. She is found to be extremely jealous in this relationship. We find Iago using Bianca’s name to trigger the entire confusion in the play. This finally led to the tragedy end of the play. Regarding Emilia we find that she never questions Iago when she gives handkerchief to him. This shows the women’s ability to trust. However she is also found to be ignorant of the whole story till the end of the play. Her life comes to a sudden end, in the hands of her husband. She

The Power of Advertising in Modern Society Essay

The Power of Advertising in Modern Society - Essay Example The power of advertisements is immediately linked to their use of imagery and their sponsorship of commercial media. While the majority express a dismissive attitude towards advertisements and claim to be unaffected by them, available figures support an alternate reality. Steinberg emphasises this point when highlighting the financial resources which companies set aside for advertisements per season. In 2008, 30-second Super Bowl ads sold for $3 million (para 1). As exorbitant as this figure may sound, every single ad spot was sold and networks were pressured to provide more advertising slots. The reason, as Steinberg explains, is that advertising makes financial sense. The Super Bowl, for example, is viewed by almost 100 million people across the United States, with the implication being that Super Bowl ads give companies the opportunity to deliver their commercial message to 100 million people in just 30 seconds (Steinberg, para 6-8). Within the context of the stated, the $3 million figure is an investment in the popularisation of a brand/product and an attempt to persuade 100 million people to, at least, consider purchase. Accordingly, while most claim that they are unaffected by advertisements, the sums which companies invest in the purchase of prime-time advertisement spots tells a very different story. The power of advertisements does not only derive from their primetime placement but from their use of imagery. ... 185-186). For example, the images which Calvin Klein employs in its jeans ads are not just selected for the purpose of depicting the product but of portraying all that which may potentially be associated with the product. This includes sex appeal, charisma and an aura of success and popularity, among others. The point here is that the power of an advertisement and its ability to attract the attention of consumers is almost entirely dependant upon its use and selection of visuals. The fact that advertisements draw their power from images, rather than words, maximises their appeal and potential for attraction. As may be inferred from Moeller's analysis of the importance of imagery, the power of images lies in that they are open to interpretation and that viewers can, to an extent, impose their on meanings and values upon them (para 5-9). Unlike words where meaning is explicitly state, leaving little for the imposition of subjective interpretations, images provide viewers with the freedom to impose their own meaning and interpretations upon them. The implication here is that visuals can be personalized. Hence, the power of ads does not simply derive from the images which they use but from the fact that viewers have the freedom to impose personal meanings upon these images. Whether or not people choose to openly admit it, ads wield power. The imagery which they use influences our perceptions and their very presence provides us with media content. As Steve Hall explains, the production of media content is very costly and corporations only undertake the expenses involved for the purposes of profiting. Insofar as television content is concerned, whether sporting events or popular serials, advertisements cover the costs and generate the profits

Marketing project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing project - Essay Example Netherlands has a population of 16,652,800 people and about 15,500,000 bicycles (Shahan, 2014). This translates to about 1.11 bicycles per Dutch. Research also shows that about 27% of all trips are made by bicycle. On average, each Dutch covers about 2.5 km per day on a bicycle. However, since safety is paramount, we intend to introduce state-of-the-art bright bicycle lights, which would be placed on the front of the bicycle to enhance vision and red lights at the back. At the backdrop of the continued growth of bicycle use in the Netherlands, we have decided to take advantage of the high demand for bicycle lights in the country by entering into the market. Although there are a variety of entry methods that ‘A company can use to enter the Dutch market, we have opted to use joint venture as the best entry method, considering the Dutch legal requirements and the advantages of joint venture. The company has already identified a company with which to form a joint venture in Netherlands. The company is called Royal Dutch Gazelle, which is the leading bicycle manufacturer in Netherlands today. We chose to form a joint venture with Royal Dutch Gazelle because of a variety of reasons. Firstly, Royal Dutch Gazelle is a well-established brand in Netherlands and , therefore, forming a joint venture with it will enable our bicycle lights receive a warm reception among the Dutch. Secondly, a joint venture with the Dutch company will help the company share the risk of entry (Brady, 2010). Company A will also benefit from the joint venture with Royal Dutch Gazelle because it will result in sharing of knowledge and expertise, thereby helping in the development of the company in Netherlands. Additionally, because of the strict Dutch laws regarding the entry of foreign companies, it became appropriate that we form a joint venture with a Dutch company to enable the company A

Pharmaceutical indusrry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pharmaceutical indusrry - Essay Example With this monopoly, comes a lot of power which gives pharmaceutical companies the incentive to focus on the large amount of capital needed for research and development. This then allows them to profit more from competitive companies by use of these patents. Without these patents, only one company, which had invested in research and development, would be responsible for development a new drug into the system. All the other pharmaceuticals would only be responsible for reproducing this new, innovative drug. Pharmaceutical companies are trying hard to recover the research and development costs that are incurred during the innovation of a new drug. One of the ways of achieving this is by marketing these drugs. Unlike most consumer drugs that can be purchased from the seller to the buyer directly, these drugs have to be prescriptions from the doctor or physician. Without these prescriptions, the drugs cannot be legally sold. Since the physician does not stand to legally profit from authorizing the drug to be used, the drug companies stopped the advertising campaigns that were directed at physicians. This was mainly because the physicians would likely act in their own interest, and in the best interest of the patient, as well. However, as time went by, the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration), began letting the pharmaceuticals to do direct consumer exchanges (Acemoglu, p 1). This made them target their advertising and campaigns to consumers. The aim of this was that when the consumer went t o the physician they could ask for a drug. This in effect, increased the advertising costs and raised the costs of innovative new drugs. Clinical trials have significantly increased because of the reduced willingness of test subjects. This coupled with greater challenges in drug trials are responsible for an increase in costs. Due to increased development,

Business Management And Leadership - Controlling (U5DB) Essay

Business Management And Leadership - Controlling (U5DB) - Essay Example It may include whatever actions a business deems necessary to provide for the control and verification of certain characteristics of a product or service. The basic goal of quality control is to ensure that the products, services, or processes provided meet specific requirements and are dependable, satisfactory, and fiscally sound† (WiseGeek, 2008). The basic idea that lies behind the concept of quality control is to continuously ensure that the best products and services possible are being produced by an organization. It is difficult to choose between these two particular management processes, as they are not mutually exclusive. It is indeed possible to perform both functions at once within an organization. However, if forced to choose between the two, I would pick continuous improvement, as that process involves quality control by the very nature of its design. Continuously striving to improve processes before a large problem develops will involve taking a serious look at production processes that include functions such as quality

Pharmaceutical indusrry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pharmaceutical indusrry - Essay Example With this monopoly, comes a lot of power which gives pharmaceutical companies the incentive to focus on the large amount of capital needed for research and development. This then allows them to profit more from competitive companies by use of these patents. Without these patents, only one company, which had invested in research and development, would be responsible for development a new drug into the system. All the other pharmaceuticals would only be responsible for reproducing this new, innovative drug. Pharmaceutical companies are trying hard to recover the research and development costs that are incurred during the innovation of a new drug. One of the ways of achieving this is by marketing these drugs. Unlike most consumer drugs that can be purchased from the seller to the buyer directly, these drugs have to be prescriptions from the doctor or physician. Without these prescriptions, the drugs cannot be legally sold. Since the physician does not stand to legally profit from authorizing the drug to be used, the drug companies stopped the advertising campaigns that were directed at physicians. This was mainly because the physicians would likely act in their own interest, and in the best interest of the patient, as well. However, as time went by, the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration), began letting the pharmaceuticals to do direct consumer exchanges (Acemoglu, p 1). This made them target their advertising and campaigns to consumers. The aim of this was that when the consumer went t o the physician they could ask for a drug. This in effect, increased the advertising costs and raised the costs of innovative new drugs. Clinical trials have significantly increased because of the reduced willingness of test subjects. This coupled with greater challenges in drug trials are responsible for an increase in costs. Due to increased development,

Sweatshops and Child Labor Essay Example for Free

Sweatshops and Child Labor Essay Sweatshop is defined as a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions. Sweatshops also referred to as the â€Å"sweat factory†, creates a hazardous and unhealthy working environment for employees such as the exposure to harmful materials, dangerous situations, extreme temperatures and abuse from employers. Sweatshop workers work for long hours, sometimes without taking any breaks, and these workers are not paid for any overtime hours or the minimum wage, although it is mandatory by law. These conditions are considered risky for any person, but the worst part is that in many countries, children are being forced to work in these sweatshops. The term sweatshop is mostly associated with underprivileged developing countries especially in Asia, but sweatshops did exist at some point in United States and Europe. For Americans, sweatshops are history, but in a South Asian country, Bangladesh, people are still working in these horrible conditions, especially children. Child Labor has always been a part of developing countries and a current article about child labor in Bangladesh shows that it is never going to end. Recently, British Broadcast Corporation, also known as BBC, sent one of their newsperson, Alastair Lawson, to a safety pin factory in Bangladesh where many under aged children are employed. Lawson interviewed a ten-year-old girl named Asma, who works in that factory along with ten other children who are about her age. Asma’s job consists of â€Å"sitting on a bench alongside her co-workers, Asma operates a powerful cutting device in the poorly-lit premises for up to 12 hours a day.† The machine that Asma operates cuts the metal for the pins very thinly and if Asma makes any mistakes then she could lose her fingers on that cumbersome, heavy and dangerous machinery. When Lawson further interviews Asma, she tells him that the workers in the factory are not given any lunch breaks and there is no first aid in a case of an emergency. Asma, like other 13 million children in Bangladesh who work full time to support their families are forced to work because of the unfortunate ci rcumstances of which their families are in. Asma tells Lawson that she does not know who she is employed by and all she knows is that she earns about two dollars a day for working twelve hours. Lawson, disturbed by the environment of the sweatshops and the unsafe condition for not just children but any human, writes, I dont think she [Asma] understands the safety part of her work neither she nor her workmates wear any safety gear and she seems totally unaware of the hazards.† Many of the sweatshop workers work full time to support their families and provide food for them, which causes them to work in poor surroundings in which their lives are at jeopardy. Many of these workers are victims of what, according to James Rachels, the author of The Elements of Moral Philosophy, describes as â€Å"the minimum conception of morality†, this concept states that â€Å"morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason—that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing—while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s decision† (Pg. 13). The reason why these workers might be in this state because they think of what the effect of their unemployment would be on their families who are depending on them for food and shelter, these workers think first about their home and then about themselves and what dangers they are facing when they go out to work in those hell holes called sweatshops. Although working in sweatshops and facing the conditions that are provided for workers there is morally wrong, but it is would not be considered ethically incorrect, because these workers are mostly uneducated and for that reason they can not find jobs in offices or other places where education is required. Another reason for why sweatshop should not be considered ethically wrong because these workers have a choice whether they should work there or not. If a worker does feel that the conditions in the sweatshop is too inconsiderate for them, then they can quit at any time that want, because they are not signing any legal documents that forces them to work there for a certain period of time. Also, many people in developing countries prefer to work in sweatshops because in such countries, there are many products produced from farming therefore, these workers could either become farmers or they could work in factories and build products such as cell phone component, clothing, furniture, shoes or toys. Sweatshops are especially beneficial for people who are handicapped and uneducated because if a person were both handicapped and uneducated then they would not be able to work on a farm. Therefore it is easier for them to just sit on a bench and manufacture products . Although the conditions in sweatshops are unsafe and unhygienic, but it would help handicapped people feel like they are helping their families instead of being a burden on them. Sweatshops are not just beneficial to handicapped and uneducated people, but it is also advantageous for the unfortunate developing countries. As the number of sweatshops increase the country can become more industrialized and there would be less farming and more technological advances. Many economists who are pro-sweatshops believe that if a country is more industrialized then the conditions of the sweatshops will improve and the wages will increase therefore the workers should assist their countries to become more developed. These economists also believe that when the conditions of sweatshops are described they are often compared to the factories in developed counties, which should not be the case because the developed countries have better laws and these laws are better enforced on business. Other than laws, it is also believed by many economists that sweatshops are better for the society in a developing country because people would work for money rather than stealing, which would create chaos and more problems for a country. Another reason is that women would get an equal opportunity to work and instead of going into stone crushing or prostitution, these women are working hard with their dignity. If there were no sweatshops in developing countries then people would not have any job opportunities and they would eventually starve themselves and then die. The cons of sweatshops can be that sweatshops and child labor, deprives children of their moral rights, Rachels talks about what morality really is and how it is related to our lives. Rachels devotes the entire first chapter of his book to What Is Morality? Rachels refers to Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher, who defines morality or moral philosophy, as â€Å"how we ought to live.† Considering Socrates definition of morality, it is seen that child labor in sweatshops deprives these children of how they want to live. These children are thrown into this dangerous and unhealthy work force as soon as they are able to understand the meaning of work. The meaning of morality shows that child labor and conditions in sweatshops are immoral because according to Rachels â€Å"the nature of morality has two main points†¦moral judgments must be backed by good reasons; and second, morality requires the impartial consideration of each individual’s interests.† Child labor and the conditions of sweatshops are not backed by any good reason; the only acceptable reasoning can be the poor condition the family of the worker is in. Also, the rising of unemployment rates in these disadvantaged countries are causing these workers be scared to lose their jobs (Rachels, Pg.10). Sweatshops not only deprive people of their rights to overtime payment or minimum wage, but they are not given any lunch breaks or in many cases bathroom breaks. Along with the horrible psychological conditions, these workers are also facing physical risks because of the harmful materials that they use during production of products that are made for rich or more developed countries. The argument that sweatshop workers should support their country into becoming an industrial is not really fair to the workers because the supervisor of the sweatshop earns the profit, but they refuse to share that with the workers. Critics of sweatshops say that the supervisors deliberately lower wages and make the hours longer because that would give them a greater profit margin, which is not beneficial for the workers at all, for long or short term. If the managers of the sweatshops keep this routine then the country would not get anywhere and there will be no industrialization. Some economists who are also the critics of sweatshop believe that better paying jobs, more investments and national possession of resources will improve the economics of a developing country rather than having sweatshops. All though there are economists who are pro-sweatshops, it is determined from the environment and the situations described by Lawson in a factory in Bangladesh, show that sweatshops are immoral because they deprive the human being of their rights such as children are robbed of their right to go to school and earn an education also their childhood is robbed of all the happiness of playing outside with their friends, but these children are forced to sit in a room for long hours and manufacture products by using machinery that is hazardous. Other than children, women also face immoral circumstances where some pregnant women are forced to have an abortion so they can continue working, which is the most corrupt thing that could happen to a woman. Many feminist organizations have campaigned against sweatshops because almost 90% of the laborers in sweatshops are women and children. Overall, the conditions of sweatshops and the treatment of workers demonstrates that the concept of sweatshops should not be used by any developing country to help them industrialize, because it is important for a country to be compassionate towards their people rather then becoming a well developed country which has been built on the poor workers sweat. People in industrialized countries like the United States believe that sweatshops are history but for poor developing countries, there are still sweatshops that have horrific working conditions in which mostly children and women work long hours to support their families. Some countries that have sweatshops are, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Honduras. These countries should begin to invest more in better factories with machinery that is safe for human use and strict laws should be passed out that prevent children under the age of sixteen to work in these factories. Along with better factory conditions, overtime pay, lunch breaks and vacation and sick leaves should be provided to the workers. There should be better laws that enforce minimum payment and employs laborers with equal employment opportunity. These improvements would have a better affect on the economy of these countries, because people would most likely be satisfied with their jobs and they would be more willing to help their country become industrialized. Sweatshops are not the last hope for a developing country to become industrialized and anything that begins with immorality does not stand for long, but something that has been made with enthusiasm lasts longer and is much healthier.