Medium enterprises in the society

Globalization has turned the status of the small and medium enterprises in the society. They have raised their standards to achieve the target market, promoting the business operations, perfecting their values, brands and images in the market. Research indicates that the correlation appears to be evident between the business entities and efforts help to boast the opportunities and the image of these small enterprises in the economy. The progress has further been indicated to shift upward from the ability to assimilate high technological demands that are at par with the global standards at all times of the modern consumers.Walnut club is one of these enterprises, in which the brand image is tremendously given the prestige in UK and EU hotels and motels. The restaurant has started the business just recently but has managed to open several outlets in the area. The main branch of the club is in Hathersage, while services of catering music and other traditional arrangements of functions a nd meals are provided by the club. (Walnut Club, 2008). The club provides services to all the categories and class of people and so many people are attracted towards the club.The club deserves the resonance of the people and provides satisfaction to all its members. The club has many international clients and it has observed the movement of these clients for the sake of fame and image. b) Aims and objectives of the study To effectively determine how small and medium enterprises are able to promote the value and brand image for higher productivity and profitability amidst the highly dynamic global competition, this study seeks to attain the several aims and objectives.To begin with, using Walnut Club as one of the most successful business in the group of small and medium enterprises, this paper will seek to establish the best management practices for achieving such high levels. In this respect clear evaluation of Walnut management will be undertaken in all of its management units in UK. To add to that, the study will seek to establish the actual methods that Walnut Club and indeed other small and medium enterprises use to promote their value and brand image. The decision of the consumer is influenced by the role of the brand image of the Walnut club compared to the other clubs in the area.Finally, the study aims at finding out possible missing links in promotion of value and brand image in Walnut and conclude possible ways of enhancing and promoting the same demands in small and medium enterprises. Chapter Two Literature review a) Introduction The overview of the chapter related to the literacy materials is given in this chapter and the brand image promotion related to the small and medium enterprises. It therefore seeks to support the main theoretical principles of consideration in line with the objectives of the study.b) Small and medium size businesses operations Small and medium enterprise is a term mainly used to categorize the size of business units depen ding on different criteria. These businesses are categorized to have the amount of having 50-250 people in the firm in the countries of Europe. In Europe and particularly in EU has standardized the reference of SME while many of other countries globally use different ratings. It is worth noting that globally, SMEs form over 90% of the total number of business units in existence.In EU, about 65 million people are employed by SMEs operating in different sectors. As a comparison with larger business enterprises, SMEs have much higher flexibility both in their internal and external operations when compared to other enterprises. Indeed, this flexibility has been linked with their increased capacity to offer highly personalized services making them to easily win the consumers affection (Tsoukas and Robert, 2002, 74-76; Wren and Storey, 2002, 335-338; Ryan and Hiduke. 2003, 78-81). c) Customer value in small and medium enterprisesSMEs managed over the following years to create its place in the market and compare it with the other personal operations and the management interlinks. Customer value is perhaps the most important aspect of management as it defines a business unit's ability to apply different aspects of management to suit each of the consumers demands at all times. Accel (2004); Bushe (2001, 104-105) indicate that due to the fast rising ability to apply technology at all levels of management, their role in managing consumer demands has greatly increased.The ability to respond to the consumer demands with minimal bureaucracy increases their grip on the customers' loyalty. The core of the SMEs application is the due to the reduced costs and the large amount of credit owing to attract more customers to define the trend and the growth. This has particularly been important in the hospitality industry where consumers are highly sensitive not just to the size of the business unit; the quantity is deferred by the size and quality. The brand is considered as one of the key pillars in determining the road map to success for the different SMEs.Creation of the effective brand helps in creating positive perception and image to the consumers and therefore generate the required competitive capability for the SMEs (Robbins, 2005; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004, 103; Kennerley et al, 2003, 65-69). Though this aspect application is hard as Fox (2005, 45-48); Donegan (2002, 56-57) indicate, it is mainly based on the overall ability of the management to relate the different aspects of the business operations and the dynamic market demands.At this point, the management should be able to leverage the enterprises' strengths and derive the core values for the staff and the consumers (DuBrin, 2006, 99-102; Goh, 1998, 15-22; Kuratko, 1997, 24-33; Roper and Hewitt-Dundas, 2001, 99-117). This ensures that interlinks between different products and services offered by the business unit are established. The establishment of the brand image for the SMEs is much more e asier and due to the simple strategic decision making and the communications the planning and the decision becomes more easier in both ways for the organization and as well as the management.d) Culture management and change demands for SMEs The organization culture is very essential in the modern business operations. Business image and value is indeed considered to be part of the overall culture where interplay of management and employees’ views, beliefs and trends in their operations dictate the ability to effectively attract customers and maintain high quality of the services offered and customer service.Through operating as a small or medium business unit, it is possible to operate in fewer teams and therefore create a highly cohesive unit to address all the demands for growth It is indeed much easier to cite areas with need for change and view change as part of the overall continuous demand to grow and move rapidly by assuming the names of small and medium. Business opera tions have recently seen a major turn in demand for diverse application of the concepts of management techniques to enhance higher levels of compatibility with the fast growing divergence needs of the consumers.The ability to enhance great levels of diversity that fits the different consumers in particularistic niches creates a competitive advantage over other similar businesses. The notion is indeed very complex with the consumer demands fast evolving with time. However, SMEs have been cited to have an upper hand in their ability to assess and re-invent their products and services to fit their different consumer needs.Though in the past researchers have generated divergent views and failed to establish a standard method for promoting diversity among the SMEs, it is clear that all lines affiliated to consumer products and services design should operate hand in hand to respond to the different consumer needs. e) SMEs and Diversity In bid to effect greater levels of diversity to attra ct and retain the consumers in Walnut, the management established ‘super' ingredients that gave all the foods prepared it a highly organic outlook that has made a must stop center.The general manager of Walnut Sean OToole points out that the diversity of the meals as it has come to be understood about Walnut, always have a new setting that reflects its different dishes that are served at any meal (Walnut Club, 2008). In addition, the management indicates that though consumers may not have the actual taste of the dishes served by the Walnut especially for the first visitors, the display and the setting of the restaurant have left them wishing to get back for similar diverse services.However, the management indicates that careful resources application should be articulated to ensure that funds are employed only to promote profitability (Engwall et al,2005, 228-431; Fan and Phan, 2007, 1121-1125). f) Leadership in SMEs Leadership for small and medium business enterprises is one o f the most important aspects that not only dictates the proposition of value and brand image, but determines their application at different instances. As indicated earlier, the direct notion of an enterprise as a small or medium business derives the necessary impetus to grow and move to the higher levels possible.Clifford (2008, 41-42) and Dettmer, (2003, 51-53) point out that leadership creates the necessity to improve the value of consumers and staff as a major facet that dictates the overall intrinsic image that later manifests itself to the outside community. Taking into consideration the need to stay atop of others and mainly constrained by the resources' availability, leadership of SMEs seeks to enhance better highly integrated system where emergent leaders assimilate different offices with minimal residual effects.It is in this view that SMEs leadership encourages instantaneous skills promotion that seeks relegation, innovation and creativity, and also networking that derives the necessary niche for establishing the best image for the consumers. g) SMEs and Technology demands Technological advancements have been cited as one of the most important tools for the 21st century businesses progression. However, it has been cited to be even more important to the SMEs in that it dictates their ability to widen their general scope within the colonization areas of target.Presently, most of the consumers in the different countries like Britain focus their status on the basis of the image of a given business enterprise (Krake, 2005, 229-331; Merrliee, 2007, 405-409). Under this consideration therefore, use of technology becomes a facilitating instrument and also an element for assessment. Technology as a facilitating agent is used in advertisements that reflect effectively on the types of services and products being offered by the business units and therefore easy value and image assessment by the consumers.On the other hand, the nature of different advertisements directly curves the necessary brand image and value of the consumers. To effectively raise the overall image of the company, the managements of SMES have sought to integrate both high technology and personalized systems to invoke holistic customer satisfaction as part of the overall value in the business unit. Chapter Three Methodology a) Introduction This chapter forms one of the most important sections of a dissertation. It is the actual basis upon which the major objectives of the study and the research question will be evaluated.Johnson (2000, 54-57) points out that the methodology section acts as a major assessment tool for determining the authenticity of the research. In this case, the Walnut club management, employees, and the consumers will form the main consideration which will be used to ascertain the viability of the hypothesis statements. To add to that, this section will offer an inclusive critique of the techniques that will be applied in the study. The major aspects o f this section will include. b) Purpose of the studyPromotion of value and brand image application in the small and medium size enterprises enables them to realize their missions and effectively trace their strategies for profitability and subsequent growth and development (Wong Ho, 2005, 155-162; Mikulecky, 2007, 45-47; National Defense University (N. D. ). 2008; Senge, 1998, 11-12). This application is reflected as a matter of different direct and indirect functions explicit in management through staff operations, perceptions, culture, and customer views.The methodology section will therefore seek to collect the major views and perception from all the stakeholders on the relationship between promotion of value and brand image of Walnut club with its enviable progress. c) Research scope and time frame As indicated earlier in the objectives of this study, the researcher will seek to establish how value and brand image can be promoted in small and medium size enterprises to raise the ir productivity and profitability in their major operations.Therefore, the study will delimit itself to affect the demands of this study to Walnut club in and its main branches in UK. With businesses’ overall value and brand image being indeed very complex, the study will further concentrate its considerations to the staff of Walnut club, and its main consumers to seek their views in relation to the objectives of the study. To effectively cover all the objectives of the study, the researcher will take a period of six months from the day of commencement for the study.Though the time appears to be long, it may turn out to be just enough or indeed much less depending with the cooperation of the respondents. d) Data and data collection Effective research according to Mikulecky (2007), is the one that has the highest capacity to apply the necessary theoretical framework and major demands of modern development with the actual field aspects to assimilate the necessary position for e ffecting growth and development. Data collection methods that are applied by the researcher indeed are the main determinant of the efficiency that will be assimilated by the study.To ensure that this research aligns with the guideline of the research questions and further steered by the objectives, the data collection methods will be designed in a manner that appreciate the nature of the research itself to assimilate the highest possible acceptable outcome. ? Primary data The data will be collected from the staff and then from the customers of the Walnut club, its members and others. The main point of the research is that on the basis of this data and the survey of the primary data conducted the data shall be the main source of information and the only link of the customers and the management.The consumers' role shall also be defined by the survey conducted. Questionnaires shall be constructed and will be used for the different levels of management and the stake holders which shall be assessed in such a manner that that basic information is reserved. It is worth noting that though observation will not be used as part of the data to be analyzed by the study, it will be a key element in supporting the major views and orientation of the study in the discussion section. Â ¦ Secondary dataThe secondary information is required to complete the initiative step of the research and to draw the result effectively of the first phase of the analysis of the survey. Though the main data counted will not be analyzed of the Walnut club, it will still serve as the major outline in the terms of promotion and the brand image in these small and medium enterprises by giving the overall view and picture of the other regions and areas globally. As a result, secondary information will be presented as a form of literature review in chapter two and three of the main dissertation.Particularly, this literature will be assimilated from major libraries, institutions, and other related smal l and medium sized enterprises websites. The literature view acts upon as the major source of the view and this helps in analyzing the data carefully. e) Samples and Sample Selection Due to the size of the Walnut club in nature and categorization, the sample will be small in size and focused to Walnut and its customers only. Therefore, the samples will include the top management, the middle level managers, and the lower level Walnut employees.To ensure better and higher viability of the results, the researcher will employ strategic sampling methods to reduce the levels of bias in the main results. However, it will leave room for random sampling method to adjust or cater for different non responses. f) Measurement and analysis of the results As indicated earlier, this study is qualitative in nature as it will seek to establish how value and image brand can be effectively promoted among the small and medium sized enterprises for growth and development of the business unit.It is from t his notion that the measurements will be developed in a format that is harmonic with the research objectives while taking into consideration of the model that will be employed during its analysis g) Limitation of the study To effectively complete the study, the researcher expects to get the following limitations. To begin with, there is a possibility of non response and late responses from different respondents. This may delay the whole study out of the expected time frame of six months.To address such problems, the researcher will schedule the questionnaires issue and interviews to start early enough during the study. Follow up will also be applied to non response and late responses. The time frame of six months that the research is expected to take is considered to be limiting in that understanding of value and brand image promotion may require more time to intrinsically comprehend its dynamics at all levels.Indeed more time for this research could assist in inclusion and use of a larger sample and review of more literature to give more accurate results. The researcher will ensure that all the available time is utilized maximally to ensure that all aspects of the study are covered. Finally, taking into consideration that Walnut club is an extremely busy business, the researcher expects to get a hard time fixing into their programs to ensure that the study do not interfere with the normal running while maintaining the necessary research standard.

Exam Marketing Essay

Please put your name and student number (both, in digits and by filling the boxes) on your answer sheet. After finishing the exam you will hand in your answer sheet. Fill in the correct version code at the bottom right of the answer form by filling the correct box. Version 1 Warning against fraud: In the case of fraud the maximum punishment is exclusion from all examinations for one year. Your mobile phone should be switched off and should be put in your bag. Your bag should be closed and placed on the floor to the left of your desk. During the examination you are not allowed to go to the toilet unless the co- rdinating invigilator gives you permission to do so. Tools allowed: pencils, eraser, English-native language dictionary. (no books or notes. ) Specific information on this examination: This exam consists of 60 Multiple Choice Questions with 4 alternatives each. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question, and mark your answers on the answer form by filling the boxes. A computer will read your answers. The result of this examination will be published within 18 working days after the date of this examination. Reviewing the examination: Specific information on procedure and planning will be posted on Blackboard. Good luck with the exam! MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1) Car rental firms, hair dressers, and management consultants provide goods B) experiences C) events D) services 2) Julia is worried about the rising pollution levels in her city. She doesn’t mind paying extra for goods and services that use sustainable processes to help control A) declining demand B) nonexistent demand C) latent demand D) negative demand 3) Marketers must see themselves as benefit providers. For example, when a shopper purchases new shoes, he/she expects the shoes to cover his/her feet and allow him/ her to walk unobstructed. This is an example of what level in the consumer-value hierarchy? A) pure tangible good B) basic product C) augmented product D) potential product 4) Which aspect of holistic marketing motivates employees and ensures that everyone in the organization embraces appropriate marketing principles, especially senior management? A) relationship marketing B) integrated marketing C) internal marketing D) performance marketing 5) The number of different persons or households exposed to a particular media chedule at least once during a specified time period is known as A) range B) impact C) reach D) frequency 6) A company that seeks to increase its sales and profits through backward, forward, or horizontal integration within the industry is said to be employing a(n) strategy. A) diversification growth B) intensive growth C) integrative growth D) conglomerate growth 7) The is the last section of the marketing plan and spells out the goals and budget for each month or quarter, so management can review each period’s results and take action as needed. A) situation analysis B) marketing strategy C) financial projections D) implementation and controls 2 8) The internal records system supplies results data, but the marketing intelligence system supplies A) internal B) revenue C) thematic D) happenings data. ocial institutions†schools, churches, businesses, and governments; they are very difficult to change. A) Transient B) Secondary C) core D) Variable 10) A company can take several steps to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence. If the company purchases competitive products for study, attends open houses and trade shows, and reads competitors’ published reports and stockholder information, the company is using ntelligence. A) sales-force surrogates B) intermediaries C) external networks D) advisory panels to improve the quality of its marketing 1 1) If the goal of marketing research is to shed light on the real nature of a problem and to suggest possible solutions or new ideas, the research is said to be descriptive B) quantitative C) secondary D) exploratory approach uses concepts and tools from anthropology and other social science disciplines to provide deep cultural understanding of how people live and work. A) Cognitive research B) Archaeological research C) Ethnographic research D) Deductive research llow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think. A) Open-end questions B) Dichotomous questions C) Likert scale questions D) Multiple choice questions 14) The bundle of costs customers expect to incur in evaluating, obtaining, using, and disposing of the given market offering is called the A) activity-based cost B) customer profitability analysis C) total customer cost D) product life-cycle cost 3 15) Field Grocery wants to learn the strengths and weaknesses in customer service at all the Field Grocery stores. Which of the following methods can it use for this? A) roup buyers C) mystery shoppers D) buying agents 16) The aim of customer relationship management is to produce high customer . A) integrity B) loyalty C) innovation D) liability 17) If a marketer decides to segment a market based on neighborhoods, the marketer will have chosen the A) demographic B) psychographic C) geographic D) cultural method of segmentation. 18) If a marketing manager employs such marketing techniques as online buzz, student ambassadors, cool events, and street teams to reach target markets, the manager is most likely appealing to the A) Generation X B) Generation Y C) Silent generation D) Baby boomers market. 19) General Motors, a leading American multinational automaker, sells cars for every purpose, purse, and personality. This is an example of A) undifferentiated B) differentiated C) concentrated D) niche 20) According to the VALS segmentation system, marketing. are considered to be trendy and funloving people who are resource-constrained. They favor stylish products that emulate the purchases of those with greater material wealth. A) strivers B) survivors C) experiencers D) makers 21) Brand B) equity C) preference D) identity is the added value endowed to products and services. A) loyalty 22) According to the brand asset valuator model, which of the components of brand equity measures how aware and familiar consumers are with the brand? A) esteem 4 B) energized differentiation C) relevance 23) The introduction of diet coke by the Coca Cola Company is an example of A) line extension B) brand harmonization C) brand dilution D) co-branding 24) Which of the following terms is most closely associated with the statement: â€Å"attributes or benefits consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they could not find to the same extent with a competitive brand†? A) points-of-inflection B) points-of-difference C) points-of-parity D) points-of-value 25) are visual representations of consumer perceptions and preferences. A) Procedural maps B) Brain maps C) Perceptual maps D) Procedural models 26) Singapore Airlines is well regarded in large part because of the excellence of its flight attendants. This is an example of differentiation. A) image B) services C) product D) employee 27) When Starbucks introduced its Tazo Tea line to bring in new customers who had never gone to Starbucks because they dont drink coffee, Starbucks was employing a trategy. A) market-penetration B) new-market segment C) geographical-expansion D) niche identification 28) An alternative to being a market follower in a large market is to be a leader in a small market. This type of competitor is called a A) marketing king B) market nicher C) segment king D) guerilla marketer 29) is a slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. A) Introduction B) Growth C) Decline D) Maturity 5 30) The marketing concept holds that for its products B) customers who are coaxed into buying a product will most likely uy it again C) a new product will not be successful unless it is priced, distributed, and sold properly D) consumers and businesses, if left alone, won’t buy enough of the organization’s products 31) What types of goods are purchased frequently, immediately, and with minimum effort by the consumers? A) specialty goods B) shopping goods C) unsought goods D) convenience goods 32) We define packaging as all the activities of designing and producing the container for a product. This includes up to three levels of material: primary package, secondary package, and B) design package C) shipping package D) consumer package . A) retailer package 33) Which of the following is an example of a hybrid service? A) teaching B) car C) restaurant meal D) soap 34) Services high in have characteristics that the buyers can evaluate before purchase. A) search qualities B) experience qualities C) credence qualities D) privacy qualities 35) Jake had an appointment at the doctor’s, but couldn’t make it on time because he was caught in traffic. By the time he reached the doctor’s office, the doctor had already begun with the next patient. This illustrates the A) variability B) heterogeneity C) perishability D) intangibility f services. 36) Companies who believe that a higher sales volume leads to lower unit costs and higher long-run profits are attempting to A) maximize their market share B) skim the market C) become a product-quality leader D) merely survive in the market 37) In which of the following auctions does the auctioneer first announce a high price for a product and then slowly decreases the price until a bidder accepts? A) an English auction with one seller and many buyers B) an ascending bid auction C) a sealed-bid auction 6 38) A(n) is an extra payment designed to gain reseller participation in special rograms. A) seasonal discount B) allowance C) discount D) quantity discount 39) When is a pull strategy appropriate? A) when there is low brand loyalty B) when consumers are able to perceive differences between brands C) when brand choice is made in the store D) when it is a low involvement purchase 40) Which of the following is an example of a zero-level channel? A) A company takes online orders from customers and ships the products to them. B) A company sells its products through wholesalers and retailers. C) A company sells its products through chains of supermarkets and other large sellers. D) A large company forms alliances with smaller companies to increase sales coverage. 41) A(n) includes the producer, wholesaler(s), and retailer(s) acting as a unified system. A) parallel marketing channel B) vertical marketing system C) internal marketing system D) conventional marketing channel 42) Which of the following types of retailing generally entails the highest costs? A) full-service B) self-service C) limited service D) self-selection 43) Which of the following is an example of a word-of-mouth marketing communication platform? A) chat rooms B) billboards C) factory tours D) incentive programs 4) Which of the following is true for franchisors? A) The franchisor has to pay the franchisee to be part of the franchise system. B) The franchisor licenses the trade mark from the franchisee. C) The franchisor must change its operations to suit those of the franchisee’s. D) The franchisor collects royalty payments from the franchisee. 5) Which of the following is an advantage of using the percentage-of-sales method to determine the marketing communications budget? A) The percentage-of-sales method encourages stability when competing firms spend approximately the same portion of their sales on communications. B) The percentage-of-sales method views sales as the determiner of communications rather than as the result. C) The percentage-of-sales method leads to a budget set by market opportunities rather than the availability of funds. by determining what each product and territory deserves. 46) Which of the following sequences accurately represents the hierarchy-of-effects model of marketing communications? A) attention-interest-desire-action B) awareness-interest-evaluation-trial-adoption C) awareness-knowledge-liking-preference-conviction-purchase D) exposure- reception-cognitive response-attitude-intention-behavior 47) A(n) ppeal is a creative strategy that elaborates on product or service attributes or benefits.

Analyzing Foreign Financial Statements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Foreign Financial Statements - Essay Example This poses a problem for financial analysts who do not have access to a copy of the organization’s annual report (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). Language poses another problem for analysts looking to analyze foreign financial statements. Numerous global organizations do not generate financial reports in English, making it hard for analyses with English as their native languages (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). For example, the financial record could remain illegible until a possible translator is hired for assistance. Conveniently, many multinationals present their financial statements in their native languages and English ones as well. A third problem is currency. Non-dollar-pegged countries have firms that release their financial statements in their local currencies (Musher, Wilkins, and Shulman, 2012). An analyst from the United States or a dollar-pegged nation would find it cumbersome to convert all entries into dollars for better analysis. Converting all balances at the exchange rate at the closing of the present fiscal year is tiresome, but a solution nonetheless (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). For example, fail ing to use the existing current exchange rate will distort the analyst’s work. To avoid distortion, analyzing the foreign financial statement using ratios improves the outcome irrespective of the currency applied (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). A third problem is terminology. Different countries use different words of the same language to compose their financial records. For instance, the United Kingdom usually uses the word turnover to refer to sales in the United States. In instances of convenience conversions, companies occasionally include terminology that English analysts are not used to (Musher et al., 2012). In this case, the analyst is forced to be versant with foreign trade and accounting diction to help alleviate this issue. For instance, in 2005, differences in the UK and US terminology in

Creativity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creativity - Assignment Example Feeling self feels, takes a lot, is emotional, repressive, and supportive, likes to teach and is sensitive of others. Experimental self- imagines, is curious, likes surprises, speculates, and is impetuous takes risks (Korkmaz, 2014). Intelligence does not necessarily reflect in good thinking. This is true because an increase in the intelligence level can only lead to a better life, health, and the standard of living. Intelligence forms part of the good approach to life. Good or deep thinking in life it is not adequate to just react to events, and situations. It is correct that intelligence does not result in good thinking. Parading shift can involve change of the basic assumptions by aligning them in a way from one action to another. Parading shift can be so helpful for instance both in faith and businesses. For example in business or in the market place one can learn how deal with money by saving, keeping records for one self in order to refer in future and you can’t exclude budgeting. In faith you can gain spiritual activation, enlightenment, and healing. Parading shift is necessary for one to utilize. 4. Brainstorm and then describe a home environment that would foster creativity in people of all ages. Do two versions one where money is not a limiting factor, and do an analysis of the result: which version had the more creative ideas? Did have the constraints restrict or encourage your creative thinking. People usually become creative when the money is the secondary motivator to them. Money leads one or can motivate a person to discover incredible products, design great arts and even invent revolutionary firms in their environment. It doesn’t matter the age bracket of a person but money drives him/her to venture in it. When people have a good base for money that sets them comfortable, they use the monetary rewards to make them do the creative jobs perfectly. When there are no rewards that can demotivate a person

Islam or Shariah Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Islam or Shariah Law - Essay Example Islam or ‘shariah’ law governs under the Islamic code mentioned in the Quran and Hadiths.   It is supposed to be the legal and moral code for every Muslim, comprising of religious matters financial positions and every day issues. Since the instigate of the 21stcentury many Muslim countries including Malaysia, Indonesia morocco and Pakistan, encouraged and responded to democracy and voiced their opinions of it being a much better system to govern countries. Whether the current sociopolitical and cultural settings are compatible with the ‘shariah’ law is the main point which plagues many Muslim men and women. The difficulties faced by Muslims all over are due to the confusion over the legal systems i.e. whether to follow the Islamic mode of punishment or to follow the state; whether the correct method of trade is the Islamic way (free of credit) or to follow the commercial and state policies. There have always been debates over the judicial system whether as to give harsh punishments or let the constitution decide? The debate goes on between political leader and scholars. Some Muslimscholarsbelieve that the amalgamation of ‘shariah’ laws in the legal system of a country is the best way to actually observe the Islamiclaws. One example of this is the fact that polygamy is punishable in several countries, but allowed by Islamic law. In India cows are considered sacred but they are part of the Islamic sacrificial ritual of Eid where they are slaughtered. These are situations where a Muslim cannot act based on his religion alone and has to consider the state laws first. The reaction of â€Å"secularizingIslam† has not always been a pretty sight. Just last year the Archbishop of Canterbury   was fiercely scrutinized by the Government and the political circle, his own Church and other religions after he supported the adoption of a few ‘shariah’ laws in the British system.While some British Muslim scholars ig nored it saying it will not and does not have enough votes by the community. The main point is that most nations support secular systems which are not compatible with Islamic law. The fact that the Archbishop was so heavily criticized shows that the majority in these nations do not support any such laws either. Muslims are therefore stuck in a situation where they must choose whether they wish to conform to the state law or follow their own.

The Impact and Implications of Corporate Culture Research Paper

The Impact and Implications of Corporate Culture - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that 21st century is recognized as an era of globalization and industrialization. The countries around the world have interconnected with each other through trade. All these have lead to the development of industries, factories, and corporate offices. Chang, Chiou, and Chen suggest that an organization is a common platform where individuals work in accord to earn profit and livelihood. In other words, it is identified as a business identity where a group of people certified to act as a single body manage the whole company with the help of employees and different types of management committees with the sole aim of profit maximization. Every company has its unique style of functioning which often contributes to its culture. A culture of a company is based on the principles, beliefs, ideologies, and values. The culture of an organization determines the behavior of workers in the organization as well as with people outside the company. An emplo yees’ performance can increase or diminish based on the environment of a corporate culture. If an employee is happy and comfortable, then he will be able to contribute his maximum energy to the workings of the company. However, an unsatisfied worker will always incur the loss of the company. The organization must have some guidelines for its workers. So, predefined policies that direct employees are represented by the organizational culture which gives them a proper sense of direction to accomplish their targets. So, a healthy workplace must clear the roles and responsibilities of employees. The manner an individual behaves in his or her workplace determines his or her corporate culture. This culture reflects the aggregated principles, values and beliefs of corporate employees and it also represents the product of different factors such as market, strategy, product, technology, history, kind of employees, national culture and style of the management committee. It is also defi ned as the set of distributed assumptions that guide all the happenings in the corporation by defining suitable behavior for various situations. It is also the sketch of such assumptions and behaviors that are imparted to new workers as a method of perceiving and even, feeling and thinking.

International Accounting in Colombia (South America) Research Paper

International Accounting in Colombia (South America) - Research Paper Example The desire to keep abreast with the information needs that globalization brought about, motivated Colombia to adopt these standards. In the whole of South America, Colombia has the most advanced accounting system, having incorporated the accrual basis of accounting in its Public Sector Accounting Standards. Accounting profession entails the process of communicating financial information of an organization, a corporation, or a business entity to the stakeholders and other interested parties. This communication serves to ensure that those stakeholders who do not have any accounting or financial knowledge gets to understand the financial position of the entity and can thus participate in decision making regarding the entities financial issues(Neal,125). The role of accounting profession therefore is to look into all transactions of the entity and ensure they are accurate, and then report this information to the entity’s stakeholders, who can use this information for their decisio n-making purposes. In Colombia, a law enacted in July 2009 guides accounting regulations. This law requires that the national accounting standards of that country tally with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). ... A good example is the fact that Columbia has shortened the requirements of the IFRS into very brief provisions and directions, although they appear explained in many pages. This shortening of the IFRS requirements comes with elimination of some of its sections. A good example of this, is the elimination of the Disclosure requirements of the IFRS in the Columbian accounting standards and practices (Elliot,7). Most notable is the fact that there are no legally binding financial statement audit standards requirements in Colombia (Pixley,4). Any auditing practice and procedures in Colombia occurs according to the Colombian GAAP and not in accordance with the requirements of the IFRS. The general requirements of IFRS auditing requirement practices and procedures have been reduced to a one-page guideline. The requirements of the IFRS general auditing standards such as undertaking of audit of books of accounts of an entity by an independent auditor has been eliminated in the Columbian audit guidelines (Willies). The laws of Columbia does not provide for any development and issuance of auditing standards. Thus, Columbian organizations, business entities, and corporations determine the nature of auditing practice and procedures to appear in their books of accounts. The law does not bind these practices and procedures. The difference between accounting in Columbia and in the USA is in the fact that, while in the USA all accounting practices follows the provisions and requirements of the IFRS, in Columbia, there are issued decrees that requires the local entities to apply the IFRS only voluntarily (Pixley,4). Thus, observation of the IFRS standards of accounting is not a requirement in Columbia. Better still, even when the local entities in

Assessment of The Current Economic Situation in the US Essay

Assessment of The Current Economic Situation in the US - Essay Example This essay offers a brief informative review of the developments in the US economy after the financial crisis of 2008. The United States economy growth rate has declined considerably, after the economic crisis. The number of unemployed persons remains high. The slowing economic growth remains a concern due to the negative impacts it has had on the GDP. United States is considered to have the most technologically advanced economy with an approximated GDP of about $48, 000. The private sector dominates the economic sector with the government purchasing most of its goods and services from the private sector. One of the major disasters facing United States is the high level of unemployment, which is attributable to the 2008-2009 economic recessions. The economic recession is considered to be the worst economic crisis after the great depression. About 8.3% people remain unemployed within the U.S. The number increased after the 2008 recession as most companies tried to reduce their workforce as an attempt to counteract the inflation. In the attempt to offset the increased unemployment, the federal government enacted the American Jobs Act. The Act aimed at creating ways to prevent the slowed economic growth The United States financial sector remains fragile with increasing budget deficits. The gross domestic product remains delicate. Attempts to cut down on financial spending affected the revenues negatively. The slowed economic growth has the disadvantage of subsequent increase in unemployment but diminished possibility of inflation.

Learning environment Essay Example for Free

Learning environment Essay â€Å"The environment we are in affects our moods, the ability to form relationships and the effectiveness in work or play, even our health. † (Bullard, 2006). In effectively educating children an educator must build a foundation that has a stimulating environment which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design and decor size. The outdoor learning area must be one that is organised in a way that promotes exploration and investigation of the elements of nature which includes planting trees and flowers, as well as nature stations where children can observe the different insects. On the other hand is the classroom design which also endorses discovery along with cooperation among peers. The centres should be spacious that enables free movement where group gathering can take place, as well as the different materials and manipulative that are easily accessible to children in the different learning areas in facilitating their knowledge. But however not only that, but as well as decor size which pertains to using child size toys, tools and furniture in the classroom that eliminates children from asking for assistance from adults, as well as allowing them to feel empowered by not requesting of their help. In providing a stimulating environment like the one that was now described would allow children to actively participate in their learning. This is so because the surroundings therefore cater for â€Å"appropriate ways in developing the vital skills, the knowledge and a positive attitude to learning in the individual needs of each child. It is based on â€Å"guiding children to observe, question, discuss, listen, manipulate, feel, investigate and develop the ability to think creatively and independently. This is defined as Active Learning. In discussing the importance of the active learning environment above which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design as well as decor size that promotes active learning, this paper would now focus on one such area that is assessed in the internal environment, meaning a learning centre that needs to be enhanced, as well as strategies used for improvement to reflect my curriculum goals. Description of the Learning Centre that needs to be Improved While children were in the indoor setting of the classroom I took time to sit and observe what exactly was happening at each of the different centres. While monitoring I noticed that most of them were at the diverse learning areas excluding the language centre which had only about two (2) children who took a short amount of time interacting within that area. The other centres were very attraction as they had many tangible objects that children can interact with, whereas the other had old objects that were very unattractive and discoloured. Most of the materials were posters that were stuck to the wall which were there for a very long time, in turn making it appear distasteful and unappealing. In the language centre it therefore created a barrier that enabled children to further promote their language development as there were an insufficient amount of materials that catered for it. In addition, that learning centre did not cater for the children as it did not promote active learning, because as stated earlier when a centre has materials and manipulatives that are easily accessible to children it therefore facilitates their learning as it guides them to observe, engage and grasp different concepts in a simpler way. But however, there were no materials that held the attention of the children that they can become involved with; hence it developed a barricade for the active learning process to take place. When comparing the centres I have found that this is a situation that needs to be put back into working order immediately, because â€Å"language is an important skill that allows a person to communicate. † (Brannagan, 2010). It is a significant skill that is crucial in a child’s life as they use it to adequately exchange information with others in a meaningful way, as well as understanding the uses of reading and writing and becoming successful early readers and writers as it determines a successful future for them. In contrast, if this particular skill has a delay it can create complications in communication with others. This therefore can build frustration within the child since it may lead to miscommunication about what he/she is trying to convey. This is why it is important for me as an educator to address this matter quickly, so in turn children can have the opportunity to interact within that said learning centre and not only in the others, as they would gain better knowledge by coming into contact with materials and experiences that are provided for  them by adults, hence making it easier to make sense of the world around them, as well as influencing their rate of growth. This process is referred to as The Constructivist Theory in which the philosopher Jean Piaget believed that children’s learning is an active process where there is interaction between the person and the environment. This improvement of the Language Centre would be effective as it will continually provide active learning within all the centres in the classroom without the segregation of one. My Curriculum Goals within the Language Centre As stated by the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide in the strand Effective Communication â€Å"language and literacy play a critical role in the development of children’s thinking, learning and communication. To develop into successful, contributing adults, children must learn to be effective communicators and masters of their official language. † (Ministry of Education , 2005) With this being said my curriculum goals within the Language Centre are taken from the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide. The goals are as follows: ? A growing awareness that speaking is an effective way to communicate thoughts, ideas and views. ?A growing awareness that print (common signs and symbols) conveys meaning. ?An increasing understanding of some symbols, language patterns, letter sound relationships to predict, confirm or make meanings from using their hundred languages, which includes multimodal texts. ?Develop ways to experiment with conventional letters, word signs and symbols to convey meaning. ?Understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Develop ways to explore how symbols and written and visual texts are used to communicate meaning. ?The ability to derive and convey the meaning of common signs and symbols (exit signs, area labels etc. ) in the various environments (school, home, community. ) ? A love for listening to and retelling familiar stories, as well as a desire to â€Å"read† on their own. Learn new vocabulary and extend language to communicate and negotiate ideas and plan for activities. Strategies used for Improvement in the Language Centre Letters are all around us! Therefore using environmental prints stuck to the wall in the language centre such as signs, labels and logos can be of great assistance in accomplishing some of my stated goals in developing children’s reading skills. This was stated by Colorin Colorado as an influential method in making the connection between letters and first efforts to read. It discusses how adults can make these techniques interesting to a child’s learning in talking about letters, words and print. The article suggest that in taking advantage of cereal boxes, as they are colourful to facilitate learning in which they can request for the child to find the first letter of his/her name on the box which assist in letter recognition as well as when going on a car trip. This results in children making the explicit link between letters and sounds. Another strategy the article further suggests that can be utilized, is about the use of technology in taking digital pictures of signs such as â€Å"exit† or â€Å"do not enter† to create a book for children to promote his/her reading skills. Environmental print provides lots of opportunities for kids to interact with letters, sounds, and words. † After reading â€Å"Colorin Colorado† 2010 it is concluded that not only can you facilitate children’s learning in the classroom but using the environment prints that surround us everyday can be of grand assistance. As stated by the U. S Department of Education 2011, Phonological Awareness and Training assist in the development of preschool language and literacy. The article defines Phonological Awareness as the ability to detect or manipulate the sounds in words independent of meaning whereas phonological awareness training is the means of involving various training activities that focus on teaching children to identify, detect, delete, segment, or blend segments of spoken words (i. e. , words, syllables, etc. ). In the language centre I can provide picture cards along with letter cards as well so that children can make the distinction between sounds and their letters as they are able to match the letter sound card to their pictures. Other materials may include ABC books, magnetic letters, alphabet blocks and puzzles as well as alphabet charts. It has a positive effect because it’s easier in learning alphabet letters as well as the letter sound knowledge that enables them to add letters together to form words and in turn add words together to form sentences; in addition it also provides the knowledge of print awareness and early reading abilities; Incorporating Interactive and Dialog Reading declared by the U. S Department of Education 2011 refers to the adult reading stories to the children. When teachers repeat the reading’s of favourite books it enables children to become familiarized with the books that will allow for independent reading as well as utilizing different techniques to engage children in the text, while dialog reading is the term used when the adult and child switches roles where the child now becomes the storyteller and the teacher the listener and assistance of the child. Dunst, Simkus and Hamby 2012 says â€Å"Engaging young children in retelling stories read to them by parents or teachers is a strategy that is often used to promote story-related comprehension and expressive vocabulary. This article similar to the one mentioned above suggest that in reading and repeating stories to the child or a small group of children and therefore engaging them to retell the story in their own words results in the expansion of ideas and their imagination. This becomes effective because Interactive and Dialog Reading assist in oral language and vocabulary development as the teacher may ask open ended questions in engaging the child in verbal elaborations which allow the child to gain knowledge about the meaning of spoken and written words and the development of comprehension skills which caters for early literacy and language development. To further endorse these skills in the language centre that is significant in improving and supporting literacy development the materials that would be provided are lots of good child friendly books that are attractive and prints that deals with class activities e. g. helper charts, toy shelf labels, as well as charts that display good habits etc. Apart from all those strategies mentioned above this one takes a different course. This article written by Howard Phillips Parette talks about the acquistion of Phonological Awareness and Alphabetic Principles through the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. It declares that through Microsoft PowerPoint it can facilitate a child’s phonological awareness because teachers can modify such features such as colour, pictures, sounds, animation, slide design and slide transition. This promotes the acquisition of reading skills and fluency. Whereas, alphabetic principles also known as phonemic orthography which refers to relationships between letters and their associated sounds help young children develop letter-sound correspondence. Using the techniques through technology enables the promotion of comprehension skills, the understanding of the concepts about print as well as the facilitation of vocabulary development. This article is critical as it shows how to assist children in identifying letters and sounds through the use of technology. In being educated about how to incorporate technology in teaching children the acquisition of these skills, I would therefore try my utmost best in providing a computer in the language centre that would be most available to the children, as well as undertaking that strategy of how to teach the children phonological awareness and alphabetical principles on that such computer. How does the Active Language Centre Created reflect my Curriculum Goals? When assessing the language centre before I did my creation it was evident that there were no signs of my curriculum goals, mainly because of the lack of attention I gave to that particular centre and the insufficient amount of materials that were provided to the children in classroom. But however, now when comparing the centre from how it was before to this very moment, I can observe that my curriculum goals are off course reflecting. The reason for this is because it is more attractive in the eyes of the future members of society, as well as the materials that are presented to them mirrors my goals. The materials that were mentioned and described earlier above and that would be offered to them facilitates the particular skills that would be met in the declared goals and that are of great importance to the children, as well as the teacher learning strategies that were undertaken in further endorsing and accomplishing them. Limitations and Innovations In implementing the strategies that were discussed earlier, there was off course one (1) obstacle that was preventing me from accomplishing my entire task. But luckily, there were more innovations than limitations presented. They are as follows:- Innovations – all this were possible with the help and the support of the parents ? I was able to provide lots of books in the language corner that were incredibly attractive to the children. ?The magnetic letters, some puzzles along with many beautiful charts. ?Labels ?Alphabet blocks Picture cards ?Letter sound cards ?Environmental Print e. g. (signs, logos etc. ) ?Together with the children we were able to create the book that includes the different environmental signs. Limitations ?The strategy that was very different from the others which was the incorporation of the computer into the classroom was unable to accomplish due to the expense that it would have implanted. It was hard to achieve, but however after sometime we would be able to achieve it to facilitate the children’s learning. Conclusion In discussing the strategies above that I have undertaken in enhancing the Language Centre in my classroom in reflecting my goals, it has enabled me to realize how unique this learning area is to the children in the environment and to there future. When adults create rich language and literacy environments with the appropriate materials, manipulatives and teacher learning strategies to further endorse the important skills, it boosts the child’s vocabulary along with the use of language, which in turn increases their likelihood of future success.

Ice Cream Essay Example for Free

Ice Cream Essay According to market research conducted in 1996, 80% of Filipino consumers bought on impulse (they bought only upon passing an ice cream shop or scooping station, but without an intention to buy first); 98% ate ice cream was an afternoon snack. Furthermore, studies showed that per capita consumption of ice cream was less than a forth of a gallon per person per year. In 1992, it stood at 0. 23 gallons per person and declined to 0. 20 in 1993. On average, domestic ice cream market was 13. 8 million gallons from 1991-1993, worth estimated p 2. 5-3 billion per annum. Bulk ice cream comprised 86% of the industry sales while the rest was accounted for by frozen novelties. Main competitors in this include San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) Magnolia and RFM’s Selecta. Magnolia Other trailing competitors are Universal Robina Corporation’s (URC) Presto, Arce Dairy Ice Cream, and Pure food’s Coney Island, as well as foreign brands like Baskin-Robbins ,Dreyer’s and Haagen-Dazs. Magnolia – The pioneer ice cream brand in terms of flavour, quality control, variety, technology and distribution produced by the merger of SMC and Nestle. It introduced the Flavor of the Month series that provided a huge variety of ice cream flavours to the consumer, with projected volumes of FoM ice cream sold reaching over 28 million gallons. It pioneered the introduction of tropical fruit flavours. It was the first to achieve International Standards Organization quality standards, and is the only Filipino ice cream brand that has expanded overseas. Magnolia is poised as the main competitor, as it aims to be at the forefront of the dairy industry. With increasing competition, MNC intends to make its products available in neighborhood stores and major outlets; introduce a feedback mechanism that will help the corporation monitor the market; and employ new approaches to selling. Currently, magnolia is the preferred choice of many five star hotels, fine dining restaurants, sports and country clubs and food chains. Presto – this brand claims value for money, as part of the corporate philosophy of the Gokongweis, owners of JG summit corp. hich URC is part of, which is to make available value-for-money items for all its consumer-branded products, and as such has positioned its prices lower than Magnolia Selecta. Presto excels in the frozen novelties market, as was demonstrated in their introduction of Tivoli bars, the first ice cream bar in the Philippines, a phenomenal success that had competitors challenge it with their own versions of ice cream bars. Presto currently holding the number three position, is determined to fu rther widen its market share and catch up with the giants. Thus, the company is eyeing the possibility of plant capacity expansion and wider distribution network. It is also determined to enhance its advertising campaigns and be very active in the communication field. Arce Dairy – This ice cream brand was started in January 1995 and immediately got hold of a 5% market share. Its trademark was the use of carabao milk as base, comfortably within the 5-16% fat content requirement to be called ice cream because carabao milk contains considerably more fat than cow milk (9. 65% as opposed to 4. 16%). Only the expensive ice cream (super deluxe and super special) of Arce contain carabao milk, and are priced at higher than the rates of the competition, showing that Arce’s main strength is its appeal to the AB market where its products cost P3-5 more than its competitors’ products, and as its regular ice cream products are priced lower than its competitors by P3-5 which indicates its attempt to appeal to the CD market’s tendency to want every peso to count. Coney Island – 1976 saw the entry of Coney Island in the local ice cream market. It introduced a new standard of creaminess thanks to its products’ high milk fat content, setting a standard for flavour richness back then. Purefoods acquired it in 1991 and increased its production capacity without having neglected the improvement of its quality. In line with Pure Food’s rule of following the highest international standards, Coney Island tried to implement the zero-vegetable fat and at least 10 percent milk fat standard of US ice cream. It used high quality ingredients like Callebaut chocolate from Belgium for its top-of-the-line products such as the Premium Bar, Pure and Simple and Bugs Bunny Bar. It repositioned itself in the market in 1995 to improve local competitiveness. It marketed its products as â€Å"Not Just Ordinary Ice Cream†, supported by new flavours and packaging. Coney Island revised its product classification, and began categorizing its bulk ice cream as simply creamy, fruit and nuts, and cakes and pastries instead of the traditional premium and super premium. This move was inspired by a study that showed that consumers buy ice cream on the basis of flavour concepts. Foreign Brands – Foreign include Haagen-Dazs, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Baskin-Robbins. Dreyers was the first to penetrate the local market.

Analysis of Efficiency of Solar PV Cell

Analysis of Efficiency of Solar PV Cell The efficiency estimation is the most frequently method used to compare the performance of solar cells. This method can be defined as the ratio of power output from the solar cell over the irradiance power output. In addition of estimating the performance of the solar cell itself, the efficiency depends on the spectrum, intensity of sunlight and the temperature of the solar cell (Fouladi et al., 2013). The efficiency of solar cells can be estimated using the following Equation 3.15: ÃŽ · Where I is the output current, V is the voltage, A is the aperture surface area of the PV module. P is the electrical power generated, GT is the solar radiation flux on module plane (W/m2) and ÃŽ · is the cell/module electrical efficiency. The panel efficiency is effected by the cell temperature and irradiance and this effect in efficiency can by estimated by connecting the existing environment conditions to a reference condition using the following Equation 3.16 (Fouladi et al., 2013): ÃŽ ·ref is the cell efficiency at the reference temperature, Tref (typically 25 Â ºC), 1000 W/m2 is the reference solar irradiance. ÃŽ ² is the temperature coefficient and ÃŽ ³ is the solar irradiance coefficient and both coefficients depend on the PV materials. From Equation 3.16, it can be noticed that an increase in cell temperature (TC) would result in decrease in efficiency (Fouladi et al., 2013). The value of ÃŽ ³ is often assumed to be zero and Equation 3.17 will be: ÃŽ ·ref and ÃŽ ² values are given by the manufacturers. However, the can be estimated using a flash test in which the cell’s electrical output is measured at two different temperatures for given solar radiation flux (Hart and Raghuraman, 1982; Skoplaki and Palyvos, 2009). The actual value of ÃŽ ² it depends on Tref along with the dependence on PV materials and it can be given by Equation 3.18: T0 is the temperature at which the electrical efficiency of the PV module reach is zero (Garg and Agarwal, 1995; Skoplaki and Palyvos, 2009). For crystalline silicon solar cells the highest temperature in at which the PV module electricity drops to Zero is 270 Â ºC (Evans and Florschuetz, 1978; Skoplaki and Palyvos, 2009). The output voltage decreases significantly with the increase of the cell temperature and that causes the current to increase slightly. Nominal operation cell temperature method (NOCT) is used to estimate the cell temperature. This method estimates the cell temperature by measure the cell temperature of an open-rack PV module under an open circuit and in a standard reference environment Fouladi et al., 2013). The solar radiation is estimated typically to be 800W/m2 (GT, NOCT) and the PV panel is tilted 45Â º from the horizontal and exposed to 20 Â ºC air (Ta, NOCT) at 1 m/s. Equation 3.19 can be expressed as (Fouladi et al., 2013): Tc = Where UL is the thermal loss coefficient, Ta is the air temperature and GT is the irradiance on the plane of the panel. Coefficient Ï„ is the solar transmittance of glazing and coefficient ÃŽ ± is the solar absorptance of the PV layer. ÃŽ · is the electrical efficiency. According to (Duffie and Beckham, 1980; Fouladi et al., 2013), the term is negligible so Equation 3.20 will become: Tc = UL which is the overall heat loss for the panel can be estimated using the following Equation 3.20: UL = Where h is the convective heat loss coefficient and qrad is the radiation heat loss from the panel. There are other environmental factors that can influence the performance and the efficiency of the PV cells other than the temperature such as (Mekhilef et al., 2012): Dust Dust accumulation on the surface of PV panel reduces the amount of irradiance required for PV cell to reach maximum efficiency. The excessive accumulation of dust decreases the quality of the solar cells. Humidity: The effect of the humidity it is somehow comparable to the effect of the dust. The water vapor particles decreases the level of the sunlight irradiance needed for the PV panel to reach the maximum efficiency. When the PV surface becomes moist, the light is scattered either by reflection, diffraction or refraction when it comes in contact with the water droplets. Beside the environmental factors that affect the efficiency of the PV panel, there are technical factors that are based on electricity generation system that also can influence the efficiency of the module such as (Darwish et al., 2013): Effect of tilt angle: The tilt angle is one of major factors that determine the performance of the PV panels. The variation of the angle that the system is set with can control the level of the dust disposition on the glass and the amount of irradiance transmission of the plate under various weather conditions. Effect of PV Technology Photovoltaic technology is classified into two groups which are silicon crystalline and thin film. Each group of PV modules consists of different types of solar cells. These different types of solar cell vary also in their efficiencies, resistance to high temperatures and also resistance to harsh environment locations. The investigations found that a-Si performs best in dusty environment. Effect of Cleaning There are four methods to remove the dust and reduce the effect of the dust on the PV glass panel such as; (1) Natural, (2) Mechanical, (3) electro-mechanical and (4) electrostatic. The natural cleaning method is considered to be the simplest removal method because it depends on the rainfall and wind clearing. References Fouladi, F. Henshaw, P. and Ting, S. D. K. (2013): Enhancing Smart Grid realization with accurate prediction of photovoltaic performance based on weather forecast, International Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. (70), no. (5), pp. 754-764, DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2013.798497 Skoplaki, E. and Palyvos, J. A. (2009): On the temperature dependence of photovoltaic module electrical performance: A review of efficiency/power correlations, Solar Energy, vol. (83), pp. 614–624 Hart, G.W. and Raghuraman, P. (1982): Simulation of thermal aspects of residential photovoltaic systems. MIT Report DOE/ET/20279-202. Garg, H.P. and Agarwal, R .K. (1995): Some aspects of a PV/T collector/forced circulation flat plate solar water heater with solar cells. Energy Conversion and Management, vol. (36), pp. 87–99. Evans, D.L. and Florschuetz, L.W. (1978): Terrestrial concentrating photovoltaic power system studies. Solar Energy vol. (20), pp. 37–43. Duffie, J.A. and Beckman, W.A., 1980, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 2nd ed. (New York: John Wiley and Sons). Mekhilef, S. Saidur, R. and Kamalisarvestani, M. (2012): Effect of dust, humidity and air velocity on efficiency of photovoltaic cells, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. (16), pp. 2920-2925. Darwish, Z. A. Kazem, H. A. Sopian, K. Alghoul, M. A. and Chaichan, M. T. (2013): Impact of Some Environmental Variables with Dust on Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Performance: Review and Research Status, vol. (7), no. (4), pp. 152-159

Predicted Impact of Environment on Psychological and Social Development of a Human Clone :: Human Cloning Essaysw

Debates continue to haunt the subject of human cloning, and will continue to do so for some time. Among the debates: How will the clones’ personalities develop? Would it be humane to create clones if they are going to be considered inferior, or if they are going to have a difficult time acclimating to society? Identical twins are essentially clones because they share indistinguishable copies of the same DNA. Due to the similarity between the two genetic situations, it has been suggested that clones will develop much as twins do. By looking at psychological studies that have been conducted on identical twins, scientists can predict how a clone will mature and how they will react to their world. Controversy and science have walked hand-in-hand through many discoveries and inventions. Cloning is no exception, as debates whirl around the various ethics, risks, and possibilities of creating human clones. Philosophers, religious leaders, scientists, and politicians continue to argue amongst each other, trying to determine how cloning will affect future generations of society and medicine. A few psychiatrists, sociologists, and other developmental scientists have focused less on the effects of cloning on modern society, and become more concerned with the effects cloning will have on the psychological development of the clones that may be created. These social scientists worry that clones might experience difficulties developing a healthy personality or functioning happily in society. In order to accurately project possible conflicts, scientists have resorted to the study of today’s natural clones: identical twins. Identical twins possess exact copies of each other’s DNA, and are essentially clones of each other. As such [clones], they may help us to understand some aspects of human clones (Levick, 2004). Trends in the psychological development of twins suggest that a person’s environment influences an individual and can alter their personal growth. By further exploring the psychological impact of having an identical twin, scientists hope to discover how clones will mature. Multiple studies and observations have indicated that the varying genes and environments of each twin can influence many aspects of psychological development such as falling in love, aging, personality development, talents and abilities, body characteristics, health, and physiological responses (University of Minnesota). If an identical twin is so affected by their environment, it is possible that clones will be just as influenced by their surroundings, perhaps even more so than twins if clones are subjected to discrimination. How a clone is regarded, treated, and taught will affect changes in the manner that the clone reacts to their world.

Cosquer Cave Essay -- Place Descriptive Essays

Cosquer Cave Lying 125 feet below sea level, an historic treasure hid unseen to humans for thousands of years. Prehistoric humans first left their mark there nearly 27,000 years ago, but it was not until 1985 that modern humans discovered these treasures. This ancient landmark is now known as Cosquer Cave. It is a unique cave not only for the images found there, but also because of its unusual entrance. The cave is located on Cape Morgiou, in the Calanques, which is near Marseilles (â€Å"The Cosquer Cave†). Marseilles is in the south of France along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The only entrance to the cave is through a tunnel that is 125 feet below the water and 575 feet long (â€Å"Cosquer Grotto†). This long, sloping tunnel leads to the large, air-filled main chamber of the cave. Cosquer Cave is named after its discoverer, professional deep-sea diver Henri Cosquer. Cosquer discovered this cave by accident while on a dive in 1985. Although he visited the cave several times after the initial discovery, he was unable to reach the main chamber until September of 1985. Upon discovering the main chamber, he noticed calcite draperies, submerged stalagmites and crystals of aragonite, but nothing else. It was not until 1991 that Cosquer finally alerted officials of his discovery (Jaobs â€Å"Grotto Cosquer†). This was prompted by his finding of the first painting in the cave, a stenciled hand done in red. After notifying the officials, explorers began an intensive search for more artwork. Their findings were amazing. To date, there are about 125 documented images of animals, and fifty-five stenciled hands found in the cave (Jaobs â€Å"Grotto Cosquer†). As in many other caves, silhouettes and stencils o... .... â€Å"Archaeology: Cave Beneath the Sea.† http://daphne.palmar.edu/mhudelson/Videos/CaveBeneathSea_WA.html â€Å"Cassis, 27 000 years of prehistory and history: Cosquer’s Cave.† http://www.cassis.enprovence.com/anglais/histoire.html â€Å"The Cosquer Cave.† http://www.culture.fr/culture/archeosm/en/img0013.htm â€Å"The Cosquer Cave: Marine Animals.† http://www.culture.fr/culture/archeosm/en/co-ping.htm â€Å"Cosquer Grotto.† Harcourt School Publishers. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/cavepaintings/cosquer.html Duckeck, Jochen. â€Å"Grotte Cosquer.† http://www.bubis.com/showcaves/english/fr/caves/Cosquer.html Jaobs, James Q. â€Å"Grotto Cosquer: The Dawn of Prehistoric Rock Art.† http://www.geocites.com/archaeogeo/paleo/dawn.html

Dementia Care

EIGHT CAREGIVING MAXIMS FOR DEALING WITH PERPLEXING BEHAVIOURS ?Don’t try and stop people with dementia from doing something just because it isn’t being done â€Å"properly†. Give them time to do things in their own way at their own pace. ?People with dementia understand far more than they are ever given credit for. Take care what is said in their presence and don’t exclude them from conversations or decisions. Bossiness is Just Not On. It’s very easy to confuse â€Å"caring† with â€Å"controlling† and nothing winds up any one of us more than the sense that someone else is controlling our lives. And if someone can’t find the words to protest, then resistance or aggressive actions will ensue. ?Ask the question, â€Å"Who is it a problem for – us or them? † If it’s us, we should be old and ugly enough to let things ride.Does it really matter that he wants to go to bed with his trousers on, doesn’t want a wash right now, eats mashed potato with his fingers, says there are little green men in the garden? Don’t scold, argue or contradict. Go With the Flow, however bizarre it seems. ?Preserve their autonomy for as long as possible by giving them choice (e. g. in what clothes to wear) and celebrate what they can still do, rather than bemoan what they can’t. ?There is always a reason for agitation – often something or somebody in the environment.Try to spot the cause and change it if possible. ?If they can’t enter our world, we must enter theirs and affirm it. Forget reality orientation – what day is it, where are you, who’s the Prime Minister – who cares? Enjoy fantastic adventures with them in their â€Å"real† world instead. Be prepared to time-travel backwards into their personal history. ?Look behind the illness and reach out to the frightened person still in there who needs to feel secure, respected and cherished.

Blink by Gladwell

As explained in Blink by Gladwell and Payne, unconscious discrimination is a type of discrimination that is very hard to recognize. We have all heard about explicit discrimination, which can take two forms: the individual level and the institutional level. At the individual level, people openly like. This can be seen in the case of bias hiring when an employer tells a postulant; â€Å"I will not hire you because you are a female. † At the institutional level, one of the most striking examples of discrimination occurs with the Nuremberg Laws in Nazi Germany.These laws restricted the rights of German citizens that were Jews. People working in the Nazi institutions had to enforce these discriminatory laws even if they disagreed with them. By discriminating against Jews, they were only â€Å"doing their job and following orders†. Implicit discrimination is more subtle and we will look more particularly at the unconscious form of this kind of discrimination. As seen in Blink , The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, unconscious discrimination can be positive or negative.The election of Warren Harding is described by Gladwell as an error, as he proceeded to explain that President Harding was elected based more on his looks and personality than his competencies and abilities to govern the country. Most historians agreed that he was one f the worst presidents in history. Malcom Gladwell â€Å"thinks that there are facts about people's appearance- their size or shape or color or sex- that can trigger a very similar set of powerful associations† and Harding’s election was obviously an example of this.Many people looked at him and saw how handsome and distinguished-looking he was and jumped to the conclusion that he had t be a man of courage, intelligence and integrity. They didn’t dig below the surface. Gladwell stated that â€Å"the Harding error is the dark side of rapid cognition. It is at the root of a good deal of prejudice and discrimination†. Unconscious or implicit association plays a big part in our behavior and belief as the Implicit Association Test (IAT) reveals.This test is based on the fact that our minds make quicker connections between pairs that are already related than we do with paired ideas that are unfamiliar. I decided to take the Race IAI test to see what the result would be. Firstly I was asked what my attitude towards blacks and whites was, and coming from a mixed background it was obvious for me to answer that they were equal. I took the test and immediately had an uneasy feeling about it. When the conclusions came I had, as did more than eighty percent of those who had taken the test, pro-white association.The test rated me as having a â€Å"moderate automatic preference for whites. † These results were astonishing to me and allowed me to understand better what unconscious discrimination was. In my brain the connection between black and good was harder to make than white and good. If a person coming from a mixed background like myself, had difficulties associating African Americans with good, and hence could be bias, I began to wonder how other races viewed African Americans.Even though very revealing, this example is just a test, and doesn’t have significant repercussions, but let’s take a real life justice example. Amadou Diallo, a 23-year old African man was shot and killed by four New York City Police Department officers. They fired a total of 41 shots at this unarmed man. In this case, one could ask one’s self if racial profiling was used and to what extent Diallo’s color played against him. The family filed a lawsuit against the City Of New York and the officers and won 3 million dollars.The event gendered social psychology researches notably one directed by Eberhard in 2004 which revealed that police officers are quicker to decide to shoot an unarmed black person rather than an unarmed white one. A ll these findings set ethical problems as problems of justice. How could we have justice if even mixed people, non-white or African Americans are biased? How could we write the rules for a society if trained officers face unconscious discrimination issues? How can the rules be written so that the ethical problem that is unconscious discrimination would become a thing of the past?From very early ages, dark colors have been associated with bad, and light or brightness with good. It is something that is deeply entrenched in our society and culture, so in order to change the mentalities and habits, children should, at a young age, be exposed to examples reinforcing or teaching them that good and bad are not a matter of color. Discrimination is instilled in our kids’ everyday lives just as seen in most cartoons or kids’ programs: the â€Å"good guy† is often white and the â€Å"bad guy† is darker. What is priming?The online glossary of the American Psychologic al Association defines it as â€Å"the advantage conferred by prior exposure to a word or situation†. I believe that at an elementary level, kids should have some classes and videos teaching them that all human beings are equal and cannot be judged by their color. Just like the propaganda advertising can influence us to buy and like a new products, this â€Å"race advertising† would encourage kids to be less biased and to treat everyone with the same respect independently of their race or religion.This reasoning takes from the affirmative action programs that helped thousands of women access jobs and levels of responsibilities never experienced before. I truly believe that if at a young age, children are exposed to more diversity, this exposure would result in less unconscious discrimination later in their lives. Schools should have race and religious diversity and if we could succeed in mixing the population, children could learn to live together at a very young age. Now, let’s consider the hiring process.Is an interviewer named â€Å"John† more likely to give an edge to a job candidate also named â€Å"John? † Recent academic research suggests that the answer is yes but how does this type of unconscious discrimination affect a company’s ability to develop a merit-based model. Auren Hoffman and psychologist Brett Pelham conducted a study at the University of Buffalo and found the following groundbreaking results: â€Å"In hiring, positive gut feelings can lead to decisions based on superficial similarities to the decision maker, including those that may not be lawfully considered, such as age, race, and national origin.Equally importantly, they can lead to decisions based on a host of other irrelevant factors, such as hair color. † Hoffman concludes by stating that such decisions are bad business practices that can confer competitive disadvantage. T o remedy these injustices, I believe that pictures, names, and gender should be blanked from resumes, giving equal chances to everyone. Blind hiring could be a good solution to unconscious discrimination in the hiring process. Often the composition of an orchestra is a good example of gender discrimination.In most orchestras, brass instruments are played by men. In this specific example, during the music auditions, a screen could be put up so the players’ gender would be impossible to identify. These methods implemented would firstly, force integration and expose the problems of unconscious discrimination and bring it to a state of awareness. Secondly, these methods would mix the population and undoubtedly change certain discriminatory practices, such as can be seen where it has become normal nowadays for women to have the right to vote, whereas before it was not possible.As we have discussed above, discrimination takes many different forms and even occurs without being a deliberate action on the part of the discriminatory party. Obviou sly the effects of discrimination are widespread and in some cases can be very devastating. As I mentioned before though, although challenging, it is not impossible to address the issues presented through discrimination. Obviously there has to be the acknowledgement that it is occurring, and after this acknowledgment steps can be taken, some of which I have suggested, to alleviate or eradicate the problem altogether. Some rules can be implemented to lighten or fix the problem.

My plans for the Future

The contemporary society is a rather cruel environment. Those, who are confident, experienced and wealthy, feel at home in it, but there are people who need help adjusting to the existing conditions, and those are social workers who provide them help and support. In my opinion, children are the most vulnerable group, the one that needs the most attention and efforts from the social workers. That is why I am going to work in a school setting after obtaining my MSW degree. Children, adolescents and adults are three different groups, and each of these has its specific needs.That is, in my opinion, what triggers most of the conflicts in the school setting. The social worker's goal is to provide an environment at school that would suit the needs of all of these age groups. I also feel it is important that the social worker should provide psychological support to both the students and working personnel, for to help to solve the existing problems, and to inform their clients on the preferab le behavioral strategies for to prevent the emergence of similar conflicts in future.It's well known that the biggest part of problems students have roots in their family lives. A social worker in a school setting is providing individual and family counseling, for to assist in solving the problem. I feel I am capable of evaluating all of the aspects of problematic situation, of explaining my clients where the problem is, and of advising them on changing their behaviors. Thus, in my opinion, I would be able to cope in a school setting.It is also that I'm sure that the disabled students should be given an opportunity to get the normal education. Adapting the ordinary schools to the needs of disabled students, and adapting the students to the needs of the schools' environment is a challenging task. I feel that schoolers are a group that needs most assistance in adapting to the surrounding world. In the same time I know I am able of coping with the tasks this position calls for. I hope I will be able to obtain the degree needed for to reach my goal.

Advantages of Geothermal Power Plants

Advantages of Geothermal Power PlantsGeothermal power plants are used for production of electricity from geothermal energy. The traditional thermal power plants need fuel for generating electricity while geothermal powre plants don't need fuel. Here are some of the advantages of generating electricity from geothermal energy. Advantages of using Geothermal Energy for Producing PowerGeothermal energy is the energy stored below the earth’s crust. Due to heat below the earth’s crust water gets heated and also sometimes gets converted into steam. This hot water and steam can be used for generating electricity. Here are the advantages of using geothermal energy for producing electricity: 1) No fuel is required: The thermal and nuclear power plants use fossil and nuclear fuels respectively to heat water and generate steam for production of electricity.The geothermal power plants use the readily available hot water from the geothermal reservoir so no fuel is required. 2) Clean source of power: The fuels used in conventional thermal power plants produce lots of toxic gases and particulate matter polluting the surrounding atmosphere. Electricity can be produced from geothermal reservoir without creating any air-pollution. 3) Less area is required: The land required for the geothermal power plant per megawatt of power produced is much lesser than that required for the other types of power plants. 4) Unhindered production of power: The energy from geothermal reservoir is available 24 hours a day and all the days of the year without any breakage or change during varying seasons, natural disaster and political turmoil. Thus geothermal energy is the reliable source for producing electricity continuously without any hindrance.Parts of a Geothermal Power PlantGeothermal Vents The geothermal vent is the first component of a geothermal plant. A geothermal vent is a deep well drilled into the Earth that the power plant uses to tap into the Earth's heat. A geothermal plant may have two goals for its vent; most current geothermal plants draw superheated, pressurized water  upward; these are called flash steam plants. Geothermal plants may also simply dig far enough underground, as many as three kilometers, to reach a point where the Earth is warm enough to boil water, these are called dry steam vents. Steam GeneratorAnother key component of a geothermal plant is the steam production unit, which can take multiple forms. In a flash steam vent, superheated pressurized water is drawn from its place underground to low-pressure tanks. The pressure of the Earth kept the water in liquid form despite its high temperature, and by removing that pressure the hot water instantly turns to steam, hence the term flash steam. In a dry steam plant, the plant technicians pump water to the bottom of the vent where the Earth's heat boils the water and turns it into steam.TurbineRegardless of the plant type, both flash steam and dry steam plants pump the steam from the geothermal vent to a large turbine. The steam passes this turbine, turning it in the process. This turbine is attached to an electric generator, and as the turbine turns the generator turns the mechanical energy into electric energy, thus converting the heat from the Earth into usable electricity.CondenserAfter the steam passes through the turbine, it continues to a condenser chamber. This chamber condenses the steam back into liquid water by cooling it. The excess heat lost as the steam turns to liquid water may be used for other applications, such as heating or greenhouse farming. The cooled liquid water is then typically pumped back into the ground to either restart the boiling process for dry steam or to replenish the natural heated aquifer for flash steam plants.Disadvantages of Geothermal EnergyGeothermal energy is a key contender for future electricity production in various countries across the globe. This however, doesn't mean that geothermal energy comes without its dis advantages, many of which are explained below.The Disadvantages AvailabilityThe availability of geothermal energy that is capable of feeding geothermal power stations is limited. This intense energy source is often only available in countries where geothermal activity is at its peak, mainly tectonic/volcanic regions such as Iceland. Significant Investment Required – A significant investment is often required prior to building a geothermal power station. Geological surveys have to be undertaken to ensure the location is suitable for geothermal electricity production before any potential installation work can go ahead. It's often costly to transport any required materials to remote locations where there is sufficient geothermal activity.Harmful Gas Potential – Geothermal power stations have the potential to release harmful gases into the air. Toxic gases exist deep beneath the ground in various regions and can sometimes be released via the infrastructure used by geotherm al power stations. Most modern geothermal power plants have systems and procedures in places to deal with these harmful gases. Localised Supply – As geothermal is trapped beneath our feet, we cannot extract, store and transport this energy source to other countries as we do with fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. Geothermal energy has to be used at source to generate electricity, thus providing a supply of electricity for the electrical grid system of only the source country.The Steam Can Stop – Geothermal power stations have the potential to cool the rocks beneath them buried deep under the ground. If the rocks are cooled via too much water flowing into the well, they will no longer be able to produce the steam required to turn a generator, thus rendering a site useless and resulting in significant losses for any company making use of geothermal energy at that location. Visual Pollution – Geothermal power stations, as with many other power station designs can be unsightly and provide visual pollution. Networks of pipe systems have to be utilised for production purposes and many people are opposed to the sight of these. –Advantages of Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is widely considered as a key contender for future electricity production in various corners of the earth. Countries including Iceland, the USA and New Zealand already make use of this renewable energy source to provide electricity on a significant scale. There are many advantages relating to the use of geothermal energy and these are described  below. The AdvantagesEnvironmentally Friendly – Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that's highly environmentally friendly. Little disruption is made to the environment as a result of the various processes that are used to harness this energy source in order to provide electricity. Few chemicals and pollutants feature in geothermal electricity production. Highly Efficient – Geothermal energy is highly efficient and can be used to provide electricity in select areas or even to provide heating for our homes and business on a much wider scale via the use of ground source heat pumps.Cost Effective – As geothermal power stations are relatively small and less complex than large fossil fuel alternatives, they are highly cost effective, especially when they are placed in areas of high geological/tectonic activity where magma is closer to the earth's crust when compared with other locations. Job Creation – The introduction of geothermal energy systems on both an industrial and domestic scale has helped to boost jobs in many different countries. This is a key advantage for areas that may have already been experiencing job shortages. Land Value – Another advantage of geothermal energy and tied into the cost effectiveness of this energy source is land value.Geothermal power stations are often placed in areas of high geological activity where land values may be lo w due to obvious reasons. This helps to provide cost savings for energy companies that wish to make use of geothermal activity. Almost Infinite – Although geothermal activity in a particular area is actually finite, this is likely to be available for anywhere between 5,000 and 1,000,000 years. This huge time scale means geothermal energy is almost infinite and will be able to long live out many fossil fuel alternatives. Always On – As long as geothermal activity is present in a particular region, this energy source will always be on and will be fairly constant.This means that unlike solar, wind, wave and tidal alternatives, geothermal energy can provide continuous electricity production whatever the weather. Very Quiet – Another significant advantage of geothermal energy is how quiet it can be. Geothermal energy is the electric car of power stations and is likely to provide little noise pollution to nearby residents. –Geothermal Power PlantA geothermal po wer plant uses its geothermal activity to generate power. This type of natural energy production is extremely environmentally friendly and used in many geothermal hot spots around the globe. To harness the energy, deep holes are drilled into the earth (much like when drilling for oil) until a significant geothermal hot spot is found. When the heat source has been discovered, a pipe is attached deep down inside the hole which allows hot steam from deep within the earths crust to rise up to the surface. The pressurized steam is then channeled into a turbine which begins to turn under the large force of the steam. This turbine is linked to the generator and so the generator also begins to turn, generating electricity.We then pump cold water down a new pipe which is heated by the earth and then sent back up the first pipe to repeat the process. The main problems with geothermal energy is that firstly, you must not pump too much cold water into the earth, as this could could cool the roc ks too much, resulting in your geothermal heat source cooling down. secondly, geothermal power plants must be careful of escaping gases from deep within the earth. We suggest if you would like to learn more on this topic, you take a look at our advantages of geothermal energy, and our disadvantages of geothermal energy articles.A very good way of thinking about geothermal energy is remembering that all our continents lie on molten rock deep within the earth, this rock produces tremendous levels of heat that we are able to extract, just think of your nation lying on a bed of fire. Geothermal power is one of the most renewable energy sources that exists on our planet today, the earth will contain this heat for our lifetime. If this heat disappears, our planet will become too cold to survive on.You can purchase small scale geothermal equipment for your home yet this works in a different manner to geothermal power stations. The power stations extract the heat directly from deep within t he earth, whereas home geothermal hot water equipment absorbs heat over a lengthy period of time from a few meters beneath your feet.Main parts of the plant are1. Coal conveyor 2. Stoker 3. Pulverizer 4. Boiler 5. Coal ash 6. Air preheater 7. Electrostatic precipitator 8. Smoke stack 9. Turbine 10. Condenser 11. Transformers 12. Cooling towers 13. Generator 14. High – votge power linesBasic Operation :A thermal power plant basically works onRankine cycle. Coal conveyor : This is a belt type of arrangement.With this coal is transported from coal storage place in power plant to the place near by boiler. Stoker : The coal which is brought near by boiler has to put in boiler furnance for combustion.This stoker is a mechanical device for feeding coal to a furnace.Pulverizer : The coal is put in the boiler after pulverization.For this pulverizer is used.A pulverizer is a device for grinding coal for combustion in a furnace in a power plant.Types of Pulverizers Ball and Tube Mill Ba ll mill is a pulverizer that consists of a horizontal rotating cylinder, up to three diameters in length, containing a charge of tumbling or cascading steel balls, pebbles, or rods. Tube mill is a revolving cylinder of up to five diameters in length used for fine pulverization of ore, rock, and other such materials; the material, mixed with water, is fed into the chamber from one end, and passes out the other end as slime. Ring and BallThis type consists of two rings separated by a series of large balls. The lower ring rotates, while the upper ring presses down on the balls via a set of spring and adjuster assemblies. Coal is introduced into the center or side of the pulverizer (depending on the design) and is ground as the lower ring rotates causing the balls to orbit between the upper and lower rings. The coal is carried out of the mill by the flow of air moving through it. The size of the coal particals released from the grinding section of the mill is determined by a classifer s eparator. These mills are typically produced by B&W (Babcock and Wilcox).Boiler : Now that pulverized coal is put in boiler furnance.Boiler is an enclosed vessel in which water is heated and circulated until the water is turned in to steam at the required pressure.Coal is burned inside the combustion chamber of boiler.The products of combustion are nothing but gases.These gases which are at high temperature vaporize the water inside the boiler to steam.Some times this steam is further heated in a superheateras higher the steam pressure and temperature the greater efficiency the engine will have in converting the heat in steam in to mechanical work. This steam at high pressure and tempeture is used directly as a heating medium, or as the working fluid in a prime mover to convert thermal energy to mechanical work, which in turn may be converted to electrical energy. Although other fluids are sometimes used for these purposes, water is by far the most common because of its economy and suitable thermodynamic characteristics.Classification of Boilers Bolilers are classified asFire tube boilers : In fire tube boilers hot gases are passed through the tubes and water surrounds these tubes. These are  simple,compact and rugged in construction.Depending on whether the tubes are vertical or horizontal these are further classified as vertical and horizontal tube boilers.In this since the water volume is more,circulation will be poor.So they can't meet quickly the changes in steam demand.High pressures of steam are not possible,maximum pressure that can be attained is about 17.5kg/sq cm.Due to large quantity of water in the drain it requires more time for steam raising.The steam attained is generally wet,economical for low pressures.The outut of the boiler is also limited.Water tube boilers : In these boilers water is inside the tubes and hot gases are outside the tubes.They consists of drums and tubes. .They may contain any number of drums (you can see 2 drums in fig).F eed water enters the boiler to one drum (here it is drum below the boiler).This water circulates through the tubes connected external to drums.Hot gases which surrounds these tubes wil convert the water in tubes in to steam.This steam is passed through tubes and collected at the top of the drum since it is of light weight.So the drums store steam and water (upper drum).The entire  steam is collected in one drum and it is taken out from there (see in laout fig).As the movement of water in the water tubes is high, so rate of heat transfer also becomes high resulting in greater efficiency.They produce high pressure , easily accessible and can respond quickly to changes in steam demand.These are also classified as vertical,horizontal and inclined tube depending on the arrangement of the tubes.These are of less weight and less liable to explosion.Large heating surfaces can be obtained by use of large number of tubes.We can attain pressure as high as 125 kg/sq cm and temperatures from 3 15 to 575 centigrade.Superheater : Most of the modern boliers are having superheater and reheater arrangement. Superheater is a component of a steam-generating unit in which steam, after it has left the boiler drum, is heated above its saturation temperature. The amount of superheat added to the steam is influenced by the location, arrangement, and amount of superheater surface installed, as well as the rating of the boiler. The superheater may consist of one or more stages of tube banks arranged to effectively transfer heat from the products of combustion.Superheaters are classified as convection , radiant or combination of these.Reheater : Some of the heat of superheated steam is used to rotate the turbine where it loses some of its energy.Reheater is also steam boiler component in which heat is added to this intermediate-pressure steam, which has given up some of its energy in expansion through the high-pressure turbine. The steam after reheating is used to rotate the second stea m turbine (see Layout fig) where the heat is converted to mechanical energy.This mechanical energy is used to run the alternator, which is coupled to turbine , there by generating elecrical energy.Condenser : Steam after rotating staem turbine comes to condenser.Condenser refers here to the shell and tube heat exchanger (or surface condenser) installed at the outlet of every steam turbine in Thermal power stations of utility companies generally. These condensers are heat exchangers which convert steam from its gaseous to its liquid state, also known as phase transition. In so doing, the latent heat of steam is given out inside the  condenser. Where water is in short supply an air cooled condenser is often used. An air cooled condenser is however significantly more expensive and cannot achieve as low a steam turbine backpressure (and therefore less efficient) as a surface condenser.The purpose is to condense the outlet (or exhaust) steam from steam turbine to obtain maximum efficie ncy and also to get the condensed steam in the form of pure water, otherwise known as condensate, back to steam generator or (boiler) as boiler feed water.Why it is required ?The steam turbine itself is a device to convert the heat in steam to mechanical power. The difference between the heat of steam per unit weight at the inlet to turbine and the heat of steam per unit weight at the outlet to turbine represents the heat given out (or heat drop) in the steam turbine which is converted to mechanical power. The heat drop per unit weight of steam is also measured by the word enthalpy drop. Therefore the more the conversion of heat per pound (or kilogram) of steam to mechanical power in the turbine, the better is its performance or otherwise known as efficiency.By condensing the exhaust steam of turbine, the exhaust pressure is brought down below atmospheric pressure from above atmospheric pressure, increasing the steam pressure drop between inlet and exhaust of steam turbine. This fur ther reduction in exhaust pressure gives out more heat per unit weight of steam input to the steam turbine, for conversion to mechanical power. Most of the heat liberated due to condensing, i.e., latent heat of steam, is carried away by the cooling medium. (water inside tubes in a surface condenser, or droplets in a spray condenser (Heller system) or air around tubes in an air-cooled condenser).Condensers are classified as (i) Jet condensers or contact condensers (ii) Surface condensers. In jet condensers the steam to be condensed mixes with the cooling water and the temperature of the condensate and the cooling water is same when leaving the condenser; and the condensate can't be recovered for use as feed water to the boiler; heat transfer is by direct conduction.In surface condensers there is no direct contact between the steam to be condensed and the circulating cooling water. There is a wall interposed between them through heat must be convectively transferred.The temperature of the condensate may be higher than the temperature of the cooling water at outlet and the condnsate is recovered as feed water to the boiler.Both the cooling water and the condensate are separetely with drawn.Because of this advantage surface condensers are used in thermal power plants.Final output of condenser is water at low temperature is passed to high pressure feed water heater,it is heated and again passed as feed water to the boiler.Since we are passing water at high temperature as feed water the temperature inside the boiler does not dcrease and boiler efficincy also maintained.Cooling Towers :The condensate (water) formed in the condeser after condensation is initially at high temperature.This hot water is passed to cooling towers.It is a tower- or building-like device in which atmospheric air (the heat receiver) circulates in direct or indirect contact with warmer water (the heat source) and the water is thereby cooled (see illustration). A cooling tower may serve as the h eat sink in a conventional thermodynamic process, such as refrigeration or steam power generation, and when it is convenient or desirable to make final heat rejection to atmospheric air. Water, acting as the heat-transfer fluid, gives up heat to atmospheric air, and thus cooled, is recirculated through the system, affording economical operation of the process.Two basic types of cooling towers are commonly used. One transfers the heat from warmer water to cooler air mainly by an evaporation heat-transfer process and is known as theevaporative or wet cooling tower.Evaporative cooling towers are classified according to the means employed for producing air circulation through them:atmospheric, natural draft, and mechanical draft. The other transfers the heat from warmer water to cooler air by a sensible heat-transfer process and is known as the nonevaporative or dry cooling tower.Nonevaporative cooling towers are classified as air-cooled condensers and as air-cooled heat exchangers, and are further classified by the means used for producing air circulation through them. These two basic types are sometimes combined, with the two cooling processes generally used in parallel or separately, and are then known as wet-dry cooling towers.Evaluation of cooling tower performance is based on cooling of a specified quantity of water through a given range and to a specified temperature approach to the wet-bulb or dry-bulb temperature for which the tower is designed. Because exact design conditions are rarely experienced in operation, estimated performance curves are frequently prepared for a specific installation, and provide a means for comparing the measured performance with design conditions.Economiser : Flue gases coming out of the boiler carry lot of heat.Function of economiser is to recover some of the heat from the heat carried away in the flue gases up the chimney and utilize for heating the feed water to the boiler.It is placed in the passage of flue gases in between the exit from the boiler and the entry to the chimney.The use of economiser results in saving in coal consumption , increase in steaming rate and high boiler efficiency but needs extra investment and increase in maintenance costs and floor area required for the plant.This is used in all modern plants.In this a large number of small diameter thin walled tubes are placed between two headers.Feed water enters the tube through one header and leaves through the other.The flue gases flow out side the tubes usually in counter flow.Air preheater : The remaining heat of flue gases is utilised by air preheater.It is a device used in steam boilers to transfer heat from the flue gases to the combustion air before the air enters the furnace. Also known as air heater; air-heating system. It is not shown in the lay out.But it is kept at a place near by where the air enters in to the boiler. The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the flue gas from the boiler to improve boiler efficiency by burning warm air which increases combustion efficiency, and reducing useful heat lost from the flue.As a consequence, the gases are also sent to the chimney or stack at a lower  temperature, allowing simplified design of the ducting and stack. It also allows control over the temperature of gases leaving the stack (to meet emissions regulations, for example).After extracting heat flue gases are passed to elctrostatic precipitator. Electrostatic precipitator : It is a device which removes dust or other finely divided particles from flue gases by charging the particles inductively with an electric field, then attracting them to highly charged collector plates. Also known as precipitator. The process depends on two steps.In the first step the suspension passes through an electric discharge (corona discharge) area where ionization of the gas occurs. The ions produced collide with the suspended particles and confer on them an electric charge. The charged particles drift t oward an electrode of opposite sign and are deposited on the electrode where their electric charge is neutralized. The phenomenon would be more correctly designated as electrodeposition from the gas phase. The use of electrostatic precipitators has become common in numerous industrial applications.Among the advantages of the electrostatic precipitator are its ability to handle large volumes of gas, at elevated temperatures if necessary, with a reasonably small pressure drop, and the removal of particles in the micrometer range. Some of the usual applications are: (1) removal of dirt from flue gases in steam plants; (2) cleaning of air to remove fungi and bacteria in establishments producing antibiotics and other drugs, and in operating rooms; (3) cleaning of air in ventilation and air conditioning systems; (4) removal of oil mists in machine shops and acid mists in chemical process plants; (5) cleaning of blast furnace gases; (6) recovery of valuable materials such as oxides of copp er, lead, and tin; and (7) separation of rutile from zirconium sand. Smoke stack :A chimney is a system for venting hot flue gasesor smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outsideatmosphere.They are typically almost vertical to ensure that the hot gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion through the chimney effect (also known as the stack effect). The space inside a chimney is called a flue. Chimneys may be found in buildings, steam locomotives and ships. In the US, the termsmokestack (colloquially, stack) is also used when referring to locomotive chimneys. The term funnel is generally used for ship chimneys and sometimes used to refer to locomotive chimneys.Chimneys are tall to increase their draw of air for combustion and  to disperse pollutants in the flue gases over a greater area so as to reduce the pollutant concentrations in compliance with regulatory or other limits. Generator : An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechani cal energy to alternating current electrical energy. Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field. Different geometries – such as a linear alternator for use with stirling engines – are also occasionally used. In principle, any AC generator can be called an alternator, but usually the word refers to small rotating machines driven by automotive and other internal combustion engines.Transformers :It is a device that transfers electric energy from one alternating-current circuit to one or more other circuits, either increasing (stepping up) or reducing (stepping down) the voltage. Uses for transformers include reducing the line voltage to operate low-voltage devices (doorbells or toy electric trains) and raising the voltage from electric generators so that electric power can be transmitted over long distances. Transformers act through electromagnetic induction; current in the primary coil induces current in the secondary coil. The secondary voltage is calculated by mult iplying the primary voltage by the ratio of the number of turns in the secondary coil to that in the primary. To see the complete operation of the plant in flash player Click here