The Printing Press

The Printing Press There have been many important inventions over the past millennium. Many of them have helped shape society into what it is today. None however have contributed as much to the world as the printing press has. The printing press was invented in the year 1440 by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The printing press consisted of a large press which held plates where movable type could be inserted to spell out entire books page by page. The press was either operated by a large screw or lever which pressed the inked letters onto the sheet of paper.Once done the letters had to be rearranged to make the next page and then repeated for each new page in the book. This process however slow was much faster than the old method of hand writing the books and great deal cheaper as well. The invention of the printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it spread ideas throughout Europe, forever altered modern society and it gave the common people power and the chance to become literate. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it allowed many important ideas and opinions to be more easily widespread to the general public.The printing press helped the spread of ideas through the production of books. The ability to mass produce books and pamphlets helped many political leaders spread their views to the public more easily. These views of the political leaders, good or bad were now accessible to the general public. The ability to read leader’s views and form public opinions helped shape the world into what it is today. Printed books also explored ideas on science and technology which helped bring forth scientific knowledge that shaped the scientific revolution.The press gave freedom to the general public in a new form of expression of thought. People now had a new way of recording their thoughts and sharing it with others. This freedom of expressive print was very liberating for o nes message could reach many in a short time. The printing press invention was important to people in many fields for it allowed the political powers to continue to expand, it provides the opportunity to share scientific knowledge and it allowed the public freedom to share in print format. Modern society was affected in many crucial ways because of the printing press.One of the ways that society is affected by this invention from so many years ago is that it brought about the standardization of spelling and grammar. This was and still is important because it brought about the awareness that in order to properly communicate there would need to be a standardized form of spelling and spelling rules. This set standard form of spelling shaped many languages and made the written communication of them easy in the past and still today. The second way that its affects are noted still today is it helped spread religious views to various corners of the world in print format.The importance of t his is that this source of books such as the bible or other religious books allowed religious views to be read about and shared in the home rather than just being a message listened to at church. It provided common written messages and because of this many religions such as Christianity could be spread easier throughout the world. These religious writings formed a common base for religion to be prevalent today. Another way in which society was affected by the printing press is that it helped the world’s technology advance faster.People could afford to buy factual books and educate themselves through reading. The more educated that people became, the more they searched for ways to make life better with their knowledge they had acquired from reading books. Today’s society still largely relies on written print as a way to gain knowledge. Modern society and its advancement in written language structure religious followings and technologies advancement are rooted in the his tory of the printing press and would look much different today if the printing press had not been invented.The invention of the printing press allowed many ordinary citizens the chance to own a book and learn to read. Before the invention of the printing press the cost and time to make a book limited the owning of a book to the very wealthy. However with the invention of the printing press as well as the newly found knowledge of how to make paper from the Arabs printing books became rather inexpensive and much less time consuming. These important advancements made it so average people could now afford to buy books, people began to learn how to read and therefore more opinions and ideas were spread.Literacy rates improved and with this knowledge it allowed the common peasants power to understand what was happening in their country. This power of being literate was important because it provided them opportunity to plan to make life better for oneself. Today books still have an importa nce for having books and being literate is important because if one can read and understand things in their world it gives one choices of how they can interact with others. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium.Its effects were important in 1440 to spread political, scientific and technological ideas. Its effects are still important today in spelling and grammar, religion and in nonfiction education. It gave people power to be owners of printed material and it promoted a desire to learn to educate oneself to read. The printing press was crucial in the advancement of society. Power in written form is a document to learn from and expand from. The printing press allowed societies historical events and ideas to be documented and allowed man to learn from the past to progress the future. The Printing Press The Printing Press There have been many important inventions over the past millennium. Many of them have helped shape society into what it is today. None however have contributed as much to the world as the printing press has. The printing press was invented in the year 1440 by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The printing press consisted of a large press which held plates where movable type could be inserted to spell out entire books page by page. The press was either operated by a large screw or lever which pressed the inked letters onto the sheet of paper.Once done the letters had to be rearranged to make the next page and then repeated for each new page in the book. This process however slow was much faster than the old method of hand writing the books and great deal cheaper as well. The invention of the printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it spread ideas throughout Europe, forever altered modern society and it gave the common people power and the chance to become literate. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium because it allowed many important ideas and opinions to be more easily widespread to the general public.The printing press helped the spread of ideas through the production of books. The ability to mass produce books and pamphlets helped many political leaders spread their views to the public more easily. These views of the political leaders, good or bad were now accessible to the general public. The ability to read leader’s views and form public opinions helped shape the world into what it is today. Printed books also explored ideas on science and technology which helped bring forth scientific knowledge that shaped the scientific revolution.The press gave freedom to the general public in a new form of expression of thought. People now had a new way of recording their thoughts and sharing it with others. This freedom of expressive print was very liberating for o nes message could reach many in a short time. The printing press invention was important to people in many fields for it allowed the political powers to continue to expand, it provides the opportunity to share scientific knowledge and it allowed the public freedom to share in print format. Modern society was affected in many crucial ways because of the printing press.One of the ways that society is affected by this invention from so many years ago is that it brought about the standardization of spelling and grammar. This was and still is important because it brought about the awareness that in order to properly communicate there would need to be a standardized form of spelling and spelling rules. This set standard form of spelling shaped many languages and made the written communication of them easy in the past and still today. The second way that its affects are noted still today is it helped spread religious views to various corners of the world in print format.The importance of t his is that this source of books such as the bible or other religious books allowed religious views to be read about and shared in the home rather than just being a message listened to at church. It provided common written messages and because of this many religions such as Christianity could be spread easier throughout the world. These religious writings formed a common base for religion to be prevalent today. Another way in which society was affected by the printing press is that it helped the world’s technology advance faster.People could afford to buy factual books and educate themselves through reading. The more educated that people became, the more they searched for ways to make life better with their knowledge they had acquired from reading books. Today’s society still largely relies on written print as a way to gain knowledge. Modern society and its advancement in written language structure religious followings and technologies advancement are rooted in the his tory of the printing press and would look much different today if the printing press had not been invented.The invention of the printing press allowed many ordinary citizens the chance to own a book and learn to read. Before the invention of the printing press the cost and time to make a book limited the owning of a book to the very wealthy. However with the invention of the printing press as well as the newly found knowledge of how to make paper from the Arabs printing books became rather inexpensive and much less time consuming. These important advancements made it so average people could now afford to buy books, people began to learn how to read and therefore more opinions and ideas were spread.Literacy rates improved and with this knowledge it allowed the common peasants power to understand what was happening in their country. This power of being literate was important because it provided them opportunity to plan to make life better for oneself. Today books still have an importa nce for having books and being literate is important because if one can read and understand things in their world it gives one choices of how they can interact with others. The printing press was the most important invention of the last millennium.Its effects were important in 1440 to spread political, scientific and technological ideas. Its effects are still important today in spelling and grammar, religion and in nonfiction education. It gave people power to be owners of printed material and it promoted a desire to learn to educate oneself to read. The printing press was crucial in the advancement of society. Power in written form is a document to learn from and expand from. The printing press allowed societies historical events and ideas to be documented and allowed man to learn from the past to progress the future.

Natural Fires

When we speak of large scale fires, we often associate it with destructive forces that could burn properties and structures down to ashes or commit many lives. What we don’t realize is that large-scale fires have existed way back in the history of our planet, and that these fires are considered as natural occurrences. It is just our perception that lead us to our conceived meaning of fire, but truly, there are more benefits in it rather than the destruction if brings. Nature utilizes these large-scale fires for various reasons, both destructive and beneficial. We often think of fire as an evil force that consumes both living and non-living things in the environment. But besides this, we are oblivious to the fact that these fires are agents of natural change. These fires are considered as herbivores, because they consume plants and transform them to a more useful material (Bond and Kee). Most plants however, are inedible or just difficult to consume, like towering trees and the like. In order to put this into good use, fires act as herbivores that would devour an entire forest of inedible trees. They are consumed in order to transform the ecosystems into better ones, which the various creatures of our environment could live into (Pyne). No matter how man intervenes with the way the environment works, nature would always find its way with things. This is true for the occurrence of these large scale fires. Man has struggled and was somehow successful in suppressing these fires from devouring trees and other vegetations. Because of this, nature has somehow managed to adapt by increasing the temperature of the environment lately (Westerling et al.). Because of this increase in temperature, the trees in the forests become more susceptible to these fires. They easily get burned with just a little nudge, like a lit cigarette thrown into the woods, or a boy playing with some matchsticks. Works Cited: Bond, William J., and Jon E. Kee. â€Å"Fire as a Global ‘Herbivore’: The Ecology and Evolution of Flammable Ecosystems.† TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution Vol.20.No.7 (2005). Pyne, Stephen J. â€Å"Pyromancy: Reading Stories in the Flames.† Conservation Biology Vol. 18.No. 4 (2004). Westerling, A. L., et al. â€Å"Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity.† American Association for the Advancement of Science Vol. 313 (2006).      

Effects of Big Business Subsidies on Local Economies

Julian Diaz Eco 212 Tax breaks Big Business Subsidies Across the nation corporations have realized that they hold the fundamental building block to the growth of their revenues, and economic growth of small economies. Claiming that merely their presence are the key to fixing local economies. Politicians are willing to funnel, in some cases, millions of dollars from taxpayers pockets and into the wallets of corporations to set up shop in their town. Corporations with capital and willingness to invest are waiting around for the highest bidder, our bidders being the local governments attempting to find a way to a better local economy .These techniques are essentially paying the corporation to set up shop in their local economies. Local governments need to realized that big business as effective as it is in creating new jobs in the short run and stimulating the economy on a macroeconomic scale, are not benefiting the local economy in the long run and some cases short run. In order to tru ly understand the whys and wherefores for big business’ to not receive local government subsidies, a look into the negative effects of these business on the local economies, and how these subsidies should be allocated to maximize the positive growth of a local town are essential.The use of tax incentives to lure in big business may seem appealing at first but there are both short and long run negative effects, allowing these tax incentives to continue is not benefiting the economy just the large corporations who do not reallocate these resources into the local economy, and what do local governments and economies really see as a result of these tax subsidies. â€Å"Traditional economic development approaches have focused on trying to fill the bath tub while neglecting to plug the drain.An increasing number of communities are now seeking ways to â€Å"plug the drain† and limit the dollars that leak out of their local economy†1 Corporations are misleading governmen t officials with ideas centered around the creation of jobs and economic growth, what they happened to leave out during negotiations are the negative effects that big retailers have on the local economy. The past success of our nation’s economy has been driven by the ability to have free competition among business, a free market allows for the allocation of labor, and prices based upon demand.Major national retail chains and small businesses do share the need to consume in order to operate. However, the economic impact of small business to a local economy triumph that of the national chain stores. A study performed by the Maine Center for Economic Development consumption of small business benefit the local economy compared for every 100 dollars spent by a business how it impacted the local economy. â€Å"MECEP’s analysis found that in general every $100 spent at locally owned businesses generates an additional $58 in local impact. By comparison, $100 spent at a repres entative national chain store generates $33 in local impact.Stated differently, MECEP found that money spent at local businesses generates as much as a 76% greater return to the local economy than money spent at national chains. † This data was collected from 350 small business in the Portland area. The reason for such a higher effect being produced from the small business is derived from the fact that the goods they purchase are from other locally owned business. Government officials who feel that luring in these big businesses with tax incentives will benefit the economy need to find a way to improve local businesses first and â€Å"plug† the drain.Let’s assume that our local economy is like a city’s economy, if they allowed a major corporation to step in and open up shop, and increase sales revenue by 50 % wouldn’t that sound great. Add in the creation of new jobs for this economy, even better. However, where are the revenues from this increased sales going? They are not benefiting the government or local citizens because those sales taxes will at best be the break even cost of luring the big business with tax incentive.Once a major store opens like Wal-Mart there is are diminishing incentives to open up other location anywhere near original location as to not over infiltrate the market and split revenues while doubling operating costs. So now, where is this money that is being made going? Sure, some of it is being reintroduced into our economy through wages, however wages make up such a minute percentage of their revenues. Money is flowing out of the local economy and directed to be invested elsewhere, leaving the government breaking even small business losing revenue from decreased sales and lower product prices.A small study performed in salt lake city analyzed â€Å"Fifteen retailers and seven restaurateurs, all independent and locally-owned, participated in the local survey. Collectively, these retailers return a tota l of 52. 0% of all revenue to the local economy while these restaurateurs return 78. 6%†. The study although analyzed on a small scale did show that national chains and big business drive money out of the local economy. Some may argue for â€Å"Creative Destruction† arguing that although in the short run Wal-Mart may close out some stores in direct competition that those storefronts will be filled again.However, with a store like Wal-Mart which offers goods varying from groceries to electronics to lawn and garden, the available markets available to fill those closed out stores cannot make up for the amount of markets which have been driven out of the local economy. How many restaurants, ice cream parlors can a city have before that market infiltrated? Wal-Mart makes up about 1% of all retail employment in the country. There is no doubt that they contribute to overall employment in the country, however the effects of Wal-Mart openings to local governments are far from be neficial.A study performed at the institute for the study of labor found that â€Å"because Wal-Mart stores employ an average of 360 workers, this suggests that for every new retail job created by Wal-Mart, 1. 4 jobs are lost as existing businesses downsize or close. † The researcher took all biases into account including labor growth rate before Wal-Mart arrived. When Wal-Mart opens a new location they force small business in the closer area to have to down size reducing their workers, lower prices, and cutting back on possible investments. So for every job created by Wal-Mart 1. are lost that small business could have provided. The 1. 4 jobs would be how many jobs would have been available if Wal-Mart did not open up shop. Allowing government officials to give subsidies to these large business is an obscured vision of a positive future. Small business make up a large portion of sales revenues and impact the local economy stronger than Wal-Mart. The use of Tax subsidies to h elp encourage economic growth has been seen to stimulate short run economies; however the long run effects of these subsidies are far different.Currently in the region of St. Louis 5. 8 billion dollars have already been committed to economic development incentive programs. These programs offer subsidies to big businesses and chain stores to come in and help induce economic growth. The regional effects of these tax incentives resulted in an 17 year span an annual growth of employment of only . 8 percent from 1990-2000, however 2000-2007 only saw a . 2 percent growth in jobs, the loss in growth was due to the new introduction of tax incentives targeted towards reeling in big business.This introduction of retail chain subsidies shifted the placement of workers, losing 35,000 workers in the manufacturing industry and creating 200,000 jobs in the service industry. The average goods producing worker makes 55,000 dollars a year however the average service worker only makes 40,000 so this c reated significant decrease in the wages of the workers. A report compiled by the East West Government council stated: â€Å"One of the intended goals of the use of tax incentives at the municipal level is to increase taxable sales or sales tax revenues.Due to the substantial investment in retail development in the region, an increase in taxable sales would be expected, but the regional total taxable sales increased only moderately from 1993 to 2000 and remained relatively flat through 2007† Some may argue that the effects of the tax subsidies will be able to create enough big business support by creating more jobs across the area and that the crowding out effect would allow there to be more jobs than there was before. In a good amount of cases we did see this.Studies showed that some areas the big business were able to create jobs for those who lost them in small business. Although they were able to cover the amount of jobs, this did not benefit the economy by closing out co mpetition, offering lower paying jobs, finding more loopholes to not pay taxes, this does not benefit the area’s economy. When is it enough? Have we forgotten about Detroit and Pennsylvania. There will come a time when government subsides will have allowed the market to be infiltrated by big business and rule out small business. In Detroit for xample a city where a significantly large portion of workers, were employed in the automobile industry, when they industry left there was no backbone for the economy to support itself. All Detroit ever knew was big business manufacturing, without those large manufactures keeping jobs the economy will be in the whole. Imagine a stock portfolio would you invest all your money into one asset, when the number one rule is to diversify to limit the risk of a huge downfall? Local governments need to fix struggling economies from the inside out, not inversely.By allowing small businesses to receive tax incentives further growing the money spent locally as a result of small business buying operating goods from one another, by not subsidizing big businesses governments can insure a larger effect of economic growth by reducing the economic leakage which is occurring in so many regions, and lastly we can see real larger marginal returns on tax subsidies, the amount that is spent on big business subsidies is largely inflated from governments bidding for the big business to come to them, could be spent on growing inside out.The effects of local governments subsidizing big business to induce economic growth are misleading and unproductive to the overall long-term growth of an economy. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Garrett Martin Amar Patel, â€Å"Going Local,† Quantifying the Economic Impacts of Buying from Locally Owned Businesses in Portland,Maine (2011), Economic Study, 10-18-2012 . [ 2 ]. Civic Economics, â€Å"Indie Ima pact Study Series,† The Civic Economics of Retail (2012), 10/18/2012 . 3 ]. SOBEL, BY ANDREA M. DEAN AND RUSSELL S. â€Å"Has Wal-Mart Buried † Does Small Business Decline When Wal-Mart Enters the Market (2008): 8 pp. 10-18-2012 . [ 4 ]. David Neumark /Junfu Zhang /Stephen Ciccarella, â€Å"The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets,† 1 (2007), 101/18/2011 . [ 5 ]. East West Gateway: Coucil of Governments, (An Assessment of the Effectiveness and Fiscal Impacts of the Use of Development Incentives in the St. Louis Region), 10-18-2012 .

Weddings in The Middle East, Europe and America Research Paper

Weddings in The Middle East, Europe and America - Research Paper Example How the food is prepared and what they eat is significant to the ceremony. Furthermore, there are related religious ceremonies and meals that accompany wedding celebrations with concomitant health connotations. Therefore, this paper will compare weddings among Middle Easterners, Europeans and the Americans discussing their history, food symbolism, religious celebrations and health connotations. To begin with, the history of wedding in the United States is rather interesting. Traditionally, weddings were seen as a means of wealth and not necessarily out of desire or love. In fact, wedding symbolized the financial security that the groom provides to the bride’s family when the couple marries. Furthermore, brides were chosen in line with their economic worth. It precisely had nothing to do with affection. However, at the turn of the nineteenth century, couples began marrying for love (Wallace, 2004). In contrast to American wedding, Arab weddings were arranged marriages. When a young man reaches the appropriate for marriage, his family will go out and search for a potential bride. The process of investigation takes into account the girl’s physical beauty, cleanliness, education, educational level and her qualities as a house wife. Additionally, the groom’s family takes consideration of the behavior and reputation of the bride’s family (Monger, 2004 ). On the other hand, European wedding traditions are largely borrowed from other traditions. It is worthwhile noting that wedding traditions vary among European nations. Traditional European customs involved kidnapping bride and fighting off the bride’s tribesmen using a sword. Thereafter, the groom would hide the bride for one month in an unknown location; a process known as the ‘honeymoon’. However, things changed during the Victorian era. In the contemporary Europe, wedding borrows heavily from Christian practices. Notable is the white dress, denoting ‘white wedding’. The white dress

Performance Measurement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Performance Measurement - Assignment Example The weighing will be done in terms of reviewing, comparing and evaluating the two systems to know which of them produces the best performance, effectiveness and efficiency in the execution of fire and emergency duties. The research is undertaken by the use of an evaluative research method, where the researcher seeks to review the two systems by setting very standardized modalities of assessment. The modalities basically include the weaknesses and strengths of the two systems. The research is conducted in a qualitative manner, where conclusions will b drawn for which of the systems is best for specific scenarios of task, based on the outcome of the assessment modalities. The first system is the fire suppression rating schedule (FSRS), which is an adaptation of the Insurance Service Office (ISO) grading system. The ISO (2014) observed that the ISO grading system has two major focal points which are the evaluation of fire prevention and fire suppression capabilities. In both cases however, greater composition of attention is placed on communities and fire protection areas. In the first instance, the system seeks to identify mechanisms put in place by the communities and fire prevention areas as means of avoiding the occurrence of fire and other forms of emergency all together. The FSRS and for that matter ISO can therefore be said to be preventive in nature. In the second instance, the system makes admonition of possible occurrence of fire and emergency situations, no matter the kinds of prevention approaches put in place. Consequently, there are fire suppression capabilities that are measured by the system. By fire suppression capabilities, reference is being made to the ability of the community or fire prevention area to ensure that even in the instance of fire, there can be control of it at its very early stages. The rationale behind this is that fire tends to cause more harm to lives and

If you were a victim of crime, what services would you expect to Essay

If you were a victim of crime, what services would you expect to receive Should you be given financial compensation Offender - Essay Example A crime can be of various dimensions, ranging from physical abuse, physical and mental violence, to crimes against property. Considering the fact that numerous types of criminal acts fall under these categories mentioned above, the victims of crimes also vary with regard to the extent and kind of criminal act they were exposed to or witness to. The kind of services that are offered to victims of crime vary from one place to another, or in other words, the services offered to victims of crime are related to the legal and institutional practices associated with the territory inhabited by the crime victim. For instance, in the USA, the services offered would differ one state to the other. Also, the compensation packages that are offered to crime victims vary with regard to the nature of crime perpetrated upon them along with the variation in laws from state to state. 2 Since the experience of having been victim to a crime leaves behind stress and trauma which differs according to the ty pe of crime one has been victim to, the level and kinds of services required also differ. For instance, the victim of domestic abuse will need a lot of emotional counseling as will the victim of rape. However, the victim of property theft may require insurance assistance.

Explain why the historical cost principle is used to account for Essay

Explain why the historical cost principle is used to account for long-lived assets and how the cost basis is determined. Discuss - Essay Example The GAAP mainly relies on consistency of data conveyed by business financial records. Since historical methods does not depend on the speculated market prices, rather a real transaction that occurred, the cost is regarded as most reliable. For this reason, the historical cost principle is best used for reporting long-lived assets. It is the best method for reporting assets whose disposal may not be done in the near future. Examples of these assets include land, buildings, fixture, equipment and natural resources such as mineral deposits, oil wells and timber tracks. Under the historical cost principle, assets are recorded at acquisition cost as indicated on the balance sheet. In accounting for purchases of long-term assets, interest expense is subtracted from the original cost or cost of acquisition. The book value of long-term assets can be calculated by getting the accumulated depreciation subtracted from acquisition cost. To estimate an asset’s useful life, important variab les such as acquisition cost, depreciation expense per year and salvage value should be determined. The following methods are used to estimate asset’s useful life; straight-line depreciation method, production method and double (declining) methods. Useful life can then be calculated as follows: Asset impairment Asset impairment refers to an abrupt deterioration in the usefulness of a long-term asset often caused by damage effects on the asset, obsolescence due to the ever-changing technology or a change in the county’s laws prohibiting the use of an asset. It occurs when the future benefit of an asset known as market value is below the recorded book value (cost-accumulated depreciation). When impairment occurs, the current market value of the asset should be written down and a loss recognized. First, long-lived assets are selected for purposes of performing impairment testing as well as establishing the net book value. Secondly, determine the level of impairment by fin ding the total undiscounted cash flows expected from the selected assets. The net book and the undiscounted cash flow figures are then compared with intent of establishing which of the values have higher figures. If the net book value is higher than the undiscounted cash flow value, then the amount of variance is determined and recorded. Common Asset Depreciation Methods Depreciation refers to two main concepts; i. Diminished value of assets also called fair value This principle or concept has an impact on the balance sheet of a firm or a business entity. ii. Depreciation with corresponding principle, which is the allocation of the asset cost to periods upon which that particular asset is in use. This affects the net gain of reported assets. It is worth noting that when computing depreciation using a particular method, the cost of an asset is allocated to that period the use of an asset covers or is used. The expense is vital for purposes of financial reporting and taxation. In choo sing a suitable method of computing depreciation, value of assets, the type and periods upon which the asset is used is important. These computing methods are specified in laws and statutes or accounting standards that vary from one country to another. It is important to note that some depreciation computing methods exists, but the common methods include; fixed percentage depreciation method, straight-line computing method and declining balance. It is also

Understanding and interpreting financial statements Coursework

Understanding and interpreting financial statements - Coursework Example Understanding and interpreting financial statements Financial Statement Analysis involves the careful selection of data from the financial statements in order to assess and evaluate the firm’s historical financial performance. The study focuses on the performance of Morrison’s and Tesco companies for 2008 and 2009. The financial statement analysis is based on the financial statements of both Morrison’s and Tesco companies. The four groups are Turnover, Solvency, Profitability, and Liquidity. Reasons for using ratio analysis. The financial statement ratio analysis is conducted to compare the financial performance of Morrison’s and Tesco over time (2008 and 2009). Both companies are competitors in the United Kingdom Grocery Chain market segment. The financial statement analysis is used to aid management or any interested party to make more informed decisions. Ratio analysis is a better alternative when compared to using pure hindsight, gut feeling, or plain guesswork in terms of making decisions. According to Gibson (2008), financial statement analysis is useful in improving all decision making activities. Since, the financial statement ratios are taken from both company’s audited financial reports, the analysis is based on actual economic (buy and sell, etc.) conditions occurring in the United Kingdom during 2008 and 2009. Economic conditions include supply, demand, equilibrium, scarcity, opportunity cost, and government (tax and other legal interventions) conditions. (Baumol, 2009). Brief description and justification of the ratios The financial statement ratios used in the Morrison’s research are divided into four sections. Liquidity ratios provide information about the firm’s ability to pay its current obligations and continue operations; In terms of justification, the ratios will indicate whether the company has to find other sources of cash inflows to pay for the company’s maturing obligations. The leverage ratios measure the company’s use of deb t to finance assets and operations; in terms of justification, the ratios would help determine the feasibility of increasing, decreasing, or retaining the company’s current debt structure. The cost management ratios measure how well a company controls cash; in terms of justification, the ratios will be used as a basis for improving current cash management policies. The profitability ratios measure earnings in relation to some base, such as assets, sales, or capital. The profitability ratios will justify if the company passed (reach benchmark in generating profits) or failed (generated loss) in the prior accounting period. Financial statement analysis is profitable complement to other decision making tools (Besley, 2008). Critical evaluation of the Limitations of the Analysis with regards to both the available information and the generic limitations of Ratio Analysis There are limitations on the comparison of the financial statements of the two companies with regards to both t he available information and the generic limitations of ratio analysis. The preparation of financial statement ratios would be a failure. First, the financial statement data of both Morrison’s and Tesco may be erroneous Second, both companies may be using different accounting principles. To remedy the situation, the industry ratio trends can help to

Literary theory (Althusser) Answering discussion questions Assignment

Literary theory (Althusser) Answering discussion questions - Assignment Example Indeed, in Reading Capital, he points out that the retrospection of the past is not ideology, but serves, in his words, â€Å"the legitimate epistemological primacy of the present over the past.† This served as one of the sources of his criticism of the French communist party, as a criticism of ideology on epistemological grounds will always sit uncomfortably with those emotionally invested in a given ideology. His criticism in the same work of â€Å"subjective and arbitrary ideologies† on Marxist grounds suggests that discourse within ideology was not his aim. Similarly, there is the question of â€Å"complete† ideology. In Althusserian criticism, no ideology is ever complete, and any attempt by an ideology to fully control or dominate a text will only end up exposing the limitations of that ideology. One classic example is Frank Capra’s classic â€Å"message† film It’s A Wonderful Life, in which George Bailey triumphs over the machinations of the evil Mr. Potter, except insofar as he doesn’t. The film ends with Potter still fully in control of Bedford Falls, having suffered not so much as a moment’s inconvenience while George was wrestling with suicide.

Analysis of Compensation Philosophy Research Paper

Analysis of Compensation Philosophy - Research Paper Example The policies and underlying philosophy governing the company’s compensation program are designed to accomplish the following objectives: Maintain a compensation program that is equitable in a competitive marketplace. Provide opportunities that integrate pay with the company's annual and long?term performance goals. Maintain an appropriate balance between base salary and short and long-term incentive opportunities. Recognize and reward individual initiative and achievements. Provide a clear focus and measurement on key objectives with a meaningful link to rewards. Achieve a performance-driven work culture that generates the company’s growth Provide compensation and benefits levels within our company’s financial ability to pay. Encourage competency building by better linking career development, performance management, and rewards. Provide a non-discriminatory merit-based compensation program. At the same time, the compensation program of Excel Consulting Company is designed to attract, motivate and retain talented employees. This is evident through working towards the company’s success, attracting and retaining the highest performers. According to Martocchio (2011), base pay is set by a formal job hierarchy. The author states that pay rewards should be obtained by merit or seniority, meeting specific goals or completing a specific project or as a result of acquiring new job skills or knowledge. That is why the author states that Excel Consulting strives to provide a competitive base salary that meets the market at the 50th percentile for fully proficient employees who meet expectations. Also, it is evident between the 60th and 75th percentile for employees who consistently perform above expectations and are highly proficient in their roles. New employees that do not meet expectations will be paid below the 50th percentile target (Martocchio,2011). The competitiveness of employees' base salaries will be reviewed on an annual basis and a djustments made when market conditions and financial performance allows. The size of the adjustment will be based on the employee’s experience, performance, and contribution to Excel Consulting Company’s performance as well as the employee’s salary within the marketplace. Also, Excel Consulting will use both annual incentives and long-term incentives to enhance its ability to achieve its mission and its employee compensation objectives. In this case, long-term incentives will be performance-based and will provide equity compensation at the 50th percentile when target goals are met with the potential for awards. However, it will be between the 60th and 75th percentile when long-term goals are exceeded. The payment of an incentive award to an employee will be subject to the employee’s achievement of pre-established targets. Excel consulting compensation programs will also ensure internal equity by considering differences among employees in skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions. This implies that visible effective commitment to the Excel consulting Company will also be rewarded. The company will also ensure that its compensation structure is linked to an effective performance management system (Daft et al, 2010).  Ã‚  

Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 39

Accounting - Essay Example Performance can be measured by using the financial measures. The measures give the financial indicators such as profits and growth. By using profit figures, a manager can easily tell whether their organization is performing or not. Profits are indicators of performance while loses will be used to indicate non-performance. Another way in which the balanced scorecard can be used to measure performance is through analyzing its innovation reports. By using the company’s ability to respond to changes and make new products, then one can easily tell its competitive nature. Because the scorecard gives parameters used to show success, meeting the parameters will imply that the company is performing. The customer perspective in the balanced scorecard can also be used to measure performance because it is linked to customer satisfaction. The tool can be used to analyze whether the customers are served on time, whether products are affordable and of quality. Coming up with the answers will be used as a performance indicator. The score card can as well be used as an appraisal tool in evaluating employee performance. The balance scorecard has four main perspective, the customer perspective, the innovation and learning perspective, the internal business perspective and the financial perspective (Kaplan & David, 1992). The customer perspective focuses on customer needs, the internal business perspective dwells on important internal operations, the financial perspective relates to profits and market share while the innovation perspective focuses on the ability to create new products. The internal business operations relates to the customer perspective in that, it is through analyzing the internal operations that the customers’ needs will be satisfied. The operations perspective requires that the managers establish what they have to excel in so that they can be able to meet the needs of the customers. The internal operations also relate to the

Entrepreneurship Essay Example for Free

Entrepreneurship Essay This report will mainly focus on the traits, characteristics and skills of entrepreneurs used in three different context i. e. small, social and larger scale business, to manage, develop and sustain the business. It initiates with highlighting the term entrepreneur and entrepreneurship from different authors followed by theories on entrepreneurship to get a better understanding of traits and characteristics in detail. Then is states the benefits of entrepreneurial traits and characteristics. It will then focus on how small business entrepreneurs use their traits and skills to develop and manage the business supporting it with detailed examples of the famous entrepreneurs. Further explains the skills and traits used by social entrepreneurs and large-scale entrepreneurs in business with different examples to get a deep understanding. Evaluating and comparing difference between all three entrepreneurs and traits and skills used by them, intrapreneurship is been explained in large businesses followed by the detailed conclusion in the end. Introduction Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship An entrepreneur is a person who manages, systematizes and assumes the risks of conducting a business. An entrepreneur can be described as a agent for change. He is a person who is willing to take risks usually financial in the pursuit of new ventures to make profits. (Casson, 2002) According to Schumpeter â€Å"entrepreneurs are innovators who use a process of shattering the status quo of the existing products and services, to set up new products, new services†. Schumacher, 1973) The process of finding unique ways of combining and blending resources is been known as entrepreneurship. If the market value generated by the resources combined together is greater than the market value of these resources individually, the entrepreneur generates a profit. Suppose an entrepreneur who takes all the necessary resources to produce a pair of jeans that can be sold for twenty pounds, instead use the same resources to produce a backpack that can be sold for forty pounds will definitely make a profit by increasing the value those resources generates. Sobel, 2008) The entrepreneurship starts with an action, the constructing of new business including the antecedents to its foundation, looking for the opportunities in the environment, spotting the opportunity that needs to be practiced and then evaluating the reasonability of the new business enterprise. (Kirby, 2003) Traits and characteristics of an Entrepreneur It is important to consider and look at some entrepreneurial theories by authors explaining what entrepreneurship is, when we are discussing entrepreneurial characteristics and traits. It is necessary to do so because it has straight connection with recognizing the traits and characteristics of an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is been mainly described in two approaches utilized by different authors. The personality traits approach of Entrepreneurship is the first and the second is behavioral approach of Entrepreneurship. In the traits approach the personality type examines the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is been judged based on their personality, characteristics and their traits to enable the identity of an entrepreneur understandable. These unique characteristics in a person make them stand different among the crowd called as traits of an entrepreneur. As these are the key and influential factors behind the accomplishment of an entrepreneur. (Kaufman, P. J. , Dant, R. P. , 1998) * The qualities of an entrepreneur include taking counted risk, ability to motivate others, leadership skills and skills to overcome the crises, innovative and creative nature. * They are certainly the leaders and in the process of innovative destruction, they are major contributors. They are open to new ideas, offers and people and try to figure the hidden opportunities in ever changing environment. (Kaufman, P. J. , Dant, R. P. , 1998) The behavioral approach aims at spotting, expressing and explaining the clear behavior of an entrepreneur. The traits of an entrepreneur are difficult or impossible to change but behavior is something that they learn like skills and abilities. It is more concentrated on what an entrepreneur does to develop a new venture and further to be establish. (Cuervo. A, Ribeiro. D, Roig. S, 2007) By the above approaches, we can see the relation between the traits and the skills of an entrepreneur that enables them to be successful in the world. For successfully completing the set of activities as designed in the mind the skills and traits plays an important role in entrepreneurship. It is crucial to apply the characteristics and traits while developing the opportunities of the entrepreneurship among various types of business. (James L. Fisher and James V. Koch, 2008) Importance of Traits and Characteristics in an Entrepreneur The success in business comes from various factors but the major factor in a success of business is the entrepreneur him/herself. The personality of an entrepreneur plays more important role than the other features like business knowledge etc. as it tells how strongly the entrepreneurs believes in them and the further the success f their business. Entrepreneurs are the people who think big and intermittently end up generating a change around the globe with their confidence and zeal. Not every other person can cope up with the business situations only entrepreneurs can, which makes them different from the crowd. Thus while starting up and running a business the entrepreneurs must know their strengths and weaknesses as entrepreneurship entails the skill to form a founding team with matching characteristics and skills. (Timmons, 1994) How entrepreneurs use their traits and characteristics in small business A small business is a business, which is usually independently owned and funded, has less than 100 employees working and does not have much impact on ts industry to which it belongs. (Hatten, 2012). Innovation is the trait that most of the entrepreneurs possess, while setting a small business entrepreneurs think differently and try to achieve their planned thoughts by their commitment and passion. Commitment and passion in a person is important even when they are not in the business context as these characteristics makes the person confident and focused in their lives. Taking an example of Max the young entrepreneur who came with an idea of introducing a product named Toepener. Toepener is a simple handle located on the bottom of the doors of the washrooms that enables the users to open the door using their foot; this innovation was been brought in the market because some people are little extra hygiene conscious when using public washrooms. It is a clever solution, as according to the website one third of the individuals do not wash their hands while leaving the restroom therefore Toepener has turned out to be a solution to this issue. Max got the inspiration to produce this innovation by the restroom in this dorm. 5 Examples of Creative, Daring and Successful Young Entrepreneurs, 2011). Therefore, in the above example we have seen the young entrepreneur who has started a small business with his innovative creation, a remedy for the problem around the globe. The idea was great but the skills and traits he need to make that idea into practice were his focus and believe in him to succeed in the market with the zeal. According to others, it was a problem but for Max it was an opportunity and he used his creativity to make this his stepping-stone. Passion in an entrepreneur is also a very much-needed characteristic in order to follow their dreams with confidence and high enthusiasm. Taking an example, Shannon Guderian who was just an ordinary person who loves the car Ford Mustang from his childhood, at the age of 15, his mother bought him his own 1965 Mustang. He was very passionate about the Ford Mustangs and believed it represents freedom and image. He worked for mustang Parts Company after completing his school; at the age of 26, he quit his job and followed his dream. He took bank loan, sold his car for the finance, bought inventory, and carried out his own small business in a hole in a wall of dimensions 650 square foot. From there he followed his passion for Mustangs and currently doing a business in a 27000 square foot building with annual sales reaching over $10 million. Guderian is an entrepreneur characterized by his passion for Mustangs and passion for people and he says people do trade with people not with organizations. Longenecker, 2008) Above example of Guderian demonstrates how the entrepreneur used his passion for Mustangs in developing a small business and developing it steadily to next level. His passion for Mustangs made him what he is today, his indispensible characteristic i. e. passion which motivated and influenced him to follow his dream for Mustang cars with self-confidence and zeal. How entrepreneurs use their traits and skills in social enterprises Before concentrating on the characteristics of social entrepreneurs we shoul d know what are they and where they work. A social entrepreneur is a person with unique and innovative solutions to solve the most imperative social problems of the society. They usually tackle the major issues of the society and offer their thoughts for the change and welfare of the society. They do not depend on the government to take actions they rather analyze what is going wrong and take appropriate measure to resolve the issues for the betterment of the society. (What is a Social Entrepreneur, N. D. The enterprise which conducts its trade for social or environmental purpose and not for making profits are been called social enterprise. Social enterprise have social mission, the enterprise know what they are trying to achieve, whom they are aiming to help and how they will help. They usually reinvest their profits to their social missions and do not share among the shareholders. (About Social Enterprise, N. D. ) The main characteristics of social entrepreneurs are examining opportunities available and making use of it wi th clear social goals to benefit the society. As they identify opportunity by scanning the society and picking a need that has not been fulfill properly or at all. Social entrepreneurs are ambitious and always willing to do the welfare of the society if got a chance. (London, M. Morfopoulos, G. R. , 2009) For example: The Grameen bank (village bank) which was been started in 1983 by Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh revolutionized the economy. The bank offers micro loans to the people that are not financial sound, to help impoverished citizens achieve financial self-sufficiency through the medium of self-employment. Muhammad Yunus went against the advice of the banks and government and purely believing in him and opened the bank on the principles of trust and solidarity. The bank helped people a lot, raised their standard of living and gave them a chance to make their life as they wanted. It became so popular that 58 more countries adopted this method of Grameen Bank including US, France etc. This results in the welfare of the society as Muhammad Yunus fulfilled the desires of the nation and raise the people of the country over poverty. Biography of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 2011). From the above example it is evident that how Muhammad Yunus the social entrepreneur was able to make use of his skills and traits of being ambitious and identifying the opportunity to help the society with his social goal to benefit them. Social entrepreneurs have the skills to communicate their vision and motivating people to contribute to their aspiring social objectives. Drive and strong willpower are also fundamental characteristics of a social entrepreneur. (London, M. Morfopoulos, G. R. 2009) For example: KIPP (knowledge is power program) founded in 1994 with a strong thought to make a classroom which will help children to develop their skills, knowledge, personality and qualities to be successful when they will go to college and make a good future for their communities. The founders of KIPP Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin with their skills to communicate their idea with the people of educating underserved children and also motivating their parents and guardians to make the children join the school to create a bright future. KIPP offers free open enrolment to the students and has 125 KIPP schools with 39000 students. As by this brilliant program, the lives of the young children’s are now on track and further results in an excellent future. (KIPP, 2012) Thus, we can conclude from the above example that entrepreneurs like Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin used their skills and characteristics in developing a social enterprise, which include their determination, drive and ambitious social goals for the welfare of the children. They also used their trait as motivating others and making others believe in what they are doing and influencing them to support them. Use of traits and skills of an Entrepreneur in large-scale business Entrepreneurs are been portrayed as risk takers and it is proved that they certainly take risk for their growth as an entrepreneur. It is a very true and famous saying by A. P. Gourthev â€Å"To get profit without risk, experience without danger, and reward without work, is as impossible as it is to live without being born. † Therefore, more risk, more profit is right in the context of an entrepreneur. Tolerance of risk, aim focused, self-believing and innovation are essential and important traits of an entrepreneur functioning in large-scale organizations. (Longenecker, G. J. , Moore,W. C. , Petty, W. J. , Palich, E. L. , 2006) Example: Darren Richards is a well-known and successful entrepreneur of the UK who started his business from nothing and built millions of pounds. Darren is an owner of a Website named datingdirect. com as the site needs personal information about the individual and helps people to find friends and partners. The innovative idea came to Darren’s mind when he was surfing the net after his breakup with his female friend. He was looking for someone to have relation with over the internet but he concluded that every result was coming for US not for UK. So keeping that in mind, he saw an opportunity to develop a site, which enables the men and women to meet and be friends in their close enough area in UK. In 1999, he spent ? 2,500 for the website and got 40,000 members within three months. Then he had an agreement with the manager of Barclays Bank to permit him the facility of the credit cards payment, as the website charges ? 5 a month, which users can pay from the credit cards etc. The concept of his worked, as in 2007, the website has over 4. 5 million members and making millions of profit. (Darren Richards Entrepreneur, 2010) The example above clarifies that Darren Richards is innovative as he thought out of the box idea and sticking to it till he succeed, he certainly took risk by investing on the website. Thus, we can conclude that Darren Richards had certainly used his traits, characteristics and skills in order to develop his business and be successful entrepreneur. Creativity and leadership are other indispensible qualities of an entrepreneur. (Charantimath, 2006) Sir Richard Branson the chairman of the Virgin group are been possessed by creative thinking and leadership quality to manage, lead and influence other to pursue you. Sir Richard formed Virgin Airlines in 1984 that is one of his main businesses. He is so creative that he has a list of businesses done like virgin records, virgin rail, virgin airlines, virgin cola, virgin mobile, virgin earth etc. He has diverse his field of business and always expanded the business with his different approach to think and qualities to manage under these diverse sectors. (Richard Branson Biography, 2005) Many of his upcoming projects like virgin money and many more that is yet to be announced. Therefore, it is evident that how being creative and leadership qualities help entrepreneurs to expand, develop and create chances out of nothing. As Branson is famous for his business risks and daring adventures in real life, he learnt from all of his experiences and many of his letdowns led to innovation and success.

Customer Analysis of Nike Shoes User

Customer Analysis of Nike Shoes User Nikeshoes industries limited INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM Since the late 1980s, Business School marketing professor Itamar Simonson has looked for ways to understand how consumers make choices. Much of his work debunks the accepted theory that giving consumers what they want and making a profit are the most basic principles of marketing. Customers may not know what they want, and second-guessing them can be expensive, says the professor who teaches MBA and PhD marketing and consumer decision-making courses. In Simonsons words, â€Å"The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer preference are more complex and less deterministic than has been assumed†. Thats because â€Å"customer preferences are often ill-defined and susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor insight into their preferences†. In one of his recent papers, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing and mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have suggested that learning what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will create customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to competition. In an example taken to the extreme in the 2002 movie Minority Report, Tom Cruises character runs through a shopping mall past talking billboards that recognize him by name and urge him to buy products he had earlier expressed an interest in such as jeans and Ray-Bans, the ultimate in personalized advertising. But Simonson has this to say: The fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to give customers exactly what they want has been grossly exaggerated. In studies, he has learned that even when customers have well-defined preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences; it is far from certain that the response to such offers will consistently be more favourable than those directed at larger market segments. Its all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be sceptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who dont know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers preferences how the offer was extended and on trust. Effective individual marketing requires not only an understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity with the various factors that impact customers responses. This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill, at least to some extent. For example, Amazon keeps track of customers purchases and suggests other books they might like. Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to customers specifications. But Simonson argues some companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design one -of-a-kind shoes. Custom Foot didnt take into account that some customers were put off by the individualized attention, Simonson says, and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the store went to so much trouble. They often didnt come back. So knowing only the customer preferences is not enough. It is required to understand other aspects of customer behaviour. Keeping this in mind, present study will find out and analyze consumer behaviour of Nike shoes. About The Industry Nike, the number one manufacturer of footwear and apparel, has become a household name on the same level as mogul companies McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Budweiser. Nike was founded in 1964 by track coach and runner duo Bill Bowerman and Phillip Knight as Blue Ribbons Sports, later becoming Nike, Inc. in 1978. The name Nike was chosen in reference to the Greek Goddess of victory. Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, helped others succeed in times of war. NIKE, the worlds #1 shoemaker, does more dominating than assisting, to capture a hefty share of the athletic shoe market. It designs and sells shoes for a variety of sports, including baseball, cheerleading, golf, volleyball, hiking, tennis, and football. NIKE also sells Cole Haan dress and casual shoes, as well as athletic apparel and equipment. In addition, NIKE operates NIKETOWN shoe and sportswear stores, NIKE factory outlets, and NIKE Women shops. Nike didnt run TV ads until 1982. Previously, Nike concentrated on sponsorships and celebrity athletes endorsements including both professional athletes and college teams. The first professional athlete endorser was Ilie Natase a Romanian tennis player. The first track and field athlete to endorse the brand was Steve Prefontaine. Nike has signed top athletes in the sports of Football, Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, Cycling, Golf, Tennis, Skateboarding, Boxing, Track and Field and Formula 1 Racing. One of Nikes best PR decisions was signing Michael Jordan as a celebrity endorser in 1984. Nikes steady competition in the 1980s was Reebok. To break any similarities they had to Reebok, Nike began promoting its shoes as fashion accessories. Reebok had cornered the younger, aerobics audience, so Nike started concentrating their ads around the person wearing the product rather than the product itself. In the 80s, Nike grew to hold 50% of the market share in the athletic shoe market. In 1988, Nike employees met with advertising agency Wieden and Kennedy (formed in 1982). In the midst of the meeting, Dan Weiden turned to the Nike employees and said, â€Å"You Nike guys, you just do it.† And so the infamous Just Do It tagline was born. Nike currently enjoys a 47% market share of the domestic footwear industry, with sales of $3.77 billion. NIKE sells its products in more than 180 countries, for over twenty-five years and there are over 500,000 people today directly engaged in the production of their products. They utilize an outsourcing strategy, using only subcontractors throughout the globe. Their majority of their output today is produced in factories in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but they also have factories in Italy, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea. These factories are 100% owned by subcontractors, with the majority of their output consisting solely of Nike products. However, Nike does employ teams of four expatriates per each of the big three countries (China, Indonesia, Vietnam), that focus on both quality of product and quality of working conditions, visiting the factories weekly. They also developed their code of conduct in 1992 and have implemented it across the globe, as its goal is to set th e standard for subcontractors to follow if they wish to do business with Nike. However, due to a manufacturing network of this magnitude, they have faced numerous violations involving factory conditions and human rights issues, which have been widely publicized. Nike, Inc. is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing of footwear, apparel, equipment and accessory products. Nikes athletic footwear products are designed for specific athletic use, although some of its products are worn for casual or leisure purposes. The Company creates designs for men, women and children. Running, basketball, childrens, cross-training and womens shoes are the Companys top-selling product categories. Nike also markets shoes designed for outdoor activities, tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike sells active sports apparel that covers most of these categories, athletically inspired lifestyle apparel and others. Nikes mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world, and the company says further that If you have a body, you are an athlete. The firms overall vision includes providing a full range of high-quality, performance-oriented and technologically sophisticated athletic shoes and a variety of accessories targeting individuals of all ages, in all market segments. Nike Air Max+2009 Nikes patented Nike Air Max+2009 Light Architecture selectively alters maximum cushioning, maximum comfort a premium ride. High-end technology combines with streamlined design in the Nike Air Max+ 2009 Running Shoe for a premium ride and fit built for speed. Ideal if youre a runner with an underpronated to neutral gait, the Air Max+ 2009 boasts maximum comfort and cushioning from heel-strike to toe-off. The full-length articulated Max Air unit provides exceptional cushioning and allows for a smoother, more natural range of motion through every foot strike. The Nike Air Max line has had a long and impressive history of constantly innovating and providing stylish ultra-functional sneakers in the process. The latest offering in the line is the Air Max+ 2009 Running Shoe, a sleek new model with some very nice touches like Flywire technology and a full 360 Air Max sole unit. The shoe also features a partially transparent upper that reveals the Flywire and a mesh under layer. The fellas will have grey/black/red and Silver/volt/black colour ways to sink their teeth into, while the ladies versions will come in grey/orange and grey/silver/liquid lime. The Features of Nike Air Max+2009: The State of the art Flywire An ultra-strong and ultra-light Flywire provides both targeted support and a uniquely dynamic fit. The Acclaimed Max Air A full-length articulated Max Air unit provides maximum cushioning to give a smoother ride. A Cushy Ride Full-length Cushion combines plush cushioning with springy resilience for both comfort and protection. Cutting Edge Engineering Ensure better runs with the engineered heel collar that conforms to the shape of foot for a more comfortable fit and feel Durable Exterior Strategically placed lugs and a waffle-like outsole gives an optimal traction, durability and cushioning. How Nike Air Works Durable, Versatile, Revolutionary, Nike Air was the first air technology developed at Nike, and it changed the way of thinking about cushioning: encapsulated air to cushion the foot strike in athletic shoes. It remains the standard in impact protection more than 20 years after its debut. How Nike+ Works Nike+ is designed for athletes who like to run with music and who want to measure and monitor their progress toward their goals. To get instant workout feedback, youll need Nike+ ready shoes and either a Nike+ SportBand or an iPod ® nano and Nike + iPod Sport Kit (which includes a sensor and iPod nano receiver). When placed under the sockliner of the left Nike+ ready shoe, the sensor measures your pace, distance, time elapsed and calories burned. This information is transmitted wirelessly to the receiver for real-time audio feedback while you listen to your favorite workout music. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Nike is a language of sports, a universally understood lexicon of passion and competition. A lot has happened at Nike in the 30 years since they entered the industry, most of it good, some of it downright embarrassing. But through it all, Nike remain totally focused on creating performance opportunities for everyone who would benefit, and offering empowering messages for everyone who would listen. What started with a handshake between two running geeks in sleepy Eugene, Oregon, are now the worlds most competitive sports and Fitness Company. The World Headquarters is in Beaverton, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest is Nikes hometown, but like so many ambitious souls, Nike has expanded their horizons to every corner of the world. Nike employs around 23,000 people, and every one of them is significant to our mission of bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Along the way Nike joined up with some great partner companies that help extend our reach within and beyond sports. Cole Haan offers casual luxury footwear and accessories out of New York City and Yarmouth, Maine. Bauer Nike Hockey, based in Montreal, Quebec, is the worlds leading manufacturer of hockey equipment and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike, Inc. Nike partnered with Hurley International, a premium teen lifestyle brand founded by 20-year industry veteran Bob Hurley based in Costa Mesa, California. In 2003, Nike completed the acquisition of Converse, the globally recognized footwear brand with nearly a century of sports heritage and home of the perennially popular Chuck Taylor All-Star and Jack Purcell footwear. In August 2004, Nike created the Exeter Brands Group, a wholly owned subsidiary, dedicated to building athletic footwear and apparel brands for the value retail channel. This portfolio of brands includes the Official Starter Properties LLC and Official Starter LLC which are the sole owners and licensors of the Starter, Team Starter and Asphalt brand names as well as master licensee of the Shaq and Dunkman brands, a line of athletic apparel, footwear and accessory products for the value retail channel. The Nike family is a fairly vast enterprise. Nike operates on six continents Nikes suppliers, shippers, retailers and service providers employ close to 1 million people. The diversity inherent in such size is helping Nike evolve its role as a global company. They see a bigger picture today than when they have started, one that includes building sustainable business with sound labour practices. Nike retains the zeal of youth yet act on our responsibilities as a global corporate citizen. â€Å"If you have a body, you are an athlete. And as long as there are athletes, there will be Nike†. PRODUCT TREND Bovine skin was by far the most preferred leather material, followed by goat/kid/lamb/sheep skin and crocodile skin. Respondents overwhelmingly preferred the colour black and to a lesser extent, dark brown. For handbags/briefcases, popular colours included light brown, white and red. Consumer Segments with the Biggest Spending Power Male professionals, managers and executives are the segment with the biggest spending power for now and in the coming three years. The Competitiveness of Hong Kong Brands/ Suppliers of Leather Consumer Goods. Most retailers consider Hong Kong brands to be either very competitive or quite competitive in both high-end and mid-range segments, but less competitive in the low-end segment. The competitiveness of Hong Kong brands mainly rests on their product style/design and quality, with most respondents picking those as the major reasons behind the attractiveness of Hong Kong brands in the high-end and mid-range segments respectively. PRODUCT PROFILE Apart from delivering a pair of comfortable sports shoes Nike also provides a number of value-added features with its products. The features that are a part of every Nike sports shoe are as follows. High Performance Sports Shoes: Nike has patented the â€Å"Air† system and has made it into a regular feature in most of its models. Many models feature an air pocket in the shoe that reduces the weight of the shoe and reduces pressure on the heels. The overall design and compactness of the shoes have made it a favourite of many professional athletes around the world. Comfort: Nike shoes are renowned all over the world for the comfort they provide. Well padded and cushioned, they provide a tremendous level of comfort to the wearer and reduce the strain to his feet while playing. Lightweight: This attribute is in line with the two described above. A lightweight shoe provides greater mobility and eases the pressure on the feet of the wearer. Durability: People purchasing a pair of shoes at such a high price often feel that they have made an investment. They would obviously want to see their shoes last a long time. To prove this point we draw the example of the authors of this marketing plan. All of us own a pair of Nikes and have been wearing them for well over two years a symbol of the durability of Nike shoes. Style: Nikes designs are considered to be the most stylish in the industry and beat all others as far as looks are concerned. Attractively packaged, it is a delight to bring a pair home. Add to this the â€Å"Swoosh† the most recognizable symbol in sports and you have a product that would give the user a definite sense of pride. Nike shoes also come with a guarantee card that enables the owner to return it in case of manufacturing defects. However, owing to the fact that the company implements strict quality control measures, coming across a defective pair in a store are a rarity. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0 and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors. Nike positions its products in such a way as to try to appeal to a youthful.materialistic crowd. It is positioned as a premium performance brand. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research comprise defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating Hypothesis. In short, the search for Knowledge through Objective and Systematic method of finding solutions to a problem is Research. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES  · To study the tastes, preferences and buying behaviour of consumer in case of foot wear of Nike.  · To analyze buying behaviour of consumers.  · To recommend strategies to Nike to increase sales.  · SWOT analysis of the product sold.  · Comparative study with the competitors. RESEARCH DESIGN TYPE OF RESEARCH: Descriptive research Descriptive research includes Surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. DATA SOURCES There are two types of data. Source of primary data for the present study is collected through questionnaire and answered by consumers of Nike shoes. The secondary data is collected from journals, books and through Internet search. PRIMARY DATA: The data that is collected first hand by someone specifically for the purpose of facilitating the study is known as primary data. So in this research the data is collected from respondents through questionnaire. SECONDARY DATA: For the company information I had used secondary data like brochures, web site of the company etc. The Method used by me is Survey Method as the research done is Descriptive Research. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS Selected instrument for Data Collection for Survey is Questionnaire. QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN FORMULATION Under this method, list of questions pertaining to the survey are prepared for marketing staff of consumers of Nike shoes. Questionnaire has structured type questions as well as unstructured type questions. Structured objective type questions are prepared for the respondents with fixed response categories. Some of the questions are of multiple-choice type. The questions have more than one alternative. Questionnaire: A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to respondent for their answers. It can be Closed Ended or Open Ended Open Ended: Allows respondents to answer in their own words are difficult to Interpret and Tabulate. Close Ended: Pre-specify all the possible answers are easy to Interpret and Tabulate. TYPES OF QUESTION INCLUDED: DICHOTOMOUS QUESTIONS: Which has only two answers â€Å"Yes† or â€Å"No†? MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS: Were respondent is offered more than two choices. IMPORTANCE SCALES: A scale that rates the importance of some attribute. RATING SCALE: A scale that rates some attribute from â€Å"highly satisfied † to â€Å"highly unsatisfied† and â€Å"very inefficient† to â€Å"very efficient†. SAMPLING UNIT: Who is to be surveyed? The marketing researcher must define the target population that will be sampled. The sample Unit taken by me is to the General public of different age group, different gender and different profession. EXTENT: Where the survey should be carried out? I have covered entire residential area of Dubai city for the survey. TIME FRAME:- When the survey should be conducted? I conducted my survey for 8weeks from 10th may to 10th July SAMPLING FRAME: The source from which the sample is drawn SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: How the respondent is chosen? In the Project sampling is done on basis of Probability sampling. Among the probability sampling design the sampling design chosen is stratified random sampling. Because in this survey I had stratified the sample in different age group, different gender and different profession. SAMPLE SIZE Consumers of shoes, 50 no: STEPS FOLLOWED IN COMPLETING THE STUDY: (i) Libraries (ii) Internet sites containing information on Nike shoes marketing are browsed. (iii) Journal containing info (iv) Sample survey was conducted (v) Data was thoroughly checked for error. DATA PROCESSING METHODOLOGY  · Once the primary data have been collected, they are edited inspected, corrected and modified.  · Tabulation bring similar data together and totalling them in meaningful categories. Questionnaires are edited both in the field and later in home. Field editing took place just often the interview. Generally editing is required for open type of questions. Brief notes or symbols are frequently used during the interview to initially record the interviewers response since it was not desirable to interrupt the flow with lengthy note taking. The responses are thoroughly checked at home for incorrect, inconsequential or contradictions categories are developed only often the replies has been reviewed. This review provided a feel for the pattern of answers and thus determine what categories best represent the answers. The collected data are placed in an order. Percentages of respondents answered similarly are calculated and placed in a table. Then this is interpreted. Interpretation changes the new information immerging from the analysis into information that is pertinent or relevant to the study. CONCLUSION WAS DRAWN BASED ON THE SURVEY FINDINGS: Finally recommendation was made to improve the sales strategy of Nike shoes to increase the sales volume. SAMPLE DESIGN THE BASIS OF SAMPLING: Consumers of Nike shoes are chosen randomly, so that unbiased, representative sample may be obtained. LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH The geographical area was very much limited to residential area so the results are not particularly reflection of the current behaviour. BIASES AND NON-COOPERATION OF THE RESPONDENTS: The collected data are placed into an order. Percentages of respondents answered similarly are calculated and placed in a table. Then this is interpreted. This involved drawing conclusion from the gathered data. Interpretation changes the new information immerging from the analysis into information that is pertinent or relevant to the study. Due to limited time period and constrained working hours for most of the respondents, the answers at times were vague enough to be ignored. Most of the people take their Nike Shoes in the period preceding March so the response to initial contacts were not all encouraging and that has been the primary reason in the inability to quantify the results large enough so as to deduce any relevant outcomes. COMPANY PROFILE NIKE INDUSTRIES LTD. A COMPANY PROFILE Nike India Ltd (BIL) is India‘s largest footwear company. Nike first established itself in India in 1931 and commenced manufacturing shoes in Batanagar in 1936. The company has its Headquarters in Kolkata and manufactures over 33 million pairs per year in five plants located in Batanagar (West Bengal), Faridabad (Haryana), Bangalore (Karnataka), Patna (Bihar), Hosur (Tamil Nadu). It secures its leather supply from two tanneries in Mokamehghat (Bihar) and Batanagar (West Bengal). It has a distribution network of over 1,500 retail stores and 27 wholesale depots provide excellent access to consumers and wholesale customers throughout India. As on December 31, 2006, the Canadian parent had a 51 per cent stake while institutional holding was about 13 per cent. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Nike India has said that its Faridabad and Mokamehghat units are being taken over by Fashion Shoe Private Ltd and BDCL Enterprises Pvt Ltd, respectively. The company is also enabling the buy back provision in its Articles of association to enable buy back of shares. The assets and liabilities of both the units will be transferred to these companies and shares will be offered in the agreed ratio to the existing shareholders of Nike India Ltd on a record date, which will be fixed by the Calcutta High Court. While retail sales have increased both in value and volume, wholesale sales have declined due to restriction of supplies as a means to recover customers outstanding. General recession and sluggish market conditions in the industry also have had a direct impact on lower sales and profitability. Resistance of consumers to price rises in popular volume products as well as discounts to clear slow-moving stocks and under utilization of production capacity adversely affected the operational results. The lockout declared at the Peenya factory on October 1, 2008 due to serious industrial relation problems and non-compliance with the tripartite settlement has been withdrawn. The footwear manufactured in this factory, which was shifted to the companys other factories and associated manufacturers, will now be gradually produced within the factory. In Simonsons words, â€Å"The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer preference are more complex and less deterministic than has been assumed†. Thats because customer preferences are often ill-defined and susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor insight into their preferences. In one of his recent papers, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing and mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have suggested that learning what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will create customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to competition. But Simonson has this to say: The fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to give customers exactly what they want has been grossly exaggerated. His take on the long-held assumption that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is â€Å"not so fast†. In studies, he has learned that even when customers have well-defined preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences; it is far from certain that the response to such offers will consistently be more favourable than those directed at larger market segments. Its all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be sceptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who dont know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers preferences how the offer was extended and on trust. Effective individual marketing requires not on ly an understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity with the various factors that impact customers responses, Simonson writes. This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill, at least to some extent. For example, Amazon keeps track of customers purchases and suggests other books they might like. Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to customers specifications. But Simonson argues some companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design one-of-a-kind shoes. Custom Foot didnt take into account that some customers were put off by the individualized attention, Simonson says, and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the store went to so much trouble. They often didnt come back. So knowing only the customer preferences is not enough. It is required to understand other aspects of cust omer behaviour. Keeping this in mind, present study will find out and analyze consumer behaviour of Nike shoes with reference to ladies segment. FUTURE PLAN The management says that it is not averse to outsourcing if it worked out cheaper. It is also open to the idea of importing shoes mostly from China if it works out cheaper. Nike and Reebok India Company have announced an agreement to foray into retailing partnership for sale of Reebok and Rockport footwear in Nike outlets. The partnership entails retailing a range of sports shoes for walking, running, tennis and training for personal fitness and sports. An attractive valuation compared to its peers is the main trigger for the scrip. Besides, the companys aggressive focus on retailing and revamping of business (a division into shoes and apparels) is also helping sentiment for the scrip. Plans are afoot to start selling apparel in India made by the joint venture North Star. Theres talk that the company is planning on a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to cut costs. For the third quarter ended 30 September 2007, Nike India reduced its losses to Rs.5.68 crore on a 9.2% increase in net profit to Rs.154.27 crore. Despite reducing its losses for the quarter, Nike India has, over the last few quarters, been continuously recording weak performances as a result of an overall slowdown in the industry due to lower consumer spending. Increasing domestic competition, particularly from the unorganized sector, has also been eroding into the companys market share. The company is finding it difficult to maintain its market share in a highly price-sensitive Indian market, despite having strong brand recall. 97% of the companys revenues are from the domestic market while the remainder is from exports. Nike India is the biggest player in the Indian shoe market. Nike Indias major problems include its high cost of production and low emphasis on marketing. The company may be able to address the first problem through outsourcing products. Batas brand image has been restricted to that of a company that emphasizes on utilitarian products more than trendy ones. Customers feel the company is lacking in innovation. Hence, their preference has shifted to other local brands. Nike India has a large marketing network with over 1,600 showrooms, 35 wholesale depots and eight retail distribution centres across the country. Besides, there is a network of 500 exclusive wholesalers servicing 30,000 dealers all over the country. However, in spite of this and the license to sell other brands like Nike, Hush Puppies and Lotto, Nike has not been able to improve sales consistently. The recent rise i

Air pollution control residues

Air pollution control residues INTRODUCTION Description of Overall Problem Air Pollution Control (APC) residues are the solid output of the flue gas treatment equipment installed on incinerators (this report refers specifically to APC Residues from incinerators handling Municipal Solid Waste MSW). They comprise the fly ash from incineration (middle and fine grades) together with the reagents (mainly lime and activated carbon) used in the flue gas treatment. Thus, they contain: Volatile contaminants from the original waste (inc chlorides, metals), Compounds created in the incineration process (inc dioxins), Further materials from the flue-gas treatment process (sulphates, together with high alkalinity). Therefore they are classified as hazardous waste. Approximately 170,000t/y (Technology Strategy Board 2009) of such residues are produced in the UK 3-4% of the total waste mass incinerated (Environment Agency, 2002). This tonnage is growing as more waste is incinerated to generate electricity and heat, and to reduce landfill. While increased energy recovery and reduced landfill are worthwhile in themselves, achieving them has created the problem of the hazardous APC residues. In the UK the prevalent destination for these residues has been landfill, but this option is under threat from tightening landfill Waste Acceptance Criteria, and rising landfill taxes, so new solutions are required. There are various treatment/recovery options available for APC residues. However these raise other concerns, primarily: Financial and energy cost of treatment Generation of further effluent Environmental impact of the treated waste Quality control of the recovered materials. Objectives and Scope The overall goal is to identify cost-effective management options for APC residues, within Waste Acceptance Criteria. The ultimate objectives of implementing such options are shown in Requirements (Appendix 1). For this study, the specific the objectives are: Briefly analyse the shortcomings of the existing methods of treatment and disposal of APC residue in landfills, along with the barriers in the UK for re-use of APC residues in various industries, such as cement aggregate, asphalt and ceramics. Propose energy- and cost-effective methods for the treatment of APC residue which reduce the leachability and amount of heavy metal/dioxins present. Also suggest a supplier of technology for each treatment method proposed. Compare the cost per tonne for each option, including treatment and disposal costs (including current and future landfill taxes), based on the hazardous classification of any remaining waste. Suggest potential re-use opportunities for materials recovered from the treatment process, indicating potential markets and revenues. The scope is focused on APC residues from municipal waste incineration. It is assumed that current incineration technology and operating conditions apply, with waste of current composition, resulting in residues of current composition. The objectives have been pursued in the context of current UK and EU regulation. This is explained in terms of the waste management hierarchy in table 1. Notes of Figure 1: Further processing leading to recovery may be in or outside the system boundary depending on whether the process is likely to be dedicated to this application. In either case the resulting wastestreams are inside the system boundary Landfill operations are outside the system boundary, but the long term leaching behaviour of all landfill waste will be considered, even if it meets WAC. Report structure This report has been structured to give an overall review of the management options for the Air Pollution Control residue, intended to provide a details of the findings related with work aiming to give recommendations on its treatment. Chapter 1. Background and scope. Chapter 2. Introduction to the residues, overview of major management strategies, legislative aspects, and environmental issues Chapter 3. Details on the residue treatment techniques, operation principles, and development status Chapter 4. Appraisal on the recovery and utilization techniques, operation principles, and development status. Chapter 5. Overview of status for available solutions, documentation level, assessment approach for environmental impacts, outline of important aspects for consideration, qualitative and quantitative comparison of each treatment processes. Chapter 6. Recommendations System Engineering Management Plan (SEMP) is listed in Appendix 2. This is an outline of system requirements and mechanisms for verifying whether the requirements are met. It will provide an overview to integrate different technical elements of the project. The plan will also describe the activities, processes and tools used to ensure an achievement of the project outcomes to the client and other stakeholders. Press Release is placed in Appendix 3 and this would form a basis of a publicity campaign for the project. MANAGEMENT AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR APC RESIDUE APC residues generation and characteristics APC residues come from the cleaning process of the gaseous emissions, which are produced during the incineration. Dry and semi-dry scrubber systems are used in the cleaning process and involve the injection of an alkaline material to remove acid gases, particulates and flue gas condensation (Sabbas et al. 2003). Finally, fabric filters in baghouses are used, where the fine particulates, i.e. the APC residues are focalized and removed from the gaseous emissions (Sabbas et al. 2003). It is estimated that APC residues represent 2-5% of the original waste on a wet basis and their production in the UK is approximately 128,000 tonnes per annum (Amutha Rani et al., 2008). In general, APC residues from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) consist of fly ash, carbon and lime and contain dioxins and furans (Amutha Rani et al., 2008). They are highly alkaline materials (pH 12.0-12.6) and they comprise significant concentration of heavy metals, salts and micro-pollutants (Sabbas et al. 2003 ). Depending on the initial waste composition, the incinerator and the air pollution control system, their composition may vary significantly (Amutha Rani et al., 2008). The typical range of APC residues composition is shown in table 2. The APC residues are characterized as hazardous wastes (190107*, according to the EWC) due to their chemical content and their impact on the environment, primarily by leaching. Regulatory Framework Introduction Regulations and legislation on waste management in the UK have evolved considerably over the years as a result of identification of new pollutants, public health and environmental concerns, economics and technological advancement (Pocklington, 1997 and McDougall et al, 2001). This assertion suggests that legislation and regulations play a major role in ensuring sustainable waste management. In addition, the establishment of legislation on waste management shows the radically changing perception of humans and communities towards the environmental impact of human activities (Pocklington, 1997). Today, regulations and legislation provide a framework for efficient handling of hazardous wastes such as APC residue. Amutha Rani et al (2008) observed that sustainable management of APC residues depend on the implementation of UK and EU waste management legislation. The Existing regulatory and legislative framework for managing APC residues in the UK About 80% of the environmental legislation in the UK have their origins in the European Commission laws (Pocklington, 1997). The existing legislative and regulatory framework for APC waste management in the UK and EU include: Waste Incineration Directive Integrated Pollution Control Directive Landfill Directive and ensuing waste acceptance criteria/procedure EA guidance on the classification of hazardous waste Water Framework Directive However, the discussion on the regulatory and legislative framework for this project focuses mainly on the UK Landfill directive and EA guidance on classification of hazardous wastes. These subjects are pertinent within the boundary of this project more so as Landfill disposal is common in the UK. Also IPPC directive is discussed briefly to highlight the roles public participation and deployment of best available techniques in meeting our objectives. The key objectives of these legislation and regulation are to: Reduce the amount of APC residue generated and improving the quality of exhaust gas (McDougall et al, 2001) Reduce the amount of APC going to Landfill (EA Guidance on landfill, 2006) Prevent environmental impact (ESA 2004) Reduce the risk of human harm (US National Research Council 2000, ESA 2004) This diagram illustrates the relationships between the established regulatory framework and stages in the APC management process. There is no specific legislation covering recovery or reclassification of APC residue in the UK (ESA 2004). Quina et al (2008) also points out that legislation for recycling APC has not yet been established in the UK. The Integrated Pollution Control Directive: Directive 2008/1/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control This Directive aims at establishing means to prevent or reduce emissions into air, water and land (IPPC, 2008). Hence this directive is crucial as it suggests various methods of incineration and treatment that could reduce the impact of APC residues on the environment during incineration, treatment or landfill. The IPPC Directive is based on four principles namely: Best Available Technique (BAT) Integrated waste management Flexibility Public participation The BAT refers to the most effective methods of operation that would reduce environmental impact and enhance results such as making residues from incineration less hazardous. In the BAT, optimizing resources and harnessing or saving energy are prioritized (Gargulas N. and Mentzis A, 2007). Also, the BAT is flexible and no terms are imposed since it recognizes that different conditions apply in different cases. The Best Available Techniques Reference (BREF) is a reference document on technical input needed to determine the BAT to be adopted. This BREF contains technical information on available means of treating APC residues such as sintering, vitrification, stabilization and solidification. This project has considered the BATs to APC treatment and these methods are discussed in chapter 3. However, there are no BATs available for landfills. Notwithstanding, Landfill operators and APC treatment plants require permits issued by the Environment Agency with public support to ensure that t here are no health or environmental impacts as a result of their activities (Macleod C. et al 2006 and IPPC 2008). The role of the public is crucial in this directive. Article 15 of the Directive, gives the public full privileges to participate in decision making processes leading to the issuance of permits for installation of plants, and for carrying out technical and administrative changes. This aspect is very important especially in the proper project planning and execution (see SEMP). Therefore the installations of APC treatment facilities and the method involved are tailored to meet public requirements as well as legislative requirements. All hazards inherent in operating APC treatment facilities shall be made known to the public in accordance to this directive. Also the outcome of compliance tests on treatment facilities with regard to environmental impact shall be made public (IPPC 2008). Thus, it can be argued that since the public are key stakeholders in this project, good public perception is needed in accordance with the IPPC directive to ensure sustainable management of APC residues. Environment Agency guidance on classification of hazardous waste The essence of this guidance is to distinguish different kinds of wastes based on their physical and chemical properties which include their toxicity or hazardous nature. The Hazardous Waste Directive (HWD), council directive 91/689/EC and the Revised European Waste Catalogue (EWC) form the regulatory framework for this guidance. The HWD aims at defining hazardous wastes to ensure the correct management and regulation of such waste (EA Hazardous Waste 2008, pg 5). This directive identifies 14 hazardous properties of wastes, thus hazardous wastes are classified H1 H14 according to their hazardous properties (EA, Hazardous waste 2008). The EWC code is derived from the industry and process producing the waste, and the type of waste (EA hazardous waste 2008). APC residues are categorized as hazardous wastes with absolute entry (Rani et al 2008 and ESA 2004). Under the European Waste Catalogue (EWC), APC residues fall under the category of wastes from incinerators (waste management facilities) that have a generic code 19. The specific code for solid wastes generated from gas treatment such as APC residues is 19 01 07. Wastes resulting from the treatment of the APC residues such as the partially stabilized APC residue, the vitrified material etc are also categorized as hazardous with absolute entry (EA hazardous waste 2008). However, when tests confirm that the constituents of treated waste have become less or non hazardous, they can be reclassified as hazardous wastes with mirror entry or non-hazardous as the case may be(EA Hazardous waste 2008). Solidified and partly stabilized wastes are coded 19 03 06 and 19 06 04 respectively with absolute entries, while vitrified wastes from flue gas treatment are assigned the code 19 04 02. The Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste The primary objectives of the landfill directive are: To reduce waste going to landfill the prevent or minimize environmental impact as a result of waste disposal Stringent measures and standards have been set to reduce the burden and reliance on landfill (EA guidance on landfill, 2006). Landfills are classified into three categories: non-hazardous, inert and hazardous landfills (Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations, 2002) For APC residues, a key requirement in the Directive prior to landfill is to perform tests to determine its long term and short term leaching behaviour and to carry out treatment to reduce its toxicity (EA guidance on landfill, 2006). This project suggests that the need for treatment of APC residues augments the case for exploring potentials for recovery or reclassification of the residues. Article 6 c (iii) of the Directive reflects our aim to make APC residues at least stable non-reactive hazardous wastes (SNRHW) or completely non-hazardous through efficient treatment techniques such as vitrification, washing, stabilization and plasma technology. SNRHW are known to have low leaching potentials (EA guidance on landfill, 2006). Treated APC residues with leaching behaviour equivalent to those of non-hazardous waste can be disposed at designated non-hazardous landfill subject to meeting the relevant waste acceptance criteria (EA guidance on landfill, 2006 and Landfill (England and Wales) Regulation, 2002). APC residues must meet the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) for a designated landfill after treatment. Schedule 1 of the Landfill (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, stipulates the procedure and criteria for disposing or accepting waste at landfills. Waste Acceptance Criteria and Procedure The WAC is elaborately designed to deal with the technical requirement of wastes such as APC residues designated for landfills in the UK (England and Wales). It also aims at controlling the disposal of wastes into landfill which is a common practice in the UK. Technically, the WAC ensures that the numerical leaching characteristics of APC residue are determined prior to disposal at landfill (EA Guidance on Landfill 2006). Thus, after their mandatory treatment, APC residues must meet the relevant waste acceptance criteria before they are accepted into landfill. The leaching characteristics include: the elements and compounds in APC residue and their leaching properties (in mg/kg or L/S) and the hazardous nature of the APC residue (EA Guidance on Landfill, 2006). The Environment agency is responsible towards ensuring that the criteria for particular landfills are met. Preceding the WAC is the Waste acceptance procedure. The Waste acceptance procedure for APC requires basic characterization, compliance testing and on-site verification (EA Guidance on Landfill 2006). The basic characterization is done to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of the waste (EA Guidance on Landfill 2006). Incineration plants are responsible for carrying out the basic characterization of the APC residues since they produce the APC while the landfill operator ensures that compliance testing and on-site verification are done (EA Guidance 2006). Approved tests are defined in schedule1 part 2 of the landfill regulation 2004 and they include tests for determining treated APC composition and leaching behaviour. The compliance tests are carried out to verify if leaching limit levels predicted in the basic characterization are credible. Besides exploring opportunities for reuse of APC residues and recovery of valuable materials from the residues, this project also aims to treat APC residues to meet at least the waste acceptance criteria for SNRHW to enable disposal at a non-hazardous landfill. Amendment 14 of the Landfill (England and Wales) regulation 2004 states the criteria for disposing SNRHW in the non-hazardous landfill. Discussions There is no specific legislation on the reuse of wastes such as the APC residues in the UK. Notwithstanding, the UK without incineration network (www.ukwin.org.uk) tagged the use of fly ash and APC residues for construction works as irresponsible. Thus it can be suggested that re-use is implied in this clause as well. However, if it is well proven that APC residues can be managed sustainably without any long or short term environmental repercussions, it will pave way for debates to strengthen the existing regulatory frame and also re-focus the views of environmental activists toward the prospects in the residues. ESA report (2004) argues the provision of regulatory certainty by the government is necessary in enhancing investment towards sustainable management of APC residues. The report also suggests that investments will focus on reliable APC treatment technologies. There are several scientific developments for managing APC residues pioneered by waste management companies such as Techtronic in the UK. Environmental problems and management strategies Most of the APC residues (around 88%) (Environmental Agency, 2002) produced in the UK, are disposed of into landfills. During their disposal or any kind of utilization or handling, a number of environmental impacts can be caused. Dust and Gas emissions Dust emissions are represented as a potential risk, due to the size of the APC residues particles (0.001-1 mm) (Sabbas et al., 2003). Despite the easily dispersion of these fine particles, a survey by the Environmental Agency at a number of landfill sites in the UK testifies that their concentrations are within the recommended air quality objectives (Environmental Agency, 2002). Gas production is another potential environmental impact related to the disposal of APC residues. Gas is produced by metallic aluminum hydration (Sabbas et al., 2003) and because of that, some explosions have been reported (Sabbas et al., 2003). However, the production of gas is significantly lower compared to the production of the municipal solid waste landfills, due to their low biodegradable content of the APC residues. Leaching production The major environmental impact is the leaching production of APC residues The leaching behaviour of the elements present in APC residues is the main source of environmental concern. Leachates can cause pollution of soil, groundwater and surface water bodies. The leaching behavior of the APC residues is very complex and depends on a lot of parameters. The pH and the liquid to solid (L/S) ratio of the residues that will occur in the landfill site are important factors which affect determine their leaching behaviorbehaviour as well as the availability of the elements which are contained in the APC residues. The pH depends on the characteristics of the leaching fluid and the waste, i.e. APC residues, and is the key factor of many elements leachability. Leaching of most major elements (e.g. Al, Ca, S, Mg) and heavy metals (e.g. Cd, Pb, Zn) are strongly pH-dependent (Astrup et al., 2006). This dependency of the pH causes a significant difficulty on the prediction of the leaching behaviorbehaviour. Generally, APC residues carry on their pH in alkaline values for a long time (many thousands of years) (Astrup et al., 2006). However, their pH decreases as the time passes and the APC residues are washed by the infiltrating water (the neutralize capacity decreases) (Astrup et al., 2006). Thus, the prediction of the landfills pH and thereby the leaching behaviorbehaviour of the residues in over a long term period is complex. The L/S ratio represents the amount of the leachate that comes in contact with a given amount of APC residues (Sabbas et al. 2003 pp what page?) and depends on the characteristics of the APC residues and the climatic conditions, the hydrology and the hydrogeology of the area (Sabbas et al. 2003). Usually, as the time of disposal passes the value of the L/S ratio becomes higher for a particular application site. Due to this contact the properties of the waste as well as the leaching behaviorbehaviour of the waste change. Thus, the value of this ratio is a very important parameter for the leachate content. The availability for leaching is a parameter, which characterizes the particular waste and represents a fraction of the total content of contaminants in the waste itself (Sabbas et al. 2003). The typical values of the availability for the APC residues are shown in table 2 and they can provide a theoretical estimation of the maximum release of a contaminant in a period of 1000 to 10000 years (Sabbas et al. 2003). The prediction of the leaching behaviour and the evaluation of the environmental impact of APC residues are based on leaching tests. Leaching values for the APC residues arising from leaching test are summarized in table 4. The first leachate from APC residues is usually characterized from soluble salts (e.g. chlorides, hydroxides of calcium, sodium and potassium) and trace element such as Pb and Mo (Sabbas et al., 2003). Contrary to the high solubility of this elements, the solubility of toxic organic compounds is believed to be not high due to their hydrophobic nature and their low concentration in APC residues (from properly operated MSWI plants) (Sabbas et al., 2003). Long term leachate concentrations are usually lower than the initial or they may remain atto the same level. The only exceptions are the elements Al and Zn, which concentrations in the leachate are increase d inover a long term period (Astrup et al., 2006). As it is explained above the leaching behaviour of the APC residues depends on the environmental conditions and changes during the time of the disposal. Thus, an analytical prediction of the long term leaching behaviour is very difficult and it should be based on a combination of information on leaching principles, leaching tests, field measurements, simulation of mineral changes and speciation (Sabbas et al., 2003 page number pls). Due to the complexity of the long term leaching behaviour, the data available in literature are limited. Management of APC residues In the UK the disposal of any waste to landfill is regulated (see regulations section). Generally, the landfills are classified as suitable for hazardous, non-hazardous or inter wastes and, for each of these types of landfill, particular leaching limit values (Waste acceptance criteria, WAC) are defined and should be achieved for any waste are to be landfilled. Table 5 shows the leaching limit values (WAC) for the three types of landfill sites and if they are compared with the values in table 4, it becomes obvious that APC residues cannot be landfilled without a prior treatment. And non-hazardous waste deposited in the same cell. Either TOC or LOI must be used for hazardous wastes. UK PAH limit values are under development. Following the recent consultation exercise the UK Govt may review the limit values in tow years time (2006). If an inert waste does not meet the SO4 at L/S 10 limit, alternative limit values of 1500 mg/l SO4 at C2 (initial eluate from the percolation test) prEN 14,405 and 6000 mg/kg SO4 at L/S10 (either from percolation test or bach test BS EN 12457-3), can be used to demonstrate compliance with the acceptance criteria for inert wastes. The values for TDS can be used instead of the values for Cl and SO4. Or DOC at pH 7.5-8.0 and L/S 10 can be determined on pr EN 14429 (pH dependent test) eluates. Disposal to landfill (Amutha Rani et al., 2008) APC residues are mixed with wastewater to form a solidified product. During this treatment the residues react with the CO2 from the atmosphere reducing the pH to values between 8 and 9. This mixing also eliminates the dispersion of the APC residues particles. After this treatment, the APC residues reach the WAC and they are landfilled into monofill cells at a hazardous waste landfill. This process is used by a treatment plant in GloucesstershireGloucestershire, from which most of the APC residues treated by this method in the UK are coming. Storage in salt mines In this disposal method the APC residues are loaded in sealed capsules and pitted 170m below the surface (Amutha Rani et al., 2008). The disposal in salt mines can take place for a long term. They are characterized as well isolated, very dry, with stable atmosphere and natural gas-impermeable salt layers (Clement, 2000). Salt mine for this purpose is located in Cheshire, England, where a major percentage of the APC residues, produced in the UK, are stored (Amutha Rani et al., 2008). Use in waste acid treatment (Amutha Rani et al., 2008) Due to the mixing of waste acid (usually HCl) and APC residues, the lime content of the APC residues is convertedsed into less hazardous components (CaCl2) and the concentrations of Zn and Pb are reduced. Furthermore, the pH is at high levels, preventing the salts release. Thus, the final mixture from this process is non-hazardous and it is described as sludge from a physico/chemical treatment; it is classified as EWC code 190206 and can be disposed of in non-hazardous landfills. TREATMENT TECHNIQUES Ash Washing Process Description: The objective of Ash washing process is to extract a number of minerals from the APC residue obtained after Municipal Solid Waste incineration and thereby diminish the leachability of various compounds remaining in the residue. The process also aims to improve the quality of the residue obtained for further re-use applications or to reduce the overall content of waste going to the landfill. According to Quina et al (2001), ash washing, acid leaching, electro-chemical process and thermal treatment are some of the most widely used methods for extracting metal values from the APC residues. The separation techniques studied in this section are ash washing with MgSO4, bioleaching using Asphergillus niger fungi and leaching using extracting agents. Each process has different prerequisites, operation time and cost, objectives and risks associated with them. Ash Washing With MgSO4: Chimenos et al (2005) The process aims to apply the optimum parameters for washing APC residue by utilising minimum energy and water. This process uses multi-stage washing process to diminish the leaching of chloride and sulphate salts present in APC residue and thereby ensuring that the amount of harmful substance present in wastewater is reduced. The wastewater produced is recycled and re-used in the process using employing a rapid spray evaporation technique which runs on the waste heat produced from pumps, turbines and incineration furnace. Figure 3a showsrepresent the overall process diagram of operation. The research conducted by Zhang et al (2008) shows that the leachability of the heavy metals and chlorides present in APC residue depends on its pH level. The pH of the solution, when MgSO4 is added during the washing process, may be controlled by the formation of gypsum as shown in Eq(1). Ca(OH)2 + MgSO4 CaSO4 + Mg(OH)2..(1) Bioleaching Q.Wang et al (2009) This process is considered to be a biohydrometallurgical approach to extract heavy metals from APC residue. It is considered to be a green technology because of it makes use of the natural ability of microorganisms to break down solid compounds into soluble and extractable form by enzymatic oxidation or reduction. The process uses the acids secreted by Aspergillus niger fungi such as oxalic acid, citric acid and gluconic acids to extract the heavy metals present. Water-washing was is used as a pre-treatment before the bioleaching process to reduce the bio-leaching period from 30 to 20 days and to extract the maximum amount of chloride and sulphate salts. Figure 4 shows an overall process diagram for the bioleaching process. Bioleaching is a low cost and low energy consumption approach. Leaching Using Extracting Agents Fedje et al (2010) This process uses leaching agents other than water for extracting heavy metals like Zn and Pb. The efficiency of the extraction agent depends on heavy metals of interest, the concentration of the extracting solution, the pH and the liquid/Solid ratio used. The goal of the process is obtain a solution in which the concentrations are high enough to enable further separation or recovery. The leaching media used for this process are 3M HNO3 L/S = 5 0.1 M EDTA with pH adjustment L/S = 5 3M NH4NO3 L/S = 5 The choice of these leaching media was based on their ability to form a complex with metal ions. Table 6 compares the efficiency of the aforementioned leaching agent in extracting the heavy metals from APC residue. Figure 5 represents the overall process diagram. The most widespread leaching method used for APC residues is acidic leaching using strong mineral acids such as HCl and H2SO4. However, due to the high alkalinity of APC residues, large amounts of acids are needed which results in trouble with storage and handling. Moreover, the reaction of APC resid