Globalization And Tesco Essay

Terms of Reference The aim of this report is to give a detailed explanation of globalisation, what its main drivers are, its undesirable effects, how big a part Tesco plays in going global and what political, economic, sociocultural, technological and legal forces a multinational organisation might face when expanding into other countries. Main Body Globalisation Globalisation is the integration of the world’s domestic economies into one single international market. It can also be defined as the ‘death of distance’ (Cairncross, 1997). Globalisation allows for the free trade of goods and services between nations; it allows workers to be employed more easily around the world; it allows businesses to benefit from foreign direct investment (FDI) and it allows markets to develop at a faster rate due to the interchange of new technological advances and intellectual knowledge. The process of globalisation is motivated largely by the desire of multinational corporations to increase profit but also by the motivation of individual national governments to tap into the wider macroeconomic and social benefits that come from greater trade in goods, services and the free flow of financial capital. * The term globalisation is generally used to describe an increasing internationalisation of markets for goods and services, the means of production, financial systems, competition, corporations, technology and industries. Amongst other things this gives rise to increased mobility of capital, faster propagation of technological innovations and an increasing interdependency and uniformity of national markets. (OECD, 2001). The process of globalisation has several main drivers apart from of course multinational companies wanting to expand. Barriers to international trade are falling, tariffs and other import controls have declined making it  cheaper and easier to trade between countries. Trading blocs allow for the free trade between countries within it, the EU has become the most powerful trading bloc in the world with a GDP nearly as large as that of the United States. There has been a major improvement in transportation, for example, containerisation greatly reduces the expense of international trade and increases its speed, especially of consumer goods and commodities, bringing prices down in the country of manufacture and closer to the prices in the export market. Deregulation of global financial markets allows for FDI and an increase in the free flow of money. Tesco – A Global Organisation Tesco is the largest chain of supermarket within the UK; it dominates the market with a share of 25%, making it a monopoly. The company has become successful through strong marketing techniques, good store location and efficient inventory management. It was one of the first to recognise that there was a gap in the market for unbranded value goods, which helped it to fast-track to the leading position in the UK in the early 1990’s. In 1995, Tesco overtook Sainsbury’s as the UK’s largest supermarket (www.corporatewatch.org) so as the company grew stronger and generated a larger cash flow, management decided that the only way to expand even further was to invest abroad. When Tesco researched into international markets they decided that entering into countries where there were already well established supermarkets would not be the best option as they would struggle with tough competition. Unless Tesco invested heavily into research and development (R+D) in these established markets, they would not be able to compete with domestic chains that would already have a clear understanding of the needs and wants of their consumers. They decided to expand into emerging economies where there was little competition such as Eastern Europe and Asia. Tesco initially expanded into Ireland and France but ‘The perceived success (or otherwise) of their early venture abroad would have been considered insignificant to the company’s fortunes at home, and as a result, this largely undermined the company’s (perceived) efforts in the eyes of the financial markets as being a peripheral and/or even a distraction to the  core UK business’ (Palmer, 2005). So in 1995, according to Tescoplc.com, Tesco’s first port of call was Hungary, this was also the year they introduced the Tesco Clubcard (www.tescoplc.com), this shows that as well as wanting to expand abroad, Tesco still wanted to build and retain a customer loyalty in the UK. Tesco expanded into Hungary as well as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland by acquiring large stakes in domestic retailers. This strategy of expanding was clearly successful as Tesco now have over 205 stores in Hungary, one of which is the biggest store in the world and over 21,000 employees (www.tescoplc.com). By merging with domestic retailers there was a lot less risk than building new supermarkets as these companies had a deeper understanding of the markets they were participating in and allowed Tesco to gain an understanding of specific consumer demands in different countries, but without the financial strength of Tesco these companies would not have been able to expand much further. In 1998, Tesco expanded again into Taiwan and Thailand, with the same business venture of acquiring shares of well knows retailers. China, being one of the world’s BRIC economies would clearly be of interest to a fast expanding western company, this is because of its advances towards capitalism and its low labour costs. The move into China came in 2004. After much deliberation with potential partners, Tesco settled on a joint venture with Hymall who had been operating in china for 6 years. This was their biggest move yet as there was so much potential to expand at a much faster rate in a growing economy. By 2007 after having investments in 46 stores, they had enough customer awareness to be to open their own branded store (www.bbc.co.uk/news). Asda is Tesco’s biggest rival in the UK, in 1999 it was taken over by the American superstore Wal-Mart. This would have influenced Tesco to increase its performance as even though Asda is not as big in the UK, Wal-Mart is the biggest company in the world and would have the financial capacity to increase the competitiveness of Asda – ‘The takeover has far-reaching consequences for British retail as other companies react to it and find new ways to compete’ (Corporate Watch, 2004). How is Tesco affected by international Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological and Legal forces? Tesco operates in six other countries of the EU apart from the UK so its performance is now affected by the European Union (EU). Different tax policies, trade restrictions and tariffs will apply across every border, Tesco will need to include these differences when calculating their costs. In the UK, corporation tax lies between 20%-26%, but in comparison it is 40.69% in Japan. Multinational companies will need to take into consideration how much influence the government has over the country of potential investment – i.e. whether it is a dictatorship or democracy etc., and whether there is too much state control that could prevent the company from working efficiently and producing enough profit. As Tesco continues to expand, it may encounter problems with different monopoly regulations and competition authorities. In the UK, the Competition Commission investigates all mergers and take overs and ensures that there is healthy competition to benefit consumers, companies and the economy as a whole. This is so that customers aren’t exploited by monopolies in the market – i.e. by paying higher prices and smaller businesses have a higher chance of survival. Multinational companies need to monitor the economic climate of countries they wish to expand to. During the recent economic downturn, the consumer electronics market has been one of the hardest hit, as incomes are cut the demand for luxury items has also fallen. ‘Operating losses of  £46.7million in six months’ -because of this ‘Best Buy’ has had to close down their stores resulting in a huge loss of jobs (The Guardian, 2011). Tesco may not get hit as hard when expanding because of their diversity of products but they do need to ensure that they are entering new markets with the potential to gain a domina nt market share so that they are not forced to shut down even when consumer demand is low. The minimum wage in the UK as it stands is  £6.08 an hour (www.direct.gov.uk, October 2011) however this will not be the same in every country and Tesco has faced exploitation allegations concerning this. In 2006, Tesco faced allegations over the treatment of workers in Bangladesh; War on Want alleged that wages were as low as 5p an hour and that workers were working 80+ hour weeks. However, Tesco stated that ‘Our suppliers comply with local labour laws and workers at all Bangladeshi suppliers to Tesco are paid above the national minimum wage’ (The Guardian, 2006). It may be unfair that the minimum wage is so low but it is not Tesco’s fault, however they are doing nothing in the way to  improve the situation so they will still face a lot of negative media. Consumers in every country have different demands, the food and drink supplied in the UK may be completely different to the needs and wants of people in China. Tesco need to appreciate that the food they retail in England may not appeal to other countries and so would have had to invest strongly in R+D to find out what they need to stock on their shelves. Merging with leading companies would have helped them to do this but much investment would have been needed in new raw materials and machinery to produce the different goods. ‘In the UK pies and sausages might take pride of place in Tesco’s meat refrigeration cabinets but in China, customers can browse through baskets of braised pig trotters, bundled together in fours by string’ (The Telegraph, 2011). To be successful in merging into foreign markets, Tesco has understood that they need to adapt their operations and that the way stores are run in the UK may not suit the way companies are run in different countries. Instead of sending UK staff overseas to manage stores, Tesco has employed domestic managers that will understand fully the needs and wants of their consumers. In the UK, Tesco now supplies international cuisine to apply to all areas of the market, for example there are whole aisles filled with different Indian spices and shelves stacked with Polish branded goods. Religion in different nations will affect what Tesco can sell in their stores, meat is easily sold in the UK but in some religions it is not part of people’s diet so Tesco will need to provide suitable substitutions. Expanding outside of the UK means that Tesco will be exposed to and highly influenced by other laws and legislation different to that of the UK government. The way in which vegetables and fruit are produced and grown in the UK may not comply with laws in other countries. In 2011, an investigation by Greenpeace discovered that vegetables sold in supermarkets contained levels of illegal pesticides or pesticides exceeding the maximum level that should be found in the food, making the produce illegal to sell in China. ‘Supermarket giants such as Tesco should be leading the way when it comes to shifting China’s agricultural industry to an eco-agricultural one, which includes reducing the country’s heavy use of chemicals in production. And instead they, along with Lotus and Lianhua, are seriously lax in keeping to China’s current standards’ (Greenpeace, 2011). Why would Globalisation be considered undesirable? Globalisation has been linked to a widening of inequalities in income and wealth. The benefits of globalisation are mainly going to the rich developed countries whilst the poor in the developing world are getting poorer. This is because multinational companies can exploit workers in LEDC’s as they do not have the power to fight back. Wealthy companies from any one country are only going to target expanding or rich companies in another; this reduces the chances of small businesses to become successful and forces many to shut down. As Tesco expands, it will need to increase its supply of raw materials and factories to manufacture in, this provides jobs in poorer countries because of the cheap labour pool, but because these multinational companies are so dominating they have the power to exploit workers and pay them extremely low wages. Workers in poorer countries may also lose their jobs due to the rapid technological change and the fact that machinery can remove inefficiencies from the work force. This also results in structural unemployment where many industries are weakening due to their long-term decline of use and the investment in capital-labour substitutions. The workers in these environments then find it difficult to find another job in a different industry as their skills are specific to their previous job. The biggest long term threat to arise from globalisation is the effect that it will have on the environment, rapid growth and development may lead to irreversible damage. Demand for timber, for example, has led to large scale deforestation in the developing world. Improvements in transportation is one of the main drivers of globalisation, as it is now much cheaper and far easier to transport goods around the world, however much more fuel is being used and many more emissions are being created. Pollution can have an effect not only on the environment but also on the health of people, as China continues to be the world’s fastest growing economy there are many health consequences to be aware of. A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that ‘diseases triggered by indoor and outdoor air pollution kill 656,000 Chinese citizens each year, and polluted drinking water kills another 95,600.’ Conclusion From my research I have shown the factors why Tesco went global; these include the need to dominate international markets after becoming the biggest supermarket within the UK, the success of their strategies of merging with other companies with market knowledge and the rate of technological change that has allowed Tesco to grow so quickly. I have highlighted PESTL factors that Tesco may face such as the economic climates of different countries, sociocultural issues such as adapting to the needs and wants of consumers from a different market and the negative press that such a large company is bound to face. Even though globalisation is favoured by many, its effects can sometimes be undesirable, it is changing the world at such a phenomenal pace that there is always going to be some disadvantages and sadly it is always going to be the people with less money and power that will suffer. References – BBC News. (2007). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6300993.stm – Cairncross, F., (1997). The Death of Distance – Corporate Watch. (2004). http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=21&query=asda+wal-mart#history – Directgov. (2011). http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_10027201 – Nadia G., (2011). Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058494/Carphone-warehouse-closes-Best-Buy-stores-More-1-000-jobs-threat.html – OECD. (2001). http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=1121 – Palmer M., (2005). A case study of Tesco. Retail Multinational Learning. 33 (33,1), 28. – Randeep R., (2006).The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/dec/08/clothes.ethicalliving – Tan M., (2011) http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/blog/banned-pesticides-detected-on-vegetables-in-t/blog/36666/ – The Telegraph. (2011). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8152422/Five-things-Tesco-sells-in-China-but-not-in-the-UK.html?image=1 – www.tescoplc.com – WHO. http://www.who.int/en/

Does Messy Handwriting Hurt Your SAT Essay Score

Does Messy Handwriting Hurt Your SAT Essay Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Worried about your messy handwriting? It’s tough not to have sloppy handwriting when you’re given only 50 minutes to read a passage, analyze it, and write an essay. How will your handwriting influence your SAT Essay score? Can it cause a lower score? Or even lead to a score of zero? I’ve got the answers along with more SAT Essay advice. Can You Get a Score of Zero for Messy Handwriting? It’s not possible to get a score of zero for any reason on the SAT Essay because the lowest score possible is 2.Your essay is graded on a scale of 1-4 by two readers, and then those scores are added together to give you your final essay score.You could get a 2 because of your handwriting, but it needs to very, very messy.Throughout my years of SAT tutoring, I had many students with handwriting I could barely make out who did find on the SAT essay.My PrepScholar colleagues had the same experience while tutoring. The College Board doesn’t have an official policy on illegible handwriting.However, in their essay grading rubric, the College Board writes that, for a score of 1, the essay shows a weak control of the conventions of standard written English and may contain numerous errors that undermine the quality of writing.Your messy handwriting could be perceived as an error that undermines the quality and ability for the reader to understand our essay. The reality is that all of your handwriting needs to be considered illegible and for you to receive a score of 1.Is your handwriting so terrible that you pick up something you wrote a few months ago and cannot read a single word?I imagine the answer is no.If your handwriting is messy but still legible, you will not automatically receive a 2. If your handwriting is completely indecipherable, you could end up with a 2, but also, not being able to make out a sentence or word here and there could hurt you as well. Don't let your handwriting bring you down! Can You Get Penalized for Some Messy Handwriting? Yes, it’s possible.As I mentioned before, the SAT essay rubric mentions errors that impede on understanding.Errors that undermine the reader’s understanding can reduce your score; those that don’t will not. Therefore, you could be penalized if your handwriting was illegible in certain parts of your essay.For example, if your handwriting was indecipherable for one sentence, but that one sentence was a crucial analysis of the passage that supported your thesis, then you would likely be penalized.If the reader couldn’t understand a single word of that sentence, then your score would likely be affected since the error would undermine the reader’s comprehension of your argument. However, if your messy handwriting doesn’t stop the reader from understanding your argument, then your score probably won’t be affected.If the one sentence that was illegible was in your conclusion and simply summarized a point you’d already made, then you might not be penalized for that since the reader already grasped that point from earlier in your essay. Also, if you simply have slightly sloppy but still decipherable handwriting, then your score likely won’t be affected since the handwriting won’t affect the reader’s experience. 2 Tips to Improve Your Handwriting The safest way to make sure you aren’t penalized for your handwriting is to try to make it more legible, but how? Tip #1: Write Slower This is an easy way to improve.Just write slower and consciously try to make sure you make sure every letter is legible.Most sloppy handwriting is caused by writing way too fast.I know this is tough with only 50 minutes for the SAT essay.However, you’ll get better slowing your handwriting in this limited time with practice. Take as many practice SAT essays as you need to until you’ve mastered the pacing while keeping your handwriting legible.If you need more guidance, read our full step-by-step guide to the SAT essay. Never fear you can better your handwriting! Tip #2: Switch Your Grip and Pressure If slowing down didn’t fix your messy handwriting, then you should try switching your grip and/or changing the pressure you put on the page.A tight grip or strong pressure can make the pencil difficult to maneuver.Try to relax your grip and ease up on the pressure on the pencil.Doing so will allow you to have more control over the pencil’s movement and allow you to create clearer letters. Gripping the pencil closer to the point and farther from the eraser will also help you have more legible handwriting.The closer your hand to the eraser, the harder it is to control the movement of the pencil.Test this out and see the difference.Write the same word with your hand holding the end of the pencil near the eraser and holding the pencil near the point.The latter will be more legible. Handwriting and Disability: What Can You Do? Some students have disabilities that make it difficult to write or can cause writing to be illegible.If you or your child falls into this category, you can request for special accommodations on the SAT.Most students with this issue are allowed to use a computer for the Essay and short response questions. Read more about this special accommodation, including information on how to apply, in our guide toSAT accommodations. Make sure you get this support if you need it! Recap You can't get a zero because the lowest SAT essay score possible is 2. You'll only get a 2if your entire essay is illegible. However, you might still be penalized if just someof your essay is illegible. If the illegible partsimpede the reader's ability to understand your argument, then your score will likely be affected. Therefore, you should try to improve your sloppy handwriting by slowing down, relaxing your grip on your pencil, and relaxing your pressure on the pencil. What’s Next? Want to know more about the SAT Essay? Learn how essay length could influence your score and read our full analysis of the SAT Essay rubric. Need help with overall SAT prep? Check out our free ultimate SAT study guide with individual section strategy information. Trying to figure out where you want to go to college? Read our guide to finding your target school. Already know where you want to go? Read our guide to finding your SAT target score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Macroeconomic performance and standards of living in Bahrain

Macroeconomic performance and standards of living in Bahrain Macroeconomic performance and standards of living in Bahrain Levels of income and wealth are the key determinants of individual or the countries wellbeing Macroeconomic performance and economic standards of living involves factors such as income, living costs, household size and even the composition of the family size. When the economy is doing well, this is likely to be shown by a number of opportunities for citizens of a particular country and consequently better conditions of living. Bahrain is a small island state with and in 1996 it had a total population of 598, 652 people. Current indicators show that there is a population growth rate of about 3.6 percent, which is basically among the highest in the world (Hakimian, 2000 30). It has fertility rate of 3.2 % and a population density of approximately 2, 000 inhabitants per square mile and this also is among the highest in the world. The population considerations presented above are an essential dimension of Bahrains sustained economic growth and sustainable development. Bahrain has made steady progress in achieving its development goals meaning the macroeconomic performance is doing very well. The Human Development Report of 1997 ranks Bahrain number forty three out of a hundred and seventy five countries with a human development index of 0.87. Per capita income as per that time was estimated at $7, 460. Social indicators showed that Bahrain has marked improvement in the quality of life. The achievements were aided by the early development of the of the oil industry, which financed projects in the education sector and health services as well as economic diversification (Hakimian, 2000 32). The development of a regional airline and the completion of a causeway to Saudi Arabia stimulated tourism, while the rapid growth of offshore banking advanced Bahrains financial role. Also the aluminum smelter (ALBA) boosted downstream aluminum-based industries promoting the development of petrochemicals, which further laid the foundation for further downstream gr owth. {t_essay_order} Comparison of data for Bahrain Bahrains: Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2007-12 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Real economy (change in percent) Real GDP 2.3 0.4 -3.0 0.4 1.7 1.9 Domestic demand 3.2 0.6 -2.0 0.5 1.7 1.7 CPI (year average) 1.6 3.2 0.3 1.1 1.4 1.8 Unemployment rate (in percent) 8.3 7.8 9.5 10.2 10.0 9.6 Gross national savings (percent of GDP) 21.2 19.9 18.8 18.2 18.2 19.5 Gross domestic investment (percent of GDP) 22.2 22.2 20.4 20.3 20.4 20.4 Public finance (percent of GDP) Central government balance -2.1 -2.8 -5.7 -6.0 -5.7 -5.3 General government balance -2.7 -3.4 -7.4 -7.5 -7.1 -6.6 Structural balance (percent of potential GDP) -3.0 -3.3 -3.9 -3.9 -4.1 -4.4 Primary balance 0.0 -0.6 -5.0 -4.8 -4.0 -3.3 General government gross debt 1/ 63.9 67.5 77.5 83.9 88.3 91.7 Money and interest rates (in percent) Money market rate 2/ 4.0 3.8 1.1 Government bond yield 2/ 4.3 4.2 3.6 Balance of payments (in percent of GDP) Exports of goods 21.1 21.1 15.4 15.4 15.9 16.3 Volume growth (in percent) 2.5 -0.5 -14.5 -0.9 3.8 4.3 Imports of goods 23.2 24.1 17.8 18.4 19.0 19.4 Volume growth (in percent) 5.4 0.6 -10.6 -0.4 3.3 3.3 Trade balance -2.1 -3.0 -2.4 -3.0 -3.1 -3.0 Current account -1.0 -2.3 -1.6 -2.1 -2.2 -2.1 FDI (net) -2.5 -3.6 -2.5 -1.0 -1.0 -0.9 Official reserves (US$ billion) 2/ 45.7 33.6 24.7 ... ... ... Fund position (as of December 31, 2008) Holdings of currency (percent of quota) 86.3 Holdings of SDRs (percent of allocation) 58.1 Quota (SDRs million) 10,739 Exchange rates Euro per U.S. dollar 2/ 0.73 0.68 0.75 ... ... ... Nominal effective rate (2000=100) 2/ 102.4 104.9 103.6 ... ... ... Real effective exchange rate (2000=100) 2/ 103.6 106.0 102.1 ... ... ... Potential output and output gap Potential output 2.1 1.3 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.0 Output gap 0.9 -0.1 -3.9 -4.3 -3.6 -2.7 Social indicators Macroeconomic policies implemented by the government of Bahrain Environmental conservation The government has been consistent with commitment to sound resource management and conservation. A sequence of institutional and regulatory measures was recently including the establishment of a National Environmental directorate and the preparation of a plan of action that will take into account of efficiency in use of natural resources and their subsequent rates of depletion and regeneration; and also consider the ability of the environment to absorb and conform with technology together with its requirements of sustainability. The plan has been incorporating efforts from all agencies, the civil society and also the private sector and it is worth of note that a clean environment has been achieved. To achieve economic growth, people must work in a clean environment and minimizing or no illness to workers will boost economic development. Personnel development There has been extensive human resource development to meet the qualities of personnel needed in the job market. There has been enhancement of institutional capabilities to capture the concern of those who establish the development policy which has brought up new programs that aim at increasing the number of Bahrain nationals in the Labour force and equipped with multifaceted skills. In relation to this the government has also ensured that the right infrastructure is in place for no economy is likely to improve if the state of the infrastructure is pathetic. Cooperation with UNDP The government of Bahrain has recognized the importance of UNDP in supporting socio-economic development. It has sought the co-operation because of the quality of UNDPs programs and their universalism and neutrality. The government has considered UNDP a source of technical and methodological guidance on policy development, as a pathway of working and information sharing, and a facilitator of program implementation efforts. The intercourse with UNDP is aimed at aligning personnel development with sustainable livelihoods and employment generation, strengthening institutional capacity for economic management, and promoting environmental conservation and regeneration. Gender issues The gender dimension is considered as very integral in the employment programs at Bahrain. Bahrain women form part of 34 % of the public sector employment and 13.3 % of the public sector employment. The government has realized that investing in womens capabilities contributes to sustainable economic growth and reinforces the countries goal of increasing the number of its citizens in the work force and in the long run development benefits (Acemoglu, 2006 73). The development of employable skills for women and changing social and family attitudes towards the roles of women have been priotised by the ministry of Labour and Social Affairs which has been a big boost to the economy of the country. Water resource conservation The government has been protecting aquifers from salinity and depletion. Bahrains urban and rural economic activities are highly dependant on water and it should be saved for future use. The government has been making every effort to control excess water use and the reuse of waste water for watering municipal flower, hedges and fodders. Artificial recharge of treated water is being studied, and the distribution of water is under review to prevent leakage (Acemoglu, 2006 68). Conclusion In summary macroeconomic policy in Bahrain has led to the achievement of major among other things, has brought inflation under control, freed up prices within the economy, shedding state owned resources to make them more productive, increase of fiscal revenues, lowering the average custom duties, generating foreign exchange reserves and have strengthened the countries financial institutions.

Accidents Have Caused Major Explosion

Accidents Have Caused Major Explosion In the past few years there had been a steady increment in the usage of the risk assessment in the offshore production facilities. This is especially after the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 and many other major accidents that killed many lives. Operators are showing an increasing awareness by reviewing the safety of their existing topside production facilities. The Piper Alpha accident provided adverse confirmation that the predictions of risk analyses regarding major accidents were certainly prudent. Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) is very useful in order to reduce the risks especially on the hydrocarbon releases from offshore topsides facilities. (Harmony, 1998) The accidents have caused major explosion and followed by some other minor explosions that release huge amount of hydrocarbons such as gas, liquid and 2-phase liquid. According to the investigation report that had been made after the accident, the main reason that causes the accident is the handover work made by two diff erent shift personnel. Communication problem is one of the reasons of the tragedy. Initially the platform only produced crude oil. However, after a few years natural gas is also being produced. During the installation of the gas conversion equipment, the fire walls were not upgraded to the blast wall that causes a severe explosion throughout the disaster. Moreover, the pumping operation of oil and gas was continued even though the fire started to spread on the platform due to lack of professed authority that just witness the burning of the Piper (Taylor, Wallace, & Ward, 1991). It was started from the two condensate injection pumps which are A and B. The day shift engineer forgot to inform the condition of pump A to the night shift engineer in which the pressure valve was removed for recalibration and recertification. There are about 106 recommendation has made for the future of safety offshore by the Cullen Report. All of the recommendations had been accepted and implemented by the offshore operators later then (Simon, 2012a). Petrobras Enchova Central Platform was listed in the major offshore accidents. This platform also listed as one of the worst and notable blowouts in the history of offshore oil platform. It is located in the Enchova Field, Brazil and operated by Petrobras. Two major incidents recorded in these fields which were on 16 August 1984 and 24 April 1988. The first accidents caused by blowout followed by explosion and fire. Most of the personnel were evacuated safely by chopper and lifeboat. Unfortunately, 42 workers died during the evacuation processed. The main reason that killed many lives during evacuation is because the failure of lowering mechanism of a lifeboat. The lifeboat was suspended and eventually fell 10-20m to the sea which killed 36 personnel. The other six workers were killed when they jumped from the platform to the sea at 30-40m height. (Simon, 2012b) The second accident occurred on 24 April 1988 which is four years later dur ing the workover operations on the platform. One of the well that operated by the platform blew out and finally ignited that resulted in the destruction of the platform. Petrobras decided to drill two relief wells in 30 days’ time and eventually succeed in controlling the blowout (Maduro & Reynolds, 1989). The workover well was performed in order to convert oil well to gas well. Then the blowout occurred during that converting process. The fire resulted from gas ignition last for 31 days. There was no loss of life recorded because the floating living quarters were separated from the platform during the blowout. The operator incurred a total loss because the extensive damage to the topside structure (Simon, 2012b).

Novel Mobile devices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Novel Mobile devices - Essay Example Quite frequently, new designs come with newer properties and better usability that outshine the former models. For example, data was originally carried in floppy discs. Later, USBs drove floppy discs out of the market and people opted for USBs instead of floppy discs. Then there were USBs of different memory. As the time passed, USBs with even smaller size with greater memory were developed. According to Strategic Analysis, â€Å"A range of new embedded consumer electronics devices is set to create a market of 10 crore installed devices for wireless operators in the United States by 2014† (Clarke). All of these devices will be mobile and novel. Image of a novel mobile device (Mobiletor.com). How do they work? Novel mobile devices allow the user to take them from one place to another with minimum inconvenience. As they are mobile, so they are portable. They usually allow the user to attach them to multiple devices. For example, a memory card can be used in mobile phones, digita l cameras, television sets and laptops. How do they help people? They facilitate the work in that they are carried by user as required. Their help and usability can be estimated from the fact that communication has been enhanced with the introduction of mobile phones into the market.

A)Review the causes of the financial crisis of 2007-2010 and decide Dissertation

A)Review the causes of the financial crisis of 2007-2010 and decide whether it is linked to too much or too little government i - Dissertation Example 127-138, 2000). It is an observation that the last depression phase of 1930s resulted in huge number of adverse impacts around the world (Brain, pp. 321-327, 1999); however, the current financial crisis on global level seems to be having far more reaching effects on the developed, as well as developing parts of the world. In particular, the world witnessed running down of the US economy during mid of the year 2007 and then the crisis subsequently hit different parts of the world due to lack of liquidity available in the US banking system as well as crumple of various huge financial organizations. In addition, financial experts (Bono, pp. 1-34, 2008) have indicated adverse role of government as well that caused the global financial crisis and that is still resulting in adverse impact globally. In this regard, today, a huge number of economies around the world are still confronting the viral effects of the global financial crisis due to their dependence on processes of US economy (Davi es & Green, pp. 10-18, 2008). Debate and discussion regarding different aspects of financial industry is not a new practice (Zhang, pp. 23-30, 1995). After every financial crisis, it is an observation that financial experts argue and discuss the role of authorities and government to avoid any crisis in the future. Such debates were observable in the year 2001 after collapse of Enron (Amel et al., 2493-2519, 2004), as well as in the year 2004 at the time of WorldCom tragedy, and in the year 2008 with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Interestingly, experts have indicated that accounting frauds and government scandals are some of the most common underlying reasons that exist behind every financial crisis (Goldsmith, pp. 8-11, 2009). In particular, this paper is an attempt in the same series of debates and discussions that will include analysis of different aspects of global financial crisis while going through the collapse of Lehman brothers that enable a critical understanding of real istic factors that caused such crisis globally. FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2007-2010 Causes of Financial Crisis As earlier mentioned in the introduction, shortage of liquidity in the US financial system became the first cause that triggered the roots to derive recent financial crisis in the United States. Subsequently, it affected other economies of the world as well by beginning with the collapses of different financial institutions, as well as investment banks in developed parts of the world that automatically affected developing nations. Analysis (Bebchuk et al., p. 31, 2009) has identified that investment banks, financial institutions were two of the main backbones of the US economy, and their bankruptcies gave a heavy blow to the country as collapse of even one stakeholder resulted in huge punch on the overall market. In the month of August 2008, the liquidity crisis hit the then leading investment bank, Lehman Brothers, and studies (Davies & Green pp. 56-60, 2008) have pointed out th e adverse role of certain newspapers that rumored about dishonoring of Lehman Brothers’ financial commitments by few banks. Such rumors initiated the process of financial crisis, as there were witnessing of huge queues at

Value of philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Value of philosophy - Essay Example According to this author, a true philosophical contemplation finds its meaning in the enlargement of not self in everything in the universe. The mind Russell believes that although philosophy does not enhance our physical wellbeing, it has a major role in human kind of enriching our mental lives mainly through the mind, which determines the way we relate with the immediate environment. However, the enrichment that Russell refers to does not provide all the answers to all the philosophical questions but instead offers a variety of suggestions on how to tackle these problems (Bertrand Pg 26). Russell insists that the mind that views philosophy as a conformation of freedom and impartiality will always strive to protect and preserve these values. This kind of mind will view its purpose and desires as path of the whole. This kind of mind in reference is a free mind that fights for justice and freedom hence the analogy and linkage of many philosophers with histories of freedom fighting and involvement in fighting for human rights. Russell believes that the enlargement of human mind enlarges objects and human mind that is responsible for freedom and liberation. According to Russell, philosophy gives a wider range of suggestions on how to deal with feelings of uncertainty and fear. For example, through philosophy it is easy to make unfamiliar things to look familiar (Bertrand Pg 27). According to Russell, unless we enlarge our mind to include other perspectives of the outer world, we remain like garrison in a blue guard fortress with no freedom. Such life has no peace and is involved with constant strives between desires and powerlessness of will. Philosophic contemplation does not divide the universe into sections but instead join it into one single camp. Russell insists that we must continue to seek brain enlargement by operating on the desires of our mind (Bertrand Pg 27). However, we cannot find this enlargement if we take the mind as it is but must make our minds open and free from alien impossibilities. Self-assertion is an example of philosophic speculation and this hinders mind enlargement. Russell also argues about the separation of the study of human mind from the field of philosophy. He disagrees with those scientists who have included the study of human mind as psychology. However, he still maintains that philosophy is still embedded in sciences and more so in the study of human mind. Although human mind plays a greater role in defining philosophy, religion is important in conceptualizing the meaning of philosophy. Russell questions the value of good and evil in the planet and wonders if good and evil is only important to humans or to the whole universe. Philosophy is therefore very valuable and whoever lives a life without a tincture of philosophy undergoes duress and a life of imprisonment. Such individuals are also affected by prejudices of common sense. Such people views the world as a definite, finite, obvious, common and with no reason unfamiliar. The view of philosophy has many wrong conceptions therefore philosophy strives to search for knowledge. The knowledge sought gives the unity of system and body. This knowledge is helpful in examining the grounds of convictions, prejudices, and beliefs. According to Russell, the quest for philosophical knowledge continues to face many challenges due to broken units and sciences that have derived their sense