5 Step Value-Chain Analysis for Customers’ Strategic Needs

Value-chain analysis is used for many purposes, but the process of examining customers’ value chains is relatively new. In our five-step process, Step 1 explains how internal and external value chains can be used separately and in related ways. Step 2 shows how to construct a customer’s value chain. Step 3 shows how to identify the customer’s business strategy by examining this value chain and using other kinds of information. Step 4 explains how to use additional information and intelligence to leverage that understanding into strategic needs and priorities. Finally, Step 5 explains how a firm’s marketing function can best use this method of value-chain analysis as a new strategic capability. Step 1: An overview of value-chain analysis Value chains may be defined in two ways: (1) within a company they describe the various value-added stages from purchasing materials to distributing, selling, and servicing the final product (Porter’s 1985 concept),[3] and (2) they also delineate the value-added stages from raw material to end-user as a product is manufactured and distributed, with each stage representing an industry. 4] For convenience, we will refer to these two definitions as ‘‘internal’’ and ‘‘external’’ value chains, respectively. The internal value chain is a key concept in the field of strategic management that has been thoroughly explored. In contrast, the external value chain has not been studied as extensively. The external value chain consists of the important ups tream/supply and downstream/distribution processes. However, even though these processes occur outside the corporation, the strategic opportunities they reveal and areas of risk they highlight warrant careful study. Consider: Outsourcing – involves transferring certain primary or support functions in the internal value chain to the external value chain. B Vertical integration – involves taking control of one or more additional stages of the external value chain and making them internal. B Horizontal expansion – involves new product lines or expanded channels of distribution, including geographic expansion. B Strategic alliances with suppliers – involves more closely managing external suppliers as if they were part of the company’s internal value chain, but without actually owning them (for example, Toyota’s Kaizen ystem, wherein key suppliers are located very near a factory and receive all kinds of help and training from Toyota to ensure smooth and efficient production). One of the most complex value chains today can be found in the oil industry. This chain has nearly 30 significant elements, starting with the search for oil (at the upstream end) and including fie ld production, transportation (pipelines and supertankers), refining and processing and, lastly, consumer gas stations (at the ‘‘downstream’’ end). Internally, the oil-industry value chain processes a broad range of products, including such major categories as oil/lubricants, gasoline, petrochemicals (plastics), fertilizers/pesticides, natural gas, power generation/electricity, and convenience stores. The firms that are considered major integrated oil companies participate in a significant number – sometimes all – of these external (upstream and downstream) and internal value-chain elements. In a 2006 issue of Strategy & Leadership, authors Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler suggested that strategists should use Porter’s concept to consider value-chain operations beyond the boundaries of the firm. Since its introduction, value-chain analysis has proven immensely valuable in three principal ways – cost analysis and reduction, differentiation, and product development – but the standard practice was for firms to analyze only their own value chain. Step 2: How to construct a customer’s value chain First, recognize that you need to construct both internal and external value chains for a particular customer. The internal value chain follows Porter’s original concept, which includes value-added steps from purchasing to distribution as well as support functions such as R&D and human resources. It’s tempting to let this generic diagram serve as the customer’s value chain, but it must be tailored to the particular customer. To produce a useful value-chain analysis, members of your engineering or sales team should ask the customer how its business processes add value and whether any have unique best-practice features. To perform the external value-chain analysis, team members should ask the customer a set of getting-to-know-you questions. What does your supply chain (the upstream value chain) look like? What role does your company play in it? How do your products reach their customers (the downstream value chain)? Your final diagram models only this single customer’s value chain and it represents virtually everything the customer does to add significant value. If your relationship with the customer permits a candid exchange of information, have the customer validate the value chain you have created. As an example of how the diagnostic process works, consider how a supplier to Wal-Mart might learn to enhance its value. [6] The objective of creating both internal and external value chains is to understand Wal-Mart well enough to be able to discern its implicit and explicit strategic concerns. Exhibits 3 and 4 depict preliminary pictures of Wal-Mart’s internal and external value chains. Getting to this initial stage is relatively easy – adding more detail, nuance, and understanding takes more time, involves interviewingWal-Mart executives, and more closely observing how the firm operates. Step 3: Inferring the customer’s business strategy Even long-time suppliers have trouble distinguishing critical customer activities from sometimes urgent but ultimately nonstrategic ones. Understanding your customer’s business strategy is therefore crucial. Value-chain analysis helps a supplier distinguish between the activities of the customer’s firm that directly support its competitive strategies – for its products and for enhancing key capabilities – and ordinary operations. For example, routine operations like billing customers or servicing the fleet of company vehicles must be done, and done well. But there is little if any competitive advantage to be gained from the superior execution of such activities. Nor are they likely to provide an opportunity for gaining new sources of revenue and profit. It is the customers’ strategic activities and projects that offer the potential for future profits and command the attention of your customers’ senior management. So by supporting strategic activities, B2B service providers stand to gain the high-margin work they hunger after, the work that produces the highest returns, and the work that should be their constant priority. The Fluor case Fluor Corporation is a global engineering and construction company providing major capital facilities for a vast range of industrial clients in many vertical markets. With as many as 2,000 projects under construction employing 40,000 workers in more than 50 countries at any time, Fluor operates in all geographic regions of the globe and in all parts of its customers’ supply chains, delivering engineering and construction management services – in sum, a full range of B2B services. The questions of where Fluor should concentrate its resources to meet its customers’ most urgent needs can become enormously complex. To rationalize this process, Fluor must determine which customer projects – the ones that address its customers’ greatest strategic needs and, hence, have potentially the greatest margins – have the highest value. For many years, Fluor has known the critical importance of understanding every one of its B2B customers’ businesses. But that was not enough. The questions for Fluor’s marketing team became, ‘‘How can we learn each customer’s business strategy and strategic needs? ’ Some of the many different sources of information about a customer’s strategy are: B Marketing communications including printed materials (brochures and advertisements), media communications (press releases) and marketing websites reveal new product directions and customer targeting; these provide insights into market positioning and marketing strategy. B Financial-community reports (annual reports, SEC filings, as well as meetings with financial analysts) shed light on internal strategic initiatives in addition to market-positioning moves. Annual reports form the basis of this Fluor case study, but 10Ks and analysts’ reports could prove equally useful. B The academic literature is replete with surgical dissections of strategically successful companies and industries. Business-school cases abound featuring companies like Apple and industries like automobiles. Wal-Mart, for one, has been the focus of many Harvard Business School cases. [8] B Many companies make their published strategic plans available to interested parties. For example, British Petroleum has published its strategy on its corporate website since 2000. B Consultants that specialize in competitive intelligence. B Face-to-face conversations with your customers. Step 4: Discovering the customer’s strategic needs Strategic activities are the activities a firm must implement in order to realize its strategy or strategies. Every strategy has such a set of activities. Insofar as a company finds doing any of these activities difficult, potential suppliers have been trained to see these as ‘‘needs. ’’ But, suppliers need to differentiate between operations that are difficult and ones that are strategic. For example, an innovation strategy requires a system for generating ideas and picking the best ones, cost estimating, engineering, R&D, prototype construction and testing, and market-acceptance testing. The pharmaceutical industry relies on a great many B2B service providers to support its new-drug-development programs in the drug-formulation (R&D) stage and also B2B service providers that develop new systems to expedite regulatory approval. Value-chain analysis identifies both as key strategic functions. Step 5: Making value-chain analysis a strategic capability of the marketing department Engineering/construction companies have developed at least two approaches to break the forces of commoditization in their industry: 1. Project screening and selectivity. Not all projects are created equal or represent equal opportunity. Service providers should select projects on the basis of projected margin, not projected revenue. They must pursue projects that build on their strengths and core competences, projects where they can apply their best talents to serve their customers. This is done by first serving customers’ commodity work to position them to then pursue customers’ strategic opportunities. This is the approach used in the Fluor example. 2. Become selected customers’ strategic business partner. Such practice puts the business-services provider right in the customers’ lap, a decidedly advantageous position to be in when strategic opportunities are brewing. It also leads to many sole-source or noncompetitive-bid opportunities and, potentially, to higher margins. 1. The method described in the article is based on actual experience of one author when he worked for Fluor Corp. . A recent example is Ram Charan, What the CustomerWants You to Know: How Everybody Needs to Think Differently about Sales, Portfolio (Penguin Group), 2007. The application of value-chain analysis to B2B clients of engineering and construction management services was originally suggested by Don F. Coleman of Fluor Corporation in May, 2000. 3. Michael E. Porter, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, 1985. 4. Stanley C. Abraham, Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide for Competitive Success, Thomson South-Western, 2006, 214. . Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler, ‘‘Making the case for the added-value chain,’’ Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 34 No. 4, 2006, Exhibit 1, p. 41; exhibit used with permission. 6. The supplier could have many other customers, and could replicate this process with those other customers. Typically, doing such an analysis would be reserved for the supplier’s top 3-5 customers. 7. The authors found little in the literature about B2B marketing practices based on knowledge of the customer’s value chain and business strategy. 8. See, for, example Harvard Business School Case #9-794-024, ‘‘Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ,’’ August 6, 1996, which provides a thorough review of Wal-Mart’s business practices up to its international (horizontal) expansion. 9. Michael E. Porter, ‘‘What is strategy? ’’ Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996. 10. HBS Case #9-794-024, op. cit. 11. Harvard Business School Case #9-302-102, ‘‘Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry,’’ May 3, 2002. Mondavi’s flagship brand ‘‘Woodbridge’’ is a rare example of a brand name pointing, not to product benefits, but up the value chain to process benefits.

Erasmus vs Luther; Discourse on Free Will Essay

The Erasmus-Luther Discourse on Free Will begins with the Diatribe concerning free will, written by Erasmus. Luther then refutes Erasmus’ Diatribe with The Bondage of the Will. The question being debated is whether man is in control of his own will, or whether everything is preordained by God, thus leaving man without free will. Their diverging philosophies have been interpreted as being the basic difference between Catholic and Protestant positions regarding free will. This debate offers two very conflicting views, although both philosophies were basic principles in their respective religions. Erasmus builds his argument without a solid foundation; like building a house without a foundation, it can easily crumble. Thus, Luther convincingly attacks Erasmus’ Diatribe. Erasmus holds that man is left with the choice of doing either good or evil. It is man’s choice and therefore, free will exists. In the opinion of Erasmus, the freedom of the will in Holy Scriptures is as follows: if on the road to piety, one should continue eagerly to improve; if one has become involved in sin, one should make every effort to extricate oneself, and to solicit the mercy of the Lord. Two conclusions concerning Erasmus’ beliefs can be drawn from this statement; firstly that man can himself find repentance and secondly that God is infallible, meaning that a person engages in evil acts with his own will. The definition of free will given by Erasmus is â€Å"the power of the human will whereby man can apply to or turn away from that which leads unto eternal salvation.† While addressing the topic of Adam and Eve, Erasmus states, â€Å"In man, will was so good and so free that even without additional grace it could have remained in a state of innocence, though not without help of grace could it attain the blessedness of eternal life, as the Lord Jesus promised his people.† Erasmus, therefore, believes eternal salvation is attainable with the help and mercy of God, but Erasmus also believes that Adam and Eve caused man to have original sin. Erasmus goes on to write, â€Å"In those without extraordinary grace the reason is darkened, but not extinguished. Probably the same occurs to the power of the will: it is not completely extinct but unproductive of virtuous deeds.† In short Erasmus believed that man has free will and therefore is punished or rewarded according to the choices he  makes. He backs his argument with many quotes from the scripture but so does Luther, thus the argument shifts, and the sense of scripture is the debate. Luther, who wrote The Bondage of the Will to refute what Erasmus had written in the Diatribe, disagrees; stating that man does not have freedom of the will. In the first few pages, Luther proclaims â€Å"The Holy Scripture is no skeptic, and what He has written into our hearts are no doubts or opinions, but assertions more certain and more firm that all human experience in life itself.† Furthermore, he goes on to say â€Å"The essence of Christianity which you (Erasmus) describe†¦is without Christ, without the Spirit, and chillier than ice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Luther immediately implies that Erasmus has not been saved. Luther abhors those who claim to be self-reformers, once again contradicting Erasmus. â€Å"You say: Who will reform his life? I answer: Nobody! No man can! God has no time for you self-reformers, for they are all hypocrites. The elect who fear God will be reformed by the Holy Spirit.† Perhaps the quote that best exemplifies Luther’s position is as follows: Thus the human will is like the beast of burden. If God rides it, it wills and goes whence God wills; as the Psalm says, â€Å"I was a beast of burden before thee† (Psalm 72:22) If Satan rides, it wills and goes where Satan wills. Nor may it choose to which rider it will run, nor which it will seek. But the riders themselves contend who shall have and hold it.† This philosophy contends that both good and evil are worked by a higher being. Both authors in this work make reference to Judas and his betrayal of Christ. Both parties acknowledge the foreknowledge of God, but Luther proclaims that God willed it. Thus the Protestant faith grew on the principles of predestination and the absolute belief that the scriptures are to be interpreted literally. At no point does Luther ever stray from the central point of his refutation, proving Erasmus wrong by presenting the conclusive evidence needed. Erasmus, on the other hand, never really plants his feet in this argument. Erasmus covers his tracks by changing the terms of the debate throughout his work. For example, Erasmus fails to define the limits within which the reader should think that the will is being acted upon. One can not conclude that  Erasmus does not fully believe what he states in his Diatribe, but he admittedly discloses â€Å"I have always preferred playing the freer field of the muses, than fighting ironclad in close combat.† Erasmus proclaims that their debate is in the sense of scripture, yet how can one who defends free will pigeonhole the interpretation of the reader? Luther is much more direct in laying out his arguments and criticizes Erasmus for stating a bare definition without explaining its parts. The debate has very much become a personal matter by the time Luther’s discourse commences. There is no mutual agreement whatsoever, thus it is easy to see why the views of Catholics and Protestants were so divergent. Erasmus is clearly trying to convince his readers, most particularly Luther, that free will does indeed exist. Luther continues to stay his course and states that God wills all. Everything is preordained, evil included. Of the assertions, Luther simply states â€Å"one must delight in assertions to be a Christian at all!† While Erasmus seems leery to take a firm stance in his debate, he is changing the circumstances of the debate, which clearly is an attempt to prevent Luther from pinning him down in Luther’s The Bondage of the Will. After thoroughly refuting everything Erasmus has stated, Luther proclaims that Erasmus has â€Å"asserted nothing but made comparisons†. Whether there be complete merit in either man’s philosophy, Luther h as quite convincingly made Erasmus’ position appear flawed.

Case Study Anaylses Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anaylses - Case Study Example According to Acer’s Stan Shih, it is a difficult undertaking for Asian corporations to venture into the international market. This is because most Asian nations may not be aware of what is required in order for a corporation to thrive in such settings. There is also the indisputable matter of different cultures and values of the Eastern nations and the more developed Western nations. According to the Taiwanese entrepreneur, it is not unusual for Chinese managers to opt for embracing customs that are more familiar with Westerners in order to penetrate the global market. This, though, is not always beneficial because it leaves the Asian companies at a disadvantage. According to Ming-Jer and Miller (2010) Asian companies also endeavour to use Confucian principles in the workplace. Chinese traditions, according to these researchers, is replete with the importance of generating aspects such as harmony and balance in all spheres in order to benefit from fulfilling relationships with others. This relational aspect, though, is not as well understood in the West as it is in the East. Western corporations are typically less interested in realizing relational objectives in the workforce. The introduction of relational objectives, particularly by Asian corporations seeking to expand further into the global arena, can cause confusion instead of the balance that was expected. According to Ming-Jer and Miller (2010), there are ways in which relational aspects can be used to benefit firms while ensuring that the financial objectives are not compromised. However, any such motives have to be conducted through a gradual process which allows for the workforce of corporations to be able to implement and adjust to the new changes. The inclusion of relational aspects could bring great benefits to a corporation. Short-term thinking will likely be discouraged, for instance, while there will be fewer incidences of destructive competetveness which could adversely

Contract Law and the Law of Negligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract Law and the Law of Negligence - Essay Example As such, every individual is under a duty of care towards others to employ reasonable care, in order to circumvent causing injury to them or their possessions (Judicial Education Center, 2013). Alec has a duty towards Kelly, just like that towards any other person on the walkway. In some instances, the act or omission of the defendant could cause damage to the claimant. However, the claimant may not have any action, because the affected interest may not be provided with the protection of the law. This situation is termed as harm without legal wrong or damnum sine injuria (Cooke, 2011, p. 5). Alec’s rash driving resulting in damage to Kelly’s shop attracts the provisions of the law of negligence. A defendant could be made liable for committing a tort, if the act had been intentional. This usually takes place in crime. Liability is also attached to the defendant, if the act was negligent, although unintentional. This is because the defendant had failed to fulfil his duty of care towards the petitioner (Judicial Education Center, 2013). In our case, Alec has failed to perform his duty towards Kelly, although it was unintentional. In Page v Smith, Lord Hope described primary victims as individuals who had undergone psychiatric injury. Such injury should have been the outcome of the fear or distress resulting from the accident that had taken place due to the negligence of the defendant or its immediate aftermath (Turton, 2008, p. 1014). Kelly suffered mental distress, the next day after the incident. She cannot take recourse under the category of primary victim for psychiatric injury. Whether there was a breach of duty From the legal perspective, negligence is the breach of a duty to ensure care, while committing an act. It is also the failure to act in the manner that a prudent or reasonable individual would have acted under circumstances that were similar. Such action or failure must be the proximate cause for the injury caused, if the plaintiff is t o recover damages from the defendant. Some of the defences to a negligence action are, the assumption of risk or injury by the plaintiff, or the injury was due to the plaintiff’s negligence (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2011).A contractual relationship can generate an obligation to act with care. An instance of this is the duty of care assumed by a carrier to protect passengers and goods from injury or damage. In addition, the law presupposes that every person, in the ordinary course of conduct, is under a duty of care to abstain from injuring others. This duty, in every non – contractual situation, requires every individual to act as a reasonable person. If an injury occurs, despite such care being exercised, or due to circumstances that are beyond human control, then no compensation can be claimed. The doctrine of strict liability renders entities engaged in certain services and trades liable, even if the conduct is not negligent (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedi a, 2011). While deciding whether a breach of duty had taken place, the courts would evaluate the conduct of the defendant, with reference to what a reasonable person would have done under similar circumstances (Tingle, 2002, p. 1129) In Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks Co, it was opined that negligence was failure to do a thing, which a reasonable man would have done, in accordance with the considerations that normally regulate human conduct (Tingle, 2002, p. 1129). In our case, Alec, due to coming late, attempted to quickly cross

Compare and Contrast Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare and Contrast Religion - Essay Example Christian Theism is the classical Christian philosophy of 17th century. The word â€Å"theism† is derived from the Greek word â€Å"theos† which means God. The word was first used in this context by Mr. Ralph Cudworth in the 17th Century. Literally speaking, Christian Theism is, in fact, propagation of Monotheism which means that there is only one God. Many argue that Christian Theism is based on Judaism, the Pagan Gods and the old Greek philosophy but this is disputed and, to a large extent, a matter of opinion. The first two attributes, when read together gives an apparently contradictory yet interwoven understanding of God. Theism defines God to be personal – which means God has characteristics of a human being. Hence God thinks and acts like a human being, takes interest and is involved in the activities of his creations – that is our universe and us, human beings. At the same time, God is also perceived as infinite and transcendent and therefore one can never truly understand or comprehend his nature. As Sire (2004) frames it â€Å"This means that he is beyond scope, beyond measure, as far as we are concerned........All else is secondary†(Sire,â€Å"The Universe Next Door†,2004).Theism also defines God to be omnipresent – and thereby always aware of what is happening in this world. God is, hence, present in everything but not the thing itself. And God is also perceived to be good and thereby all his actions are for the good of human beings. This philosophy throws up some interesting thinking and concepts. This inherently assumes that the world is logical and has a co-relation between cause and effect. God has created an underlying order into the universe and therefore the world and the universe is meaningful. Though not a defined Christian Theist, perhaps the best expression of this concept was uttered by Mr. Albert Einstein when he said â€Å"You believe in the god who plays dice, and I in complete law and order

8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

8 - Assignment Example It is observable that, the objective functions give the following results: The first objective function gives 8 and the second one gives -8. This is an indication that the two objective functions are not equivalent since they give dissimilar optimal values despite application of similar constraint values (Kathleen, 2001). Overhead costs refer to the circuitous (indirect) production costs. They are costs, which are chargeable to a cost unit by estimated basis. Similarly, overhead cost refers to the total cost of indirect materials, indirect labor and indirect expenses (Joel, 2004). The estimating method enables a share of the circuitous costs to be charged to each cost unit. It is notable that these charges are not identifiable specifically to the final product. For instance, these costs are chargeable on production centers, service cost centers and other non-production cost centers. Mr. Smith is right in calculating the marginal profit. It is evident that, he has used marginal costing (Joel, 2004). One of the principles guiding marginal costing rejects absorption of fixed costs into unit costs. In this case, factory overhead is a fixed expense, which cannot be absorbed to the rate per labor hour as Howie’s accountant suggests (Joel, 2004) However, it is notable that, the Howie’s opinion is applicable in absorption costing where fixed expenses are absorbed into unit costs (Joel,

Invisible Buddhism in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Invisible Buddhism in China - Essay Example In the meantime, Taoism, another primary religion in the Chinese society, also presented some differences and challenges to Buddhism. For instance, while Taoism advocated peace with nature, Buddhism sought to manage the inner society. Therefore, in order to develop in China, Buddhism transformed itself to the local way of life, by incorporating the worship of fore-furthers and showing a high level of respect to China’s political system. The timely transformation made Buddha religion an ‘invisible’ but invincible religious organization across the society. The invisibility of Buddhism According to Adler, the classical translators of Buddhism experienced some challenges in getting the exact expressions to elaborate Buddhist philosophies in Chinese, so they preferred to use Taoist language in their texts (41-57). This made the religion ‘invisible’ as the original Buddhism terms were increasingly abandoned for the local ones. As a result, people began to a ssociate Buddhism with the existing Taoist tradition. It took the Chinese society several decades to fully appreciate the scriptures and teachings of Buddha. After the regime of the Han Dynasty caved in the beginning of the third century, the society faced a myriad of political challenges and social disunity. Regardless of the challenges, the translations of the religious texts continued, though silently. During this period, both alien and local monks were aggressively involved in setting up monasteries and spreading the Buddhist philosophies.... The timely transformation made Buddha religion an ‘invisible’ but invincible religious organization across the society. The invisibility of Buddhism According to Adler, the classical translators of Buddhism experienced some challenges in getting the exact expressions to elaborate Buddhist philosophies in Chinese, so they preferred to use Taoist language in their texts (41-57). This made the religion ‘invisible’ as the original Buddhism terms were increasingly abandoned for the local ones. As a result, people began to associate Buddhism with the existing Taoist tradition. It took the Chinese society several decades to fully appreciate the scriptures and teachings of Buddha. After the regime of the Han Dynasty caved in the beginning of the third century, the society faced a myriad of political challenges and social disunity. Regardless of the challenges, the translations of the religion texts continued, though silently. During this period, both alien and local monks were aggressively involved in setting up monasteries and spreading the Buddhist philosophies. Among the local Chinese religious leaders, Dao-an who spent the better part of his life in the fourth century, stood out among the crowd. Though he was prompted to adopt a ‘nomadic’ life in the wake of political disunity, he wrote extensively and gave many lectures on Buddha religious practices and values. He also established the first literary catalogues of the work he was doing. The extensive expansion of the religion, despite the fact that the society was concerned with the unfolding political events was in itself another case of ‘invisible’ spread of the religion. Dao-an had invited Kumarajiva, a celebrated

Life Transitions of Women in Their 50s-60's Research Paper

Life Transitions of Women in Their 50s-60's - Research Paper Example The physiological change, as well as the psychological effect brought about by menopause together with post parental experience, retirement and changing roles of women, can be better understood if taken together with the women’s context, family and social relations, career, society, gender, traditions, norms and the subjective individual attitude, personality and self-perception. As a counselor, the issue challenges me to take an extra care in not boxing women within the frame of theoretical assumptions but in understanding their paradigm within in their unique experience and context. Women’s lives are often understood neither from a distance nor from the pedestal, rather via the narratives of their experiences and their lived lives. In this way, women’s lives are made more concrete and no longer relegated in the periphery of the human story. However, as one looks into the title of this research, one immediately gets the gargantuan tasks ahead. This claim is based on the supposition that the research intends to delve into the combination of three important notions, namely, middle life, life transition, women and life. Individually considered, these notions are deemed as complex (Elder, 1994; Levinson, 1986; Lachman, 2004; Young, 1980). Complex since lifespan in adult development is considered as still in its neophyte stage. Since if compared with early lifespan, less attention, and studies have been conducted regarding this subject matter (Levinson, 1986; Elder, 1994). While, on the middle life on the hand, is perceived as a fluid concept that is not just defined by biological age which is normally set â€Å"between 40 – 64† (Levinson, 1986, p 5) but is influenced and affected by various factors such as tradition, culture, ethnicity, gender, society, norms and individual subjective personality, attitude and self –perception. All of these combines contribute in setting the parameters of what may be considered as middle life (Lachman, 2004).

Environment- Topics in Asian Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environment- Topics in Asian Studies - Essay Example The discussion of the articles will provide a picture of how Asia has emerged as a strong player on the international market, as well as its role in the mitigation of pollution in each country. Outlook on Asian Environmental Status: An Anthropological View The current global trend is leaning towards the reduction of greenhouse gases and the alleviation of global warming. Several countries have already invested millions of dollars to develop technologies that will address these issues, mostly first world countries that have highly advanced industries, such as the US, Japan, and some European countries. However, several developing countries and third-world countries are still at risk of experiencing the adverse effects of pollution; either from land, air, water pollution, or from all of those. To further understand the environmental status of Asian countries, an in-depth look at each country will be discussed, as well as the legislations and government efforts that take place in these countries. One of the many Asian countries that experiences great environmental risks is South Korea. According to Kim Jung-Wk (2004), the stature of the country during the 1960s was focused on a proactive approach of improving the economy by increasing the density of industries, which undermines its traditional strict ethics of preserving the environment. South Korea was once a country that had high regard for nature. In the past generations, environmental crimes were mostly avoided by people due to the severe punishments that went along with it. Locals were keen on reducing wastes and pollution, certain practices were strictly observed on every possible aspect to minimize the use of natural resources, especially wood. Common practices include the design of houses and its strategic positioning making use of exhaust gas from cooking furnaces to provide heat for rooms, utilizing vegetable gardens and animals to recycle waste foods, and using ash and animal wastes as soil compost. In addition, government efforts in protecting the environment were strong during the time, considering the management of the mountains and forests as their number one priority (Jung-Wk, 2004). The Japanese invasion has resulted in turmoil in South Korea being the main reason for the destruction of the environment and destabilizing the strong environmental ethics of this once nature-loving nation. In 1910, reports indicate that a huge portion of the forest have already been reduced due to massive logging (Jung-Wk, 2004). Large shipments of timber were sent to Japan on a regular basis in order to fuel Japan’s war pursuits. Deforestation worsened during the period of the Pacific War which led to the inability of the soil to control flood and drought. This, in turn, resulted in the construction of several large-scale dams all over the country. The effects of deforestation also damaged the river systems and coastal areas. Large deposits of soil in the rivers made it shallow and coast s have been filled with clay deposits, this allowed land reclamation possible that even magnified the negative environment effects. In addition, the abrupt change in cultivated crops from mixed-culture and crop rotation to rice as well as the excessive addition of fertilizers and pesticides caused the fast degradation of the

Aripita Avenue Essay Example for Free

Aripita Avenue Essay Description of the business The name of the business that i will be establishing is Jagroops doubles. The business will be located on the corner of Aripita Avenue and Rosalino Street. The business will be selling doubles and soft drinks, the consumer will be able to choose the type of sauce they want on their doubles for example mango sauce, shadow benni sauce, pepper sauce or cucumbers The business is going to be a sole trader, because I would like to own my own business, make all the decisions and most of all receive most of the profits The objectives of the business are to make profit, supply a good to the people and to provide employment. Justification of location The business will be located on Aripita Avenue because the road is well travelled on mornings and on weekends it is a popular liming area in addition doubles are very popular with people when they have finished liming. Parking is also readily available for people who want to come and purchase doubles. Selection of appropriate labour The business will have three persons working. Two people will be making the barra and channa and sauces while the third person will be handling the sales of the stand, while I prepare the doubles and pack them. The hours they will be expected to work will be from 3am to 9am from Monday to Friday and on Saturday from 10pm to 4am ( to facilitate the night life) The workers are skilled because doubles is a specialty food item and will need experienced workers who will know how to prepare it. Sources of fixed and working capital The fixed capital will be obtained from a loan from the bank, the business will borrow a sum of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) for a period of five years and will have a monthly payment of nineteen hundred dollars ($1900). The fixed capital will be used for purchasing a stand which will be used to sell the doubles from, also a motor van will be purchased to transport the food and stand from the place that it will be made to the place that it will be sold. The working capital of the business will be made from the day to day sales and is comprised of stock, bank and cash. An example of the working capital will be the inventory of the business, the doubles, because they will need to sell goods in order to make money. Role of the entrepreneur The role of the entrepreneur is to provide the capital of the business. He will also have to be a good leader to the staff to ensure that they know what is to be expected from them. The entrepreneur will have to make sure that everyone in the business is doing their job properly and efficiently in order to maximise profits. Also he will be responsible for all the decisions that area to be made in the business. Three functions of the entrepreneur are: 1. The factors of production – the entrepreneur organises the factors of production and allocation of resources and uses them efficiently in the business. 2. Management – the entrepreneur is responsible for the management of the business, making sure that everything in the business will run smoothly. 3. Risk – the entrepreneur faces the risk of unlimited liability, meaning if the business was to fail he would be the one responsible for paying off the bank loans. Type of production This business will fall under the category of primary production because it will not require a lot of knowledge to produce this kind of food. The workers will require some knowledge to make the product but that will be minimal knowledge. Level of production For this business they will only be producing doubles to the local public of the country. The reason for this is because the food product will go bad within a matter of hours if not stored properly. The product doesn’t have a shelf life meaning it will go bad if it were to be placed in a grocery or super market. Quality control measure To ensure that the business will be selling the best product available the business will only be buying the best quality products available. Also we will not be producing the good with more than three hours in advance in order for the customer to get the freshest food possible. Use of technology The technology that the business will be using is a scale to measure the weght of the barra so that it will come out with a consistent weight and size. Also a van will also be used to transport all the equipment from the headquarters to the selling place. Linkages This business will only have backwards linkages, these linkages will be with the persons that they buy raw materials from for the business Potential for growth The potential for growth would be to open up a second stand in a different location, for example one on independence square in port of spain, to make more profits. And internal growth would be to start selling other products for example allo pies and fry bake. Government regulations The business will be required to register the name of the business with the Registrar of Companies. As well as having to get the appropriate food badges in order to sell the doubles, they may be more difficult than they would assume because this process could take a couple of months. They will have to comply with the health departments regulations such as washing hands before entering the work place and wearing gloves when serving the food. Ethical issues The ethical issues would be not using expired products and only using the freshest ingredients available to them. Table of contents 1. Description of the Business 2. Justification of location 3. Selection of appropriate labour 4. Sources of fixed and working capital 5. Role of the Entrepreneur 6. Type of Production 7. Level of Production 8. Quality Control Measures 9. Use of Technology 10. Linkages 11. Potential for growth 12. Government Regulations 13. Ethical Issues 14. Bibliography Bibliography 1. Notes from school 2. Essential Principles of business for cxc by Alan whitcomb and Sylbe Hamil

Evaluation of Games Workshop and Hornby Businesses

Evaluation of Games Workshop and Hornby Businesses In a company or a business, the owner would want to evaluate his business i.e. whether the business is making a profit or loss and would want to compare it with other companies or its competitors in the same industry. To know the performance of a company, you need to look at more than just easily attainable numbers like sales, profits and total assets. To know the real picture of a company, we must be able to read between the lines of the financial statement. Hence there are many comparative ratios to identify the strengths and weakness of the company. These ratios will help the public (outsiders) to make decisions while investing in companies at the stock market. Ratio analysis helps us to understand the risk we must be taking. The basic source of these ratios is the companys profit and loss account and balance sheet as it contains all important information about the company. Financial ratios are useful indicators of a firm or companys performance and financial situation. The two company ratios we are going to compare are Hornby and Games PLC. Both the companies belong to the same industry. GAMES WORKSHOP Europes foremost professional P.C. and video game retailer is Games group. It is the only company in the gaming sector to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Outstanding customer service and a specialist offer are at the heart of GAMES Group growth. HORNBY PLC HORNBY PLC is UKs Model Railway manufacturer. Frank Hornby founded the company in 1901 and launched trains until it was bought by his competitor Tri-Ang in 1964. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornby_Railways. It is recognised for the construction of its model train sets, hobby (radio controlled cars) and toy production. It is an incorporated limited company, operating in the UK. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). ROCE = ____PBIT ___(Operating Profit)___ x 100 Capital Employed (FA + CA CL) Ratio on capital employed indicated the productivity and success of a companys capital investment. According to the formula we take operating profit or PBIT and divide it by the capital employed in the business i.e. fixed asset and working capital. In the two companies, the ROCE for Games workshop in the year 2008 was 5.48%, 2009 was 17.26% which was lower compared to 27.98% in the year 2010. This indicates that Games workshops ROCE has increased which is a positive sign as the more the returns of the capital employed, its better for the firm. Whereas Hornby Plc.s ROCE in the year 2010 has decreased from17.67% which was in 2009 and 29.47% in 2008 to 12.65% which is a negative sign as the return on capital employed is lesser than the rate at which the company borrows. Return on Sales (ROS) ROS = _PBIT_ x 100 Sales ROS also known as operating profit margin tell us about the companys operational proficiency. According to the formula, we consider operating profit or PBIT and divide it by the sales in the organisation. In the above two companies Games workshops ROS was 2.31% in 2008, 7.17% in 2009 and has increased to 12.68% in 2010. This indicates that games workshop is growing more efficiently and is more profitability. Whereas in Hornby the ROS for the year2008 was 16.85%, in 2009 was 11.20% and it decreased in 2010 to 9.27%. A decreasing ROS indicates financial trouble for the company. When we compare Hornby and Games workshop together, we get to know that Games workshop has a higher ROS which indicates a profitable organisation compared to Hornby. Asset turnover Asset turnover = ___Revenue____ Capital Employed Asset turnover is the amount of sales generated for every pound that is worth the asset. We consider the revenue of the company and divide it by the capital employed. In the above companies, the asset turnover for both the companies are low but Hornby has a lower asset turnover of 1.36% in 2010 compared to Games workshop thats asset turnover is of 2.20%. This indicates that games workshop has a higher asset turnover which is better. This also indicates pricing strategies which the company undertakes as companies with a low price margin who have a higher asset turnover and vice versa. Current Ratio Current Ratio = _Current Assets_ Current Liabilities Current Ratio comes under the heading of Liquidity ratio. Liquidity means cash a business holds during the financial year. Current Ratio is a liquidity ratio which tells us the ability of the company to pay its short term obligations. Short term obligations are obligations which are under 12 months. The formula tells us that the ability to pay back short term borrowings with its short term assets. In the above case Games workshop has a higher current ratio compared to Hornby, though the difference is not that large, but still Games workshops current ratio in 2010 is 2.03% while Hornby in 2010 is 2.10%. This indicated that Games workshop is capable to pay their obligations and vice versa. If the ratio was under 1 it would indicate that the company cannot pay its obligations. Liquidity Ratio (Acid Test Ratio) Liquidity Ratio = Current Assets Stock Current Liabilities Acid test ratio is a severe or a tough ratio which indicates whether the firm has enough short term assets to cover its immediate liability without selling out stock. The acid test ratio for Games workshop in 2008 was 0.9, in 2009 was1.14 whereas it increased in 2010 to 1.48. Hornby has a low acid test ratio in 2009 which was 0.72 but it increased to 1.37 in 2010. This indicates that Games as well as Hornby, both companies can pay off their liabilities as if the acid test ratio was less than 1 then the company has to be warned. Even if the acid test ratio is lower than the working capital ratio, it shows that the company is highly dependent on inventory. Cash Ratio Cash Ratio = Cash_____ Current Liabilities Cash ratio is the companys total cash balance and the cash equivalents to its current liabilities. Cash ratio is helpful to measure the liquidity of a company. In the above case, Games workshop has a much higher cash ratio in both the years i.e. in 2009 0.57 and in 2010 it was 0.92, whereas Hornby has a very low cash ratio from 2008 which was 0.07, in 2009 it decreased to 0.02 but it increased to 0.53 in 2010. This indicates how quickly the company can pay of its creditors. Hence creditors will decide seeing the cash ratio of the company. Stock turnover Stock turnover = _COGS_ Stock Stock turnover ratio shows how many times over the business has sold the value of its stocks during the year. In the above case, Games workshop has a higher stock turnover than Hornby. This is because in the year 2008, Games workshop had 3.24 as its stock turnover, in 2009 it was 3.36 and it decreased I 2010 to 3.02 which is a negative point. Whereas Hornby has a lower stock turnover compared to Games workshop. This indicates higher the stock turnover, the better it is for the company as then money is held up for a lesser time in stocks. Stock Period Stock Period = 365____ Stock turnover Stock period is the number of days where the average money is held up in stocks. It is calculated by dividing stock turnover by 365 days. This gives the actual picture of how many days the stock is in the warehouse. In the above diagram, it shows that in the year 2008 and 2009 Games had a stock period of 113 and 109 days while Hornby had a stock period of 166 and 164 days respectively. In the year 2010 Games workshop had a stock in warehouse for 121 days while Hornby had it for 138 days. This indicates the longer the stock is in warehouse, it is bad for the business as the money is not available to be used elsewhere. Hence Hornbys stock is available for a longer period than Games workshop. Debtor Period Debtor Period = Debtors x 365 Sales Debtor period is the average number of days credit given to customers i.e. how long does it takes the company to get its money. In the above case, the debtor period for Games workshop has decreased from 33 days in 2008 to 29 in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Whereas in Hornby the debtor period has increased compared to 2008 but has decreased to 75 days compared to 2009. This indicates that a lesser number of days are good as the debtors could trust the company. But if the company takes a long time to repay, it is bad, Hence Games workshop is better than Hornby as Games workshop has lesser number of days compared to Hornby. Gearing Ratio Industry Analysis Hornby PLC The toys and games industry has survived in the UK for 70 years but in 2009, model vehicles and outdoor games had a negative growth due to the economic recession. Customers preferred indoor games and activity construction toys since it did not require them to leave their houses, during this period. The economic downturn also caused some companies in the industry to stop business and others were bought by larger companies. There has also been an increase in demand for movie based toys and video games, which are easier to produce than other toys. As such, Hasbro, Mattel and Lego are favoured for this reason. The retail outlets prefer to stock video games as a result of its increase in demand and also because it takes less shelf space. The UK market is dominated presently by Husbro, which has the largest market share, Mattel and Lego. Passport GMID Traditional Toys and Games United Kingdom http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/ResultsList.aspx HORNBY PLC is UKs Model Railway manufacturer. Frank Hornby founded the company in 1901 and launched trains until it was bought by his competitor Tri-Ang in 1964. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornby_Railways. It is recognised for the construction of its model train sets, hobby (radio controlled cars) and toy production. It is an incorporated limited company, operating in the UK. The company has created a niche market (train sets) and deals with suppliers all over the world for different railway products. Property owners, worldwide, want to engage with Hornby, in awarding license for Hornby products because of its specialisation and popularity . The key focus of the company is to ensure that the model railway business succeeds, by continually dealing with supply chain issues. Research and Development is also an important factor to its success. The following companies are subsidiaries to the group; Hornby Hobbies Ltd UK Hornby America Inc USA Hornby Espana S.A Spain Hornby Italia s.r.l Italy Hornby France S.A.S France Hornby Deutschland GmbH Germany There are individual targets for each subsidiary as regards growth and profit. It is monitored from time to time and based on current circumstances, future adjustments are made. http://www.hornby.com/investor-relations/ Horbys Competitors Tri-Ang Model railway producer Bachmann Europe Plc Model railway producer GraFar Model railway producer Model rail UK Model railway parts builder New railway Modellers Model railway builder Heywood Model Railway Group Model railway producer Hasbro Board (monopoly, scrabble etc), Star Wars movie franchise Mattel Superman, Batman, Harry Potter movie franchise Lego Activity and construction games Fun Collectibles Latest kidscrazes toys and games Wind Designs Flying toys, yo-yos, juggling equipments and kites Map Toys Toys and games Richard Edwards Card based products Revell Model kit toys Cartamundi Card games Ravensburger Puzzles and 3D Action games Cambridge Brainbox Educational Electronic kits Games Workshop Tabletop fantasy and futuristic battle games Thumbs Up Helicopters and AK 47 Guns Rainbow Productions Costume character production http://www.toynews-online.biz/marketplace http://www.holtmodelrailways.com/ http://www.modelrailuk.co.uk/ Home http://www.mcvuk.com/search/news/hornby+plc Customers Games retail stores Children Wholesalers Market Contribution and Share In 2008, there was a fall in interim pre-tax profits from  £2.7m to  £1.8m and this reduced the expected profit by December that year. Suppliers in China were challenged with the increase in labour and raw materials, therefore Hornby increased price by 10% to support China. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65fd8c42-ec57-11dd-a534-0000779fd2ac.html Although sales in Europe fell by 15%, the Chief Executive was confident that Hornby would excel because of its quality hobby brand. On November 7th 2008, Hornbys shares dropped to 118.5p from the initial 300p which it maintained from the beginning of 2007. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f57bef7e-ad34-11dd-971e-000077b07658.html#axzz14clXbHtA Hornby Plc contributes to charity every year. It donated  £15,354 in 2008 and  £21,635 in 2009 Hornbys % Breakdown of Company shares for Toys and Games in the UK COMPANY 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Hornby Plc 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 Passport GMID Country Report Country Market Insights http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/Statistics.aspx Future Forecast In order to make profit, since the demand for video games and movie based toys have increased in the UK market, Hornby Plc should study the demand of the customers and work around producing what the customers need. There may be a problem in the future to fund research and development. Hornby Plc should be prepared for economic crisis. In 2010, the group is financially strong after a difficult trading period and there is a continuous increase in the demand for its products. Passport GMID Toys and Games United Kingdom http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/ResultsList.aspx Hornbys China engine unstuck on dollar strength By David Blackwell and Maggie Urry Published: January 27 2009 10:22 | Last updated: January 27 2009 16:56 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65fd8c42-ec57-11dd-a534-0000779fd2ac.html Hornby sees fall in outsourcing benefits By David Blackwell Published: November 8 2008 02:00 | Last updated: November 8 2008 02:00. Page 26 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f57bef7e-ad34-11dd-971e-000077b07658.html#axzz14clXbHtA http://www.toynews-online.biz/marketplace Games Workshop The Toys and Games industry in the UK is a gradually growing market, mostly due to their largest group of customers, children around 2-10 years of age. Children often want and need toys to entertain and occupy themselves with (Competitive Context-Figure 9). Even with recession, most parents do not necessarily cut down on spending on toys for their child as they are willing to spend what little disposable income they have on their kids and buying toys that they wanted for them (MINTEL-Internal Market Environment-Figure 1). In 2007, the toys and games sector in the UK was valued at around  £2.2 billion, a significant rise of 22% than when in 2003 (MINTEL- Toys and Games-UK-Nov 2008-Market in Brief: A strong market in tougher times). Christmas is usually the cause of the highest booster for sales of toys and games, bringing in half the total number sales in a year (MINTEL-Internal Market Environment-Key Points). Games Workshop PLC In 1975, Games Workshop PLC, was established in London by John Peake, Ian Livingstone, and Steve Jackson. It was listed in the London Stock Exchange in 1994. The company has since moved its headquarters to Nottingham. Games Workshop is mainly involved in producing and retailing games and toys (miniatures). The company started off with producing board games made of wood (eg. Backgammon), moved on to importing role-playing games (RPGs) from the United States and finally to where it is today, a toy and games producer, publisher and retailer. Games Workshop is well-known in the market for its collectible miniatures (toy soldiers) used in its role-playing and table-top wargames (WIKIPEDIA). Its specialty and focus is on collectible toy models targeting toy collectors and hobbyist whose favourite pastime is collecting toy models. Games Workshop has several subsidiaries, they include: BL Publishing Publishes literature and gaming materials Citadel Miniatures Produces toy miniatures collections for collectors and hobbyist Forge World Produces higher quality models for their role-playing and table-top wargames Sabertooth Games Produces card games related to their role-playing and table-top wargames produced (Wiki: Games Workshop http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Games_Workshop#Subsidiaries) Competitors Hasbro U.K. Limited Vivid Toy Group Limited Vivid Imaginations Limited Games Workshop Limited Hornby PLC Flair Leisure Products PLC Hornby Hobbies Limited Datel Electronics Limited Rockstar North Limited Hardy Greys Limited From FAME (https://fame.bvdep.com/version-2010823/cgi/template.dll?checkathens=1kick=1 product=1user=lingd%40coventry.ac.ukpw=D341XryjGFEL77TgmOwhnA%3d%3d) Customers Collectors Hobbyist of their miniature games collection Teenagers Young Adults Global customers Market Contribution Share In 2009, Games Workshop wanted to cut cost and initiated a move to use plastic instead of metal for the production of their toy and games miniatures. It was an apparently well-accepted change by their customers as sales rose from  £110.3m to  £113.9m in 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/719b6d28-7bbb-11de-9772-00144feabdc0.html In 2009, Games Workshop opened 10 new stores in the UK which are run by a single staff, making it easier for them to expand to smaller towns and hence more accessible to their teenage fans. These additional stores will boost Games Workshops market presence. As at January 2010, Games Workshop has expanded operations overseas to Europe, North America, Japan and Australia. However, market analysts believe that the company has potential to expand to other untapped markets. In January 2010, when Games Workshop revealed that its profit before tax achieved would surpass expectations by at least 50 percent, shares increased by 30 per cent to 333.85p. Profit before tax was initially estimated to be around  £9m as at 30 May 2010 but in January 2010, it was expected to grow by another  £5m or more by May 2010. Games Workshops gross margins have increased as a result of their cost cutting measures undertaken in 2009. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/afb932a0-fade-11de-94d8-00144feab49a,s01=1.html Future Forecast Games Workshop PLC should try to be more creative and innovative, launching new products constantly over the year, in order to increase sales and spread sales more evenly over the year than garnering the majority of sales only during the Christmas season. As mentioned earlier, market analyst believe that Games Workshop has the potential and capability required to further expand overseas, probably to untapped markets, such as Asia (with the exception of Japan where they already have expanded to). Furthermore, the market for toys and games are continuously increasing and expected to carry on growing in the future (internal market environment-is childhood getting shorter?). Sales recorded for toys and games have also been rising over the years and expected to continue doing so. (Market Re-forecasts-Household-UK-March 2009-Toys and Games). In the case of Games Workshop, although there was a slight drop in sales for the company in 2007, it has since been steadily increasing over the last couple of years. This could be due to the fact that Games Workshop builds up customer loyalty by offering collectibles that interested customers can only buy from the company if they want the complete collection. The excellent after-sales service provided by the company could be another factor that enabled them to earn loyalty from their customers. This is an invaluable asset to the Games Workshop as no matter what new products they offer, most of their loyal customers will support them by purcha sing their products. As long as the company continues to successfully retain its customer loyalty, it will go a long way. It is crucial for Games Workshop to constantly update themselves on the current trends and threats faced by the toys and games industry, and act accordingly by coming up with suitable strategies to ensure that the business stays profitable and hopefully gain a larger market share. Conclusion and Recommendations:

Understanding Antisocial Behavior in Children Essay -- Violence Violen

Understanding Antisocial Behavior in Children In northeast Pennsylvania, 9 year old Cameron shot seven-year-old Jessica with a rifle and then hid it. The reason for the argument was a disagreement over a video game. In Englewood, a suburb of Chicago, a seven-year-old and his eight-year-old best friend became the two youngest murder suspects in the US when they were accused of the murder and sexual assault of an eleven-year-old boy. His body was discovered in a vacant lot. In Stockholm, Sweden, four-year-old Ken was strangled by two boys, ages five and seven, who pressed a stick to his throat, suffocating him after he was thrown on his back (Czudner, 1999, viii). Stories such as those depicted above are becoming increasingly common in today's society. Between the years of 1988 and 1992, juvenile arrests increased nearly 50% (Mayer, n.d. ). Where does this antisocial behavior stem from? How can a parent determine between routine misbehavior and the roots of antisocial behavior? What steps can a parent take to prevent antisocial behavior before it begins or curb it once it has begun? Possible answers to these questions will be addressed through the course of this paper. The role that parents play in contributing to antisocial behavior will be discussed, as well. Before any action or cause can be introduced, it is necessary to investigate how to determine whether a child is participating in routine misbehavior or is exhibiting antisocial behavior. According to Levine, there are a number of signs that should signal to a parent that his or her child has antisocial tendencies. Lack of genuine affection, lack of empathy, overall rebellious attitude, lack of guilt, mistreatment of animals or smaller chil... ...nces Asher, L. & Napier, M. (n.d.). Chicken wire mother. Retrieved November 1,2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.birdhouse.org/spong/napier/cwm.html Czudner, G. (1999). Small Criminals Among Us. New Jersey: New Horizon Press. Dembo, M.H. (1994). In Applving Educational Psychology. (5th ed.). (pp.466-467). White Plains, NY: Longman. Dryfoos, J.G. (1999). The role of the school in children's out-of-school time. IM- Future ofChildren. 9, 117-132. Henslin, J.M. (1999). In Sociology: A Down to Earth ApQroach. (5th ed.). (pp 202- 204). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Levine,K.G. (1.991). When Good Kids Do Bad Things. New York: W.W.Norton& Company, Inc. Mayer, G.L. (n.d.) Prochnay, J.E. & Defronzo, J.V. (1997). The impact of economic and parental characteristics on juvenile misconduct. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. 5, 119-127.

Loans :: essays research papers

Borrowers flooded the Department of Education and lenders with phone calls as they rushed to beat the deadline to consolidate student loans before interest rates rise. The variable interest rate on federal student loans will rise nearly 2 percentage points after midnight Thursday. Some borrowers could save thousands of dollars over the lives of their loans by consolidating at the lower rate. The unusually sharp increase has prompted a wave of last-minute inquiries, causing back-ups for banks' 800 numbers and at the Department of Education's Direct Loan Servicing Center, where at least some calls weren't getting through Wednesday. Department spokeswoman Susan Aspey encouraged borrowers to file electronically -- the department added nine Internet servers for extra traffic -- or to call at off-peak times. The center will remain open until midnight Pacific time Thursday. Borrowers can generally apply for consolidation loans online, but the process can be tricky and they often end up phoning lenders with inquiries. "The volume is tremendous," said Jennifer Darwin, a spokeswoman for Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Corp., which said call volume was up 51 percent compared to a year ago. A spokeswoman for Charlotte-based Bank of America said callers should expect to be on hold an hour or more, even though the bank has added staff to field calls. Other companies said their preparations worked. Mark Brenner, president of San Diego-based College Loan Corp., said 97 percent of calls were being answered within 30 seconds. At Collegiate Funding Services in Fredericksburg, Virginia, executive vice president Clark McGhee also said most queries were being answered, thanks to extra staff and overtime, despite several times the usual volume. Pennsylvania's Higher Education Assistance Agency had managers answering calls, which were at more than twice the usual volume. Some lenders bombarded students with reminders encouraging them to consolidate, but it didn't prevent a last-second rush. "You'd be surprised how many students out there have no idea what interest rates have been doing and what it means for them," said Matthew Steingraber, vice president of marketing at Academic Financial Services in Tampa, Florida, where volume is about 50 percent higher than normal.

Terry Tempest Williams Refuge Essay -- Refuge Terry Tempest Essays

Terry Tempest Williams' Refuge In Refuge, Terry Tempest Williams weaves together her experiences and relationships with family and nature, two major themes of Refuge, as well as two apparently important aspect of Williams’ life. The book is the story of the destruction of her family and the nature surrounding her, but it is these places that are being destroyed are the same places where Terry Tempest Williams finds comfort before, during and after cancer started to consume her life. I believe on the surface it is nature and family that provides her with comfort, but in actuality, it is something beneath the surface. As a young child, Williams was taught through the Mormon teachings to appreciate nature and family, finding God in both. It is through her Mormon faith that Williams is able to survive the pain, suffering and fear cancer causes her. Williams describes the deep-rooted connection between her Mormon faith and her family in the opening pages of Refuge. Through her family, Williams supported her mother and grandmother through their fatal cancers, while acknowledging that her Mormon faith stresses family and community (Williams 13), providing Williams, her mother and her grandmother with a support network through these difficult times. The National Cancer Institute articulates the importance of this support to a cancer patient, suggesting, â€Å"that having good information and support services can make it easier to cope,† adding, â€Å"friends and relatives can be very supportive,† and concluding with the usefulness of support groups (NCI website www.nci.nih.gov). In Refuge, Williams shows her support by sacrificing her own achievements, stating, â€Å"I have traded my position as curator of education for naturalist-in-resistanc... ...cember 2004): 1210-1214. Spiegel, David. â€Å"Spirituality and Cancer.† Integrating Research on Spirituality and Health and Well-being into Service Delivery Conference. Bethesda, Maryland. April 2005. Death is another beginning and What happens to families after death? 2005. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Site. April 12, 2005 www.mormon.org Spirituality in Cancer Care: Health Professional Version. March 22, 2005. National Cancer Institute Website. April 11, 2005 www.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/spirituality/healtherprofessional.com Support for Women with Breast Cancer. October 30, 2003. National Cancer Institute Website. March 30, 2005. www.nci.nih.gov/cancertopic/wyntk/breast/page5 Expressing Emotions Helps Women with Breast Cancer. June 12, 2000. American Cancer Society Website. March 30, 2005. www.cancer.org

Partnerships working in services for children Essay

Understand partnerships working in services for children and young people Task 2 understands the importance of effective communication and information sharing in services for children and young people. 2.1 – Describe why clear and effective communication between partners is required: Clear and effective communication between partners is required because you have to share information about children’s learning and development, this is particularly important because when sharing information it is crucial that there are no mistakes made as this can then affect the information that has been shared and also you must ensure there are no barriers within the communication; also when working with partners effective communication is also needed so everyone can work towards the same aim and to achieve the best outcomes for the child and the children’s family. Another reason why effective communication between partners is required is because all partners need to plan together to meet children’s learning needs and it is important for all the key people to understand each other. Communication involves sharing information with other partners about the child’s interests and di slikes so they can build on. Lastly many children change their setting so it’s important to get the right information across effectively. 2.2 – Identify policies and procedures in the work setting for information sharing: Polices and procedure give clear messages to staff about their roles and responsibilities and set the boundaries within which they are expected to work. It is also important to remember polices and procedures are there to make sure that the best possible practice is maintained and developed to provide the best care and learning environment for the children or young people. Policy and procedures for sharing information: The data Protection Act 1998 which provides a framework to make sure that information is shared appropriately. The Children Act 2004 which sets out clear expectations for information sharing. The Children’s Plan 2007 which includes information sharing exception’s throughout. Every Child Matters. The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. 2.3- Explain where there maybe conflicts or dilemmas in relation to share information with partners and maintaining confidentiality: If you are being asked to share information with partners but also to maintain confidentiality, conflicts or dilemmas will arise. This can often relate to a matter of safeguarding the children and young people in your care. You should always talk to your manager if you are placed in a situation. Avoid discussing this with other colleagues as much as you may trust them. The best way to disclose information is to: Only share information with relevant people If a child is any kind of danger, information must be shared Children must come first and be communicated with where possible Record all information and actions Always consult with your line manager! 2.4- Describe why it is important to record information clearly, accurately, legibly, and concisely meeting legal requirements: It is important that information is recorded clearly, accurately and concisely and in a way that meets any legal requirements on you or your setting is under. Settings will require different ways to record information like: Observations Assessments Incidents Injury Medical information Concerns about a child Risk assessment Records of meetings Records of conversations There are also different sorts of report. A factual report is a report that gives information like an accident. It should be only written starting with what has actually happened, only facts. When you record information you  have to: Get support from your manager Make notes at meetings so you can write them up later Write clearly with minimal errors Used correct format Keep to the points Store confidentially Do not use children’s names maintain confidentiality Complete as soon as possible Information has to be clear, accurate, legible and concise so that professionals/ parents/carers are able to read and understand what is written clearly, it is a legible requirement for records to be clear and legible. This ensures that any action that needs to be taken is not delayed. 2.5- Identify how communications and records are recorded and securely stored meeting the data protection requirements: There are different ways that communications and records can be made like: Electronic means Memos A communication book A required format, such as incident form These should be stored in a secure place like a computer with a password on it, or in a locked cupboard. Only necessary people should have access to them like staff dealing with medication information to have access to the medical records. 2.6- Explain why and how referrals are made to different agencies: Sometime children may need additional support from outside their setting and its necessary to make a referral. A child can be referred for: A medical condition like hearing impairment A learning need like dyslexia An emotional need, like bereavement or personal loss A physical condition, like brittle bones Multi-agency panels have been set up to support referrals in between settings, usually they: Are made up of different professional Are organised by local authorities Ensure children’s needs are quickly identified Make sure children are referred to the right setting Monitor the provision between settings Ensure that there is a close partnership between settings Include parents in the process The steps for making referrals: Step 1: find out if the child has additional needs by using the CAF checklist. Step 2: discuss the child’s needs using the CAF checklist. Step 3: a decision is made to seek support.

Trait-Based Pespectives of Leadership, Zaccaro (2007)

AbstractThis paper is an academic critique of an observational study research article written by Stephen J. Zaccaro (2007) entitled, Trait-Based Perspectives of Leadership. The trait-based perspective on leadership was dismissed by many scientific leadership researchers in the mid-20th century. A primary reason was that the research did not account for situational variance in leadership behavior. Quantitative analysis of leadership was difficult in the past. Recent improvements in research methods, such as statistics, have led to resurgence of interest in trait-based leadership theory.Zaccaro (2007) called for researchers to address fundamental issues or critical points, which he defined. He identified a defining core of leadership traits that transcend organizational domains. Finally, he summarized a multistage model that predicts various traits having more distal or proximal effects, accordingly. The author concludes with proposing future directions of research with the goal of ide ntifying universal qualities of effective leaders. IntroductionThe purpose behind this critique is to evaluate an observational study, published in 2007, by Stephen J. Zaccaro entitled, Trait-Based Perspectives of Leadership. The globally popular trait-based theory of leadership of the early 20th century lost credibility after World War II. Advances in quantitative analysis methods, concepts, and statistical models provided empirical data that challenged studies that had rejected leader trait models. Zaccaro postulated that by refining common traits and attributes of effective leaders into universally standard categories, such commonalities could be analyzed quantitatively.The author introduced four critical points to be considered in models and theories on trait-based leadership. First, the refinement of multiple leader traits and attributes must be made. Secondly, studies should address how joint combinations of characteristics have an influence on behavior. In this way he explain s the curvilinear  relationships of traits with outcomes that were used to discredit leadership-trait theories. Computer models may now calculate complex multiplicative and curvilinear relationships that were confounders in the past.Third, particular situations may predict success or failure depending various traits. Fourth, similar leader traits may be stable in cross situations while others may be situation-bound. Zacarro (2007) went on to provide a broader definition of leader trait that is focused on personality attributes. He then identified actual traits that are distally and proximally influenced by situational parameters. He then illustrated a multistage model that predicts various traits having more distal or proximal effects. MethodologyThe author conducted a literature review to build his four critical points. In this manner he was also able to refine the meaning of successful and effective leadership as, â€Å"fundamentally, influencing others by establishing a collec tive effort and managing, shaping, and developing the collective activities†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 9). He then clarified the role of situations into three circumstances which he calls arguments.He analyzed models of leader individual difference and performance into his own, entitled, A Model of Leader Attributes and Leader Performance.Findings and InterpretationsThis category is not applicable in this case since the proposed model has not been tested sufficiently.ConclusionsThe author concludes with proposing a number of possible future directions of research with the goal of identifying universal qualities of effective leaders. His belief is that these recommendations combined with modern methodological and statistical resources will help reach this goal.

Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary

In 1823, President James Monroe called for an end to European intervention in North and South America by introducing the Monroe Doctrine. This meant that Europe was unable to further colonize in the Western Hemisphere. In response, America agreed not to interfere with European relations. Almost a century later in 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt presented the Roosevelt Corollary, which was an extension to the Monroe Doctrine. This extension gave the United States the right to intervene in countries south of the United States if necessary. Roosevelt’s philosophy, â€Å"speak softly but carry a big stick,† was used to justify America’s actions during this time. It was evident that through America’s actions concerning Latin America, the Latin American nations were able to keep stable, independent political and social structures, as well as maintain prosperous economies. In any case where negative influences come into play in any of the Latin American nations, America was obligated to force those negative influences out. For example, if one Latin American nation was subject to invasion by another country, the United States had the power to intervene. Basically, the United States acted as the â€Å"big stick† in Latin American affairs in the â€Å"speak softly but carry a big stick† saying. This â€Å"big stick† was the force that stood behind Latin America and intimidated European nations if any disruption of Latin American affairs occurred. The idea for the Roosevelt Corollary was put into effect during the Venezuela Crisis of 1902. During this event, Venezuela had not paid its dues to Germany and Great Britain; and as a result, both countries sent warships to Venezuela in order to force Venezuela to make its payment. The enforcement of the Roosevelt Corollary would allow for the United States to take part in this affair and force the warships to depart, ultimately protecting Venezuela. The first instance in which this policy was actually used was when the Dominican Republic was subject to invasion by European debt collectors in 1905. As a result, the United States invaded the nation and maintained rule until the issue was compromised. Here, the United Stated guaranteed the succession of the Dominican Republic and assumed responsibility for customs house collections by using 55% of receipts to pay obligations and using the rest to satisfy the government’s needs. If the United States had not intervened in the situation between the Dominican Republic and Europe, the country was susceptible to invasion and could’ve eventually failed. Luckily, the United Stated guaranteed the continuation of Dominican Republic as a nation by providing the country with sufficient security until the issue with Europe had diminished. This event stands as an example of the justification of the Roosevelt Corollary and how it was used to expand the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine. The Roosevelt Corollary was exposed in 1904 to justify America’s intervention in Latin American conflicts with European nations. In protecting the Latin America nations, the United States essentially had the right to control what went on in those countries. This policy was distributed through various Latin American conflicts, such as events that occurred in the Dominican Republic. Evidently, America’s actions had been quite beneficial to the Latin American nations. Therefore, the Roosevelt Corollary should solely be seen as an extension to the Monroe Doctrine rather than something that had altered the initial objectives of President Monroe.

Reactive Power Based Rotor Resistance Estimation Engineering Essay

Abstract-In this paper, a elaborate survey on the Model Reference Adaptive Controller ( MRAC ) using the reactive power is presented for the on-line appraisal of rotor opposition to keep proper flux orientation in an Indirect Vector Controlled Induction Motor Drive. Choice of reactive power as the functional campaigner in the MRAC automatically makes the system immune to the fluctuation of stator opposition. Furthermore, the alone formation of The MRAC with the instantaneous and steady-state reactive power wholly eliminates the demand of any flux appraisal in the procedure of calculation. Therefore, the method is less sensitive to integrator-related jobs like impetus and impregnation ( necessitating no integrating ) . Simulation consequences have been presented to corroborate the effectivity of the technique. THE indirect field oriented ( IFO ) -controlled initiation motor ( IM ) thrust is widely used in high public presentation industry applications [ 1 ] , [ 2 ] due to its simpleness and fast dynamic response. However, feedforward accommodation of the faux pas frequence, which requires rotor opposition, makes this scheme dependant on machine parametric quantities. Of all the parametric quantities, the rotor opposition undergoes considerable fluctuation and if attention is non taken to counterbalance for the alteration, the flux orientation is lost, ensuing in matching between the d- and q-axes variables. As is good known, the yoke makes the public presentation of the thrust system sulky. Attention is focused to implement field orientation through on-line appraisal of the machine parametric quantities [ 3 ] – [ 6 ] . Many on-line parametric quantity appraisal strategies are available in literature [ 7 ] – [ 20 ] . They are loosely classified as follows Spectral analysis technique Observer based techniques Model mention adaptive system based techniques Heuristic methods Reactive power based technique In one category of method, appraisal of rotor clip changeless is done utilizing the spectral analysis techniques. This group of methods is based on the measured response to a intentionally injected trial signal or an bing characteristic harmonic in the voltage/current spectrum. Stator currents and electromotive forces of the motor are sampled and the parametric quantities are derived from the spectral analysis of these samples. The 2nd categorization of rotor opposition designation strategy used observer based techniques. Most of the methods have used the Extended Kalman Filter, which is a computationally intensive technique [ 11 ] and [ 12 ] . Loron and Laliberte describe the motor theoretical account and the development and tuning of an drawn-out Kalman filter ( EKF ) for parametric quantity appraisal during normal runing conditions without presenting any trial signals. The proposed method requires terminal and rotor velocity measurings and is utile for car tuning an indirect field-oriented accountant or an adaptative direct field-oriented accountant. Zai, DeMarco, and Lipo propose a method for sensing of the reverse rotor clip changeless utilizing the EKF by handling the rotor clip changeless as the 5th province variable along with the stator and rotor currents. The drawbacks are that this method is computationally intensive. The 3rd group of online rotor opposition version methods is based on rules of theoretical account mention adaptative control. This is the attack that has attracted most of the attending due to its comparatively simple execution demands [ 13 ] and [ 14 ] . In add-on to the above methods, there are besides a few techniques proposed which can non be classified in the above three classs. These may be based on the measuring of steady province stator electromotive force, current and motor velocity, the rotor opposition can so be calculated algebraically from the equations derived. These methods are grouped to be Heuristic methods. The chief drawback for the above techniques is that the Rotor Resistance depends on vitamin D and q axis axis rotor flux which in bend depends on Stator Resistance. Therefore if any mistake occurs in the Stator Resistance, the truth of rotor flux deteriorates which in bend affects the truth of estimated Rotor Resistance. Reactive power based rotor opposition calculator [ 1 ] overcomes the disadvantage of above job. Choice of reactive power as the functional campaigner in the Model Reference Adaptive Controller ( MRAC ) automatically makes the system immune to the fluctuation of Stator Resistance. The alone formation of the MRAC with the instantaneous and steady-state reactive power eliminates the demand of any flux appraisal in the procedure of calculation. 2. MRAS based rotor opposition appraisal for vector controlled initiation motor thrusts The parametric quantity can be calculated by the theoretical account mention adaptative system ( MRAS ) , where the end product of a mention theoretical account is compared with the end product of an adjustable or adaptative theoretical account until the mistakes between the two theoretical accounts vanishes to zero. The mistake signal is used to drive an adaptative mechanism ( PI or I controller ) which provides rectification of the rotor opposition. In MRAS, the works ‘s response is forced to track the response of a mention theoretical account, irrespective of the works ‘s parametric quantity fluctuation and burden perturbation consequence. Such a system is defined as a robust system. The mention theoretical account may be fixed or adaptative. Choice of reactive power as the functional campaigner in the Model Reference Adaptive Controller ( MRAC ) automatically makes the system immune to the fluctuation of Stator Resistance. The alone formation of the MRAC with the instantaneous and steady-state reactive power wholly eliminates the demand of any flux appraisal in the procedure of calculation. Therefore, the method is independent of Stator Resistance appraisal and integrating impetus jobs. Fig 1 Basic construction of MRAS In the proposed MRAC ( Fig. 1 ) , the mention theoretical account and adjustable theoretical account compute instantaneous reactive power ( ) and steady-state reactive power ( ) severally. Note that the mention theoretical account is independent of slip frequence ( ) whereas the adjustable theoretical account depends on ( ) . The mistake signal ( ) is fed to the version mechanism block, which yields estimated slip velocity ( ) . Rotor opposition ( ) is so computed from ( ) . 2.1 Theoretical Development of the Proposed Scheme The vitamin D and q axis electromotive forces for IM mentioning to the synchronously revolving ( I†°e ) mention frame can be expressed as ( 1 ) ( 2 ) The instantaneous reactive power ( Q ) can be expressed as ( 3 ) Substituting ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) in ( 3 ) , the new look of Q is ( 4 ) It is worthwhile to advert that the above looks of Q are free from stator opposition, which is a noteworthy characteristic of any reactive power-based strategy. In steady province the derivative footings are zero. Therefore, the look of estimated reactive power ( ) is obtained as reduces to ( 5 ) 2.2 Evaluations and Parameters of Induction Motor The parametric quantities of the initiation machine used for simulation are given in the Table shown below. Table 2.3 Parameters of 2.2KW 150V, 50Hz 6 Pole Induction MachineParametersValuessStator Resistance ( Rs ) Rotor Resistance ( Rr ) Magnetizing Inductance ( Lm ) Stator Inductance ( Ls ) Rotor Inductance ( Ls ) Inertia Jtot Clash B Rated Current Rated Torque 6.03I © 6.085I © 0.4893H 0.5192H 0.5192H 0.007187Kgm2 0.0027Kgm2/s 2.9Amps 7.5Nm 2.3 Simulation Consequences The Performance of MRAS based rotor opposition calculator utilizing reactive power method for vector controlled initiation motor thrusts is analyzed with assorted alterations in rotor opposition for the operating status of 415V/50Hz with rated burden torsion of 7.5Nm With 100 % measure alteration in Rotor Resistance. With 100 % incline alteration in Rotor Resistance. With 100 % trapezoidal alteration in Rotor Resistance Fig 2 Actual and Estimated Rotor Resistance for 100 % measure alteration Rr Fig 3 Actual and Estimated Rotor Resistance for 100 % incline alteration Rr Fig 4 Actual and estimated rotor opposition for 100 % trapezoidal alteration Rr From the consequences, it is observed that estimated rotor opposition is tracking with existent rotor opposition. MRAS based Rotor opposition calculator utilizing reactive power method is studied and designed for vector controlled initiation motor thrusts. The public presentation of rotor opposition calculator utilizing reactive power is analyzed extensively for assorted alterations in rotor opposition. From the consequences obtained, it is observed the mistake between that existent and estimated rotor opposition is ever found to be less than 0.9 % and the subsiding clip is found to be about 1 sec. 3. Analysis of vector controlled drive public presentation with and without calculator Vector control is besides known as the â€Å" field oriented control † , â€Å" flux oriented control † or â€Å" indirect torsion control † . Using field orientation ( Clarke-Park transmutation ) , three-phase current vectors are converted to a planar rotating mention frame ( d-q ) from a 3-dimensional stationary mention frame. The â€Å" vitamin D † constituent represents the flux bring forthing constituent of the stator current and the â€Å" Q † constituent represents the torsion bring forthing constituent. These two decoupled constituents can be independently controlled by go throughing though separate PI accountants. The end products of the PI accountants are transformed back to the 3-dimensional stationary mention plane utilizing the opposite of the Clarke-Park transmutation. The corresponding shift form is pulse breadth modulated driving a Voltage beginning Inverter. This control simulates a individually exited DC motor theoretical account, which provides an first-class torque-speed curve. The transmutation from the stationary mention frame to the revolving mention frame is done and controlled with mention to a specific flux linkage infinite vector ( stator flux linkage, rotor flux linkage or magnetising flux linkage ) . In general, there exists three possibilities for such choice and hence, three different vector controls. They are: Stator flux oriented control, Rotor flux oriented control and magnetising flux oriented control. As the torsion bring forthing constituent in this type of control is controlled merely after transmutation is done and is non the chief input mention, such control is known as â€Å" indirect torsion control † . The most ambitious and finally, the confining characteristic of the field orientation, is the method whereby the flux angle is measured or estimated. Depending on the method of measuring, the vector control is divided into two subcategories: direct and indirect vector control. In direct vector control, the flux measuring is done by utilizing the flux feeling spirals or the Hall devices. This adds to extra hardware cost and in add-on, measuring is non extremely accurate. Therefore, this method is non a really good control technique. The more common method is indirect vector control. In this method, the flux angle is non measured straight, but is estimated from the tantamount circuit theoretical account and from measurings of the rotor velocity, the stator current and the electromotive force. One common technique for gauging the rotor flux is based on the faux pas relation. This requires the measuring of the rotor place and the stator current. With current and place detectors, this method performs moderately good over the full velocity scope. The most high-performance VFDs in operation today employ indirect field orientation based on the faux pas relation. The advantages of the vector control are to better the torsion response compared to the scalar control, full-load torsion near to zero velocity, accurate velocity control and public presentation nearing DC thrust, among others. This chapter gives complete inside informations about indirect vector control strategy. Fig 4 Vector controlled Induction Motor Drives The indirect field oriented control presented here is rotor flux oriented control. Figure 4 shows the complete schematic of rotor opposition appraisal for indirect field oriented control of initiation motor thrusts. The torsion bid is generated as a map of the velocity mistake signal, by and large processed through a PI accountant. The torsion and flux bid are processed in the computation block. The three stage mention current generated from the functional block is compared with the existent current in the hysteresis set current accountant and the accountant takes the necessary action to bring forth PWM pulsations. The PWM pulsations are used to trip the electromotive force beginning inverter to drive the Induction motor.3.3 Simulation ConsequencesThe IFOC thrust public presentation is analyzed without and with calculator for the operating status. Reference speed = 100rad/sec Reference rotor flux = 0.9wb Load torsion = 7.5Nm ( invariable ) Rotor Resistance = 100 % measure alteration in rotor opposition is given at 1 2nd.3.3.1 Simulation consequence for decoupled stator current for runing status I with and without rotor opposition calculatorFig 3.3 vitamin D and q axis of stator current for runing status I without Rr calculator Fig 3.4 vitamin D and q axis of stator current for runing status I with Rr calculator3.3.2 Simulation consequence for torsion for runing status I with and without rotoropposition calculatorFig 3.5 Actual and mention torsion for runing status I without Rr calculator Fig 3.6 Actual and mention torsion for runing status I with Rr calculator3.3.3 Simulation consequence for rotor flux for runing status I with and withoutrotor opposition calculatorFig 3.7 Actual and mention rotor flux for runing status I without Rr calculator Fig 3.8 Actual and mention rotor flux for runing status I with Rr calculator3.5 Significance of Estimation clip on the thrust public presentationIn the execution of the calculators, the clip taken for appraisal is an of import parametric quantity. Faster tracking will take to better dynamic public presentation. The cost of the calculator should be low to maintain the cost of the thrust system within the allowable degrees. Hence a survey on the thrust public presentation has been done for assorted appraisal times and the torsion and the flux responses are observed. The consequences are tabulated in Table 3.2 and 3.3. The appraisal clip decides the transeunt public presentation indices like settling clip and peak wave-off in both torsion and flux responses of the vector controlled thrust. The appraisal mistake has less impact on the transeunt public presentation. However the steady province mistake in both torsion and flux response chiefly decided by the appraisal mistake. The thrust public presentation is analyzed with assorted calculators in which the appraisal mistake is kept changeless at 1 % and clip of appraisal is varied. The appraisal mistake and appraisal clip of the vector controlled initiation motor thrust is analyzed for the operating status for mention velocity 100rad/sec, mention rotor flux 0.9wb, the rated burden torsion ( 7.5Nm ) is reduced to 5.5Nm,40 % measure alteration in rotor opposition is given at 2 second.From this the transeunt response in torsion and flux are studied. Table 3.3 Flux Response for Various Estimation Times Table 3.2 Torque Response for Various Estimation Times ESTIMATION TIME ( sec ) Settling TIME ( sec ) PEAK OVERSHOOT( % )No hold––8*10-3 0.2 0.4520*10-30.231.5530*10-3 0.25 4.95 80*10-3 0.27 6.75 100*10-3 0.55 8.29 1 1.2 11.25 ESTIMATION TIME ( sec ) Settling TIME ( sec ) PEAK OVERSHOOT( % )No hold––8*10-3 0.11 2.9520*10-30.146.5530*10-3 0.17 10.72 80*10-3 0.2 16.33 100*10-3 0.55 16.55 1 1.15 16.65 Table 3.5 Flux Response for Various Estimation Mistakes Table 3.4 Torque Response for Various Estimation Mistakes ESTIMATION ERROR ( % ) Steady STATE ERROR ( % ) 0 0 0.4 0 1 0.261.50.442 0.65 3 0.71 5 1.03 ESTIMATION ERROR ( % ) Steady STATE ERROR ( % ) 0 0 0.4 0 1 0.391.50.502 0.70 3 0.95 5 1.11 Similarly with same runing conditions the steady province analysis of the torsion and flux response of the thrust can be done by holding the appraisal clip as changeless with assorted appraisal mistakes. The public presentation is studied with a changeless appraisal clip of 20ms. The Torque and the flux responses for the above conditions are tabulated in Table 3.4 and 3.5. The bold Numberss shown in table 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 are the optimal allowable values of the appraisal clip and appraisal mistake. It is obvious that as the appraisal clip and the appraisal mistake are increased the thrust public presentation is being deteriorated. However it is quiet appealing to settle down with the maximal allowable appraisal clip and appraisal mistake, so that the thrust public presentation is satisfactory. Therefore from the consequences it can be concluded that the public presentation of the thrust is satisfactory with the maximal appraisal clip of 20ms and an appraisal mistake of 1.5 % .4. DecisionThe MRAS based Rotor opposition calculator utilizing reactive power method is studied and designed for vector controlled initiation motor thrusts. The public presentation of rotor opposition calculator utilizing reactive power is analyzed extensively for assorted alterations in rotor opposition. From the consequences obtained, it is observed the mistake between that existent and estimated rotor opposition is ever found to be less than 0.9 % and the subsiding clip is found to be about 1 sec. The public presentation of Vector Controlled Induction Motor Drive with and without Rotor Resistance calculator is studied. From the consequences, it is observed that the without rotor opposition calculator, the decouple control is lost which leads to important deteriorates in the public presentation of vector controlled initiation motor thrusts while with rotor opposition calculator, the decouple control is achieved and the public presentation of IFOC is truly enhanced. The maximal allowable appraisal mistake and appraisal clip for rotor opposition appraisal that does non deteriorate the public presentation of IFOC is found to be 1.5 % and 20ms severally.