International Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

International Strategic Marketing - Essay Example For more than a decade now the automotive industry has been facing issues such as slow time to market, costly inventories, overcapacity, and low customer satisfaction and loyalty (Deloitte, 2003). In an attempt to overcome these challenges the automakers have been launching numerous initiatives to boost profitability to create value. They have been introducing product innovation to lean manufacturing and customer relationship management. The automobile industry is nearing a major turning point where it has become essential to adopt strict regulations like U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations and Europe’s CO2 regulations (Toyota website). The Big Three in the US have been replaced by the Big Six (Toyota, Honda, Nissa, GM, Ford, DC) in the automotive industry with Toyota emerging the market leaders. It is now America’s third most admired organization and enjoy a 17.4 percent share of the US retail market (SD, 2007). It has a small market share in Europe but is a market leader in Australia while also selling cars in Africa (Glover, 2006). Due to its Daihatsu subsidiary it has a presence in the Southeast Asian countries. Toyota Motor Company is clearly one such automaker that has thrived where other manufacturers have struggled. In 2002 Toyota’s earnings exceeded the combined earnings of Ford, GM and DC (SD, 2004). Toyota has been innovative in its strategy and its success lies in its corporate philosophy known as the Toyota Production System. Toyota is now the world’s richest car company and this is the reason that this company has been chosen to understand the strategy that they have been pursuing . TMC created the first prototype vehicle in 1935 and started its exports to the United States in 1957 (Company Website). The company gradually expanded its scope across the entire globe and today has its presence in 170 countries and

Westmount Retirement Residence Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Westmount Retirement Residence Case - Essay Example The new costing system is based on the three suite options and on the three levels of medical needs of the residents. The costs of supportive services have been allocated based on the level of medical needs of the residents. Half the costs of facilities have been allocated based on square feet area of the three different suite options. The pricing recommendations, based on the new costing system have been made to Helen Rosewell in the final section of the main report. The recommended pricing is based on the new costing system. It is also recommended that spouses living in one bedroom should be charged twice the monthly rates. The biggest limitation of the current costing model at Westmount is that it does not give a clear picture of how much each of the services that are being offered at Westmount cost. The pricing system charges the same price per month from the residents irrespective of the services used by them. This pricing is only based on the type of residence being used by the residents. The costing model does not reflect the level of medical care and service required by the individual clients. The price differentiation is based solely on the size of the accommodations. The model is also is based on the implicit assumption that a resident having a 25% larger accommodation is also using 25% more services of Westmount. The costing system does not show any difference between patients requiring different levels of medical needs. There are usually three categories of residents at Westmount: those requiring no medical need, those requiring medium medical need and those requiring high medical needs. The biggest drawback of this costing system is that it is treating all the costs as fixed or period costs. The costing system is unable to differentiate between fixed costs and variable costs. All the costs are treated as periodic costs and they are charged to the expected number of residents.

History in America Essay Example for Free

History in America Essay Domestic abuse has a long and harmful history in America. Generally it occurs when the man within the family seeks to maintain or create control over his wife or loved one through a variety of motives which in the end, are counterproductive and which usually further the distance between the victim and the perpetrator which had already existed in the beginning and which contributed to the start of the abuse. What is starting to gain some light in recent years is the fact that men sometimes can be the victims of intimate partner abuse, both from homosexual and heterosexual relationships and which can be very damaging to the relationship in both cases. Abuse can be divided into physical, emotional, economic and spiritual. (Cook, 2003 pg. 13) All four can and often times do, place irreversible damage on the victim which if they are to ever recover from the abuse, can often times takes years and sometimes decades to recover. Others will never fully recover and in carrying that hurt, such abuse serves as a severe impediment to the victim ever carrying out successful and intimate relationships with future individuals. This is how intimate partner abuse can be so destructive. A black eye will completely heal in the matter of a couple of weeks at the most. However, a bruised psyche and emotional hurt can often times linger when there seems to be no outside effects on the victim. Only when that victim engages in a intimate relationship with an outside party will such hurt often times come to the surface and can sometimes completely negate the ability of the couple to continue in a successful and loving relationship as the victim may be forever scarred as a result of the previous abuse. Further understanding of the causes of domestic violence and the ways in which it can be dealt with and even prevented is so very important to not only the victim and his or her loved ones, but also their future relationships and also, the perpetrator himself. In doing this, the individual can better identify the reasons why he acts out in such a fashion and in doing so, it becomes that much more likely for the motivation to be identified and then corrected in one way or another. In the end, domestic violence can take on many forms and each case of intimate partner abuse can be the result of a single motivating factor or the combination of various factors and all to varying degrees. Domestic violence will not be disappearing anytime soon from our society but in the recognition of the causes and lasting and damaging effects of such abuse, one may be better educated and prepared to identify it and stop it from ever occurring. In first attempting to understand family violence, one must first define it. There are four major categories which are to be included when talking about family violence and the dangers that it imposes on the victims involved. The first and most obvious is physical violence. This constitutes unwanted physical contact which can also include rape and murder. It can also include indirect physical violence as for example, the throwing of objects from one person or another with the intent of committing injury on the receiver of the object. The second major category of family violence is mental or emotional violence. This constitutes verbal threats of physical violence to the victim, his or her children, animals or the use of possessions of any kind. Verbal threats also do not have an exact time frame associated to it as the threat of physical violence can be impending or is relegated to some inexact time in the future. Facial expressions or threatening body postures can also constitute an example of emotional or mental violence. The third is economic or social abuse. This is where one member of the family controls the other’s money in such a stringent sense that the victim is under strict economic dependence upon the perpetrator to a degree that a sense of empowerment is concluded and usually is the chief motivating factor. Social abuse is when the social life of the victim is dependent completely upon the perpetrator as he or she dictates who, the victim will see and how often. The victim usually suffers from a decrease in the number of friends in comparison to the time when the victim was not under the control of the perpetrator. Lastly, the fourth most common form of family violence or abuse is spiritual abuse. This is the prevention of the victim’s spiritual faith to be practiced in the home. This can also constitute a repeated harassment of the victim’s faith and personal beliefs to the point of ridicule. This also takes a toll on the victim but is one that has not received the same amount of coverage from violence prevention groups and therefore, there is less known as the repetitive of the violence as well as its direct effects upon the victim. All forms of family violence is harmful to the individual but the one that is the most common as well as the most dangerous is physical violence within the home. Often times, this relates to sexual violence. â€Å"Sexual violence is defined as the use of physical force to compel an individual to participate in a sexual act which is against the will of both people involved. † (Cook, 2003 pg. 23) When one of the participating parties is forced into the sexual act, this is an example of sexual violence. Also, the sexual advances upon somebody who is unwilling to refuse the advances, whether that be a result of the victim being intoxicated or his or her mental or physical disability preventing the victim from refusing. This is an example of sexual violence as well. It is a sad fact but one that is well established despite men’s reluctance to report as being victims of both sexual and physical abuse by their partners, it is much more common for men to be the perpetrators than women. One of the impediments to achieving an exact study on this problem is the fact that many men will not report such cases to the police out of fear of embarrassment as well as the police or their loved ones from taking the incident seriously. It is estimated that as many as 70% of all abuses of women towards men goes unreported. (Cook, 2003 pg. 118) This reluctance speaks to the misunderstanding of society as to the importance that the recognition of female abuse towards men. Mental and emotional violence which has a direct and negative effect upon the psychological make up of the individual is one of the four main categories of family violence. One aspect of this is when a threat is made from one person to another which promises bodily harm in the immediate future as well as an indeterminate time in the future. However, this is only one aspect of the psychological violence which occurs most often within the home. Harmful and repeated words of aggression or an attempt to bring down the family member with repeal hostile words or gestures in an attempt to maintain the supposed authority of one individual over another. A threat of a physical injury only constitutes a percentage of the abuse which can fall under the category of psychological abuse. This abuse is basically any intentional verbal assault which is designed to maintain the believed authority of one person over another. â€Å"When it is perceived that the victim is slipping away from the authority of his or her perpetrator, the abuse will often times intensify. † (Jones 2001 pg. 14) This feeling of a loss of power will only increase the abuse so when a victim feels as though the abuse will stop or is coming to a stop, often times, it is simply the calm before the storm as a more intensified version of the abuse is to soon follow. Psychological abuse can also use the children as weapons as the parents are seeking a divorce and the custody of the children is at stake. One parent will use the child to alienate the parent and to make the other feel as though he or she is powerless in their child’s life and that the authority, influence and love which the parent has present in the child’s life, is no longer valid and will soon be completely erased. These are very powerful feelings which often times can evoke a powerful response. In a very sad case in Hazel Crest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the fall of 2006, John Jacobs, a forty one year old man in the middle of a bitter custody battle with his wife over his only child, an eight year old girl, the man, an avid pilot, piloted his plane along with his daughter inside and purposely, flew his plane into his ex wife’s house, killing both him and his eight year old daughter. The mother was not home at the time of the incident. The suicide note that the man left for his friends, and the testimony of those who knew the family was able to substantiate his story; that his wife was daily threatening him with their daughter and the possibility that she would never see her father again. Before killing both himself and his only daughter, Mr. Jacobs stated in his ransom note: â€Å"Julie, ( his wife) you have done everything in your power to try to take my daughter away from me. That is not right and I feel compelled to do the only thing that I have any power over. For your efforts, I will now take the daughter away from you forever. † (Pearson, 2003 pg. C3) This of course, was not a justified reaction to the parental alimentation which the mother reportedly used as a weapon against his ex husband. Hurt feelings were at a premium and when the child is used as a weapon, parents often times, do not possess all of their rational faculties. This was one very sad and tragic example of what can happen when the emotional abuse of one person over another reaches its zenith and the victim will often times become the aggressor in response as he or she feels completely helpless by the abuse and now seeks to eliminate the gap in power between the victim and the perpetrator which had existed. † (Roberts 2002 pg. 114) Often times in such cases, the courts are dragged in to take sides and in the process, usually will contribute the parental alienation as well. Economic abuse is when one person, usually a spouse, has complete control over the finances of the family and over the other person. This goes beyond the responsible actions of one who seeks to place his or her family on a budget and adheres to the strict restrictions himself, as well as what he imposes upon the other members of the family. Economic abuse occurs when there is an unnecessary and very fiscally stringent limitations placed upon the other’s spending habits while at the same time, not following the advice of his own actions. This is designed, not for the sake of fiscal responsibility but in order to create a dominion over the other in the form of financial power. If one does not have the economic freedom to act in accordance with his or her own financial earning power, then the person who controls that money, also controls the person who earns it. When one speaks of family violence and abuse, economic abuse often times is forgotten as physical abuse monopolizes the conversation. However, over time, economic abuse can be just as effective in the pursuit of one person to create or maintain control over another. This is true because â€Å"at the center of all abuse, whether it be physical, emotional or economic, there exists the desire of one person to create or maintain their control over another person† (Roberts 2002 pg. 200) Now that the various types of abuse has been defined, it now behooves the reader to realize the various facts which are associated with domestic violence. However, one must realize that by its very nature, domestic violence in all of its various forms, will usually remain underreported. However, these are some of the established and published statistics which are available to the public. In 2001, there occurred in the United States, 588,420 incidents of intimate partner violence (FBI 2004 pg. 15) Those incidents cost the United States between three and five billion dollars on medical expenses and an additional 90 million dollars is lost to businesses as the victims of domestic violence are therefore compelled to miss work out of a medical necessity or from the embarrassment that often times is associated with being a victim of intimate partner abuse. In the United States, 35% of violent crimes against women, occurred as a result of their intimate partner’s abuse within the home in 2003. ( FBI 2004 pg. 117) This is a stark comparison to the fact than less than 3$ of violence towards men occur as a result of their intimate partner as well. This latter figure and the fact that our society does not take seriously the occurrence of violence towards males, the reported 3% is only a ballpark estimate and there is no way of knowing exactly what percentage of men are being victimized by their intimate partner within the home. 23% of men of men who live with their homosexual partner, experience physical violence. 3. 2 million men experience â€Å"minor† abuse such as pushing, shoving and slapping from their intimidate partner. Nearly ? a million men are stalked annually and it has been reported that at least 22% of men have experienced some form of physical, emotional or sexual abuse in their lifetime from an intimate partner during their lifetime. (Cook 2003 pg. 118) except for the above mentioned, there seems to be a shortage on the information about men as being the victims of abuse of various kinds. This will continue until the stigma is completely erased and men feel an absence of guilt and embarrassment from being the victims of such crimes. The embarrassment comes from the fact that society perceives men as being stronger than women and therefore, it is always possible to fend off the attacker. In this erroneous assumption, one believes that the only form of abuse is physical. If that were the case, then society would be correct a majority of the time as men usually are stronger than women but this does not exclude a woman from using a weapon of any kind in which to overcome the difference in physical strength. Over 70% of men who were victims of physical abuse by their wives or girlfriends, were used on them, some sort of object which was then used as a weapon. However, often times, abuse does not take the form of physical violence and as it was seen in the case of the Jacobs, emotional abuse can for some people be more damaging than any form of financial or physical abuse. A man who is torn down every day for not fulfilling the expectations of his wife or girlfriend, who is made to feel as though he is not good enough and undeserving of her, who feels inferior in comparison to not only her, but as a man himself, will likely react in a wide array of different ways in which he seeks to regain control of the power which he felt he once had or as he feels emasculated by the entire process, the man now seeks to gain any sort of dominance over the perpetrator and in the process often times, is transformed from the victim to the perpetrator and physical violence will many times follow. Also, when there first is psychological violence, physical violence will likely follow. As it was touched on previously, the causes of domestic violence revolves around the fact that the victim, either intentionally or unintentionally is challenging the power and control of the perpetrator who is committing these various forms of abuse upon the victim. The need to control their victims also surrounds feelings of lose self esteem and the belief in the inadequacy of the person and that through the control of the victim, the gap which exists in their self esteem can somehow be corrected. Also, the more that these efforts fail to fill that â€Å"gap within their self esteem, often times, the abuse will intensify. † (Cook, 2003 pg. 134) However, there are other causes of abuse and often times, it is the childhood environment in which the perpetrator was subject to and which predisposed him or her to abusing a loved one in the future. A man is six times more likely to abuse a loved one if he was abused himself. A man is seven times more likely to abuse his loved one if he came from a broken home where the parents got divorced after a prolonged period of fighting and four times more likely to lack the emotional capacity to abstain from any aspect of the various abuses, if the person came from a broken home in which only one parent had always been present. (Roberts, 2003 pg. 190) Also, if a boy grows up in a family where his father routinely mistreated his wife, then when that boy grows up to become a man, as the sociologists all say that individuals are products of their environment more than then biology, it can sometimes become a certainty that the boy will grow up to repeat what he had spent his life witnessing. † (Jones, 2001 pg. 113) Substance abuse, mental illness and a low self esteem are among some of the various motivating factors which are somewhat to blame for a perpetrator’s likelihood to commit violence towards an intimate partner. What can be agreed upon, is the fact that intimate partner abuse can be the result of one chief motivating factor or is the result of various factors and all to a varying degree. This is what contributes to the complexity of the problem and the fact that spousal abuse, in all of its various forms, will not be eradicated from the social scene any time soon. Another cause of spousal abuse comes from the ability or desire of the man to devalue the woman for a wide range of reasons. This relates to the overwhelming percentage of spousal abuse in which the woman is the victim of the aggressive and hurtful behavior of the man. This is called dehumanization or the reduction of the other person to the importance of nothing at all; less than an object. Something that id disposable and therefore can be replaced and is of little importance. Only when the perpetrator values the victim as not only a person, not only an individual but one that is of a great value and cannot be replaced will the occurrences of abuse either stop of be curtailed. † (Cook, 2003 pg. 210) This also speaks to the gender differences of abuse. This is certainly not always the case but men’s abuse is preceded by physical violence and women are more known for psychological violence. However, an important issue to recognize is the fact that often times, physical abuse so preceded by psychological abuse and as a result, hospital records report a higher percentage of females seeking treatment than men for spousal abuse. Another factor in the high rate of physical abuse of women in comparison to men is the idea that women, had a predisposition towards being the victims of violence. In Erin Pizzey’s controversial book on abuse of women, Prone to Violence, Pizzey who was the founder of a women’s shelter in England stated that some women had a predisposition towards being the victim of abuses since they were seeking out the â€Å"bad boys;† the ones who were known to act out against society and therefore had within them a sense of danger which some of the women would find exciting. In the same book, Pizzey stated that of the first 100 female victims of spousal abuse, 62 were in her opinion, more violent than the men that they were running away from. Her book does not state if she thought that these women were instead made to act out violently because of the experiences that were placed upon them by their abusing spouses. These findings, no doubt, were the cause of a controversial discussion as to what was the cause of spousal abuse. Nowhere did Ms. Pizzey blatantly state that it was the fault of the women for being abused as it is not the fault of women who enter a bar wearing provocative clothing and gets raped. What is similar is that women, according to Ms. Pizzey, possess the power to many times, prevent the abuse from occurring by responsible behavior. This is not to say that women are to blame for the abuse since there does not seem to be any legitimate cause for the abuse of anyone, regardless of their gender, age or relation to the perpetrator. What next must follow is that the law will become involved. This is done reluctantly as the judicial system wishes to stay out of such affairs. This changes however, when one or more of the many crimes which are associated with spousal abuse, are deemed to have occurred or is about to occur. This includes but is not limited to murder, manslaughter, rape, threats to kill, kidnapping, false imprisonment, obstruction of justice and criminal damage as well as harassment and blackmail. When the above mentioned is present with a spousal abuse case, often times it is designed to create or maintain control over another person or the overreaction that the victim had towards the abuse of the perpetrator. In any event, the initial presence of the abuse increases into more than just a private family dispute. Often times, the presence of police and the judicial system often times will compound the problem. In a recent issue of the television show COPS, an individual’s common law wife called the police as she has become the victim of physical abuse by her husband. The cops responded to the call and tried to talk rationally to the man. The presence of the cops enraged the man and as he was being tackled to the floor, yelled that he was going to kill his wife and that he would never forgive her for what SHE had done. The police stated over and over, once the man was subdued, that they had not intention of arresting the man, despite the fact that it was obvious that the man had caused physical harm to both their home and to the woman but she was not going to press charges, the man was not going to be arrested until he decided to assault the police. Not only was the feelings of the man hurt and he was now more enraged by what he perceived to be the incorrect actions of his wife, the court case which followed, only prolonged the negative feelings that the man had towards his wife. Also, both the family disturbance and the court trial that was to follow, occurred in front of their small child. It seems unlikely that all three people will walk away from this event totally unaffected. The negative effects may last for decades to come in all three individuals. This speaks volumes as to the lasting dangers that domestic violence has on those who are involved and those who witness it. In an ideal world, everyone would find that one person that they were meant to spend the rest of their lives together in heavenly bliss. This still occurs but those are the lucky ones. Nearly every one of the millions of couples which have gotten divorced in America, either one or both of the people involved, were victims of one form of abuse or another. This is one of the leading reasons why divorce so severely scars the parents as well as the children involved as such abuse does not disappear quickly. Therefore, it would behoove all those involved, to abstain from such abuse on others, especially their loved ones and in front of their children. This is easier said than done for most people but if those who have a disposition towards either being the victim or perpetrator of physical violence, can recognize both the causes and effects of this most dangerous and harmful abuse, they can therefore be given much more of a chance to avoid its pitfalls and to enjoy the happiness of a mutually loving relationship; free from physical, emotional, economic and spiritual abuse which plagues the happiness of millions of people in this country and around the world. WORKS CITED Cook. P (2003) Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers Jones, A ( 2001 ) More Than Victims: Battered Women, the Syndrome Society, and the Law (Morality and Society Series Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pearson, D. Man and Daughter are Killed in Tragic Plane Crash. Chicago Tribune October 14, 2006 Roberts. A ( 2002) Handbook of Domestic Violence Intervention Strategies: Policies, Programs, and Legal Remedies New York: Oxford University Press Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the U. S. , 2004 (Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the U. S. ) Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington D. C Government Printing Office

Solid Waste Management Case Study In Bristol Environmental Sciences Essay

Solid Waste Management Case Study In Bristol Environmental Sciences Essay The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a major environmental crisis throughout of the World, which everyone is concerned about. In the United Kingdom, the quantity of municipal waste has increased and 46.9 per cent of the total collected waste has disposed of in landfill in 2009/10 (DEFRA, 2010b). In comparison, the Netherlands and Denmark have disposed of almost no municipal waste to landfill and other members of European Units such as Germany and Sweden have less than a quarter of municipal waste to landfill (DEFRA, 2010b). Therefore, the UK Government published Waste Strategy for England 2007 on 24th May 2007 in order to meet EU strategy and set out a sustainable method for hierarchy of waste management options within climate change and population growth. The fundamental goals of the strategy are to set out a blueprint for waste prevention, reduction, re-use, recycling and recovery and improving environmental and economic outcomes through increased recycling of resources and recovery of energy from residual waste using a mix of technologies. There are some actions of the proposal strategy outlined, for example, energy from waste is expected to account for 25% of municipal waste by 2020 compared to 10% in 2007 and the standard rate of landfill tax increase by eight pounds per year from 2008 until at least 2010/11(DEFRA, 2010c). As a result, it is necessary to set up a variety of waste treatment for recovery material in the UK, such as Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) and Energy from Waste (EfW). There is no doubt that a number of local authorities face major challenges when they manage residual waste sustainably. Take Bristol for example, 59% of waste has been sent to landfill and 40% has been recycled or composted in 2009/10 (DEFRA, 2010d). According to Bristol City Council (2000), 100,000 tonnes of household waste will remain to be treated if 40% waste is recycled or composted. Thus, the council wants to make a 25 years Residual Waste Management Contract with company to treat 100,000 tonnes of Residual MSW by one of three options which include MBT with composting or anaerobic digestion and Energy from Waste. In this paper, the environmental impacts of each option will be assessed in order to find a sustainable method for residual waste management in Bristol. Furthermore, some relative mitigation meas ures and remediation approaches for chose option will be mentioned, focusing key issues of development and land redevelopment after 25 years. 2. The Description of Development and Site Bristol city council aims to set up a waste treatment plant in the city in order to not only meet their recycling needs but also make efficiently recover value from the residual waste produced. There is no doubt that a hundred thousand tonnes of rubbish send to the new plants for processing in the coming years rather than dumping it in landfill sites. The possible potential site is assumed as previously used land which locates in the main industrial estate (Avonmouth) in the northern part of Bristol. It would generally be preferred in planning terms, as no new land would be used and contaminated land restored. In addition, the facility has good transportation infrastructure, which results from closely primary road network and alternatively rail access. Figure 1 shows some potential previously land in the potential area, which have several large chemical manufacturing plants and also has a significant residential area in Avonmouth between the industrialised zone and the M5 motorway. M oreover, a large scale of green sites and water body around the assumed site. Figure 1. The Potential Site for Waste Treatment Plant in Bristol alll sites.jpg (Source: Google Map) There are three potential options including MBT using composting (In Vessel Composting) or anaerobic digestion (AD) or EfW provided in following details. The local waste strategy officers assume that: 100,000 tonne residual MSW will be treated; the detailed value of treatment for each option is described in Figure 2; Figure 2. The Value of Waster Treatment Process mixed recyclates are worth on average  £50/tonne; all plants operate 90% of the 8760 hours in a year; both digestate and compost are disposed to landfill at the full tax rate; however, the digestate is charged the full dispose cost, compost is disposed for free; bottom ash can be processed and used as a secondary aggregate, making profit at  £5/tonne; gas cleaning residues are hazardous waste and landfilled at  £100/ tonne plus landfill tax at  £48/tonne; electricity from AD is worth  £135/MWh, electricity from EfW and In Vessel Composting is worth  £60/ MWh. 3. Introduction of Three Processing Options for the Residual Municipal Solid Waste Management This section focuses on introduction of the process and principals of three options including In Vessel Composting, Anaerobic Digestion and Energy from Waste. MBT mainly follow two processes including mechanical sorting and biological process. Mechanical sorting is to sort mechanical element such as metal, plastics, glass paper, which is made by hand and is a basic process in both composting and anaerobic digestion. However, the biological processes are different because of the variety of treatment principals. Anaerobic digestion, which is the biological treatment of organic waste without oxygen, utilise microbial activity to break down the waste in a controlled environment with mesophilic and thermophlic digestion and produce biogas (e.g. Methane and Carbon Dioxide) and digestate at the same time. In Vessel Composting is an enclosed compost system and is the treatment of organic matter with aerobic microorganism to produce a mixture of stable humic substances and inorganic plant nu trient (Agrivert, 2010). In comparison with AD, there is no green energy produced through the system, therefore, the extra energy will be used in the processes. Energy from Waste is process incorporation the thermal decomposition of the waste include waste reception and storage, combustion system, heat recovery, flue gas cleaning, power generation and process control and monitor. Compared with MBT, EfW can disposal of all types of waste without other pre-treatment and the temperature has a minimum requirement of 850oC for 2 seconds (March, 2010a). Additionally, incineration offers a further option for the treatment of residual MSW and is already proven and bankable technology in the UK with 26 EfW plants (March, 2010a). However, there is no incineration in Bristol at the moment. 4. Environmental Impacts Assessment of Three Processing Options In order to achieve the UK governments fundamental goals and Bristol waste strategy, assessment of the environmental and economic impacts of each processing option should be undertaken in the following section. Local facilities of waste treatment would provide much local employment opportunities. Moreover, the number of legislation and planning policy comprising international, national and local policy will also be introduced to make sure the sustainable development. Therefore, this section focus on the key issues of waste treatment options such as air emissions / health effects, dust / odour, noise, water resources, visual intrusion and public concern. According to analysis of environmental impact assessment, one of the options will be identified as the Best Practicable Environmental Option for Bristol City Council. 4.1 Planning Policy and Context i) International Policy The European Union has instigated a range of Directives at a European level that should be suitable for each EU member and transposed into national laws in order to adopt the local environment. The following International policies provide the European framework for Waste applicable to the United Kingdom. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ European Community (EC) Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ EC Framework Directive for Waste 75/442/EEC as amended by 91/156/EEC; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76EC (WID). ii) National Policy The Waste Strategy for England (2007) sets out the Governments vision for sustainable waste management. The key objectives and targets of the strategy are to reduce the amount of waste produced and increase the rate of recovery of municipal waste. There are also some other legislation created to achieve the target in the following: Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS); Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG) and Planning Policy Statements (PPS); Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS1): Delivering Sustainable Development (2005); Planning and Climate Change (PCC): The purpose is to set out how climate change considerations should be taken into account at different stages of the planning process. Planning Policy Statement 10 (PPS 10): Planning for Sustainable Waste Management. During Annex E of PPS 10, the main factors have been taken into account by waste planning authorities when testing the suitability of a site for waste management purposes. iii) Regional and Local Planning Policy Planning policies for Bristol are set out in the Statutory Development Plan which includes the following documents (South Gloucestershire Council, 2010): Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10) (September 2001) Joint Replacement Structure Plan (as saved) (September 2002) Bristol Local Plan (as saved) (1997) Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10) (2001) RPG10 comprises the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West and the Regional Transport Strategy, and aim to meet sustainable development in terms of environment, economy and society. 4.2 Anaerobic Digestion In terms of biodegradable waste either by anaerobic digestion or by composting MBT technologies helps to reduce the contribution of greenhouse gases to minmise the impacts of global warming. IPPC (2010) stated that AD technology for various homogenous waste streams is widely proven in Europe, but there are no full scale plants in operation in the UK on municipal derived wastes. Thus, environmental and economic impacts should be assessed in order to develop facilities at present. 4.2.1 Environmental impacts As we all know that anaerobic digestion is totally enclosed system, which may reduce environmental impacts. As it may achieve a key aim of the landfill Directive and reduce organic wastes from landfill which reduces the production of landfill gas and leachates. Although the facility has pollution control technology in order to control the sustainable processes not only for the company but also for the public, each development has some relevant impacts on air, water resources and local residents. For example, odour emissions should be released during material handling and other air emission (Methane) would be release during the process. This may affect the local living condition if the pollution will not be controlled and visual intrusion, pests and noise problems. In order to predict how odour will be transported, some information such as meteorological conditions (e.g., wind speed and direction, temperature, and inversion conditions) in the proposal site can be obtained from a local weather station. Moreover, contamination of final product is often difficult to avoid, which means digestate from residual MSW connot be used for food growing; only regeneration of contaminated land or landfill cover (McKendry 2010). Therefore, AD also has slightly negative impacts on environment during the handling and processes of the facility. According to Figure 2, net energy (0.5 MWe) will be produced for National Grid, which also can save energy and reduce environmental pollution from power generation. To sum up, compared with no waste treatment in Bristol, AD is a better environmental practical option for waste recovery and also can achieve the UK fundamental target. 4.2.2 Economic impacts It requires comprehensive pre-processing of the waste or source separation and larger digestion tanks as it does not treat the whole Municipal Solid Waste stream but may be used on residual municipal waste stream with contaminants rejected as part of the process. Thus, AD is more capital intensive than composting and cost more for landfill tax. Moreover, the output of digestates is generally hazardous and set to landfill, which will also cost more for the process than production from composting. However, compared with composting, energy should be produced and is worth  £532,170 which is less than profit of net energy from EfW (Figure 3). Someone (City and County of Swansea, 2011) mentions that AD is relatively low capital costs compared to most thermal processes. On the other hand, anaerobic digestion has not enough profit which created from by-products compared to EfW (Figure 3). In terms of economy, anaerobic digestion is the secondary choice in three waste management options for Bristol. Figure 3. The Analysis of Input and Output of Economy in Proposed Waste Treatment Plant Anaerobic Digestation In Vessel Composting Energy from Waste Input  £2,380,000 (Landfill)  £ 1,564,000(Digestate)  £2,040,000 (Landfill)  £2,880,000(Compost)  £408,000 (Landfill)  £888,000(Gas Cleaning) Output Profit  £1,500,000 (Recyclates)  £532,170 (Net Energy)  ¹Ã‚ £Ã‚ £1,911,830  £1,500,000 (Recyclates)  ¹Ã‚ £Ã‚ £473,040 (Net Energy)  ¹Ã‚ £Ã‚ £3,893,040  £375,000 (Recyclates)  £185,000 (Bottom Ash)  £3,784,320 (Net Energy)  £3,048,320 4.3 In Vessel Composting Actually, this technology has only had limited experience in the UK; however, it is rapidly increasing in number due to recent legislation of waste management such as Landfill Directive. The advantage of In-Vessel Composting is that the processes are more controlled and can be designed to achieve specified temperatures of facilitate bacteria destruction. 4.3.1 Environmental impacts Composting can reduce volume of organic waste fraction of MSW by 25-50% and minmise landfill rate (IPPC, 2010), which avoid environmental pollution (Landfill gas and leachate) similar with AD. However, some potential odour and leachate also should be produced, which can result in air and water resources may be polluted to some extent. Although it is suitable for green and kitchen waste, it is potential of co-composting operations with other waste streams such as paper, sewage sludge (IPPC, 2010). On the other hand, it requires careful source segregation of further post or treatment as sensitive contamination of glass and plastics. Furthermore, in comparison with other options, In Vessel composting has no energy output and need extra energy for operation, which will affect more issues from power generation such as air pollution. It is similar with AD that the development is not bad for ecosystem and visual instruction as the proposed site is previously used land which may be contamina ted or brownfield site. The technology has a greater ability to control air pollution emissions than mass burn EfW in theory, but this has not yet been demonstrated in practice in the UK (Environment Agency, 2010). 4.3.2 Economic impacts Although the capital cost is not quite expensive than Energy from Waste, the balance of input and output of waste treatment process is totally different than other options. According to Figure 3, the developer or government should invest more money for rejected waste to landfill and extra energy ( £473,040), which means the profits of recyclates cannot make sure the continuously process of operation. Thus, in terms of economic aspect, this technology is not suitable for the UK fundamental sustainable development target and is the worst option. Energy from Waste In the UK, Energy from waste has a particularly poor public image and has been debatable by environmental groups on the grounds of perceived health impacts from emissions to air. Combustion of residual MSW can produce or release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Hence carbon emissions should to be considered in terms of composition of the residual waste stream, the type of energy produced (heat and/or power) and the overall generating efficiency of the facility. 4.4.1 Environmental impacts Compared with other options, EfW can disposal of a variety of waste without limitation and pre-treatment required. However, dust problem may exist within the waste reception hall or drawn into the furnace. Moreover, there is a WID emission limitation and air quality standards regulated in order to control the air emission especially greenhouse gases from factories. The advantage of this technology is that the state of the art of pollution control technology is completed for global use. In addition, energy recovery includes Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants and opportunity for district heating programmes. However, the temperature is not easy to control during the operation processes, which may affect the efficiency of residue quality and disposal when combustion is not completed. Although EfW can resolve waste to landfill and emission reduction (methane)from landfill and residual waste, which to some extent may address climate change, air pollution of EfW is more significant than o ther options (Hong, 2010). The WID emission limits to air shows daily average emissions limit from incineration in the following (Veolia, 2011): Dust (Particulates) 10mg/m3 Total Organic Carbon 10mg/m3 Hydrogen Chloride 10mg/m3 Carbon Monoxide 50mg/m3 Sulphur Dioxide 50mg/m3 Oxides of Nitrogen 200mg/m3 According to Figure 2, the number of waste can be combusted and bottom ash can be used for construction applications, which reduces the quantity requiring landfill disposal to under 10% of the feedstock mass (IPPC, 2010). In comparison with others, 8MWe net energy should be produced and deliver cheap heat and power either to the National Grid or local users. On the other hand, it also save more energy and reduce pollution from power generation plants. EfW is not long term liability facility, thus, local EfW would provide the best global solution for Bristol depending on the Life Cycle Assessment. Furthermore, the impacts of visual, pests and noise and ecosystem are similar and related to other waste management options and with proper planning can be minimized to acceptable levels. As for the visual impacts, the following factors should be considered: direct effect on landscape by removal of items such as trees; potential of an exhaust stack associated with air clean up systems; scree ning features and scale of vehicles accessing site. 4.4.2 Economic impacts There is no doubt that EfW is one of the high capital costs technology, however, it also create net profits from the processes. According to Figure 3, although, gas cleaning residuals are hazardous wastes and landfilled at  £148 per tonne, the facility can create  £3,048,320 net profit from operation system except the capital investment, which including  £185,000 income from bottom ash,  £3,784,320 profit from electricity and  £375,000 worth from recyclates. Thus, EfW is the best option for waste treatment for Bristol in terms of economy compared to other options. On the other hand, the facility will waste more investment and energy during the process stopped when there is no enough waste for combustion process. 4.5 Summary In summary, each option may achieve the UK and local waste management and recycling target and to some extent reduce waste and air emission such as methane and carbon. However, in terms of sustainable development which related to economic, social and environmental aspects, each option has its own disadvantages and advantages. As for economy except the capital investment, Energy from Waste can make more profit in 25 years than MBT using Composting or Anaerobic Digestion. Although air emission from EfW is more significant than other options, EfW has been used for a long time and is improving or mitigating more sustainable technologies to avoid the negative impacts on environment. It is true that Energy from waste has a particularly poor public image; however, public attitude will be changed within the situation changing. Therefore, Energy from Waste is the best value options for Bristol City Council to reach the waste treatment target and follow sustainable development. 5. Mitigation Measures and Remediation Approach Energy from Waste is the Best Practicable Environmental Option for Bristol waste management programme based on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). As we all know that each option has its limitation, EfW is also a case in point. EIA states that the efficiency of combustion, air emission (flue gas emission and cleaning) and public image are the mainly significant issues of EfW facility implementation for Bristol. Moreover, the land restoration after use should be considered at the beginning of construction in order to be able to use as sustainable as possible. Mitigation measures should aim to avoid, reduce, or remedy any significant adverse effects that a proposed development is predicted to produce. First of all, because it is a smaller scale EfW plants, it is better to maximize the scope for dealing with risk events and other potential adverse impacts. Moreover, more information qualitative and quantitative assessment of impacts such as meteorological conditions and ambient air q uality should be collected for the next depth assessment. The recommended mitigation measure for efficiency of combustion is to use more effective techniques. For example, the techniques such as Flue Gas Recirculation (FGR) can control the incomplete combustion in order to increase efficiency and to reduce the flow rate of pollutant emissions (Liuzzo, 2007). In addition, the chimney should be high enough to furnish adequate draft and to discharge the products without causing local sir pollution. There are also some methods to increase positive public image, such as enhancing propaganda or media spread and improving education. The risk management including accident management/plan and security precaution also should be undertaken to avoid the health and safety of employees. As for the future development after use, the land should be careful managed to avoid potential hazardous components released into the land whether it is current contaminated or not (McKendry, 2010). The first recommendation aims to used less penetrability materials for land construction and reduce pollutants released. Moreover, the regular clean up system is recommended to collect the residual waste during transporting system and clean up the dirty area such as oil releasing sites. Contaminated Land Management Regulation indicates that the polluter or owner has responsible to deal with pollution if the land will be contaminated by human activities. In my view, the proposal site is hard to change to an eco-green site after development, thus, it is better to develop as commercial or industrial use in the future. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, Environmental Impact Assessment of Anaerobic Digestion, In Vessel Composting and Energy from Waste were analysed in this paper in order to find out one of the best sustainable development for Bristol and also achieve the UK fundamental goals for waste management. It is certainly that each option has both negative and positive impacts on environment and economy. The main aim of them is to reduce waste sent to landfill and achieve the UK waste management target; moreover, they also have same impacts on environment such ac visual intrusion, public image, potential contaminated land after use and air pollution. However, the significant impacts of facilities are different in different technologies; for example, odour emission is more significant during anaerobic digestion approach, visual intrusion, public image and air emission is more significant for Energy from Waste, and energy use and odour and leachate are significant in composting process. In terms of economy, EfW is the best option with highest net profits during the process; on the other hand, In Vessel Compost is the worst approach because of extra energy supply. At the last, EfW has been chose to treat residual Municipal Solid Waste with the additional mitigation measures in Bristol, which results in the development is not only suitable for international, national and local strategy but also meet the Best Practicable Environmental Option which is sustainable and integrated in the further development.

Definition Essay - The Evolved Definition of Community -- Definition E

Definition Essay- The Evolved Definition of Community The definition provided in The American College Dictionary from 1964 says â€Å"a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.† I never really viewed community in this manner. Many of us think of the word â€Å"community† as a group of people who live near each other. We forget that a community is actually just a group of people with common interests or characteristics who often happen to live near each other. Communities can be bound by race, religion, economic standings, political standings, and most commonly, location. Frequently, communities fall into more than one of these categories. The definition of community has obviously changed over the years. If we look at one of the first definitions of the word in 1874, we can see that the word started out describing a certain type of group; â€Å"a communistic or socialistic society.† (A Dictionary of American English) The word has still retained its original idea of a special group of people, only now the definition has broadened too many different types of people and...

The Role of Educational Institutions in New Business Trends Essay

Jon-Arild Johannessen, a professor of Management and Innovation at Harstad University and Bjà ¸rn Olsen, a professor of Management and Organizational Behaviour at Bodà ¸ Graduate School of Business, Norway (2010) asserted â€Å"with this economic landscape, knowledge itself became a key factor of production—specifically, knowledge related to identifying and exploiting new ways to establish temporary competitive advantage† (p. 502). However, consider today’s company that conducts and performs business in a global level. Under globalization the environment also creates a higher level of competition in business. Therefore, how such a company enable itself to win in at business in the global game. A company needs accurate information for analyzing and evaluating business trends and the competitive environment in such markets for producing the right decision. Meanwhile, such a company needs talents who obtain leadership skills to play the role of decision-making. A s a result, educational institutions may need to prepare graduates to be able to use information effectively relevant to business strategy. Accordingly, these new business trends would affect a company’s strategy in human resources management, especially in the area of staffing. Because the new business strategy requires the use of these elements for achieving results, such as information, knowledge, and competence combined with technology, which focuses on the customer (customer centric) (Johannessen & Olsen, 2010). Meanwhile, the new business strategy would require certain personal talents as a leadership to use those elements to perform corporate tasks. Consider the elements of the new business trends that function as the business process, which identifies talents in using an in... ...alents to be ready for business practices. Works Cited Badke, W. (2009). How we failed the net generation. Online, 33(4), pp. 47-49. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database. doi: 2010356030 Johannessen, J., & Olsen, B. (2010). The future of value creation and innovation: Aspacts of a theory of value creation and innovation in a global knowledge economy. International Journal of Information Management, 30(6), pp. 502-511. Retrieved from Science Direct database. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.03.007 Rusell, P. (2009). Why universities need information literacy now more than ever. Feliciter, 55(3), pp. 92-94. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database. doi: 41553415 Turusheva, L. (2009). Students’ information competence and its importance for life-long education. Problem of Education in the 21st Century, 12, pp. 126-132. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database. doi: 42742862

Is the Dollar Depreciation Good for the American Economy? Essay

Currency depreciation always affects both sides of the coin. By lowering the dollar, it will enhance the price competitiveness of US product overseas but lower dollar maybe counter productive especially if there is not enough output for further expansion. Thus the move to depreciate or to appreciate the currency is very significant for economy not only to the US but in the global economy as well. Maintaining the dollar at its value therefore is also very important as it provides balance on imports and export commodities. Over the years the dollar has been swinging high and low against some of the worlds leading currencies. The question that might be ask is, was it intentionally depreciated as part of economic strategy or was it a result of economic decline due to domestic or international circumstances that hamper economic growth, such as, the 9/11 tragedy and the US led war and continues occupation in Iraq? In the midst of ever-increasing competitiveness in the world market, dollar depreciation is good for America because it puts them in the economic competitive advantage position in the international market relying on the quality of the US made goods. It is often a deliberate economic action to cope with the stiff international market competition. However, there is a contraindication to this economic action as lowering the dollar would mean lowering the living standard back home. Depreciating the dollar could stimulate strong economic performance but it also poses bad impact because it will be at the expense of cutting American wages. Paul R. Krugman point out â€Å"Depreciating the dollar is a bad way to reduce the trade deficit because it amount to meeting international competition by cutting American wages, thus lowering the living standards of the American workers† (119) In view of the macroeconomic principles, it will be more advantage for the U. S. to depreciate the dollar at a certain level because it will help to settle some of its economic deficits such as unemployment problem and trade deficit. What the US needs to do is expand its market abroad while increasing domestic productions of export goods. If there is enough output for export expansion, the impact of lower dollars maybe minimal as more money will circulate in the market. Japan’s yen is certainly undervalued compared to the dollar and yet the Japanese enjoy a high standard of living comparable to that of the United States. By mass production it will create more jobs, which can ease the problem of unemployment Another thing the U. S. should do is to put a substantive limit on domestic product for domestic consumption in order to maintain the inflation rate at its current level. Because of the lower dollar, imports from other countries will be balanced by the US exports thereby wiping trade imbalances because of the higher dollar. Thus lowering the dollar provides ample economic benefit for America. It maybe a bitter pill to swallow for others but it may cure some of the economy’s diseases. But it cannot be denied that depreciating the dollars have a serious economic implications to some developing countries. As a matter of principle the US should not play the role of a shrewd manager who only cares of its interest at the expense of the weaker countries. Jacob Frenkel Noted â€Å"The U. S. decision on an exchange-rate regime will clearly affect foreign economies, and it is not clear that what is best for America will be best for the rest of the economy, we must reformulate our notion of how a good exchange rate system performs† (158). Frenkel cited that due to dollar depreciation, the corresponding appreciation of foreign currencies against the dollar worsens the situation abroad compared to the fix exchange rate case. Frenkel stated, â€Å"By allowing the U. S. to export some of its unemployment, the dollar’s depreciation has a beggar-thy neighbor effect† (158). Thus, while the dollar depreciation might shield the U. S. economy from the adverse effect of inflation, but it has an opposite effect on U. S. trading collaborates. To explain this further Frenkel said,â€Å"The beggar thy-neighbor effect of dollar depreciation can be thought of as a payment made by the foreign country to the United States in states of the world where U. S. aggregate demand is relatively low. In the opposite situation, the United States, by allowing its currency to appreciate, compensates foreign countries† (Frenkel, 158). Thus the depreciation of the U. S. dollar requires a more sensitive study of the possible implication on other countries particularly on the trading partners of the U. S. if the United States is concern of its trading partners’ economic developments. Not only in the international market that the dollar depreciation had its impact but in domestic economy as well. Allen J. Lenz pointed out that â€Å"contractionary policies could slow U. S. economic growth relative to foreign growth rates† (68). Lenz emphasized that what counts is not just good trade performance but how that performance is achieved. Strong U. S. market performance based on productivity gains contributes to gains in living standards. Strong performance achieved by dollar depreciation can lower living standards. The depreciation therefore is an important economic action of the United States that will have significant impact not only in the U. S. but also to its trading partners. It may be good for the U. S. economy, and bad for the trading partners, but it may also be bad for the U. S. Work Cited icago PressFrenkel, Jacob. Exchange Rate and International Macroeconomics. U. S. A. : University of Chicago. 1988. Krugman, Paul. Diminished Expectations U. S. A. : The Washington Post Company 1994. Lenz, Allen J. Narrowing the U. S. Current Account Deficit: A Sectoral Assessment. U. S. A. : Institute for International Economic. 1992.