Is Internet Dating Safe?

Is internet dating safe? The internet is just another way for people to meet, and is being used by more and more singles every year. Compared to traditional dating you have to be ready for the added risk of meeting someone who wants to hurt you. Internet dating is used by 1 out of every 10 sex offenders. This does not mean that you should not take the risk. Of course you can just keep your eyes as open as your heart. There are many benefits to internet dating, firstly your safety is very important so no one sees your full name, address, email address or phone number.So there is no identifying information given out, and you remain completely safe. Meeting someone online is a lot faster than traditional dating, meaning it is quicker to find a potential match. Rejection is easier online, it never feels good, but it’s easier to just not get a response back than to have someone walk away from you at the bar. It’s easy to get flustered when meeting someone in person, when you meet someone online you have more time to think and you can take time in responding if you need to. The internet is up all day and night and never sleeps.So you have the luxury of searching for a soul mate anytime, day or night. The best online dating sites allow you to sign up and create a profile completely free of charge, this allows you to log in to the website and look for potential matches without paying anything. Every person you meet online is available and looking for a relationship. Going out to a bar or a club to meet singles for dating can be successful, but most likely less than half the people at these places are there to meet someone to create a relationship.So you are more likely to find a potential match online. Internet dating links you with people all over the world, so you can pursue relationships from afar if you find that you are willing to move for someone but are not sure yet where you’d like to go. Using internet dating, you could find your soul mate and bring love and happiness to your life. If your ex-partner has cheated on you, you may find internet dating helpful. It may help you forget the horrible experience and find someone you deserve. However there are also a lot of dangers associated with internet dating.While both men and women are at risk it is generally the woman who will be exposed to the more severe dangers. Here are a few dangers of this form of dating that you should be mindful of. The very first danger of online dating is when you become a scam  victim. Many scam artists and paedophiles can simply mask their real identity in order to cheat someone not only of their money but emotions as well. There are cases when men sexually assault the women they have met through internet dating when they first meet up for a date. It is easier to lie using internet dating, men admit to lying mostly about their income, height and age.Women admit to lying mostly about their age, weight and body type. You must remember that a ny person you meet online is a stranger, so you must be cautious. Be careful about sharing your personal information; don’t share your full name, never give out the details of exactly where you work, don’t ever give out your address, and be very careful about giving out your telephone number, especially your mobile number. You also need to be careful about sharing your email, most online dating sites allow you to use an anonymous internal communication system.You should use this, until you feel completely comfortable with someone before sharing an email address with them. You should not move off the internet dating site too soon. However when you do decide to do this you shouldn’t share your regular email address, instead you should create a free email address that you use strictly for your internet dating activities. You can easily obtain one through yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc. When you meet for the first time, select the meeting place carefully, you should mee t in a public place during ‘normal’ hours (between 10am and 8pm).Do not deviate from the plan and go anywhere with the person unless you’re completely comfortable with them. Do not let your guard down until you meet a friend, family, or co-worker. This ensures that you can cross-check some of the things you know to be true about the person. If you never meet anyone that the person knows and the person can’t offer anyone up for a double-date, after work drink, or other social encounter, you have a right to be suspicious. With all the benefits and dangers associated with internet dating, you may decide that it is unsafe and not for you. That is completely understandable, ut all you have to do to make yourself feel comfortable and safe is make sure you get pictures from the person and see them on webcam. That way they are less likely to be someone who wants to hurt you. You should always tell at least one friend you are using a dating site, just in case anyth ing happens to you unexpectedly. You could also take a friend along when meeting someone for the first time, to make you feel more comfortable. Try not to be scared and good luck with searching for your perfect partner. Do not give up too easily, 33% of single meet-ups become relationships, there is someone out there for you.

Educational Opportunities for Class 10th Students Essay

1. 0 Introduction As soon as a young child comes out of school finds self at cross roads. He is confronted with the problem of choosing career whether in Engneering, Medical, Non medical, paramedical, vocational, Humanities. This unit will provide you overall view of educational opportunities after 10th & 12th standard , Internship, Apprenticeship to excel in professional front. You will also become familiar with scholarships- like NTS,KVPY,UGC & others available at various stages of education for meritorious students. This unit helps you to know websites that gives information regarding higher education , entrance examinations. Objectives: After reading this module the teacher will able to : †¢ Make the students aware about the need of educational planning. †¢ Explain the students about various educational opportunities after 10th & +2 education. †¢ Help students in exploring various sources of higher education & Scholarships. †¢ Ways of disseminating the educational information to students 1. 1 Needs For Educational Planning â€Å"India is suffering from massive shortage of skilled manpower†- This was the News headline of a leading National Daily in July 2011. It is the matter of quality & not quantity of Manpower. As on today, the population of India is 1. 21 billion and half of the population is below 18 years of age. And responsibility lies with policy makers, administrators, educators, career counselors, teachers,& parents to channelize the energy of these youths & convert them into skilled human resource And it is the â€Å"Education† that determines the level of prosperity, Welfare & security of its citizens. Combined efforts of educators, teachers, career counselors and of course parents to bring awareness among students in an effort to make most realistic choice of courses of higher education depending upon his/her interest, aptitude, ability & financial background. 1. 2 Educational opportunities after10th standard:- Generally . We know that you are already aware about the three streams that you can choose from after Class 10 – Science, Humanities and commerce here you have to pursue your education for 2 years to become eligible for your graduation level academics.. Science Arts Commerce Includes study ofsubjects like Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Biology Includes study of subjects like Geography, Philosophy, History, Sociology, and Political Science Includes study of subjects like Accounting, Tax, Business Economics and Finance. You need to have good grades in Class 10 and equally good marks in Mathematics to secure a seat in 10+2 Average grades in Class 10 can help you seek admission in the Humanities stream in 10+2 Need good grades after Class 10 and also in Class 12 to pursue higher education in commerce Appear for competitive exams and start a professional career like engineering or medicine Less scope of joining a professional career and have to pursue a Bachelor’s degree. However, one can always a vocational course or pursue his or her interests simultaneously Start a professional career by  registering for CA foundation course You can make a shift to other streams Commerce or Arts after Class 12 You cannot make a shift to other streams like Science or Commerce after Class 12 You cannot appear for engineering or medical streams or change to sciencestream after Class 12. However, you can shift to Arts after Class 12. One can pursue 3 years diploma course either in engineering or Non engineering stream. Nearly there are 190 diploma courses. From Aviation, automobile, biomedical ,ceramic technology, dress making,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦to textile engineering, web designing,X-ray technician. ( From A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Z) Those who can’t afford expensive training and who can’t get chance to pursue higher education and those who are having inclination towards technical education & most important those who want to earn at an early age can opt for Industrial Training Institute. – ITI’s . Earlier there were traditional courses like Fitter, Welder, Turner but in the present scenario there is immense demand for trades like-COE ( Center of Excellence),Laser technology, hospital mangament, retail management. After completing basic ITI one can opt-advance training course (CTS/POT) & become eligible to work as an instructor in Govt ITI. Even one can opt for JOC- Job Oriented Course after that he/she can start self-employment. 1. 3 Educational opportunities after 12th standard:-For science stream students they pursue career in Engineering, Medicine/Medical, paramedical, Health care, Information Science, Veterinary science, Genetics, Forensic Science, Fishery, Dairy Technology, Oceanography, Biological Science, Meteorology, Bioinformatics, speech Therapists, Space Technology, Nanotechnology & so many specialized fields. Even students choose R& D-Research and Development of the concerned field.For Careers in Humanities-there are Anthropology, Archeology, Geography, Fine Arts, Journalism, Library Science, Psychology, Psephology, Research Assistant, Sociology, Teaching at all level-nursary, primary secondary, senior secondary, & even+2 students .Career in NGO.Careers in Commerce- Accounting, Banking, Economics, CA,CS,ICWA, Stock Broking, Mathematics & StatasticsCareers in Designing-Gemology, Interior, Fashion, Jewellary Designing & Visual Merchandising. Careers in Management- Management comes every where-From Business to sales to HR to Rural , Event management, IT Management, Logostics to Export ManegementCareers in Defense Service- Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, By appearing NDA & NA Entrance Exam conducted by UPSC, Coast Guards, Corps Of Engineer, Paramilitary Services.Careers in Mass Communication- Advertising, Disc Jocky, Radio Jocky, Video Jocky, Public Relation, Video Editing, publishing & Printing. Even after pursuing their graduation students can opt career in Civil Services-Competitive Exams conducted by Union Public Service CommisionCompetitive Exams conducted by State Public Service CommisionCompetitive Exams conducted by Staff Selection CommisionIndian Economic/Stastical Service ExaminationIndian Geologist Service ExaminationCombined Defence Service ExaminationExams conducted by Indian RailwaysBanking Exams- both clerical & Officer Cadre. COMMON WRITTEN EXAMS- Conducted by IBPS- Institite Of Banking & Personal Selection. 1. 4 NIOS-National Institute for Open Schooling: It provides elementary education at 3 levels for school drop outs, neoliterates,& out of school learners through Accredited Agencies. Open schooling and basic education at a distance have got established, in the last two decades, as strong systemic intervention mechanisms to cater to the quality educational needs of millions of deprived people, with very low cost.Secondary Level-Children below 14 years of age & Adults above 14 years of age.Higher Secondary Level.Vocational courses. 1. 5 Scholarships opportunities For Students Scholarships are available for meritorious students & to those who belong to economically weaker section. Even Scholarships are available for scheduled caste & scheduled Tribes & Other Back word community students. Prime Minister’s 15 point program provides better facilities,& free coaching for higher studies for Minority community students. Scholarships are available at various levels of education at secondary level, under graduates, post graduates, post doctoral research.NTS- National Talent Search Scholarship. (For 10th onwords) till your graduation & onKVPY-Kishore Vaignanik Protsahan Yojana (For 11th & 12th Students) & onwordsPost Matric Scholarship for OBC’sPost Matric Scholarship for studies in Hindi from Non Hindi Speaking States.PG scholarships for professional courses for SC & ST studentsPG Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme for single girl child.Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship For SC/ST StudentsJRF & SRFPost Doctoral Fellowship For Women CandidatesDr. S Radhakrishnan Post Doctoral Fellowship 1. 6 Sources Of Educational opportunities- †¢ News paper supplement of all Leading news papers like, The Hindu, Deccan. Herald, The Times Of India, Indian Express & even regional news papers carry updated information in the current trends in education & higher studies every week. †¢ Surfing to Internet- at various social sites, Reading the Blogs written by well known educators & career counselors. †¢ Emplyment News in English & Rojgar Samachar in Hindi †¢ By viewing channels like-EDusat, Gynan Darshan, UGC,IGNOU Channels broadcasting educational updates, IGNOU’s Audio video catalogue †¢ University Career Bulletin †¢ Local District Employment Exchange. †¢ University Employment Information & Guidance Bureau. at the jurisdiction of concerned University. †¢ District Central Library 1. 7 Address of Websites related to higher education, Apprenticeship, Internships & training www. ignou. ac. in www. education. nic. in www. ncert. nic. in www. employmentnews. gov. in www. aiuweb. org www. dget. nic. in www. ugc. ac. in www. aicte. ernet. in www. iamrindia. com www. davp. nic. in www. upsc. gov. in www. nbtindia. org. in www. webindia123. com www. career360. com WWW. shiksha. com www. meritnation. com www. upsc. gov. in www. careers. icbse. com www. indiastudychannel. com www. goiit. com www. highereducationinindia. com www. indiaeducation. net Tanuja Rampure, Shimoga (Karnataka), India.

American Films and Backhoe Operators

Case Analysis Jim worked as a laborer for a gas utility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When the opportunity came to apply for a backhoe/front-end-loader operator job, he was excited. Three people applied. To select the one who would get the job, the company asked each of them to go out and actually work on the backhoe for a day. Jim felt his chance for the job disappear because he had never even driven a tractor, let alone used a backhoe. When he went out, he did not know how to start the tractor.One of the other backhoe operators had to show him. He managed through the day, and to his surprise, did better than the others. He was given the job. On his first day at the new job, one of the other backhoe operators showed him where to check the hydraulic fluid and said, â€Å"These old Masseys are foolproof. You will be okay. † Jim taught himself how to dig a hole by trial and error. He initially believed that the best way was to fill the bucket as much as possible before lifting it out o f the hole and emptying it.He would wiggle the bucket back and forth until it was submerged and then curl it. When it came out of the hole, the earth would be falling off the sides. This job was not so difficult after all, he thought. He cut through his first water line about two weeks after starting his new job. Going into a deep, muddy hole did not make the crew happy. After Jim cut through his third water line, the crew chief pulled him aside and said, â€Å"You are taking too much earth out with each bucket, so you don’t feel the bucket hitting the water line; ease up a bit. Water lines were usually six to eight feet down, so Jim would dig until about four feet and then try to be more careful. It was then that he pulled up some telephone lines that were only about three feet deep. Realizing that more was involved in operating a backhoe than he first had thought, he sought out Bill Granger, who was known to have broken a water line only twice in his 15 years. It was said that he was so good that he could dig underneath the gas lines—a claim that Jim doubted. Bill said, â€Å"You need to be able to feel any restriction.The way to do that is to have more than one of your levers open at the same time. Operating the bucket lever and the boom lever at the same time reduces the power and causes the machine to stop rather than cut through a line of any type. † Jim began to use this method but still broke water lines. The difference now was that he knew immediately when he broke a line. He could feel the extra pull, whereas in the past, he found out either by seeing water gushing up or by hearing the crew chief swearing at him. He was getting better. Jim never did become as good as Bill Granger.In fact, two years later, he applied for another job as gas repairperson and was promoted, but the training as a gas repairperson was not much better. Case Questions 1. What are the potential costs to this lack of training? Why do you think the company operated in this manner? 2. What type of training would you recommend: OJT, classroom, or a combination? Describe what the training might entail. 3. What type of training environment would you provide? 4. Who would you get to do the training, and why? 5. Would you consider purchasing a training program for backhoe operators? Provide your rationale.

Enjoying Horror Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enjoying Horror - Essay Example This is same as arguing people watch horror movies because they want to be frightened. The plain suspense in horror films like Paranormal Activity has enabled the movie to draw massive viewing. The movie is about young couple who placed audio-visual equipment to capture unusually activity going on in the house. The suspense in the movie is so strong because the viewers want to know the cause of strange activities. The climax of the horror comes out when zombies go on massive killings towards the end of the film (Hawkins 1). Psychological effects of horror movies on viewers also make them interesting to view. Neuroscientist argue that the neurons in human brains work in a complex way that allows human brains to think, reason and act in a different ways from other animals. They further argue that fear is an emotion derived from newly learned cautions as well as deep-seeded evolutionary factors (Hawkins 1). Analysis The catharsis theory can also be used to explain why horror movies are enjoyable. The movies are appealing due to their traffics in thoughts and emotions that have been subdued by the ego though they seem vaguely familiar. Neuroscientists believe that horror touches on elemental images in the joint unconscious. Several individuals have not repressed feelings like drowning of children or slaughtering of women, they may want to watch more horror movies in order to overcome such fears. Horror films may combine traditional horror films themes and comedy. Comedy-Horror movies are intended to scare the audience and provide humor for the viewers to laugh at their fear. Another thing with horror movies is the intense experiences it brings to the audience. This explains why young people would prefer watching horror movies. The intense experiences make their hearts race and bring out the true nature of life (Hawkins 1). McIntyre, Gina. The Horror . . . The Horror. Loss Angeles Times. 2009. Web. 4th August 2013. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/25/entertainme nt/ca-horror25 Summary Horror films are movies that are intended to create a sense of alarm, fear and panic among the audience. The films are usually unsettling and rely on scare tactics to capture the attention of the audience. The movies are usually centered on an evil person, event or force. â€Å". Most horror films are set in lonely places, ruined houses, deserts or forests. The villains are bad looking individuals who could be dressed in masks. The villains live a strange life such as feeding on humans and raw meat. The victims are innocent individuals who could be out on a tour only to fall at the hands of villains (McIntyre 1) Analysis Most researchers think that the killings and blood in horror movies makes them interesting. For example, Zombie-horror is characterized by mindless beings raised from the dead. They contain zombie invasion on human territory and feed on human beings. A struggle then arises between human beings and the zombies, the Zombies wanting to feed on h umans while humans are defending their territory. The struggle between the humans and zombies keeps the audience glued to their seats. However, other factors motivate the audience when watching horror movies. This could be the moral lesson that is found in such films. â€Å"If horror films reflect the anxieties of a culture, then it makes perfect sense that so many nefarious characters are emerging from the darkness: The collapse of the housing market, the menacing

Ensuring a Creative and Innovative Workforce Essay

Ensuring a Creative and Innovative Workforce - Essay Example The recent shift from industrial to knowledge economies has been rapid and abrupt, leading to a series of novel discoveries and innovation in various fields across all sectors of the economy, thereby drastically increasing the significance of creating and developing a highly creative workforce. The fact that innovation is the key to human survival, has been reasserted over the years, with a wide range of creative and innovative ideas being generated and applied for human consumption. Companies today rate creativity and innovation as highly essential pre-requisite of strategies, designed to achieve their organizational goals. Various challenges can be overcome and addressed through sheer creativity, which are faced by the 21st century, such as global warming and sustainable economic development to name a few. Organizational creativity is one of the most promising issues, which is now being probed by managers and leaders, and its relevance and significance is acknowledged by the emerge nce in the recent decades. Definitions: Creativity is defined as the development of novel and useful ideas (Hemlin et al., in Mumford, 2011). According to Plucker et al., (2004) the term creativity is defined as "...the interaction among aptitude, process, and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context". According to Ford (1995) "Creativity is a context specific, subjective judgment of the novelty and value of an outcome of an individual's or a collective's behavior (West, 1997, Pp. 2). Innovation in generic terms refers to the development and application of novel ideas, products or services, or technologies in an organization. According to Van de Ven (1986) the process of innovation is defined as "the development and implementation of new ideas by people who over time engage in transactions with others within an institutional context. This definition is sufficiently general to apply to a wide variety of technical, product, process, and administrative kinds of innovations. From a managerial viewpoint, to understand the process of innovation is to understand the factors that facilitate and inhibit the development of innovations" (Sisaye, 2001, Pp. 105). In a nutshell, the concept of creativity entails the application of a mental as well as a social process which is fuelled by an insight regarding the future demands and requirements of consumers, and generating ideas and concepts in response to the meet the requirements of the same. Innovation on the other hand, refers to the successful application of the said ideas and concepts with a view to generate profitable outcomes. In order to successfully create and develop innovative products and ideas, it is essential for the management to hire and recruit a highly creative workforce and develop a highly productive workforce by encouraging creativity and innovation within organizations. Significance and relevance of the co ncepts as applied to organizations: Creativity is the first step or foundation of innovation, which can be achieved through the successful implementation of the creative ideas generated by the talented workforce. Innovation is one of the crucial and inevitable elements of organizational success, more so in the highly advanced society, which is practically driven

Work Placement in Hailong Hotel (Learning Log) Essay

Work Placement in Hailong Hotel (Learning Log) - Essay Example They must possess the necessary skills and knowledge so that the person can fit into any kind of organisation and help the organisation at attaining the goals of the organisation. The table below helps to comprehend how competent enough I am for the job in which I am presently working. Numerous kinds of skills are generally to be possessed by the individual prior to entering the workplace. These numerous skills include problem solving ability, time management, communication skills written, decision making skills, organisational skills, leadership and motivation among others. It can be analysed that I am quite competent enough in terms of adaptability, self motivation, tolerance, and negotiation skills. I also find myself proficient enough in dealing with large amount of data which is considered as one of the most significant skills for a person in an organisation. I am also competent enough in resolving the problems and planning. Most of the organisations state the fact that it is qu ite significant for the employees to possess problem solving as well as planning skills since the employees possessing these two skills can assist in attaining the goals of the organisation and can help in maintaining sustainable advantage.... ning v Desire to achieve/motivation v Curiosity v Deep understanding v General knowledge v Relevant work experience v Equipped for continuous education v Problem setting ability v Ability to use IT v Knowledge of the organisation v Specialist factual knowledge v Prior knowledge of the job v Knowledge of social/political issues v It can be analysed that I am quite competent enough in terms of adaptability, self motivation, tolerance, and negotiation skills. I also find myself proficient enough in dealing with large amount of data which is considered as one of the most significant skills for a person in an organisation. I am also competent enough in resolving the problems and planning. Most of the organisations state the fact that it is quite significant for the employees to possess problem solving as well as planning skills since the employees possessing these two skills can assist in attaining the goals of the organisation and can help in maintaining sustainable advantage. However, I find myself less competent in terms of time management, team work as well as leadership potential. Efficient time management is vital in order to attain the tasks of the organisation and to evade wasting the valuable organisation assets. Leadership as well as team management are all about being capable of directing a team to perform the best that it can. Team management is about the capability to obtain the best from the workforce. Leadership can also be observed to be a process of making oneself to be looked upon as an example in any organisation. The organisations cannot run efficiently without a good leader. Similarly, it is also significant to possess skills related to proper team management. Therefore, in order to place myself in a better organisation I need to equip myself with the

Lucretia of Rembrandt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lucretia of Rembrandt - Essay Example Rembrandt's excellent attention to detail allows the viewer to observe the intricate designs on Lucretia. The model is dressed in a decorative, highly stylized dress indicating enormous wealth. The head of Lucretia is bent to one side and lowered a little as though in shame and in anguish. At the left portion of her white robe is a long streak of dripped blood. The white robe appears slashed beyond comfortable length in the middle of her bosom, indicating unwelcome hands. On the weighty left hand of Lucretia, she holds a string hanging from higher space as though just by a slight pull she would be lifted up in deathly space. Round her neck is the ready loop of the noose. On her right hand is a dagger pointed at herself, ready to harm. From just the sight of bloodstains, however, she might as well have already cut herself to death and is slowly dying. There is an expressed effort to die by all means in Lucretia. Meanwhile, the face is that of loneliness and resignation from life. She appears to have cried so much in her despair. There is a fantastic element of color coordination throughout this painting of Rembrandt. The color of the rope, her fluffy white silk cuffs, her silky blouse, and her golden jewelry shows the continuity of color. The tone is important to painting, perhaps even more than color. The tone is how light or dark a color is, rather than what the actual color is. The implementing tone in a painting is often bothersome to artists because people get distracted by the strong appeal of color.

Is there an association between Chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease Research Paper

Is there an association between Chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease and acquisition of Pulmonary Tuberculosis - Research Paper Example This review of literature will discuss about the possible correlation of COPD to the acquisition of pulmonary tuberculosis. COPD is often diagnosed with middle-aged adults. Unlike tuberculosis, this disease isn’t transmissible. Experts opined that there is no available cure yet to the lungs and airway’s damage caused by COPD but treatments and change of lifestyle can slow down the advancement of the disease to help a person get a better health and sustain his active life (Blanc, Flazon, Fitzpatrick, Floyd, Garcia, 2010, p. 1). Medical experts explicated that an infected person will often have difficulties in breathing because the airways and air sacs could drop its elastic ability; the air sacs walls are destroyed; the airways thickened and are inflamed; or the airways produce more mucus than what it’s normally producing (Caballero, Torres-Duque, Jaramillo, Bolivar, Sanabria, 2012, p. 1) Often, COPD disease is prevalent among cigarette smokers and those predispos ed to getting lung infections. Aside from difficulty of breathing, they cough a lot and produce deep wheezing and excessive amount of mucus, thus, tightened the chest and other symptoms (NIH, 2012; Crothers, Butt, Gibert, Rodriuez-Barradas, Crystal, & Justice, 2006, p. 1326). Family members who live with smokers are likely to get second-hand smoke and may acquire COPD or emphysema or chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is a situation where the lining of the airways is always irritated and inflamed and the lining begins to thicken because of the irritation and subsequent coughing. In emphysema, air sacs, which are found at the end of bronchial tubes, lose their elasticity and the walls where the oxygen and gas exchanges occur, break down and are destroyed. Airways can also get clogged over time, creating a very dangerous situation in breathing for people. In essence, at its worst example, people are suffocating to death (NIH 2012). As COPD affect the lungs, so its tuberculosis. Un like COPD, tuberculosis is a contagious disease and the transmission could be airborne. Like COPD, if not cured, could lead to the early demise of patient. In similar context as that of COPD, the country is also plagued with numerous cases of tuberculosis that is estimated to have reached the population of 10 to 15 million people of infection. At a global scale, TB has already killed an estimated 1. 9 million people annually. Health experts reported that nearly a third of the global population is affected with pulmonary TB. Both COPD and tuberculosis affect the lungs and offer similar threats to the life of the person affected with it. Both are deadly, if not cured. As it paralyzes a person from taking an active lifestyle if not medicated, victims or those who choose to become victims of this illness will seriously impact their economic well-being and consequently become a social burden too. The stigma embed in tuberculosis could only be dealt when the family and the patient underst ood the need to undergo six months medication to mitigate the advancement of this disease. Health advocates professed that the only way to resolve this health concern is early detection and treatment to gain tuberculosis control. Based on statistical data of the World Health Organization, one-third of the world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. The pandemic has reached an alarming figure of 8.7 million people under new cases of TB

Oslo Agreement of 1993 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Oslo Agreement of 1993 - Case Study Example The Arab-Israeli conflict has been a persistent source of tension for decades, for example, but it has taken on new dimensions in the aftermath of the failed Oslo process and the recent explosion of violence that shows no signs of abating. These traditional issues have been joined by several more recent problems that defy easy solutions. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) continue to spread throughout the region, despite international non-proliferation efforts. Terrorists recruited and trained in the Middle East are now carrying out attacks far beyond their own borders, creating strong global interests in countering the sources of this phenomenon (Litvak, 1993). The declaration of principles between Israel and the PLO was designed to undertake direct discussions leading to the establishment of Palestinian self-rule, beginning with Gaza and Jericho. These two agreements were assumed to be the result both of the domestic pressure faced by the new Israeli government caused by their perceived failure to move the process along as initially promised and of Arafat's perception that his lack of concrete gains was enhancing the strength of his opponents within the Palestinian movement (Meir, 1993). Thereafter, trusted emissaries of these two principals met in secret negotiations facilitated by the late Johan Holst, then Norway's foreign minister. The Washington ceremony which brought to the world's attention the initial results of this secret effort began an entirely new "third track" to the Arab- Israeli diplomatic process-direct negotiations between Israel and the PLO with a specified timetable leading towards an interim stage of Palestinian autonomy in Gaza and an area around Jericho but with a clear acknowledgement that further movement would then occur incrementally as negotiated. This was followed by the Cairo agreement of 13 February 1994 brokered by the strenuous efforts of Egyptian President Mubarak (Sayigh, 1999). These two diplomatic and political shocks, therefore, while clearly not bringing this subregion of the Middle East to a level of political recognition, economic and cultural interchange, or military stability that had existed in Europe in the early days of the CSCE, nevertheless had moved the process giant steps forward. Political risks associated with these two major moves obviously had been calculated as necessary given the potential outcome and, conversely, the costs of not trying. That is not to suggest that each party went into the process willingly. Future scholars likely will explore the issue of "coercive diplomacy" in this period. Rather, consciously and with purpose or not, as each of the parties entered into one or both of these processes, they endured varying degrees of risk. Each regime or leadership was exposed: the centrality which "the evilness of the Zionist entity" plays in the domestic as well as regional politics of most Arab and Islamic regimes; the profound and pervasive issue of long-term acceptance of Israel in the region, and the more immediate security concerns of facing 22 hostile Arab states and Iran,

Economics at the University of Pennsylvania Essay Example for Free

Economics at the University of Pennsylvania Essay Although I want to major in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, I have a passion for poetry and prose, and I would love more than anything to develop my writing skills in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences. That program provides the disciplined and distinguished qualities that I seek. One must be a great reader before becoming a great writer, so I indulge in books of every genre to expand my range of knowledge. Literature brings me great joy, and I will strive to integrate my fondness for reading and writing into my college experience. Penn’s English Department is unique in that it provides the opportunity for students to place an emphasis on studies in creative writing. Within that framework, I want to channel my passion for poetry into academia. As founder and president of Shandong Normal University Literature Association, if accepted, I plan to visit the Kelly Writers House religiously as a way to satisfy my perpetual craving for remarkable literature. I envision myself grabbing a turkey and cheese sandwich with no mayonnaise at the 1920 Commons, then rushing off to the Kelly Writers House with an armful of books by Maya Angelou and Eric Schlosser. Gathered in a tight circle of chairs, I want to share professional works with fellow literature lovers. We will offer our own daring lines of free verse, swap suggestions, compliments, and light-hearted laughs. During workshops, my very soul seeps steadily through an invisible tube from brain to ballpoint. This complex phenomenon of input-output produces painstakingly arranged ink on paper, a painting made of letters. On my way to a morning class on modern American poetry, I will pass Oldenberg’s famed Split Button and acknowledge Mr. Franklin sitting upright in his chair. After the lecture, I can envision Professor Josephine Park and I conducting research by analyzing the influence of conflicts between America and East Asia on Asian-American texts. As part of the Penn family, I will converse with colleagues, sisters, and brothers that destiny forgot to recognize. Then, I will tutor secondary school students about reading and writing through the outreach program. Having been featured in a myriad of written works and publishing my own collections, I will roll up my sleeves and organize literary pieces in the weekly undergraduate magazine, First Call. As evening emerges, I will bike to the Van Pelt Library, work comfortably in my favorite armchair, and complete the finishing touches on a Second World War paper. Traveling to other parts of the City of Brotherly Love, study group friends and I will order a few Philly Cheesesteaks from Pat’s King of Steaks for dinner. My roommate, with lips coated in frothy toothpaste, will open the door when I get back. After taking a shower, I will dry my hair on a blue polka dot towel, sit on my bed, and chortle cheerfully while my roommate chatters about the highlights of her day. Then I will read an article about the Penn Museum from The Daily Pennsylvanian. After turning off the lights and setting my alarm clock for 6:00am, I will drape my jogging shorts and shirt on a chair for the morning. Before drifting off to sleep, I will fondly recall submitting my application to Penn, and smile in the quiet of my room, happy to be here at last.

Hand Washing in Disease Prevention

Hand Washing in Disease Prevention Introduction The most frequent way of germ spreading is by people’s hands. Most of the times germs are harmless but sometimes they can also be reason for illnesses like flu, cold and gastroenteritis. Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water is one of most important thing you can do to avoid spreading infections and it helps to protect you, your family members and people around you. Specially every health-care worker or a person who concerned in direct or indirect patient care must be care about hand hygiene and must be able to perform it properly and at the correct time. It helps to prevent health care-associated infections [2]. â€Å"CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)† has estimated that every year almost 2,000,000 patients in the USA get an infection in hospitals, and about 90,000 of these patients die as a result of their infection [1]. History of hand washing Hand washing with soap and water has been used as a measure of personal hygiene for a long time and has been generally implanted in religious and civilizing practices. However the relationship between hand washing and the spread of disease was confirmed only near 200 years ago. Ignaz Semmelweis established that hospital-acquired diseases (HAD) been transmitted through the hands of health care workers by his studies in Austria, Vienna and Oliver Wendell Holmes in Boston USA. In 1847, he was appointed as a house officer in an obstetric clinic at the University of Vienna Allgemeine Krankenhaus. He observed that maternal mortality rates, commonly reasonable to puerperal fever, were considerably higher in mentioned clinic compared with the other. He also identified that doctor as well as medical students usually went straight to the delivery suite after doing autopsies and had an unpleasant odor on their hands regardless of hand washing with soap and water earlier to entering the clinic. He introduced that â€Å"cadaverous particles† from the autopsy room, that transmitted through the hands of students and doctors to the delivery theatre caused the fever. As a result, Semmelweis suggest that hands be cleansed by a chlorinated lime solution before examine each patient and also after leaving the autopsy room. Following the administration of this measure, the mortality rate fell affectedly to 3% in the clinic remained low. Apart from providing the 1st evidence that cleansing thoroughly contaminated hands with an antiseptic agent can decrease nosocomial transmission of germs more significantly than washing hands with plain soap and water, this method includes all the essential elements for successful contamination control interference: â€Å"recognize-explain-act†. Both Holmes and Semmelweis failed to examine a sustainable change in the behavior change of their colleagues’ behavior. In particular, Semmelweis experienced great difficulties in persuading his colleagues and directors of the benefits of this method. In the light of the ethics of social marketing in the present day, his key mistake was that he introduced a system change (administration of the chlorinated lime solution) without explaining the attitudes of his collaborators. In spite of these mistakes, the Semmelweis intervention has teach us many lessons; the â€Å"recognize-explain-act† approach has driven many investiga tors. Semmelweis’s intervention is also a type of epidemiologically obsessed strategies to avoid infection. In 1980s concepts of hand hygiene in health care has been changed. The 1st national hand hygiene guidelines were in print in the 1980s. â€Å"The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) in the USA† suggested that whichever antimicrobial soap or a antiseptic agent be used for cleaning hands while leaving the rooms of patients with drug-resistant pathogens in 1996.In recent past the HICPAC guidelines issued alcohol-based hand rubbing.[3] With the time methods of hand washing and chemicals that use are change with research inventions. Normal bacterial flora of the body (1) Axilla, perineum and between the toes (2) Hand, face and trunk (3) Upper arms and legs. Skin with partial occlusion like axilla, perineum and between the toes contain more microorganisms than less occluded areas as legs, arms, and trunk The numbers of bacteria on the skin of a person remains relatively constant; Survival of the bacteria and the extent of colonization probably depend in part upon the contact of skin to a exact environment and partly due to the innate and species-specific bactericidal activity in skin. Most of the microorganisms live in the superficial layers of the stratum, corneum and the upper parts of the hair follicle. Some bacteria are located in the deeper areas of the hair follicles and are away from the reach of normal disinfection procedures. These bacteria are reservoirs for settlement after the surface of bacteria were removed. Staphylococcus epidermidis S. epidermidis is an important microorganism that lives on the skin, and in some areas it makes more than 90% of the resident aerobic flora. Staphylococcus aureus The nasal area and perineum are the most familiar sites for S. aureus colonization. S. aureus is common to the vulva. S. aureus is very often (80% -100%) to the skin of patients with certain dermatological diseases such as atopic dermatitis. Gram-negative bacteria They occupy small portion of the skin flora. Micrococci Micrococci are not as frequent as staphylococci and diphtheroids; on the other hand, they are often present in normal skin. Micrococcus luteus, is the predominant species. Diphtheroids The term refers to diphteroid, a variety of bacteria belonging to the genus Corynebacterium common in the armpit and on open skin. They like to be involved in the pathogenesis of acne. Streptococci ÃŽ ²-hemolytic streptococci, are infrequently seen on normal skin. ÃŽ ±-hemolytic streptococci, exist primarily in the mouth little spread on the skin. Nail Flora Dust particles and other foreign matter can accumulate under the nail. They can carry fungi and bacilli, such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Mucor wear.[4] Transmission of pathogens by hand There are two main routs of transmission of pathogens. Airborne transmission Contact transmission Airborne transmission They can be transmitted from the respiratory tract through talking coughing sneezing, from the skin by natural cracking of skin scales, during wound dressing or bed making and by aerosols, also from equipment such as respiratory apparatus and air conditioning plants. Contact transmission The most frequent routes of transmission for infection are by direct contact spread from one to another or by indirect contact spread by unhygienic hands or equipment. Staphylococcal streptococcal sepsis, enteobacterial diarrhea Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis are examples for diseases that can be arise due to contact transmission. So hand washing is very important in preventing contact transmission of pathogens and so to avoid spreading diseases. [5] Transmission of health care-associated (HCA) pathogens from one patient to another via health care workers’ (HCWs) hands requires five sequential steps, Micro-organisms to present on the patient’s skin, or have been shed onto dead objects instantly surrounding the patient. Micro-organisms should be transferred to the hands of HCWs. Micro-organisms should be able to survive for at least few minutes on HCWs’ hands. Amount of hand washing or antisepsis of hand by the HCW should be insufficient or entirely omitted, or the substance used for hand hygiene unsuitable. The unhygienic hand or hands of the caregiver must approach into direct contact with another patient or with an object that will come into direct contact with the patient.[3] Steps of hand washing Hands can cleanse with soap, alcohol, water etc. Hand hygiene technique with alcohol-based formulation. There are 8 steps duration is nearly 20-30 seconds, 1st step Apply a full palmed amount of the product in a cupped hand, to cover all surfaces. 2nd step Rub hands palm to palm. 3rd step Right palm over left dorsum with interlaced fingers and vice versa. 4th step Palm to palm with fingers interlaced. 5th step Backs of fingers to opposing palms with fingers interlocked. 6th step Rotational rubbing of left thumb clasped in right palm and vice versa. 7th step Rotational rubbing, backwards and forwards with clasped fingers of right hand in left palm and vice versa. 8th step Dry. 8 Hand Hygiene Technique with Soap and Water. It takes 40-60 seconds there are 10 steps, 1st step- Wet hands with water; apply enough soap to cover all hand surfaces. 2nd step- Rub hands palm to palm. 3rd step- Right palm over left dorsum with interlaced fingers and vice versa. 4th step- Palm to palm with fingers interlaced. 5th step- Backs of fingers to opposing palms with fingers interlocked. 6th step- Rotational rubbing of left thumb clasped in right palm and vice versa. 7th step- Rotational rubbing, backwards and forwards with clasped fingers of right hand in left palm and vice versa. 8th step-Rinse hands with water. 9th step- Dry hands thoroughly with a single use towel. 10th step- Use towel to turn off faucet. [3] Substances that used in hand washing Soap and detergents Reduce barriers to solution and increase solubility is the main action of soap and detergents. [6] Water temperature Hot, soapy water is more successful than cold, soapy water on removing the natural oils on hands which grasp soils and bacteria. [6] Antibacterial soap Antibacterial soaps have been greatly promoted to a health-conscious community. No evidence for that using recommended antiseptics or disinfectants selects for antibiotic-resistant organisms in nature. Although, antibacterial soaps contain general antibacterial chemicals such as Triclosan, which has a wide list of resistant strains of micro-organisms. [6] Solid soap Because of its reusable character, may hold bacteria acquired from previous uses. However as the micro-organisms are rinsed off with the foam, it is implausible that any bacteria are transferred to users of the soap. [6] Hand antiseptic A hand sterilizer or hand antiseptic is a non-aqua-based hand hygiene mediator. Most of them are based on isopropyl alcohol or ethanol formulate which mixed with a thickening agent such as Carbomer , or humectant such as glycerin, or foam for easiness of use and to diminish the drying result of the alcohol. [6] Alcohol-based hand sanitizers They are almost entirely ineffective against Norwalk type viruses, the most general reason for contagious gastroenteritis.[6] Ash or mud This is also a disinfecting agent. WHO suggested ash or sand as option for soap when soap is not available. [6] Importance of hand washing when to wash hands Importance of hand washing Hand washing is like a vaccine that someone can do it yourself, which consist of five simple steps (Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry).Important to reduce the spread of diarrheal and respiratory illness therefore you can stay well. Habitual hand washing, mainly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to remove microorganisms, keep away from illnesses, and to reduce the spread of germs [1]. When to wash hands in day today life Always wash your hands before; cooking food or eating, taking or giving medicine, Inserting or removing contact lenses. [8] Also wash your hands after: preparing food, specially raw meat or poultry, changing a diaper or using the toilet, touching an animal or animal toy, leashes or waste, blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hand, caring for a sick or injured person, handling trash, household or garden chemicals, or anything that could be contaminated like cleaning cloth or soiled shoes shaking hands with others. [8] When to wash hands for health care workers Beforeperforming invasive procedures like taking care of particularly susceptible patients such as those who are severely immunocompromised and newborns. [9] Before and after touching wounds traumatic, surgical or related with an invasive device. [9] Aftersituations during which microbial contamination of hands is probable to occur, especially those involving contact with mucous membranes, blood or body fluids, and body secretions or excretions ,touching dead sources that are likely to be contaminated with virulent or epidemiologically significant microorganisms; these sources contain on urine-measuring devices or secretion collecting apparatuses, taking care of an infected patient or one who is likely to be colonized with microorganisms of special clinical or epidemiologic importance, for example multiple-resistant bacteria and between contacts with different patients in high-risk units.[9] Diseases occur due to bad hand hygien Infections that may be transmitted through this route include hepatitis A, salmonellosis, shigellosis, giardiasis, enterovirus, campylobacteriosis and amebiasis. As these diseases are spread through the intake of even the little particles of fecal material, hand washing after using the toilet cannot drop be take easily. â€Å"Influenza,streptococcus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the common cold† are diseases spread through indirect contact. As these diseases can be spread indirectly by hands contaminated by respiratory discharges of infected people, illness may be reduced by washing hands after coughing or sneezing and after shaking hands with someone who has been coughing and sneezing. Microorganisms transmitted by one or more body substances such as urine, saliva or other moist body substance include cytomegalovirus, typhoid, staphylococcal organisms, and Epstein-Barr virus. These organisms may be transmitted from person to person or indirectly by contamination of food or inanimate objects such as toys. [10] Alcohol rub sanitizers kill bacteria, multi-drug resistant bacteria (MRSA and VRE), tuberculosis, and some viruses like HIV, herpes, RSV, rhinovirus, vaccinia, and fungus and stop diseases. [9] Thus, hexachlorophene and quaternary ammonium compounds are valuable for prophylaxis of staphylococcal infection but not of infection by Pseudomonas pyocyanea.[12] Antibiotics such as neomycin and bacitracin, which are rarely administered systemically, may be applied as topical antiseptics. They should be used in combinations, or mixed with synthetic agents such as chlorhexidine, in order to minimize the risk of producing resistant strains. [12] Recurrent furunculosis is usually the result of re infection from a carrier site on the patients body. Many nurses become carriers of hospital staphylococci, and the furunculosis which in some hospitals causes a good deal of minor ill-health, is often a consequence of cross-infection. [12] World hand washing day Global hand washing day is October 15. Global hand washing day is an annual global encouragement day devoted to expanding knowledge and understanding about the importance of hand washing with soap as a successful and inexpensive way to prevent diseases. It is an opening to design, test, and reproduce creative ways to encourage society to wash their hands with soap at important times. The day was founded by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Hand washing. [7] Disadvantages of hand washing There are some disadvantages of hand washing, some products that used in hand washing can be affect to generate bad effects in hand washing. Triclosan is an antibacterial agent which also has some antifungal and antiviral properties that contain in hand washing agents, researchers have found that it causes to change hormone balance in animals, also can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant germs and can be harmful to the immune system.[11] Sodiumlaureth Sulfate (SLS) and triclosan are two commen ingredients contain in hand washes which are responsible for most cases of contact dermatitis. The SLS is a foaming agent used in many personal care products. As well as hand washing products, it contains in shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste; potentially in shortly whatever thing that foams. A small number of people are sensitive to SLS and may lead to skin dryness or contact dermatitis. [11]

A report on the Implementation of Standard Costing

A report on the Implementation of Standard Costing In current years, various tools such as activity-based costing, the balanced scorecard and target costing have been used in the business community. However, traditional management accounting systems continue to be widely applied. One example is standard costing, which has been used on a wide front during the last century. The purpose of this paper is to examine the widely use of standard costing system. Despite it is less relevant than newer accounting methods, standard costing is far from obsolete. Because of its simplicity, flexibility and affordability, standard costing remains a favorite cost accounting method among accounting and finance professionals. Introduction: In todays time of rapid technologic change, tough global and domestic competition, total cost management is central to sustained corporate profitability and competitiveness. The management focus today is to minimize cost. The cost leadership strategy does not mean compromise on either quality or technology or product differentiation. Low costs are no advantage, if the customers are not willing to buy the product of low cost firm. Cost management has to be driven with customer as the focus. The survival way for any company is how to manage its product/service cost, quality and performance. The customers are continuously demanding high quality and better performance products/services and at the same time, they want the prices to fall. The shareholders are also demanding a required rate of return on their investment with the company. Thus, cost has become a residual. The challenge is being able to manufacture or provide service with the stipulated cost framework. Thus, cost management has to be an ongoing continuous improvement program. Standard Costing In recent years, various tools such as activity-based costing, the balanced scorecard and target costing have been used in the business community (Kaplan Cooper, 1998; Kaplan Norton, 1996; Ansari et al1997). However, traditional management accounting systems continue to be widely applied (Brewer, 2000). One example of traditional management accounting is standard costing. Standards can be used with either job order or process costing system to provide important information for managerial planning, controlling, and decision making. Standard costing assists in setting budgets and evaluating managerial performance. The major motive to use standard costing is because it facilitates product costing estimation (Ask Ax, 1997). Ask and Axs study is supported by a study conducted by Puxty and Lyall (1989), which reported that 76 percent of the UK commercial and industrial companies operate a standard costing system. Although it is used widely, people recently criticize it could not provide the information needed in todays competitive environment. Despite the criticism, there are few signs that the use of standard costing tends to decrease. The survey from Ask and AX (1997) showed that 12.6 % of the companies investigated stated that they would abandon standards but on the other hand, 9.9 % stated that they would like to convert to standard costing system. The History of Standard Costing The standard costing system was developed in the early 1900s. According to Drury (1992), it was the scientific management principles recommended by F.W. Taylor and other engineers. Scientific engineers built up information about standards to set up the best way to use labour and material resources within manufacturing. Engineers used the standards to provide information for planning the flow of work so that the waste of materials and labour was minimized. Interestingly, engineers did not consider standards as a tool to control financial costs at that time (Drury, 1992) The first thoughts of using standards as a tool to control costs came from G. Charter Harrison, who designed the first standard costing system. Started in 1911, Harrison worked for the Boss Manufacturing Company, Illinois, in USA makers of work gloves. It took him a few years before he published the first set of equations for the analysis of cost variances (Solomons, 1968) Harrison was not the only person on the standard costing scene. In 1908 and 1909 Harrington Emerson supported the development of an information system specifically directed towards the achievement of efficiency objectives. Emerson stated that information about standards allow managers to differentiate variances that are due to controllable conditions and variances that are caused by conditions beyond managements control (Solomons, 1968) Traditionally standard costing systems are used in order to support the manufacturing industry. Today standard costing is widely used by all kinds of industries. The Purpose of A Standard Costing System: The purpose of cost and management accounting is to provide financial information to managers to help them to plan activities, control the activities and see the financial implications of any decisions they make take (Hussey Hussey, 1998). Standard costing systems provide cost data that can be used for many different purposes. Ask and AX (1997) have identified several fields of application when it comes to a standard costing system. Their survey has the following reasons/purposes why a company may use a standard costing system: Product Costing 82.4% Inventory Valuation 64.8% Variance Analysis 56.0% Budgeting 45.1% Transfer Pricing 31.9% Drury (1996) gives a wider view of the purposes. He states that the main purpose a standard costing system can be used are: To help in setting budges and evaluating managerial performance. To act as a control device by stressing those activities which do not match to plan and thus alert decision-makers to those situations that many be out of control and in need of remedial action. To provide a forecast of future costs that can be used for decision making purposes. To simplify the task of tracing costs to products for inventory evaluation purposes. To provide a challenging target with individuals are motivated to achieve. There are many advantages with standards. Calculations are easier made and an effective performance controls are enabled, which provide opportunity to savings. Critique Against Standard Costing Systems Standard costs are major elements within the management accounting area. They were used when organizations conditions were stable, standardized products were produced and labour and material costs were the major costs components. But todays business environment is different. The difficulties in the manufacturing process are increased when products are many and product series are short. (Ask Ax, 1997) When difficulties increase, it has more complicated interpreting of variances. Moreover, it could be difficult to tie the variances to the particular persons or the particular areas. Also, when the manufacturing conditions become more complex, the amount of fixed costs increases. Therefore, fewer opportunities will influence the total costs in the short term. Managers have less interesting to manage by using traditional thinking on how costs are influenced by volume. As shown above, standards may be difficult to set in todays dynamic conditions. A standard costing system may be expensive to maintain and the additional record-keeping may become a burden to managers and they lose confidence in the system. (Hussey Hussey, 1997) Richard Fleischman and Thomas Tyson claimed that standard costing cannot provide adequate assistance in the areas of construction strategy and operational management. (Fleischman and Tyson, 1998) Don Hansen and Maryanne Mowen describe standard costing system as potentially dysfunctional. (Hansen and Mowen, 2002) These criticisms have contributed to the dismissal of standard costing, especially for large companies that have more sophisticated method such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) and target costing. Mike Lucas even questioned that whether it is still appropriate for college accounting programs to teach this topic. (Lucas, 1997) Global Acceptance of Standard Costing While academics pointing out the weaknesses of standard costing, people observed that this accounting tool continues to be widely used throughout the world. Studies showed that in developed countries the standard costing using rate is as high as 73% in the U.K. and 86% in Japan. (Garg, Ghosh, Hudick and Nowacki, 2003) More specifically76% of 303 accountants in the U.K. and 73% of 85 finance and accounting specialists in New Zealand use standard costing. (Guilding, Lamminmaki and Drury, 1998) The authors also found that accountants viewed modern costing and production management tools as having no impact on how widely standard costing and variance analysis are used. A study by Maliah Sulaiman, Nik Nazli and Norhayati Mohd Alwi of companies doing business in Malaysia found similar widespread dissemination and persistence of standard costing: 70% of 66 local firms and 76% of 21 Japanese are using standard costing. These studies reveal that standard costing does not overemphasize cost control; however, it is linked to quality management. In addition, the Lucas and Sulaiman studies have shown that companies use historical performance instead of predetermined engineering standards on actual costs. Instead of using newer and costlier systems, companies chose to reconfigure existing system with more precise schemes, implying that firms have adapted standard costing to their specific needs and have not abandoned it. Swiss Chalet Standard Costs System: System Description In order to demonstrate that standard costing is far from obsolete. I examined the standard costing system at Swiss Chalet, one of the biggest Canadian restaurant chains. The collected data of this study consists of in-depth interviews with employees working with standard costing at different divisions within Swiss Chalet. The study about the standard costing in U.K., Dubai and Malaysia is also used. First opened in 1954, Swiss Chalet now has more than 190 restaurants across Canada and United States serving their signature rotisserie chicken and a variety of other menu items. In the beginning of each month, Swiss Chalets area manger will send standard costs to each Swiss Chalets store. The standard costs are generated through historical data and area managers analysis based on each stores current situation. Then, management in each store can project materials, labor and overhead costs by reviewing the standard costs established for each of these cost elements. Then computer generate the variances and make managers recognize the differences between the actual activities and resource consumption and the expected activities and resource consumption. When the variance is significant, this is a signal for investigation, Managers will try to discover the cause and exert influence to correct it. Therefore, cost control and performance evaluation is the main purpose of Swiss Chalets Standard Costing System. According to Mann-Whitney U test Statistic13, inventory costing is the key function of standard costing for industries in U.K, Dubai and Malaysia. Also, Mann-Whitney U test suggests that the industrial-sector companies in U.K. use standard costing to a greater extent than the service sector for the functions of cost control and performance evaluation, costing inventories and computing product cost for decision making. Also, in only one instance has this pattern reverted toward the service sector: the use of standard costing as an aid to budgeting. These findings are consistent with those of other studies of industrial sector companies in Malaysia and the U.K. (Marie Rao, 2010) Material Standards: Swiss Chalets direct material components have three categories: foods, liquor and disposals. Foods include chicken, potatoes, ribs, and vegetables. Etc. Liquor includes wine, spirit and other non-alcohol beverages. Disposals include food boxes and bags to wrap food. Also, the standard cost of non-value-added materials such as discount materials, food wastes and voidable orders are also included for the purpose of reduction or elimination. When area mangers determine the standard cost, historical cost, stores current performance and cost-benefit trade-offs are involved in making quality decisions. When all quantity and price information has been gathered, component quantities are multiplied by unit prices to yield the total cost of each component. These totals are summed to determine the total standard material cost of one unit of product and the total standard material cost. Information about direct material of each component, their specifications (including quality), their quantitie s and total standard material cost are listed on a bill of materials. This average of historic usage method is consistent with statistics of service sectors in Dubai, U.K. and Malaysia. According to Mann-Whitney U test Statistic, 76% of service sector in Dubai and 63% of service sector in Malaysia use average of historic usage to set up labor and material standards. On the other hand, nearly nine out of 10 industrial sector respondents in Dubai employed standards based on design/engineering studies, which is comparable to Japanese companies in Malaysia (81%). These firms appear to be significantly more scientific in their approach to standards setting compared to the service sectors, which predominantly used average of historic usage method. Labor Standards: The procedures for developing labor standards are similar to those used for material standards in Swiss Chalet. Swiss Chalet has four types of works in the front of the house: servers, hosts, managers and bar tenders. They also have three types of people in the kitchen: cooks, line cooks and pre cooks. The standard costs of each type of worker in each specific time range are identified. Because they are in the restaurant business, labor requirement is different during the different period of the day. Therefore, their labor standards are specifically identified in each hour. Their managers salaries are also counted into the labor standard costs although they are fixed overhead cost. Labor rate standards reflect the wages and fringe benefits paid to employees. Because employees in the same position are paid different wage rates based on their experiences in the restaurant business, a weighted average rate is computed and used as the standard. After labor tasks are analyzed, an operatio ns flow document is prepared that lists all the necessary activities and labor costs in each time range. Overhead Standards: Swiss Chalet store has two types of overhead costs: utility costs and maintenance costs. (Managers salaries are included in the labor costs). Utility costs include rent, gas and hydro, etc. Maintenance costs include equipment repair budget, sanitary service and pest controls, etc. Area managers use historical data, store situation and market price to determine the overhead standard costs. Swiss Chalets managers review the standard every month. Slightly more than half of Dubai industries (52%) conduct reviews semiannually, consistent with Japanese respondents in Malaysia (55%). On the other hand, domestic Malaysia firms in the U.K. were apt to review their costing standards annually at a rate of 35% and 68%, respectively. (Marie Rao, 2010) Material Variance: Store managers do the inventory count every week and then input direct material cost they used of each component, their specifications (including quality), their quantities and total standard material cost into the computer system. The computer system generates the price variance and quantity variance. Store managers usually can not do much about the price variance because they are not able to control prices. Head office has purchasing contracts with their suppliers with fixed prices in the yearly basis. The only price they can control is vegetable prices, which have seasonal fluctuation. Managers are able to influence the price according to the price variance. Quantity variances are considered the responsibility of the person in charge of the kitchen. When the quantity variance is too big, managers have to think about the efficiency of the material usage, weather experienced employees are well allocated in different shift and weather further training should be provided. Labor Variance: When employees start to work and when they leave the store, they input their password into the computer system. Computer system automatically records their working hours and generates labor rate variance and labor efficiency variance. If the labor cost is bigger than 29% of the total costs, head office will give a warning to the stores, demanding them to reduce the labor costs. Therefore, managers have to balance the use of experienced workers and inexperienced workers in a specific task by using labor efficiency variance and labor rate variance. Using highly skilled highly paid individuals for lower-level jobs could cause an unfavorable labor rate variance, accompanied by a favorable labor efficiency variance. Therefore, Swiss Chalet examines variance where the variance exceeds a given percentage of standard. In Dubai, 39% of industrial companies and 50% of service companies base their costing decisions on managerial judgment, compared to roughly half of U.K. companies and one fourth of local and Japanese companies in Malaysia. However, 35% of firms in Dubais industrial sector and 29% in its service sector answered when the variance exceeded a given percentage of standard, which is similar to the rates found in the Malaysia and U.K. studies. (Marie Rao, 2010) II Usefulness and effectiveness of the System: The major advantage of standard cost system in Swiss Chalet is that it highlights and allows management to manage by exceptions, that is, it allows management to concentrate on the areas where there are inefficiencies. It also allows company management to understand the quality expected and costs that will be incurred in the preparation of each dish and what impacts deviations from these standards will have on costs and profits. When the variance is significant, this is a signal for investigation, Managers tries to discover the cause and exert influence to correct it. In the Swiss Chalet store I visited, costs are under control; productivity is high; workers are achieving bonuses based on team activity goals and employee morale is high in a work environment typically viewed as tedious. The system is highly controlled and automated. The process is effective and the standards they set are appropriate and attainably. Although their standards are developed from past and current information, environmental, seasonal and economic factors are considered for the period in which the standards are to be applied. Swiss Chalets material, labor and overhead standard costs are changed every month. For example, recently, Swiss Chalet eliminated many non value added labor movements, their labor time standards changed very soon accordingly. Swiss Chalets standards can be reached or slightly exceeded approximately 60% or 70% of the time with reasonable effort by workers. Their standards allow for normal, unavoidable time problems or delays. Their standards represent an attainable challenge and are able to motivate workers performance and at determining how effectively and efficiently workers are performing their tasks. III Recommendation: Process changes: Under current system, area managers are the only people who do the standard costs setting. I believe that area managers could cooperate with purchasing manager, accountants, marketing managers and store managers to determine which choices are most appropriate. The cooperation will help the company better balance the interrelationship of cost, quality, quantity and selling price. Under the current system, standard costs of each type of worker in each specific time range are used to calculate the total labor standards. However, workers salaries are different even in the same position because their experiences are different. Therefore, each individuals salary and individual numbers in one specific time range used to calculate the standard labor costs should be identified for managers better understand the standards and better improve their labor arrangement and improve their labor efficiency. Computer System change: Swiss Chalets current computer system is good, but still not highly automated. They still use fax to transit data and information within the organization are not highly shared within one portal. Therefore, I believe Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) will make their work process more effectively. EPR system provides a much higher level of accuracy to gathering cost information. With most manufacturing processes being automated and operated with little direct labor, ERP system has the advantage of keeping an accurate record of overhead cost pools at all levels in an organization. ERP has greater capacity to accurately allocate costs and it is important for developing accurate standards. Standard costs can be prepared with, for example, the sub-module mySAP.com Financials under ERP system. Intermountain Health Care, Inc.s Standard System According to Mr. W.V. Rosqvists research paper Intermountain Health Care, Inc, (IHC) Satandard Costing System Methodology and Implementation, the IHC Standard Costing System is able to manipulate the procedure costs in any way desirable to provide meaningful groupings for analysis. The Standard Costing System provides hospital management with a tool for meeting increased cost pressures in the health care environment. The system is useful for pricing services, but it is also important to monitor productivity and analyze costs and profitability. IHC is a not-for-profit hospital chain with 22 hospitals in the intermountain area and head office is in Salt Lake City. They have a complex approach to determine detailed standard costs for every procedure in the hospital. IHCs standard costing system was designed to link the hospitals financial management and case mix reporting system to provide significant information in the area of following: Cost/Profit Studies: the ability to determine cost and profit at each of levels, such as patient, physician, medical specialty, payer and employer. Marketing: to make complex decisions regarding the competitive market forces such as pricing, contracting and physician retirement. The analysis gives hospital the advantage to determine the financial impact of changes in volume. Departmental Productivity: to monitor the department performance to help variance analysis and goal setting. Utilization of Hospital Service: the ability to alter utilization, which depends on the ability to analyze current patterns and associated costs. Cost Comparison: To compare costs to other hospitals to help managers to identify and learn the efficient methods. Competitive Analysis: To study competitor information and make reasonable judgment of its costs. It will allow a significant view of the impact of price completion on all the competitors. It will help IHC to determine the extent to which it should compete on prices with other hospitals and with nontraditional health care providers, such as outpatient surgery centers. The IHC approach to standard costing provides detailed costs for every individual charge item in the hospital. Fixed and variable costs are maintained for every item in broad categories: labor expense, supply expense, depreciation and hospital overhead. After the implementation, their standard costing system is able to: provide full standard fixed and variable costs for management purpose in making pricing and marketing decisions; maintain a management reporting system compatible with existing system; provide an approach to compare hospitals and departments; provide accuracy while allowing easy and rapid maintenance. (M. V. Rosqvist) The Future of Standard Costing: According to Cheatham and Cheatham (1996), many accountants do not know that a redesigned standard costing system can provide the important information that they need and updating their system is an easier process than adopting a new system. They also point out that standard costing system combines managerial, financial and operations accounting, which make it as a control system. But the possible replacement is only cost accumulation system. Critics against the standard costing system questioned whether the system is useful in the manufacturing system of today. As we demonstrated above, it is still a widely used method, due to the fact that it provides cost information for many different ways in addition to cost control. A lot of companies adapted their standard costing system to report on these variables that particularly important to them. In companies where an activity-based system is implemented, standard costing is still essential when it comes to controlling the costs of unit-level activities. Other criticism comes from that overemphasis is on the price and efficiency, which would make quality aside. Also, volume variance to measure utilization of capacity ignores overproduction and unnecessary build-up of inventory. In this situation the fact that variance analysis is not locked in to a set of variables is ignored. Used variables can be changed when the need arises. Examples of this are presented below. (Cheatham Cheatham, 1996) To use standards on the functions of raw material ordering and inventory levels, which give information about the effectiveness of suppliers. Because the objective is to deliver orders as placed, any variances are undesired. Price variances can be combined with a quality variance to prevent purchasing managers from only focusing on price but do not pay attention to quality. Raw materials inventory variances indicate an inventory build-up, because more material purchased than used, by reverted conditions. This is in line with a just-in-time theory. Further criticism is about the non-focus of continuous improvement. But, standards based on engineering studies or historical data are not a necessary part of a standard costing system because standards can be changed by a lot of methods. Examples are listed as below. (Cheatham Cheatham, 1996) Use last periods results as standards. The last periods result has to be representative; otherwise it needs to be revised. It is also achievable to use a base period that comparisons are made. Use benchmark as something outside companies. To compare with competitors or with the leader of the industry. Use predetermined cost reduction by reducing the standard cost for every period by a predetermined amount to achieve constant improvement. Finally, the reporting system of the standard costing system may be revised. In the traditional way internal completion often arises. By revising the reporting system, cooperation among workers, managers and departments can be supported. Conclusion: Despite it is less relevant than newer accounting methods, standard costing is far from obsolete. However, redesign and update the standard costing system to adapt the new environment may be necessary. Because of its simplicity, flexibility and affordability, standard costing remains a favorite cost accounting method among accounting and finance professionals.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) Essay -- Biology

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) ATP stands for Adenosine Triphosphate and is the immediate supply of energy for biological processes. The ATP consists of an organic nitrogenous base, Adenosine, which is one of the four bases found in a DNA strand, it also consists of a ribose sugar with three phosphates joined by high energy bonds. The energy itself is stored in the form of high-energy chemical bonds; this energy is released on hydrolysis, i.e. by the reaction with water, in a similar way peptide bonds are hydrolysed in proteins. ATP is adapted to is highly suited to its function and role within living organisms as it is easily broken down and is thus a store for immediate energy; it is also a small molecule and can easily move around cells and through membranes. The production of ATP is usually associated with two principalities including respiration and mitochondria. It is common knowledge that respiration, which happens in all living organisms, produces energy and is expressed by the equation of: Glucose + Oxygen Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy Respiration can be, aerobic, occurring in an oxygenated environment or anaerobic, occurring in oxygen lacking environments. The latter producing 2 molecules of ATP and the former producing between 36- 38 ATP molecules. The energy released from the respiration of glucose is used to add inorganic phosphate to ADP, producing ATP. This is achieved by glycolysis, krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation which are cumulatively known to be involved in aerobic cellular respiration. As we shall see, this process makes use of co-enzymes such as ADP and Dehydrogenases such as NAD+. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm of a cell and involves the production of 2 molecules of pyruvate which occurs when glucose undergoes phosphorylation, lysis and then oxidation, yielding pyruvate and 2 molecules of ATP along with 2 molecules of reduced NAD. In aerobic respiration only the reduced NAD generated here enters a mitochondrion and goes into the electron transport chair where it is used to generate 6 molecules of ATP. Hence, the net ATP produced from glycolysis are 8 molecules of ATP. The next stage is krebs cycle which occurs in the matrix of the mitochondria, the resulting product from oxdative decarboxylation of pyruvate is progressively degraded by as series of reactions involving four dehydrogenations, two decarboxylations and ... ...P the hexose would not be formed and none of the compounds would be produced, thus the plant would not exist. ATP is used in active transport in plants, similar to the kidney in humans. The absorption of minerals, such as nitrates & phosphates require ATP, which are present in root hair cells. These nitrates and phosphates are used in protein and chlorophyll synthesis as well as synthesis of DNA, ATP and NADP, which are essential to the plants growth. However, the mineral salts which are carried in solution by the symplast or apoplast pathway need to cross the endodermal barrier, which is impermeable. They cross the endodermal barrier by active transport and continue their journey in solution as ions in the xylem. In conclusion, ATP is adapted to its function and is probably one of the most important molecules in biological processes; it is produced in the mitochondria but is used all over the human body and is equally important in plants, where it is produced in the thylakoids. ATP is essential for survival as it allows the growth of autotrophs and thus supports all the food chains in the world, and also is important in maintaining and controlling the human internal environment.

Math Coursework - The Fencing Problem :: Math Coursework Mathematics

The Fencing Problem Introduction A farmer has exactly 1000 metres of fencing and wants to use it to fence a plot of level land. The farmer was not interested in any specific shape of fencing but demanded that the understated two criteria must be met:  · The perimeter remains fixed at 1000 metres  · It must fence the maximum area of land Different shapes of fence with the same perimeter can cover different areas. The difficulty is finding out which shape would cover the maximum area of land using the fencing with a fixed perimeter. Aim The aim of the investigation is to find out which shape or shapes of fencing will cover the maximum area of land using exactly 1000 metres of fencing material. Prediction I am predicting that the maximum area of land covered will be achieved by using the fencing shapes with the greatest number of sides. Method I made a list of possible different shapes to be investigated and assigned measurements to the sides of the shapes making sure that they fit in within the perimeter of 1000 metres of fencing. I then worked out the areas of each shape using known mathematical formulae and techniques such as Pythagoras' theorem to calculate the sides of right angled triangles; using trigonometrical functions (sine, tangent and cosine) to calculate either angles or sides of triangles constructed. Sometimes there are no known exact formulae for working out the area of certain shapes such as octagon and more complex polygons. In such cases, given shapes are split into shapes that have known formulae for areas and the worked out the areas are added together. Areas of the following shapes were investigated: square, rectangle, kite, parallelogram, equilateral triangle, scalene triangle, isosceles triangle, right-angled triangle, rhombus, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon and octagon. Results The results of the analysis are shown in Table 1 and Fig 1. Table 1 showing the areas for the different shapes formed by using the

Air India †the Virgin Airways Saga Essay

In December 1999, India’s national carrier, Air India (A-I) signed an agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways1 (VA) by which VA would fly three flights on the Delhi-London route on a code-sharing2 basis with A-I. This was hailed as a significant development for the ailing A-I. The code sharing arrangement was expected to trigger off a price war in the Delhi-London route where British Airways (BA) was a dominant player. According to the agreement, VA would fly three more flights a week on this route by 2001. In July 2000, VA started off with two flights a week on Thursdays and Saturdays from Delhi. It planned to have a third flight by October 2000. However, till late 2001, VA was still flying two flights. A-I did not seem ready to allow VA fly the third flight because A-I too had a flight from Delhi on Monday, the day VA wanted to fly from Delhi. Meanwhile, the Government of India (GoI) granted rights to BA to fly three more flights per week from Kolkata to London. This was in violation of the bilateral pact signed between Britain and India according to which BA and A-I were allowed to fly 16 flights a week to each other’s country. BA was already flying 16 flights a week-seven from Delhi, seven from Mumbai and two from Chennai. In late 2001, VA was severely affected by the downturn in the global aviation industry. VA was finding it difficult to sustain its operations in India with only two flights a week. VA had made it clear that unless it was allowed to increase the frequency to three, its exit from India would be a distinct possibility. Background Note A-I was registered as Air India International in 1948. Later in 1962, the word ‘International’ was dropped and from March 1994, the airline began functioning as Air-India Limited. In 2000, A-I’s network covered 44 destinations (Refer Exhibit I). In addition, A-I had a code sharing arrangement with a number of foreign airlines. These included Air France, Swiss Air, Bellview Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Aeroflot, Air Mauritius, Kuwait Airways and Emirates. In the late 1990s, as part of its disinvestment rogramme, the GoI decided to divest 40% stake in A-I and began looking for a strategic partner. The strategic partner would take up 40% stake with only a 26% cap to foreign airlines. Ever since it began operations in 1984, VA focused on international routes. After the airlines maiden flight, from London’s Gatwick airport to Newark on the outskirts of New York, Richard Branson3 added several lucrative routes to his kitty. Till 1999, VA’s route network in the Asian region included Heathrow-Tokyo-Heathrow, Heathrow-Hong Kong-Heathrow and Heathrow-Shanghai-Heathrow. The airline had code-share agreements with Continental Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, and British Midland. In |the late 1990s, Branson was targeting the lucrative Delhi-London route. Every year an estimated 0. 3 million passengers traveled from Delhi to London, which was nearly 40 per cent of the total outbound traffic from India. The only available direct route codes were held by BA and A-I. As a result passengers were forced to take circuitous routes |offered by airlines like Emirates and Royal Jordanian which made them wait for hours at distant airports. Branson’s efforts to woo A-I started in 1997. He said, â€Å"Air-India was once famous for its service and I’d like to think that as well as competing with Air-India we can share with it our experience of making Virgin Atlantic the success it is today. † Analysts felt that A-I would learn from VA’s innovation in hospitality. VA was the first airline to offer a TV monitor with every seat (in every class). It offered in-flight beauty therapy including the services of masseurs, ice-cream cones during in-flight movies and a chauffeured motorcycle service to airports. Also in the offing were email and Internet services. Upper class passengers were provided laptop power leads with every seat, and headsets to reduce noise in the cabin. Besides commercial cooperation on cargo services, yield management, and product development, the arrangement with Branson would give AI’s staffers access to cabin crew training. However, analysts felt that once VA started its operations, it would be an all-out fight to lure passengers and AI would be the worst sufferer. As VA promised to offer tickets at 15 per cent less than BA, a Delhi-London VA ticket would be cheaper than A-I’s. The Deal In 1999, the ministry of civil aviation said that it was willing to consider an agreement between VA and A-I that would benefit both carriers. The agreement was to include a code-sharing arrangement or sharing of A-I flight quotas. The entry of VA on the London-India routes was likely to bring down the fares on the sector. In December 1999, VA signed an agreement with A-I to fly three services a week on a code share basis between Delhi and London from July 2000. The arrangement with A-I was for five years and apart from the initial three flights a week, frequencies, it had agreed to give away the remaining three to V-I by 2001. VA and A-I would share seats on each other’s routes and VA would operate flights to the UK on routes not covered by A-I. VA would also fly on days that were not flown by A-I. Under the terms of the agreement, flights would carry both VA and A-I flight numbers, and both airlines would sell seats on those services in competition with one another. Said Branson, â€Å"Launching flights between the UK and India has always been an ambition of mine. It is a very potent route and currently I see a lack of capacity on this route, which has decreased tourist flow between the two countries. I think between the two airlines – Air-India and Virgin – we will be able to improve the route. † According to some analysts, the GoI was interested in forging an alliance with VA because of the group’s interests in entertainment, music telecom, insurance and financial services. Branson had raised hopes of further investments in publishing, holiday homes and telecom. He said, â€Å"This is just the beginning. We will study the Indian market and see what business is best suited for the market and for us and proceed accordingly. We will see where we can make a difference. A-I had been in the red for a long time and was hoping that the VA venture would improve its bottomline. Said Branson, â€Å"We are paying a significant amount to A-I under the code-sharing agreement, though I would not like to reveal the amount. Let me assure you: Air-India can make a few millions. † However, Air India officials felt that more than the financial gains, it was the pa rtnership that mattered and the move would bring in fresh traffic to the country. Besides traffic, VA’s arrival could also mean reductio in airfares. Said Branson, â€Å"Our upper class and premium class as we call them are as competitively priced as the first class and business class fares of other airlines respectively. Except, of course, we give more services such as limousines, manicure, beauty treatment, etc, to every passenger on board. As for our economy class, our priority is to fly it houseful and hence the pricing is whatever it takes to get the customer. Hence, since we will be competing with Air-India too despite this agreement, the pricing and services will be competitive. † VA’s arrival was also expected to improve A-I’s services and even bring about a reduction in the fares depending on the market conditions. Said M. P. Mascarenhas, the then Managing Director of A-I, â€Å"We will have to compete and hence we will have to perform, even if it means fare reduction. † Analysts felt that a possible fare reduction would have an adverse effect on the bottomline of A-I. Responded Mascarenhas, â€Å"I don’t think it would because it would increase traffic and improve the overall situation. You see, now, between the two airlines, there will be services all days of the week. Analysts felt that with the AI-VA code sharing agreement, other carriers such as Thai Airways and Cathay-Pacific, which were asking for more flights, would pressurize the GoI for code-share arrangements with AI in lieu of more flights. Who will Rule the Delhi-London Skies? Analysts felt that with the entry of VA, the Indian skies would see some fierce price wars between VA and BA. Branson said that VA’s first class fares would be equivalent to the business class fares of BA and that the economy fare would be 30-50% cheaper than BA’s. If BA brought down ticket prices as it had done in May 2000, VA would fly for less, Branson said. Since BA had proposed a fare of about Rs 27,000 on the Delhi-London sector, Branson said VA would file an application with the GoI for a lower fare. At the same time, VA would respect the Government’s sentiments on fares, since it was a regulated market, Branson said. In June 2000, VA announced that it would start its operations in India in July with a bi-weekly service-Wednesdays and Fridays from London and Thursdays and Saturdays from Delhi. VA planned to launch a third weekly flight around October. The airline would offer low introductory fares. Mackenzie Grant, VA’s general manager for India said the initial fare was still being worked out and that it would be difficult to give a comparison with competing airlines. Analysts felt that VA would give BA some stiff competition, not only in terms of fares, but also with its array of services such as sleeper seats, massage services and lounge facilities. Said one, â€Å"Virgin’s entry will certainly be a boost to services between India and Europe. The airline has a high quality product. † Branson promised VA fare would be extremely competitive. Analysts felt that competitive pricing would mean that VA would price its Delhi-London flight for less than Rs 25,000, which was approximately the A-I fare. A-I feared there would be an exodus of its already dwindling passenger list. Meanwhile, BA was bracing itself to meet the VA challenge on the Delhi-London sector. The airline announced direct daily services between London and Delhi from October 30, thereby increasing capacity by 25 per cent on this sector. For this, the airline suspended its twice weekly service to Calcutta and terminated its five times-a- week service from Delhi to Dhaka from October 30. The changes were made as part of a renewed bilateral agreement between UK and India signed in February 2000. On July 5, 2000, VA dropped a bombshell. It slashed its introductory airfare from the normal Rs 42,598 to Rs 31,000 for a return ticket on the busy London-Delhi route. But just before VA’s entry into Indian airspace, BA also announced a special economy-class fare: a Rs 27,635 round trip ticket. According to analysts, consumers were at last getting the benefits of a liberalised competitive sector. In July 2000, BA won the right to three more flights per week between India and Britain, drawing an immediate protest from VA. According to BA’s South Asia manager Alan Briggs, under a special arrangement outside a bilateral aviation agreement, the GoI had given BA permission to fly three times a week to the eastern city of Calcutta. Under the bilateral pact, which was renewed in February 2000, BA and A-I were each allowed to fly 16 times a week to each other’s home country. A-I used 10 of its 16 weekly flight entitlements on the route. BA used all 16 of its flight entitlements, with seven flights a week to Delhi, seven to Mumbai and two to Madras. BA had been lobbying since 1993 to increase the number of its flights to India. The End of the Honeymoon? By October 2000, VA was to start its third code share flight as per the agreement with A-I. In addition to the Rs 100 million per flight per annum that A-I got from VA, the third flight would fetch A-I Rs 300 million per annum. However, till late 2001, VA was flying only two flights a week. Also, there was no progress on the remaining three flights that VA was entitled to fly from 2001. This seemed to the bone of contention between VA and A-I. VA officials were particularly unhappy that BA was granted rights to fly three additional flights per week from Kolkata to London against the prevailing norms. What seemed particularly strange was that there was no commercial agreement or code share for any of these additional frequencies. Commenting on the GoI’s interest in BA, a leading business magazine in India wrote, â€Å"The needle of suspicion automatically points to vested interests in the ministry and their sudden penchant for BA. â€Å"5 By December 2000, it became clear that VA would have to wait a bit longer for final clearance from A-I to commence the third code-share |flight on the India-London sector. While VA officials claimed that they would start the third code-share flight within a reasonable period of time following clearances from Indian authorities, A-I officials said that nothing was in the offing as yet. Said a VA official, â€Å"The ball is in the court of A-I and the Indian Government. The day we get the permission, we will start the service in a reasonable time period, which will allow us to relocate aircraft and crew to commence the third flight. Further, the airline will be only too happy to serve other destinations in India. † Some analysts said that while VA was keen to operate the third flight on Sundays from London with a Monday departure from Delhi, A-I was opposed to as the Indian carrier also had a Delhi to London flight on Monday morning. VA was willing to schedule its flight at 2 p. m. in the afternoon, ensuring a gap of more than 6 hours between its flight and A-I’s London flight. But this was not acceptable to A-I, which pointed out that according to the agreement signed between VA, and A-I, VA was to operate flights only on those days when A-I did not operate services to London. A VA official said that the delay in granting permission to VA to operate the third flight on the sector was proving to be financially disastrous for A-I. However, despite these problems, VA said it was interested in code sharing with A-I to other cities such as Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. In late 2001, VA was in some trouble because of the downturn in the transatlantic aviation business and shrinking revenues. VA announced 20 per cent reduction in operations, grounded five of its aircraft and pruned the workforce by 1200 to tide over one of the worst crises for the international aviation business in the aftermath of the US attacks6. Having already announced 20 per cent reduction of activities, the airline seemed unable to sustain its operations in India with just two |flights a week. Said Paul Smitton, general manager-India, VA, â€Å"Two flights each from Delhi is not a viable proposition in the long run. At least three or more flights makes the business viable as it would enable us to get more traffic and meet economies of scale from our operations here. † He added, â€Å"No airline can sustain loss making regions for long. And this time round, we will wait for just months and not |years before taking a decision. † Analysts felt that VA was likely to review its strategy for its fledgling unprofitable Indian operations. |During its short stay in India, VA had already notched up losses on the Delhi-London sector and industry sources ruled out the chances of VA breaking even unless the frequency increased from the current level. VA officials have indicated to the GoI that VA may have to pull out of India if the frequency of operations was not increased. VA informed the GoI that it had agreed to provide A-I with income worth Rs 100 million per annum for each flight on the basis of the understanding that a third frequency would be allowed on schedule. VA also said that it had hired Indian crew for three flights and spent on publicity, as it was confident its frequency would be increased. It informed the GoI that it would have to pull out of India if the third flight was not cleared. In October 2001, the GoI ordered a full review of the code-sharing pact. What remained to be seen was whether the much-hyped I-A-VA alliance would be sustainable in the long run