The Revolution in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Revolution in America - Essay Example In the evening of 26th August 1765, the home of the Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice Thomas Hutchinson was attacked by a mob from Boston while he was eating dinner with his family. The group broke into his home and looted and stole a large number of possessions from there, however, the Hutchinson family manages to escape just in time to avoid a bloody disaster. The Stamp Act Congress was formed and met in New York where the conflict that took place in Virginia was resolved and this paved the way for the first united coalition of the North American colonies. A new series of colonial taxes followed suit in 1767 called the Townshend Duties and would be accepted by the colonists as they were in charge of controlling trade. In Boston, things had not been faring well as a Non-Importation Agreement was issued by the merchants and traders with a condition of not importing anything that was manufactured and came from Great Britain in order to protest against the taxes, spec ifically the Townshend Duties that had been levied by the Parliament. In 1768, the Boston riots broke out as John Hancock’s ship was attacked by the British royal troops, for having violated laws relating to trade. This made the Parliament strict in its attitude and posted more British troops near the ports and waters in order to regulate the law; however, these stationed troops were soon hassled by Bostonians and led to the death of some troops. It soon became a massacre as more and more people began to get involved and this entire episode.... He assembled people to raid the British and destroy their forts and buildings as a sign of protest. Before this however, in November 1763, a group known as the Paxton Boys that consisted of half a hundred Scottish and Irish men, massacred a formidably large Indian population in Pennsylvania and blamed the state government of being lenient and biased towards the natives. This enraged them and they aimed for equality, thus displaying their wants through a series of attacks. The British were extremely powerful and counter attacked Pontiac and his tribes which led to signing of the Proclamation of 1763 which forbade any American colonist from settling on Native American territory unless he had permission to do so by the means of either purchase or treaty. All these incidents led to the end of salutary neglect and subsequently, in April of 1763, the First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer took office in London – George Grenville. In the year 1764, he enforced the Navigation Act and also passed the Sugar Act according to which sugar would then be taxable as three pennies on molasses so that the costs that were incurred by the British government during the war with France could be undertaken in the form of payment and recovered so that the benefits would ultimately go to England. The colonial Americans however were taken aback by the amount of tax on the sugar molasses and expected it to be two pence per piece at the most because of which they began to then protest in order to remain in business. Apart from this, he also enforced the Currency Act by which he stopped the circulation of paper currency; the Stamp Act as per which taxes were imposed on printed materials; and the Quartering Act by which

Fruit Fly Introduction Essay Example for Free

Fruit Fly Introduction Essay The purpose of this lab is to understand how each offspring inherits its genotype and how its phenotype reflects it. Sex chromosomes determine the sex of the offspring, and the autosomes consist of all the other chromosomes that determine phenotypic traits. Dominant traits are the genes that are expressed, while the recessive traits are masked by the dominant traits. We used Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), mutating the female fruit fly with a scalloped gene to change the phenotype of its offspring and using males with genes showing wild-type. Placing WT males and SD females in the same vile, we provided the flies an atmosphere to mate, giving us offspring with mixed genotypes and phenotypes. This experiment will reflect the breeding of fruit flies and how genes are present within adults as well as passed down through the offspring. Our four hypotheses related to mode of inheritance that was used to pass the gene. The mode of inheritance for the scalloped gene is autosomal dominant. The genotype of the female parent is homozygous dominant. The male parent genotype is homozygous recessive. From this hypothesis we expect all of the offspring to have a heterozygous genotype, and the offspring would all be scalloped†¦. The mode of inheritance for the scalloped gene is autosomal recessive. The genotype of the female parent is homozygous recessive. The genotype of the male parent is homozygous dominant. From the hypothesis we can expect the offspring to have heterozygous genotypes, but the offspring’s phenotype would be wild type†¦. The mode of inheritance for the scalloped gene is sex-linked dominant. The genotype of the female is homozygous dominant. The genotype of the male parent is hemizygous recessive. From this hypothesis we can expect all the female offspring to be heterozygous and all the male offspring to be hemizygous dominant. Both male and female offspring would be scalloped†¦.. Finally, the mode of inheritance for the scalloped gene is sex-linked recessive. The genotype of the female parent is homozygous recessive. The genotype of the male parent is hemizygous dominant. From this hypothesis we can expect all the females to have heterozygous genotypes and all the male offspring to have hemizygous recessive genotypes. In this prediction, all the male offspring would be scalloped, while the females would be wild type†¦.. The hypothesis that stated the mode of inheritance for the scalloped gene is autosomal dominant, and the mode of inheritance for the scalloped gene is sex-linked dominant predicted that all of the offspring are scalloped. To set up the reciprocal cross, the mutant gene was given to the male rather than the female from the first experiment and the female received the wild-type. The first hypothesis stated was that the mode of inheritance for scalloped is autosomal dominant. In this hypothesis the female genotype was homozygous recessive while the male’s was homozygous dominant. The offspring from this cross had heterozygous genotypes and expressed the mutant phenotype. †¦. The mode of inheritance for scalloped is autosomal recessive. In this cross, the male parent had a homozygous recessive genotype, while the female had a homozygous dominant genotype. The result of this was that all of the offspring had a heterozygous genotype and expressed the wild type phenotype. †¦ The mode of inheritance for scalloped is sex linked dominant. In this cross the female parent had a homozygous recessive genotype while the male had a hemizygous dominant genotype. The female offspring from this cross were heterozygous and expressed the mutant phenotype, while the male offspring had a hemizygous recessive genotype and expressed the wild type phenotype. †¦ The mode of inheritance for scalloped is sex linked recessive. In this cross, the female parent had a homozygous dominant genotype while the male parent had a hemizygous recessive genotype. The female offspring of this cross had a heterozygous genotype while the males had a hemizygous dominant genotype. All offspring expressed the wild type phenotype†¦. Each of the Punnett squares are possible outcomes of offspring phenotypes based on the genotypes of the parents. By comparing our results to that of the Punnett square’s we will be able to determine, through process of elimination, whether or not the mutation is a dominant or recessive trait and if it appears through an autosomal or sex linked chromosome. Based on the phenotypes of the offspring, we can infer the identifications of the parental genotypes.

Permeability Of Hydrophilic :: essays research papers

Permeability of Hydrophilic Supervisors: Vladan Milovic Professor Per Artursson SUMMARY Investigations of the integrity and transport characteristics of 2/4/A1 cells have been done in this report. The cell line was isolated from rat fetal intestinal epithelial cells and transfected with thermolabile SV40 large T antigen. These cells proliferated at 33 Â °C, but eliminated the antigen and ceased proliferating at a non-permissive temperature (39Â °C). At 39Â °C 2/4/A1 cells started to differentiate but simultaneously the cells also underwent massive cell death. When cultured at 37Â °C these cells formed confluent and tight monolayers that seemed to have paracellular transport characteristics similar to that of the human intestine. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the development of multilayers at 33Â °C, monolayers at 37Â °C and defects in the cell layer due to apoptosis at 39Â °C. Different immunostainings of ZO-1, E-cadherin and vinculin confirmed formation of tight and adherence junctions. Transepithelial resistance reached a plateau of 25-35 Ohm.cm2, which was similar to the small intestine. In transport studies 2/4/A1 cell line monolayers selectively restricted the permeation of hydrophilic permeability markers proportional to molecular weight and discriminated more accurately between the molecules of intermediate molecular weight compared to Caco-2 cells. These results indicated that 2/4/A1 cells could be used as a model for hydrophilic drug absorption. INTRODUCTION The small intestine plays a crucial role in the absorption of drugs and nutrients. Exogenous substances cross a series of barriers during the process of intestinal absorption: (1) the aqueous boundary/mucus layer, (2) a single layer of epithelial cells, and (3) the lamina propria, which contains the blood and lymph vessels that then transport the absorbed drugs to other parts of the body (Artursson 1991). The cell monolayer is comprised of two parallel barriers: the cell membrane and the tight junctions. Most drugs are absorbed by a passive diffusion across the cell membrane by the transcellular route, or across the tight junctions between the cells - the paracellular route. Drug transport can also be carrier mediated, when the drug utilizes transporters located in the cellular membrane. Transcytosis is another kind of active transport, in which macromolecules can be transported across the intestinal epithelial cell in endocytosed vesicles. The hydrophilic and charged drugs are absorbed after passing through the paracellular route, the water-filled channels between the cells (Artursson 1991). Rates and extent of the paracellular transport are, therefore, highly influenced by the structure and size of the tight junctions as well as by the size of the molecules. Only small and hydrophilic drugs can pass between the cells rapidly and completely; permeation of larger molecules can be limited proportionally to their size and lipophilicity (Hillgren et al. 1995). Simple assay methods are needed for drug absorption studies.

Social Media Essay

Writing Assignment: Social Media Essay. 3-4page paper: This paper is in three parts: 1) Discuss the social media in general, what it is, who uses it, how does it affect business; Social networking sites are based on the internet using by the computer, smartphone, or tablet that you able to access through Wi-Fi from anywhere. Companies use for improve teamwork or close to customers. Friends and families able to share pictures or greeting messages even they far apart. Everyone able to receive and share their personal interest and updated news. The social media is based on the internet with virtual communities that allowed people to share information, picture, or video. Definitely, social media does have more positive affect for individuals and companies. Today, however, there are always two sides of a coin. The individual account with social media is highly risk for security with person information. Facebook, blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, and podcasts are some of the social media that companies use to inform and persuade the public, to generate goodwill, and to build a positive brand awareness. 2) How do you use social media? Like and what I don’t like to use The great thing on the social media is a real-time update news. Another my favorite from the social media is sharing pictures within specific groups or public. However, most social media sites are connected world-wide. So it is never stop updating the message. Without self-control, it could disrupting personal daily task and routine. Also, social media sites using mostly slangs with comments such as lol, sth, asap, or more. Moreover, people use bullying or bitter word to hurt someone with anonymously comments. And, it has possible to reveal personal private life to unknown person who could use  for voice phishing. For example, my friend’s sister had phishing scam last year when she travel with friends. She posted some pictures on social network site that she was not in home. By somehow, the swindler found out and called their parents to asked ransom. 3) What are the different interesting and out of the way conversations going on in social media– that the general public may not know so much about– Also, discuss various mediums and methods to get one’s message across. For example, YouTube – advertising longer than public advertisement on television. What are the advantages and challenges? Also, how would you proceed with your virtual company using social media? Through social media for our iContol, I like to have announce experiential marketing for free to use about three to six months our product and first 100 people. Furthermore, our company can keep in touch with those 100 people’s feedbacks about product and service. In the conclusion, discuss which medium is preferred and why, how would you maximize its effects? Due Week 8 (submit under Week 8 Assignments)

Maxis Essay

Introduction Maxis Communications Berhad is a leading mobile phone service provider in Malaysia. Maxis Communications Berhad was established in the early 1990s and commenced mobile telecommunications operation in August 1995. It was then listed under the first board in Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). At present Maxis Communication Berhad is the biggest telecommunication provider in Malaysia. The company has total subscribers at 13.95 million as of December 2010. Maxis Communications Berhad, through its subsidiary, Maxis Berhad, engages in the provision of mobile, fixed line, and international telecommunications services in Malaysia. It also provides Internet and broadband services; and wireless multimedia related services, as well as owns, maintains, builds, and operates radio facilities and associated switches. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Maxis Communications Berhad is a subsidiary of Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd. It uses the dialling prefix identifier of â€Å"012†, â€Å"017† and â€Å"0142†. In 2002, Maxis purchased TimeCell, a rival mobile service provider, from Time dotcom Berhad. Prior to the purchase, Maxis offered phone numbers beginning with 012, and TimeCell 017. Now, subscribers can choose between the two. Maxis provide a variety of mobile communication products and services. They offer prepaid call plans, monthly subscription plans, global roaming, MMS, WAP (over both GSM and GPRS), Residential Fixed Line services, Broadband Internet plans, and as of early 2005, 3G services to both prepaid and post-paid subscription customers. Maxis Broadband make consumer can enjoy internet access in outdoor or indoor. It can go online at speed over 15 times faster than traditional dial up and do more, much more over the internet. Profile Maxis Berhad, with its consolidated subsidiaries (together, ‘Maxis’), is the leading mobile communications service provider in Malaysia. Maxis were granted licences to operate a nationwide GSM900 mobile network, a domestic fixed network and an international gateway in 1993. It commenced its mobile operations in August 1995 and launched its fixed line and international gateway operations in early 1996. Since its establishment, Maxis has been providing a full suite of services on multiple platforms to fulfil the telecommunications needs of individual consumers, SMEs and large corporations in Malaysia. Maxis’ mobile service is offered on a post-paid basis under the Maxis brand and via a prepaid format under the Hotlink brand. The use of these two distinct brands, underpinned by synergistic values, has enabled Maxis to develop its prepaid business successfully while maintaining growth in its post-paid segment. Maxis has also pioneered and led the Malaysian market in delivering innovative mobile products and services. It was the first to launch 3G services in Malaysia — known as Maxis3G — in July 2005, and in September 2006, it became among the world’s first to use HSDPA, a high-speed upgrade of its 3G network, to provide wireless broadband services. It was the first operator to bring the BlackBerryâ„ ¢ and Apple iPhoneâ„ ¢ smart phones to Malaysia. The company in April 2009 unveiled the first commercial NFC-powered service in Malaysia. Maxis provide enhanced post-paid packages to corporate and SME customers, based on its highly successful consumer post-paid plans. These plans are custom-made to meet the needs of enterprises, especially improved communications within and beyond their compound. Maxis’ international gateway services include termination of traffic into Malaysia from international telecommunications companies, supporting Maxis’ own outbound international direct dial (IDD) traffic, collecting international transit traffic and bandwidth leasing services. Maxis presently maintain bilateral  connections with more than 95 carriers in 38 countries and have capital investments in a number of submarine cable systems to carry its international voice and data traffic. Maxis’ significant growth and strong track record of bringing innovation, excellent customer experience and value to stakeholders has won the company numerous awards over the years. The latest awards include: Malaysia’s Top Ten Companies: Ranked 1 – Asia’s 200 Most Admired Companies, The Wall Street Journal Asia, 2006 Asian Mobile Operator of the Year – Asian Mobile News Award, 2007 Fourth Most Valuable Brand in Malaysia – Brand Finance, 2008 and 2009 Service Provider of the Year (Malaysia) – Frost & Sullivan, 2008 Mobile Data Service Provider of the Year (Malaysia) – Frost & Sullivan, 2009 Recipient of the Asia Pacific Super Excellent Brand Award – Asia Pacific International Brands Summit Malaysia, 2009 Maxis’ vision is to bring advanced communications services to enrich its customers’ lives and businesses, in a manner that is simple and personalised, by efficiently and creatively harnessing leading edge technology, and delivering a brand of service experience that is reliable and enchanting. Analysis of Market Structure Market structure classifies some of the key traits of a market, including: Number of firms Similarity of the products sold Ease of entry into and exit from the market. Comparison of Market Structures Market Structure No. of Sellers Types of Product Entry Conditions Examples Perfect Competition Large Homogeneous Very Easy Small crops, International commodity markets Monopolistic Competition Large Differentiated Easy Boutiques, Restaurants, motels Oligopoly Few Usually differentiated but sometimes homogeneous Difficult Car Making, Tobacco Products, Oil Monopoly One Unique Extremely difficult Public utilities MAXIS TELECOMMUNICATION FIRM. Few Competitors like DIGI, CELCOM, TUNETALK etc.. Entry into Telecommunication is Difficult. It requires a large amount of capital. Perfect Competition Perfect Competition Market has very large number of small firms, which acts independently rather co-coordinating decisions centrally. Perfect Competition is Price takers due to Huge Competition. Perfect Competition mainly deals with Homogenous Products. Homogenous mean Goods from one firm cannot be differentiated from other. Comparing Maxis with Perfect Competition Perfect Competition Maxis 1. It has very large Number of firms. 2. Entry Requirement is very easy. 3. Very less amount of Capital is enough. 1. It has few Competitors in the Market like DIGI, CELCOM, OKTEL etc.. 2. Entry Requirement is Difficult. 3. It requires large amount of Capital. On Comparing Maxis with Perfect Competition market structure. Maxis do not come under Perfect Competition. Monopolistic Competition Monopolistic Competition Firm has many Small Sellers. They involves in differentiated Product. It is free from Price Competition. It has Easy Entry as well as Exit. Comparing Maxis with Monopolistic Competition Monopolistic Competition Maxis 1. It has many small sellers. 2. Entry requirement is easy. 3. It’s free from Price Competition. 1. It has a few Competitors in the Market. 2. Entry requirement is difficult. 3. It has competition in price with their competitor. On comparing Maxis with Monopolistic Competition market structure. Maxis do not come under Monopolistic Competition. Monopoly Monopoly is a Single Seller in the market. It deals with unique product. Entry Barriers is very difficult. Comparing Maxis with Monopoly Monopoly Maxis 1. It has Single Seller in the market (free from Competitors). 1. It has its Competitors in the market. On comparing Maxis with Monopoly market structure. Maxis do not come under Monopoly. Oligopoly It has very few seller (which is dominated by a few large firms).. It deals with Homogenous as well as Differentiated Product. Entry Barrier is difficult. Comparing Maxis with Oligopoly Oligopoly Maxis 1. It has few Sellers in the market. 2. Entry Barrier is difficult. 3. It requires a large amount of Capital. 1. Maxis have few Competitors in the Market. 2. Entry barrier is difficult. 3. It requires the large amount of Capital. On Comparing Maxis with Oligopoly market structure. We came to know that Maxis is an Oligopoly. Behaviour of Maxis The behaviour of Maxis can be identified by considering the number and size distribution of firms (market share in terms of subscribers and revenue) in the market; the extent to which products are differentiated; how easy it is for other firms to enter the market; and the extent to which firms are integrated or diversified. However, as there are only 3 large cellular communication firms (Maxis, Digi and Celcom), individual market shares are used to measure market power. The basic conditions faced by the cellular communication firms are: Demand conditions †¢Price is relatively elastic as seen by huge swings in net additions leadership quarters to quarters as different cellular communication firms took on price-leadership. Source : MALAYSIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORT Q3 2011 Where the actions and the outcomes of these actions are interdependent among several agents and this interdependence is mutually recognized. Neoclassical economics assume perfectly rational agents, perfect information and zero transaction costs under perfect competition. However, due to limited cognitive capability and/or imperfect information, bounded rational agents experience limits in formulating and solving complex problems and in processing (receiving, storing, retrieving, transmitting) information. Routine standard procedures or heuristic approaches to decision-making are employed by bounded rational agents. The sum of the market shares of the n-largest firms. Maxis subscriber net addition dropped to a dismal 120,000 users in 3Q10 before regaining to 274,000 users in 4Q10. The relevant substitutes are provided by fixed-line Telco’s for local city calls (fixed-line rate of RM0.04/minute versus cellular rate of RM0.15/minute) and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) providers for IDD calls. However, these are not of major concerns currently as the mobile services are cannibalizing/substituting fixed-line services while the VoIP providers are competing in a value-conscious segment with an inferior product (i.e. poorer voice quality). Supply conditions The cellular technology adopted is the European GSM standards. However, due to constant technology changes, both Maxis and Celcom have launched 3G services earlier while Digi had its 2.75G (EDGE) services previously and recently added 3G services in order to be able to compete with both Maxis and Celcom. The market structure analysis summary of Maxis is as follows: Data Observations and/or Measurement Analysis/Comment No. of Firms 3 Regulated Oligopoly Market Share Cellular industry subscriber market share (overall) Cellular industry revenue market share (overall) Subscriber/Revenue market share: Celcom: 33% & 36.0% Digi: 25% & 25.3% Maxis: 41% & 42.1% There is no single dominant firm. However, Maxis is the leading firm in both revenue & subscriber market share, followed by Celcom and Digi. Product Differen-tiation Product differentiation based on calling plans and pricing structure to appeal to different customer segments. Value-added services (ring-tones, etc.) are quite homogenously provided by 3rd party provider. Minimal product differentiation as airtime is airtime and VAS contents are widely available across all 3 firms. Entry barriers Licensing and regulations Heavy capital investments & minimum efficient of scale required First-mover advantages: Network & Lock-in effects High entry barriers mainly due to government regulations Due to frequent technology changes, incumbents do incur substantial ongoing capital expenditures and face the dangers of being â€Å"leapfrogged† by potential entrants Numbers portability not implemented yet to counter the lock-in effects of personalized phone numbers. Exit barriers Huge sunk costs Bulk of capital investments are asset specific to Telco operations. Source : MALAYSIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORT Q3 2011 Price competition Using game theoretic model, Telco’s are assumed to provide a homogenous product and have sufficient capacity to serve the market demand. It is a non-cooperative game as there weren’t any enforceable agreements between them as they compete in the marketplace. It is a repeated one-shot simultaneous game as they were driven by quarterly performance accountable to shareholders. As such, they would decide on their pricing strategies independently and aware of rivals’ prices in the market while forming certain expectations about rivals’ pricing strategies. Actions available are Maintain Price and Undercut Price. Payoffs are ranked in order of preference (higher number is preferred). The most preferred outcome by firms is where one undercuts price while its competitors maintains price, leading to market share gain at the expense of its rivals. When all firms maintain prices, there is no change in market-share and profitability. When all firms undercut prices, market-share remains with reduced profitability. The strategic-form representation in a simplified 2-player model is as follows: Telco2 Telco1 Maintain Price Undercut Price Maintain Price 3,3 1,4 Undercut Price 4,1 2,2 Example of Game Theory Solving for Nash equilibrium, both players have Undercut Price as their dominant strategy resulting in a Pareto-inefficient Dominant- Strategy-Equilibrium at (2,2). This is a repeated Prisoners’ Dilemma game and these interactions are witnessed in the current market through an escalating price-war resulting in reduced Average-Revenue-Per-User (ARPU). Example of Starter pack price wars involving Maxis and Digi Launch Date Maxis Hotlink 017 Digi Beyond Prepaid Sep 8, 2005 RM20 to RM10 Oct 27, 2005 RM18 to RM9.90 Nov 25, 2005 RM10 to RM8.80 Dec 10, 2005 RM9.90 to RM8.50 Average Revenue per User Source : Articles from 2009 to 2011, Press release 2009 to 2011, Maxis reports 2009 to 2011, Digi Reports 2009 to 2011, Celcom Reports 2009 to 2011. If this game is repeated infinitely, collusive behaviour through the use of Tit-For-Tat strategy may result in non-competitive/monopolistic-like pricing which reduces public welfare. Though Maxis had a higher ARPU previously according to the above data, Maxis always need to be proactive in monitoring firms’ behaviour to detect possible tacit collusion through price-signaling. Product differentiation The above game theoretic analysis suggests that if the price-war continues,  Maxis and the other two firms will eventually be forced to price at their marginal costs – similar to a perfectly competitive firm. Therefore, it is rational to expect Maxis or the similar firms to soften the intensity of the price competition through product differentiation and customer segmentation. It is important to note that traditional microeconomic theory treats all consumers as homogenous. In reality, this is not the case and these firms are thus offering different calling plans, pricing structures (ON-Net/Off-Net), pre-bundled minutes and services, etc. Due to bounded rationality and heterogeneous consumption, consumers find it difficult to make head-to head cost-benefits comparisons and thus make the products appear to be somewhat non-homogenous and not fully substitutable for one another. These firms are also competing and differentiating through demand stimulation (‘shifting’ the demand curve) by organizing SMS contests, sponsoring shows like ‘Malaysian Idol’ which encourage SMS voting, etc. where the SMS charges are priced much higher than normal SMS charges in order to drive higher non-voice revenue and profitability as illustrated by Maxis, Celcom and Digi’s 2010 announcements below. Source: DiGi AGM 2011 IRwebsite One has to take note that the marginal costs are almost negligible relative to the huge fixed-cost investments required. ON-Net refers to calls within the same provider’s network. OFF-Net refers to calls made from one provider to another provider’s network. Decision-making based on imperfect information (uncertainty about future, costly to acquire perfect information) and/or limited cognitive capability. Through product differentiation, each differentiated product is addressing its relevant market instead of addressing a large homogenous market, thus allowing Telco’s to raise price above marginal cost (and reduce consumer’s surplus) without losing its entire market share. Thus, product differentiation can soften price competition and create a degree of market  power. We find from the above data that Maxis currently have the highest market power and leading company with the highest revenue. However, these type of firms balance between the reductions in welfare caused by product differentiation pricing above marginal costs versus the increased in welfare by allowing disparate consumers’ preferences to be closely met. Each firm also ensure proper ethical behaviour on the part of the Telco’s to ensure that public welfare is protected in SMS contests, SMS voting, etc. to prevent undesirable negative consumption externalities such as encouraging the habit of ‘gambling’, excessive spending, etc. Advertising Maxis often use advertising to create brand and/or product differentiation in order to soften the price competition. To the extent that persuasive advertising create customer loyalty through perceived differentiation over essentially identical products, they create market power in the sense that consumers may be willing to pay more for preferred brands, thus allowing these type of firms to raise prices above marginal costs. Following the previous assumptions with payoffs ranked in order of preference (higher number is preferred), the most preferred outcome by firms is where one advertises while its competitors don’t, leading to market share and profitability gain at the expense of its rivals. When all firms don’t advertise, there is no change in market-share and profitability. When all firms advertise, market-share remains with reduced profitability. Maxis uses similar strategy by advertising less gaining market share and more profit at expense of its rivals which we can see below: Advertising Expense of 2005 by Malaysian cellular communications industry Communications Sector: Mobile Line Services RM (million) Communications Sector: Mobile Interactive Services RM (million) Total RM (million) Celcom 52.3 Celcom 6.6 58.9 DiGi 37.7 DiGi 5.1 42.8 Maxis 47.8 Maxis 1.9 49.7 Source : www.mcmc.gov.my, Reports by Maxis, Celcom and Digi 2005 Customer Satisfaction Source : SKMM Consumer Survey 2007 at www.mcmc.gov.my The Customer-Satisfaction-Index (CSI) for the three firms are almost similar. We find that Maxis’ performance is satisfactory in the market and can be considered as a leading oligopoly firm among the three. Conclusion Maxis is one of the Malaysian oligopoly cellular communications industry with high entry barriers, mainly due to government licensing restrictions; and high exit barriers due to huge capital investments (sunk costs). However, frequent technology changes could potentially allow â€Å"leapfrogging† by competitors or potential entrants. The market share is with intense price-competition as the market gets more saturated. Non-price competition  is also intense, mainly through advertising. However, as price-competition escalates, other cellular communication industries are pricing closer to marginal costs as evidenced by the steady drop in ARPU over the past few years. Consumer satisfaction is high for Maxis though consumers are seeking for even lower communications charges and greater geographic coverage. Maxis is currently doing a good job and should continue to push ahead with its plan to allow greater customer choice. Maxis should also monitor for deceptive advertising, SMS contests & voting, etc. and also possible tacit collusive behaviour through price-signaling. It is also recommended that Maxis conducts benchmarking against regional and international cellular communication industries on key areas like profitability and/or returns on equity to determine fair-returns, service quality, technical efficiency, etc. to determine the success of its policies in future. _______ References www.theedgedaily.com Digi gains market share†, The Edge Daily, 5 Dec 2005 www.osk188.com www.digi.com.my www.maxis.com.my www.celcom.com.my Maxis Quarterly 2009 Report Maxis Quarterly 2010 Report DiGi 2009 Report DiGi 2010 Report Celcom Annual Report 2010 Maxis Annual Report 2010 DiGi Annual Report 2010 www.mcmc.gov.my www.mobileworld.com.my/ Profit_expense_2005 www.boardroomlimited.com Dixit, A and Skeath, S (2004): Games of Strategy (2nd Ed), W.W.Norton www.wikipedia.org Rosenberg, E.A. and Clements, M.: â€Å"Evolving market structure, conduct and policy in local telecommunications†, The National Regulatory Research Institute. SKMM Consumer Survey 2007 at www.mcmc.gov.my www.boardroomlimited.com/irdigi/†¦/DiGiAGM2011IRwebsite www.theedgemalaysia.com/†¦/170320-digis-2q-profit-up-187-divide†¦ www.digi.my/aboutdigi/media/mr_press_det.do?id=5240†¦4†¦ www.mysarawak.org/2009/10/30/digi’s-subscriber-base-to-grow.html www.boardroomlimited.com/irdigi/irdigi/FA220709.pdf http://telcoblog.nst.com.my/2009/05/celcom-vs-digi-q1-2009.html http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/29/business/1910200&sec=business http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/29/business/2675455&sec=business http://telcoblog.nst.com.my/2009/05/celcom-vs-digi-q1-2009.html axiata.listedcompany.com/misc/axiata_presentation_2Q2011.pdf http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/insider-asia/180047-maxis-and-digi-offer-yields-at-fairly-low-risks.html www.maxis.com.my/†¦/Announcement_04_2009_Financial_Result_†¦ axiata.listedcompany.com/misc/axiata_presentation_1Q2011.pdf www.maxis.com.my/personal/†¦/1Q_2011_IR_Pack_(FINAL).pdf Maxis_4Q10_Presentation_FINAL_2 http://www.maxis.com.my/mmc/index.asp?fuseaction=press.view&recID=452 www.maxis.com.my/†¦/Announcement_02_2010_Press_Release.pdf www.maxis.com.my/personal/about_us/†¦/Anmt-PressRelease.pdf www.maxis.com.my/mmc/index.asp?fuseaction=press.view†¦499 www.maxis.com.my/†¦us/†¦/Maxis_4Q10_Presentation_FINAL.pdf http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/insider-asia/179310-mobile-subscriber-additions-surprisingly-robust.html http://www.thesundaily.my/news/business/celcom-may-pass-service-tax http://www.scribd.com/doc/39862337/Telecommunications-Sector-Update-Sizing-Up-The-Pure-Mobile-Domestic-Players-%E2%80%93-Maxis-vs-DiGi-22-10-2010 http://www.scribd.com/doc/60333044/EN for MALAYSIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORT Q3 2011

Biography of Carl Sandburg

Biography of Carl Sandburg Carl Sandburg was an American poet who became widely known to the public not only for his poetry but for his multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. As a literary celebrity, Sandburg was familiar to millions. He appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1938, with the accompanying photo essay focused on his sideline as a collector and singer of American folk songs. After Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, he remarked that he would have been most happy had Carl Sandburg gotten the award. Fast Facts: Carl Sandburg Known For: Poet, literary celebrity, biographer of Abraham Lincoln, and collector and singer of American folk songsBorn: January 6, 1878 in Galesburg, IllinoisDied: July 22, 1967 in Flat Rock, North CarolinaParents: Clara Mathilda Anderson and August SandbergSpouse: Lillian SteichenEducation: Lombard CollegeAwards: Three Pulitzer prizes, two for poetry (1919 and 1951) and one for history (1940) Early Life and Poetry Carl Sandburg was born January 6, 1878, in Galesburg, Illinois. He was educated in local schools, which he quit in his early teens to work as a laborer. He became a traveling worker, moving throughout the Midwest and developing a great appreciation for the region and its people. After joining the Army during the Spanish-American War, Sandburg returned to his education, enrolling in a college at Galesburg. During that period he wrote his first poetry. He worked as a journalist and as the secretary for the socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. He then moved to Chicago and took a job as an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. While working in journalism and politics he began writing poetry seriously, contributing to magazines. He published his first book, Chicago Poems, in 1916. Two years later he published another volume, Cornhuskers, which was followed after another two years by Smoke and Steel. A fourth volume, Slabs of the Sunburnt West, was published in 1922. Cornhuskers was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1919. He would later be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1951, for his Complete Poems. The cover of Life magazine features a close-up of American poet Carl August Sandburg (1878 - 1967), February 21, 1938. The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images His early poems have been called subliterary, as they tend to use common language and slang of the common people. With his early books he became known for his free verse that was rooted in the industrial Midwest. His plain manner of speaking and writing endeared him to the reading public and helped make him a celebrity. His poem Fog, was known to millions of Americans, and appeared often in schoolbooks. He had married Lillian Steichen, the sister of photographer Edward Steichen, in 1908. The couple had three daughters. The Lincoln Biography In 1926, Sandburg published the first volumes of what would become his massive biography of Abraham Lincoln. The project, which was originally conceived to be the story of Lincoln in Illinois, was influenced not only by Sandburgs own fascination with the Midwest, but with a circumstance of timing. Sandburg had known Civil War veterans and other local people who retained vivid memories of Lincoln. The college Sandburg attended had been the site of one of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. As a student, Sandburg came to know people who recalled attending the debate five decades earlier. Sandburg engaged in countless hours of research, seeking out Lincoln scholars and collectors. He assembled the mountain of material into artful prose that brought Lincoln to life on the page. The Lincoln biography eventually stretched into six volumes. After writing the two volumes of The Prairie Years, Sandburg felt compelled to continue, writing four volumes of The War Years. In 1940 Sandburgs Abraham Lincoln: The War Years was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History. He eventually published an abridged edition of the Lincoln biography, and also shorter books on Lincoln for young readers. For many Americans of the mid-20th century, Carl Sandburg and Lincoln were somewhat inseparable. Sandburgs depiction of Lincoln was how countless Americans came to view the 16th president. Carl Sandburg eulogizing Lincoln at a joint session of Congress. Getty Images   Public Acclaim Sandburg put himself in front of the public, at times going on tour playing his guitar and singing folk songs. In the 1930s and 1940s he would appear on the radio, reading poems or essays hed written on American life. During World War II he wrote a regular column about life on the American home front which was carried in a number of newspapers. He continued to write and publish poetry throughout his life, but it was always his association with Lincoln that gained him the greatest respect from the public. On Lincolns 150th birthday, February 12, 1959, Sandburg enjoyed the very rare honor of addressing a joint session of Congress. From the podium in the chamber of the House of Representatives he spoke eloquently of Lincolns struggles during the Civil War and what Lincolns legacy meant to America. Carl Sandburg visiting President Kennedy in the Oval Office. Getty Images In October 1961, Sandburg visited Washington, D.C., from his farm in North Carolina, to help open an exhibit of Civil War artifacts. He stopped by the White House to visit President John F. Kennedy, and the two men spoke of history and, of course, Lincoln. Carl Sandburg died on July 22, 1967, at Flat Rock, North Carolina. His death was front-page news across America, and he was mourned by millions who felt as if they had known the unpretentious poet from the Midwest. Sources: Sandburg, Carl. Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature, vol. 4, Gale, 2009, pp. 1430-1433. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Allen, Gay Wilson. Sandburg, Carl 1878-1967. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, edited by Leonard Unger, vol. 3: Archibald MacLeish to George Santayana, Charles Scribners Sons, 1974, pp. 575-598. Gale Virtual Reference Library.Carl Sandburg. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 13, Gale, 2004, pp. 461-462. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Effective Rhetorical Strategies of Repetition

Effective Rhetorical Strategies of Repetition Care to know how to bore your readers to tears? Repeat yourself. Carelessly, excessively, needlessly, endlessly, repeat yourself. (That tedious strategy is called battology.) Would you like to know how to keep your readers interested? Repeat yourself. Imaginatively, forcefully, thoughtfully, amusingly, repeat yourself. Needless repetition is deadly- no two ways about it. Its the kind of clutter that can put to sleep a circus full of hyperactive children. But not all repetition is bad. Used strategically, repetition can wake our readers up and help them to focus on a key idea- or, at times, even raise a smile. When it came to practicing effective strategies of repetition, rhetoricians in ancient Greece and Rome had a big bag full of tricks, each with a fancy name. Many of these devices appear in our Grammar Rhetoric Glossary. Here are seven common strategies- with some fairly up-to-date examples. Anaphora (pronounced ah-NAF-oh-rah)Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.This memorable device appears most famously throughout Dr. Kings I Have a Dream speech. Early in World War II, Winston Churchill relied on anaphora to inspire the British people: We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. Commoratio (pronounced ko mo RAHT see oh)Repetition of an idea several times in different words.If youre a fan of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, you probably recall how John Cleese used commoratio beyond the point of absurdity in the Dead Parrot Sketch: Hes passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! Hes expired and gone to meet his maker! Hes a stiff! Bereft of life, he rests in peace! If you hadnt nailed him to the perch hed be pushing up the daisies! His metabolic processes are now history! Hes off the twig! Hes kicked the bucket, hes shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin choir invisible! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT! Diacope (pronounced dee-AK-o-pee)Repetition that is broken up by one or more intervening words.Shel Silverstein used diacope in a delightfully dreadful childrens poem called, naturally, Dreadful: Someone ate the baby,Its rather sad to say.Someone ate the babySo she wont be out to play.Well never hear her whiny cryOr have to feel if she is dry.Well never hear her asking, Why?Someone ate the baby. Epimone (pronounced eh-PIM-o-nee)Frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point.One of the best-known examples of epimone is Travis Bickles self-interrogation in the film Taxi Driver (1976): You talkin to me? You talkin to me? You talkin to me? Then who the hell else are you talking . . . you talking to me? Well, Im the only one here. Who . . . do you think youre talking to? Oh yeah? Okay. Epiphora (pronounced ep-i-FOR-ah)Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses.A week after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast late in the summer of 2005, the president of Jefferson Parish, Aaron Broussard, employed epiphora in an emotional interview with CBS News: Take whatever idiot they have at the top of whatever agency and give me a better idiot. Give me a caring idiot. Give me a sensitive idiot. Just don’t give me the same idiot. Epizeuxis (pronounced ep-uh-ZOOX-sis)Repetition of a word for emphasis (usually with no words in between).This device appears often in song lyrics, as in these opening lines from Ani DiFrancos Back, Back, Back: Back back back in the back of your mindare you learning an angry language,tell me boy boy boy are you tending to your joyor are you just letting it vanquish?Back back back in the dark of your mindwhere the eyes of your demons are gleamingare you mad mad madabout the life you never hadeven when you are dreaming?( from the album To the Teeth , 1999) Polyptoton (pronounced, po-LIP-ti-tun)Repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings. The poet Robert Frost employed polyptoton in a memorable definition. Love, he wrote, is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. So, if you simply want to bore your readers, go right ahead and repeat yourself needlessly. But if, instead, you want to write something memorable, to inspire your readers or perhaps entertain them, well then, repeat yourself- imaginatively, forcefully, thoughtfully, and strategically.

Mark Twain Quotes on Religion

Mark Twain Quotes on Religion Mark Twain had strong opinions on religion. He was not one to be swayed by religious propaganda or sermons. However, Mark Twain was not considered an atheist. He was evidently against conventional religion; and the traditions and dogma that prevail within religion. Religious Intolerance Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isnt straight. So much blood has been shed by the Church because of an omission from the Gospel: Ye shall be indifferent as to what your neighbors religion is. Not merely tolerant of it, but indifferent to it. Divinity is claimed for many  religions; but  no religion is great enough or divine enough to add that new law to its code. The higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out in the Hereafter. The Christians Bible is a drug store. Its contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes. Religious Training In religion and politics peoples beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination. A religion that comes of thought, and study, and deliberate conviction, sticks best. It aint those parts of the Bible that I cant understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand. No God and no religion can survive ridicule. No political church, no nobility, no royalty or other fraud, can face ridicule in a fair field, and live. Church No sinner is ever saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon. Satan hasnt a single salaried helper; the Opposition  employ  a million. Zeal and sincerity can carry a new religion further than any other missionary except fire and sword. India has 2,000,000 gods, and worships them all. In religion, other countries are paupers; India is the only millionaire. Morality and Human Nature Man is kind enough when he is not excited by religion. It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. By temperament, which is the real law of God, many men are goats and cant help committing adultery when they get a chance; whereas there are numbers of men who, by temperament, can keep their purity and let an opportunity go by if the woman lacks in attractiveness. If God had meant for us to be naked, wed have been born that way. God puts something good and lovable in every man His hands create. But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most? God pours out love upon all with a lavish hand but He reserves vengeance for His very own.

From a decision making point of view, why are some costs relevant and Essay

From a decision making point of view, why are some costs relevant and others irrelevant Give a detailed example of each - Essay Example Overlooking the irrelevant data in the assessment process moreover would greatly benefit the company in saving time and effort (Averkamp 2012, p.1). For relevant costs, a company could for example be deciding whether to remove a product line or not. This product line could be accounting for about 4% of this firm’s activities. If the company eliminates this product line, the corporation officers will continuously receive similar salaries as before such that the expenses for the central office will not change. Product line managers plus others staffs working directly with this product line however will receive a termination thus eliminating their salaries. According to Averkamp (2012, p.1), such eliminated salaries for individuals who worked directly with the direct line will be relevant in the decision-making process. If the salaries were $700000 when the product line was operational and $0 in its absence, the $700000 savings is therefore relevant (i.e. relevant cost). Considering this same product line scenario, salaries linked to the officers are not relevant for decision-making. This means that whether the salaries amounts to $500,000 or $5, 000,000, they will remain irrelevant. The salaries will be similar in the presence or absence of the product line. Averkamp (2012, p.1) noted that a decision-maker will need not know the expenses of the central office because they will be constant in the presence or absence of the product line. Previous year’s expenses will similarly remain

Air Pollution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Air Pollution - Research Paper Example The issue of Air Pollution has is not new and was part of the environmental crisis that started with the industrial revolution however the situation today is far more complicated and critical as compared to 50 years back with environmental pollutants causing problems like ozone depletion, global warming and acid rain (Wark, Warner, Davis). Air pollution is almost impossible to contain because of its ability to spread rapidly over a large area. Air pollutants are of various kinds with different physical characteristics and chemical properties and have varying effects on the environment and human health. The various environmental issues are inter-related for example the issue of global warming is aggravated by the increased ozone depletion due to various environmental pollutants. The various environment protection bodies including the United Nations Environmental Program is taking various steps to prevent air pollution and reduce the use of several different chemicals and process which result in air pollution. The UNEP issues regular recommendations to the governments for passing legislation for eradicating the use of harmful chemicals and industrial processes which contribute to environmental pollution. The various other initiatives taken by international environmental protection bodies and agencies include the Kyoto Protocol, the Montreal Protocol and carbon footprint reduction programs but these efforts have not achieved the desired objectives till date. The situation of air pollution is worsening every other day primarily because of the lack of awareness among common people about the adverse effects of various daily life products they use and their activities which pollute the environment. People are concerned about an issue when they have to face the consequences but in case of air pollution, there are cases in which the pollution is caused by the activities of one region while people of other regions have to face the consequences, for instance the Scandinav ian regions are affected when the European countries of the south pollute air, similar is the case with the harmful chemicals issued by the industries in China which pollute the Japanese regions (White, Beal). The sand storms in North Africa are responsible for red rains in Europe across the Mediterranean. So the issue of air pollution is a global issue and must be dealt by all the nations of the world collectively but the overall scenario of the world regarding the environmental protection is not very encouraging because the countries only think about their own interests and do not act to solve the problems globally because most of the countries are not willing to sacrifice their economical benefits for the environmental protection cause. Pollutants in the air a serious environmental issue because the society today is highly industrialized and the various harmful chemicals like radon, lead, asbestos, ozone, carbon monoxide etc. which have been classified as environmental pollutants are issuing from various industries. The various air pollutants are discussed in the following paragraphs. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas which is fatal for humans if

NR 6210 Practicum Experience Summery Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

NR 6210 Practicum Experience Summery - Assignment Example To start with, perinatal depression is a condition that affects women leading to major or minor depression either during the pregnancy period or within 12 months after giving birth. This is a common occurrence in women and studies have shown that minority and low-income women register most cases in the documentation patterns of screening and referral for postpartum depression. Therefore, as part of my behavioral objectives, I investigated problems associated with EPDS screenings and referral resources among low income perinatal clients in FCM. In the first day of the practicum, I was introduced to the program coordinator of FCM, Mrs. Damaris Montano who acted as my preceptor during the practicum period. The introduction was important part of the practicum since I was able to learn what it takes to run the department since my preceptor was preparing for performance review of the department that was to be carried out later. I also got a glimpse of how the internship will be carried out in the department. On the second meeting with my preceptor, I learned the administrative roles of MPH nurse at a public health department from the programs she supervised and coordinated. My receptor informed me that she coordinated 6 programs and that she ensured smooth running of the programs as part her responsibilities. To achieve this, she conducted weekly meetings with assistant supervisors in order to discuss issues concerning operation of the program. In addition, we decided to be meeting on Thursdays in preference of FCM program so that I could start reviewing old postpartum EDPS. On another aspect, I also identified some leadership gaps that could be addressed in management of FCM program. In one of the Health Works program staff meeting, a case worker presented an issue to my preceptor that involved a pediatric doctor who did not respond as required on an issue

Response Analysis About Girl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Response Analysis About Girl - Essay Example However, some of these words of wisdom did not make any sense and sounded useless. In my society, a mother’s advice is very important especially to her daughters. The girls in my society rely on maternal guidance and this continues even after they marry. If a girl doesn’t behave properly, people will attribute the misconduct to her mother by saying that she wasn’t taught well. This eventually results to a tarnished family reputation that other members of the family must equally endure. In my opinion, I believe that everybody needs to be guided one way or another. Therefore, I will respond to this text and analyze it based on my own experiences and in contemplation of my cultural and social background. When I was a kid, we ate using our hands without any utensils such as spoons and knives. This never occurred to me as peculiar as it was to me, simply, the Arabian way to eat many types of food. Human nature predisposes me to follow my family’s adopted culture in many different things. As shown in the text, the mother told her daughter to â€Å"always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach† (Kincaid, p. 200). I think that her mother overreacted in her warning. I believe that this advice is useless because it’s natural for us to follow our family habits when we eat because it was the way we were raised. In addition, it’s a bad way to impose on someone by telling her to consume her food in a way that it doesn’t upset somebody else’s appetite. This advice might affect someone negatively to an extent that she will be ashamed of eating in front of people. This personal response is based on a social fra mework in relation to people’s habits. The mother in this sentence shocked me by her rude language. I don’t think that any mother should call her daughter a "slut." â€Å"On Sunday, try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming† (p. 200). In my cultural

Leading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leading - Essay Example Leaders see a vision and communicate that vision to their followers or subordinates. They focus on tomorrow rather than today. They inspire action and change. They are characterized by their people’s skills, their ability to motivate and get the last ounce of effort from their staff in time of crisis (McGovern, et. al 2008). On the other hand, they frequently dislike detail and routine, and can appear wildly disorganized to their colleagues. Leaders are optimistic, self-motivated, persuasive, convincing and goal oriented personnel. They are needed in all workplaces because of their ability to lead and to motivate the employees in different times. They help the management in bringing about a change. They facilitate the employees to move in a direction which is considered important by them. The leadership that is considered attractive and effective is that kind of leadership that keeps the capacity of persuasion. Effective leaders are always able to motivate people in their set direction. The leaders make people do their suggested jobs, as they exercise a certain power on employees on the basis of their effective motivation and encouragement (Parry and Hansen 2007). There are eleven kinds of leadership styles, as leaders are not all alike. They differ from one another on the basis of their opted strategies for leading people. There are bureaucratic leaders who have well thought-out and considered tasks, these kinds of leaders negate the innovatory ideas as they are stick to some set of rules and principles and also make sure that the principles and laws are not overruled (McGovern, et. al 2008). Another kind of leadership style is charismatic leadership in which, the leaders are mostly interested in inculcating energy and fervor in the employees due to which, they take deep interest in a task. Autocratic leadership is a form of leadership in which, the leader has the authority to exercise all his power in

The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s - Research Paper Example The book contains details regarding the origins of the Iran-Iraq War. It separately analyzes politics and strategies that were associated with both countries during the war. Issues of long-term effects and impacts of the war on both countries are also addressed in this book. Religion in both Iraq and Iran is stated in the both. The book further continues by assessing the relationship between these two countries and the superpowers. In essence, the book in the conclusion chapters describes how Iran is related to the United States, and how Iraq related with Superpowers, which were either hostile or friendly. Published in the year 1989, this book by Dilip Hiro turned out to be highly instrumental in providing information regarding the Iraq-Iran War. The book provides detailed information on the root of conflict between Iraq and Iran War. Hiro takes a deep and critical look at the boiling issues affecting embattle Iran and Iraq. Hiro continues giving details regarding the war by touching on impacts it will have on the outside and Western world that is through exploring the victims and benefactors of the war. The engaging part of the book is the part whereby, Hiro discusses how the war was fought that is, through stating the weaponry and strategy employed by both countries during the war. This book also provides information pertaining to the negotiations that failed, and resulted in the war. Jacek’s article is one of the most recent scholarly article that examines United States’ involvement in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980s. Since it is one of the latest publication in this subject matter, it highly gets cited in later articles and books on the U.S. participation in Iran-Iraq war of 1980s.

Leading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leading - Essay Example Leaders see a vision and communicate that vision to their followers or subordinates. They focus on tomorrow rather than today. They inspire action and change. They are characterized by their people’s skills, their ability to motivate and get the last ounce of effort from their staff in time of crisis (McGovern, et. al 2008). On the other hand, they frequently dislike detail and routine, and can appear wildly disorganized to their colleagues. Leaders are optimistic, self-motivated, persuasive, convincing and goal oriented personnel. They are needed in all workplaces because of their ability to lead and to motivate the employees in different times. They help the management in bringing about a change. They facilitate the employees to move in a direction which is considered important by them. The leadership that is considered attractive and effective is that kind of leadership that keeps the capacity of persuasion. Effective leaders are always able to motivate people in their set direction. The leaders make people do their suggested jobs, as they exercise a certain power on employees on the basis of their effective motivation and encouragement (Parry and Hansen 2007). There are eleven kinds of leadership styles, as leaders are not all alike. They differ from one another on the basis of their opted strategies for leading people. There are bureaucratic leaders who have well thought-out and considered tasks, these kinds of leaders negate the innovatory ideas as they are stick to some set of rules and principles and also make sure that the principles and laws are not overruled (McGovern, et. al 2008). Another kind of leadership style is charismatic leadership in which, the leaders are mostly interested in inculcating energy and fervor in the employees due to which, they take deep interest in a task. Autocratic leadership is a form of leadership in which, the leader has the authority to exercise all his power in

Critical analysis of ''The National Council for Voluntary Essay

Critical analysis of ''The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)'' - Essay Example His vision has multiplied and is felt all over the world. Individuals such as S.P.Grundy could be accredited with the success and the loyalty that he has shown his friend from the commissioning before he died .He told him, Grundy â€Å" If I am scuppered I’m leaving $ 1,000 to do some of the things we talked about†. It is from this inheritance that the organization has grown to be what it is today. This is a big challenge to many organizations and they should be encouraged to partake in such kinds of acts. This has been the spirit since its inception with many companies have coming up as a result.( National Council For Voluntary Organizations) . The organizations which would essentially be regarded as projects of the NCVO include;- 1. Citizens Advice Bureaux 2. Age Concern 3. Charities Aid Foundation, 4. ACRE 5. Community Matters 6. Marriage Guidance Councils 7. SIA 8. Standard Committee of Women’s Social Services 9. Young Hostels Associations 10. Young Farmersâ €™ Club among many others These are some of the main projects that through which the NCVO has seen considerable change and impact. Most of these movements for instance the Young Farmers’ Club has gone global to reach continents such as Africa and to be incorporated into the curriculum of these schools. The company conducts its operations from its head office at Regent’s Wharf, London. NCVO as began by Edward was to do its operations in the spirit of helping the community. The organization has over 8300 organizations or members under its umbrella and makes to be the largest organization in the world to have such following. (National Council For Voluntary Organizations ) In the year 2009, the organization celebrated 90 years of serving the world in voluntary and community service. During the celebration, the company indicated that it looks forward to serving the people for another 90 years. The organization has various numbers of functions. These functions are specif ically a reflection of its vision and mission statement. The company’s vision is that whereby all people are influenced and in fact driven to make a positive impact in their diverse communities. The organization’s mission on the other side is such that it aims at being the voice of the people and to provide support for the people especially the voiceless in their communities. The organization also has certain values that it upholds and considers that for every organization under its umbrella has to observe. These values are Independence , it encourages the independence of all organizations under its umbrella, Innovation, in this the organization believes that its members are creative and it will help and uphold this value, collaboration in the sense that NCVO believes that if these organizations interact and do work as a team , then this will aid in the achievement of the goals, Inclusiveness, the NCVO appreciates that these organizations are diverse and it helps this in the sense that it focuses on including all these aspects in the work of the organization, Passion ,the NCVO believes that success of these members is driven by their passion and in so doing it shall uphold ,promote and enhance this value.( National Council for Voluntary Organizations ). Some of the aims of the organizatio

Corporate Governance Essay Example for Free

Corporate Governance Essay ABSTRACT This paper examines whether the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer position in Hong Kong public firms is affected by board composition, given the influence of family control on the boards of many Hong Kong companies. It is hypothesized that I) in family-controlled boards, Chief Executive Officers receiver higher compensation and II) Chief Executive Officers in family-controlled boards serve as Chief Executive Officer positions longer. In family-controlled boards, corporate governance is of very high importance as the independent non-executive directors can exert less influence over the board, compared to non-family-controlled boards (â€Å"dispersed boards†). Keywords: Board composition, Remuneration, Corporate Governance. 1.INTRODUCTION The economic turmoil in Asia in 1997 has led to a wider recognition of the importance of corporate governance. In line with global trends towards higher standards of corporate governance, the duties and liabilities of the directors of the listed companies have therefore become more stringent. It follows that many corporate governance mechanisms designed to monitor board members may be less effective for family-owned and family-controlled firms. However, to attract outside investors, family-owned and family-controlled firms tend to encourage greater independence and monitoring from the board. For the purposes of the study, family-owned and family-controlled are used interchangeably. The reason is that actual family ownership is difficult to ascertain due to various shareholdings and special purpose vehicles that are used, and cannot be deduced from annual reports. Thus, in this study we classify family-control and family-ownership when the board is made of a majority of related family members as a â€Å"family-controlled board†. When it is not, we classify it as a â€Å"dispersed board†. In practice, there are instances where the family owns the majority of a company but comprise of a minority of the board, and it is possible that the family is able to exert influence via other avenues, however, this study will not be examining such. Family-owned firms are common throughout Asia. Studies show that, family-owned firms hold more than 20 percent of the equity of listed companies in Asia, and more than 60 percent of the listed companies have connections with family-owned groups (Bebchuk Fried, 2006). Family-owned businesses represent the predominant form of listed companies in Hong Kong (Standard Poor’s, 2002). Such family ownership structure implies the strong influence of dominant shareholders and provides limited voice for minority shareholders. Compared to the Anglo-American environment, where ownership blocks are less concentrated but institutional investors are more prevalent, in Hong Kong, there is less of a culture for non-executive directors or minority shareholder activists to challenge. Variations in ownership structure may lead to differences in the nature of agency conflicts, the roles of directors may vary in accordance to the ownership structure. For family-owned firms, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) argue that the primary agency conflict is between a family owner and non-family owners. Meanwhile, for widely held firms, Berle and Means (1932), and, Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that the primary agency conflict is between executives and shareholders. As a consequence, tying remuneration to performance of executives may prove the most efficient way to mitigate this agency conflict. To date, a vast of literatures published in recent years show the growing recognition of influences of family-owned firms and executive remuneration on corporate governance. Many studies have tended to focus on the use of remuneration contracts to align interests of executives with owners in family-owned firms. The rise in executive remuneration in recent years has been the subject of public criticism, which further intensified corporate governance scandals. Therefore, the question whether a correlation exists between remuneration and family-control in board composition at Hong Kong-listed companies. 2.OBJECTIVES In 1994, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited introduced rules that require listed firms to disclose the remuneration of directors. Before 2004, there was no requirement to disclose the names and remuneration of directors (Cheng Firth, 2005). The Disclosure of Financial Information rule under Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited’s Listing Rules was amended on 31 March 2004 to require full disclosure, on an individual and named basis, of directors’ fees and any other reimbursement or emolument payable to a director. In addition, Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standard 2 requires listed firms to disclose directors’ share-based remuneration. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices forms part of the Listing Rules and came into effect on 1 January 2005. According to the Code on Corporate Governance Practices, Hong Kong’s listed firms should be overseen by an effective board, which should assume responsibility for the leadership and control of the listed firm, and the members of which should be collectively responsible for promoting the success of the firm by directing and supervising its affairs. Directors should make decisions objectively in the best interests of the firm. In regards of remuneration policy for firms’ directors, the Code on Corporate Governance Practices requires the disclosure of information related to the firm’s directors’ remuneration policy and other remuneration-related matters. There should be a formal and transparent procedure for setting policy on executive directors’ remuneration. The Chief Executive Officer, a director in the board of company, will hence have his/her full remuneration disclosed. It is recommended that remuneration should be set at a level sufficient to attract and retain directors of the caliber required to run the company successfully, but companies should avoid paying more than is necessary. However, it is argued that many corporate governance mechanisms designed to monitor board members may be less effective for family-owned firms. However, to attract outside investors, family-owned firms tend to encourage greater independence and monitoring from the board. In Hong Kong, there are quite a number of listed companies have a high concentration of family ownership. It is common for the top executives of family-owned firms in Hong Kong to be family members. The rise of remuneration of family executives in family-owned firms has been the subject of public criticism. Recognizing this, the purpose of this research is to find out whether there is any relationship between family-board-control of firms and remuneration of Chief Executive Officers. To summarize, this study revolves around the following major objectives. †¢ To test whether there are significant differences in Chief Executive Officers’ remuneration for family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms (specifically firms with family-controlled boards and firms without family-controlled boards); †¢ To find out whether â€Å"Family Chief Executive Offices† (cases where the Chief Executive Officer are family members of the family-controlled boards) are awarded excessive compensation, compromising standards of corporate governance; †¢ To examine the tenure of Chief Executive Officers for family-controlled firms vs non-family-controlled firms, given that there may be differences in the board’s ongoing approval and demand of the results delivered by the Chief Executive Office; and †¢ To test whether there are significant differences in corporate governance structure of family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms. 3.LITERATURES REVIEW, HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT 3.1 Agency theory It is commonly acknowledged that ownership structure, the basis of corporate governance, is important to the overall performance of firms. While there are a large number of literatures discussing ownership structure, agency theory is frequently cited as a foundation. In modern corporations, the separation of ownership and control leads to agency conflicts that can be alleviated through various corporate governance mechanisms (Fama and Jensen, 1983). As one such mechanism, compensation schemes are designed to provide incentives that align the behavior of agents to act on behalf of principles (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). This relationship between executive compensation and firm performance has received considerable attention from the general public and academics. One of the issues in the field of management is the impact of family influence (Mishra et. al., 2001; McConaughy et. al., 1998) and corporate governance on the value of a firm (Khatri et al., 2001; Kwak, 2003; Black et al., 2003). There are various studies in diverse areas like accounting, economics, finance, law and management have been conducted to study such impact (Mishra et al., 2001; Kwak, 2003; Blacket al., 2003; Andersen and Reeb, 2003). These studies have resulted in interesting and useful observations. According to Alchian and Demsetz (1972), the principal agent problem comes from hidden action due to asymmetric information. The essence of a firm is that, it permits people to work as a team. It is the cooperation of a team that leads to a firm’s output. Thus, the agency problem inevitably arises in corporate governance. According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), agent problem arises from the conflict of interests between shareholders as the principals and the executives as the agents. Consequently, residual control rights fall into the hands of management instead of the residual cash flow claimants. As a result, the sum of monitoring expenditures be incurred by the principal, bonding expenditures incurred by the agent, and the value of the lost residual borne by the principal are included as the cost of agency. In general, when ownership of a firm becomes more dispersed, the agency problem will be deteriorated due to the inability of the relatively small shareholders to monitor the behavior of management. The monitoring of managers by shareholders is also weakened by free-rider problem. To mitigate the problem of agency, Ang (2000) and Denis and Sarin (1999) suggested the shareholding of management to be increased in order to make the executive a significant claimant. An inverse correlation exists between the dispersed ownership and firm performance (Berle and Means, 1932), because executives’ interests do not coincide with the interest of shareholders so that corporate resources are not used for the maximization of shareholders’ wealth. This view has been supported by many scholars. Shleifer and Vishny (1986), McConnell and Servaes (1990), and Zingales (1995) found a strong positive relationship between ownership concentration and corporate performance. In transitional economies, Xu and Wang (1999) and Chen (2001) found a positive relationship between actual firm performance and ownership concentration for a sample of listed Chinese companies. 3.2Ownership Structure It is common in Hong Kong, that ownership structure is characterized by single dominant owners (Chau Leung, 2006). A report of the Corporate Governance Working Group of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants in 1995 indicated that a high concentration on family-controlled listed firms is highly entrepreneurial and opportunistic in their business strategies, however, the report also indicate that these firms with single dominant owners lack resources and corporate culture to maintain strong internal corporate control. The 2001 Review on Corporate Governance by the Hong Kong Standing Committee for Corporate Law Reform, as well as a report from Standard Poor’s, indicated that family ownership structures present particular challenges. Theoretically, there is a major puzzle regarding the role of family in large firms (Bertrand Schoar, 2006; Villalonga Amit, 2006). In family-controlled firms, threatening factors may negatively influence the firms’ value (Demstez, 1983; Demstez and Lehn, 1985). Table 1 as below lists positive and negative factors affecting the relationship between family control and firm value. It shows that there is still difference of opinion among researchers on this topic of importance. 3.3â€Å"Family† Chief Executive Officers In this study, whether a person belonging to the family acts as a Chief Executive Officer is taken into account. We classify family-control and family-ownership when the board is made of a majority of related family members (â€Å"family-controlled board†). When it is not, we classify it as a â€Å"dispersed board†. Family Chief Executive Officers have substantial stockholdings of 5 percent or more (Daily Dollinger, 1993), with such given bargaining power, can be expected to influence the size and structure of their remuneration packages to their own benefit. Thus, for the purposes of this study, Chief Executive Officers with stockholdings of less than 5 percent are not counted as â€Å"Family Chief Executive Officers†. There are differing opinions on whether such Family Chief Executive Officers have higher or lower remunerations at such family-controlled firms. Some believe that such Family Chief Executive Officers are receiving above-average compensation due to the family-controlled board, as well as their strong ability to influence remuneration committee. Oh the other hand, others take the opposite view and see that Family Chief Executive Officers should be receiving below-average compensation. There is several reasons for this expectation. First of all, both anecdotal (Applegate, 1994; Kets de Vries, 1993) and empirical (Allen Pamian, 1982; Gomez-Mejia et al., 2001; Schulze et al., 2001) evidence suggest that incumbents with family ties to owners enjoy high employment security. As argued by Beehr (1997), the Family Chief Executive Officer inherently plays two overlapping and interdependent roles: a work role as steward of the company, and a non-work role as fulfillment of family obligations. In reciprocity for this role duality, the Family Chief Executive Officer is rewarded with a relatively assured job (Allen Pamian, 1982; Kets de Vries, 1993; Gomez-Mejia et al., 2001). Moreover, some literatures suggested that evaluators are more likely to make positive performance attributions to employees when there are emotional ties between monitoring and those being judged (Cardy Dobbins, 1993). It is expected that in family-controlled firms, board members in their role as monitors may be less inclined to attribute disappointing results to the Family Chief Executive Officer, giving the benefit of the doubt to the incumbent when interpreting ambiguous performance data. Agency theory suggests that there are inherent conflicts between shareholders and executives. Applying agency theory’s logic, the above scenario suggests that in family-controlled firms, risk adverse agents would trade higher job security for lower earnings if they are related to principals. Family Chief Executive Officers mitigate usual agency costs because of their aligned interests with the owners (Anderson Reeb, 2003). The information asymmetry problem in agency relationships may also be reduced given the close ties between Family Chief Executive Officers and the owners. Since they hold high ownership stakes, Family Chief Executive Officers have sufficient incentives to place family welfare ahead of personal interests, thus may perform better than firms with non-family Chief Executive Officers. Barney (2001) suggested that appointing family members as Chief Executive Officers may be beneficial. Tradition, loyalty, and bonding relationships determine how resources are deployed in family firms. Family Chief Executive Officers build common interests and identities (Habbershon Williams, 1999) and play a dual role by being both owners and executives (Chang, 2003; Yiu, Bruton, Lu, 2005). Through social relationships with managers and employees, Family Chief Executive Officers may help to obtain intangible resources such as goal congruence, trust, and social interactions, providing valuable, unique, and hard-to-imitate competitive advantage (Chu, 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Luo Chung, 2005). The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends remuneration committee to seek advice from the Chief Executive Officer on the matter of directors’ remuneration. Executives in firms controlled by a large shareholder receive more compensation for performance, than executives in firms lacking a controlling owner (Gomez-Mejia et al., 1987). Mehran (1995) examined the relationship between executive remuneration, ownership structure and firm performance. The results indicate that firms, which have more outside directors, have a higher percentage of executive remuneration in equity-based form. Moreover, the percentage of equity-based remuneration is inversely related to the outside directors’ equity ownership, i.e., the executive’s equity-based remuneration rose if the outside directors’ owned less of the company, and vice-versa. Next, Mehran (1995) turned to firm performance, and its relationship to executive remuneration and ownership structure. He used Tobin’s Q and return on assets as measures of firm performance. He found firm performance to be positively related to the percentage of executive remuneration that is equity-based. However, Mehran (1995) no relationship between firm performance and ownership structure. He concluded that the results support the notion that executive remuneration should be tied to firm performance. There is a vast amount of literature on turnover of the Chief Executive Officer position (Furtado and Karan, 1990; Kesner and Sebora, 1994; Finkelstein and Hambrick, 1996; Pitcher et al., 2000). However, according to Finkelstein and Hambrick (1996), the relationship between remuneration and turnover has not been subjected to rigorous empirical examination, even given the emphasis on retention as a justification for high remuneration of Chief Executive Officer. The following hypotheses are framed: Hypothesis 1: In family-controlled boards, Chief Executive Officers receive higher compensation. Hypothesis 2: Chief Executive Officers in family-controlled boards serve as Chief Executive Officer positions longer. 3.4Board Composition The role of the board is expected to represent shareholders, provide strategic guidance to and effective oversight of management, foster a culture of good governance, and promote a safe and healthy working environment within the company. In accordance to Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rule 3.10, the board of directors is required to have at least three independent non-executive directors. The presence of â€Å"truly† independent non-executive directors in the corporate governance regime is seen as one way of mitigating agency problem associated with concentrated family ownership. In family-owned firms, given the influence of family control on the remuneration and performance relationships exists, where the majority of shares are in the hands of family members, under this circumstance, the executive and risk-bearer functions are merged and more of the wealth consequences of the executives’ decisions are internalized. In other words, there is less separation of ownership and control and thus lowering agency costs, which in turn leads to less cost for monitoring by outside directors. Therefore, firms closely controlled and managed by family members are expected to use lower proportion of outside directors compared with firms with disperse ownership. In widely held firms, with ownership dispersed among many investors, investors are often small and poorly informed to exercise even the control rights they actually have. Moreover, the free-rider problem faced by individual investors makes them uninterested in expending effort to learn about the firms they have financed, or even to participate in the governance (Shleifer and Vishny, 1997). As a result, the larger degree of separation of ownership and control in widely held firms leads to greater conflicts. The use of outside directors by widely held firms is expected to be more. 3.5Remuneration Committee In 1999, remuneration committees were uncommon in Hong Kong, with only few firms reporting their existence (Cheng Firth, 2005). Since 2006, Hong Kong Stock Exchange proposes a rule to require issuers to set up a remuneration committee, with the committee chairman and a majority of the members being Independent Non-executive Directors. In family-owned firms, the positions of the Chief Executive Officer are usually held by family members, who can influence the level of remuneration paid to directors. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends remuneration committee to seek advice from the Chief Executive Officer on the matter of directors’ remuneration. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends that the majority of remuneration committee members be Independent Non-executive Directors. The presence of Independent Non-executive Directors on the remuneration committee is supposed to be used as monitoring mechanism that prevents excessive remuneration for executive directors (Basu et al., 2007), including that of the Chief Executive Officer. The role of independent non-executive directors and large institutional shareholders becomes crucial to curtailing the possible self-serving behavior of top managers (HKSA, 2001). Studies of firms in other countries show conflicting results on the relationship between remuneration and remuneration committee. Some findings show that remuneration committees tend to reduce remuneration, whereas others report the opposite (Conyon Peck, 1998; Ezzamel Watson, 1998). However, in practice it is highly likely that the Chief Executive Officer has some influence over the compensation decision (Murphy, 1999). An important question relating to the composition of remuneration committee concerns the ideal combination of outsiders and insiders. Insiders may face distorted incentives due to their lack of independence from the Family Chief Executive Officer (Bushman et al., 2004). 3.6 Components of Remuneration The basic components of remuneration of Chief Executive Officer are similar, however, the relative level and weights on the components differ (Abowd and Kaplan, 1999, and Bryan et al., 2006). Generally, remuneration of Chief Executive Officer can be divided into four basic parts: a base salary, an annual bonus which is tied to some accounting measure of company performance, stock options, and long-term incentive plans, such as restricted stock plans and multi-year accounting-based performance plans. †¢ Base salary: is the fixed part of remuneration of Chief Executive Officer, causing risk-averse executives to prefer an increase in base salary rather than an increase in bonuses. Most components of remuneration are specified relative to base salary. †¢ Bonus: in addition to the base salary, most companies offer their executives an annual bonus plan based on a single year’s performance. The purpose of such bonuses, as well as options, is to align the incentives of the Chief Executive Officer with that of the shareholders. †¢ Stock options: are contracts, which give the owner the right to buy shares at a pre-specified exercise price. Stock options reward stock price appreciation, not total shareholder return, which includes dividends. In this study, stock options are excluded, as full details of such information would not be retrievable from annual reports. †¢ Other forms of compensation: restricted stock to be received by executives, it is restricted in the sense that shares are forfeited under certain conditions, which usually have to do with the longevity of employment. Many companies also have long-term incentive plans in addition to the bonus plans, which are based on annual performance. Top executives routinely participate in supplemental executive retirement plans in addition to the company-wide retirement plans. Most executives have some sort of severance arrangement. Finally, executives often receive benefits in the form of free use of company cars, housing, etc. Based on the various conceptual and empirical evidences presented above, this study aims to understand whether the remuneration of a Family Chief Executive Officer is influenced by the board composition, i.e. whether it is family-controlled or not. This ties into the original Hypothesis 1, thus, the further hypotheses is framed as follows: Hypothesis 3: The higher the proportion of independent non-executive members on the board of directors at family-board-controlled firms, the lower the Chief Executive Officer remuneration.

Effects and Importance of Osmosis

Effects and Importance of Osmosis Osmosis is the movement (natural) of a solvent, in the case of living organisms (water) selectively through a semi-permeable membrane down a water potential gradient. In other words it is the movement of water across a selectively semi- permeable membrane from an area of high water potential (low solute concentration) to an area of low water potential (high solute concentration) (Bowen, 2000). Semi-permeable membrane A membrane is partially (semi) permeable, if it will let in water molecules but not the molecules or ions dissolved in water (the solutes such as sugar molecules). Many cell membranes function in this manner. Osmosis is there for an important mechanism in the transport of fluids in living organisms (Bowen, 2000). Osmosis: Movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. Key: Water, o Solute Osmosis is important in biological systems, as many biological membranes are semi-permeable. In general, these membranes are impermeable to organic solutes with large molecules, such as polysaccharides, while permeable to water and small, uncharged solutes. Permeability may depend on: solubility properties, charge, or chemistry, as well as Solute size. Water molecules travel through the plasma cell wall, tonoplast (vacuole) or protoplast in two ways, either by diffusing across the phospholipids bilayer directly, or via small transmembrane proteins similar to those in facilitated diffusion and in creating ion channels). Osmosis provides the primary means by which water is transported into and out of cells. The turgor pressure of a cell is largely maintained by osmosis, across the cell membrane, between the cell interior and its relatively hypotonic environment (Maton et al., 1997). The process of osmosis accounts for many functions that maintain life. In relation to blood cells, blood cells placed in pure distilled water will swell and burst. If these cells are placed in a Hyper osmotic (hypertonic) solution, i.e., the solution has more dissolved particles, salts, sugar, etc., than is in the cells, they will shrivel up (a process called crenation in the case of blood cells). The energy that drives the process of osmosis is called osmotic pressure. In animal (human beings included), the red blood cells are very important to the survival of the organism because they transport oxygen from the gills, skin, or lungs to the cells of the various tissues (muscles, nerves, etc.). These blood cells are transported in a fluid (serum) that has approximately the same salt content as sea water. Effects of Osmosis on Red Blood Cells Red blood cells as in all animal cells dont have cell walls. In cases of hypotonic solutions, red blood cells will swell up and burst (explode) .when the cell is in danger of bursting due to accumulation of too much water in it, contractile vacuoles will pump out the water out of the cell to prevent it from bursting. In hypertonic solutions, water will diffuse out of the cell due to osmosis and the cell shrinks. For the red blood cell to stay in its normal condition, its always surrounded by isotonic solution. If the concentration of the cells cytoplasm is lower then medium (the medium is hypotonic) surrounding the cell, then osmosis will result by the cell gaining water, hence the cell will swell up and burst. If the concentration of the water inside the cell is the same as that outside the cell (the medium is isotonic solution), there exists a dynamic equilibrium, meaning the number of cells getting in and leaving the cells is the same hence the cell will retain its original size. The red blood cell retains its shape because of the isotonic nature of the plasma. If the water concentration inside the cell is higher than that of the medium (the media is a hypertonic solution), hence the number of molecules diffusing out will be more than that entering, and the cell will shrink. The kidneys in the human body provide the necessary regulatory mechanism for the blood plasma and the concentration of water and salt removed from the blood by the kidneys, which is controlled by the hypothalamus. This process of regulating the salty and the mineral salts in the blood is called osmoregulation. Osmosis and diffusion a have related concepts: Both processes involve the movement of materials from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Diffusion involves the movement of chemical molecules from a low concentration to a higher concentration whereas osmosis involves the movement of water molecules from a high to low concentration via a semi permeable membrane. Importance of Osmosis in the animal/human body Salts and minerals are transferred from water through osmosis. Osmosis transfers water through the plasma membrane (which is selective and semi permeable) of the cell. It manages the mixing of water, glucose and salts in the body cells, this is important, otherwise the cells would loose too much water and eventually die. Hence osmosis plays an important role in keeping the cells alive. Osmosis plays an important role in the functioning of the kidneys, it is also important in the helping to transfer water and various nutrients between the blood and fluid of the cells. People who suffer from kidney diseases depend in kidney machines to remove waste substances (products from their blood, such machines use a process called dialysis, which is similar to the process of osmosis. Salt water fish constantly consume a lot of water, which is released to the environment through osmosis, while fresh water fish dont drink water because their skin is responsible to absorbing water. Diffusion of Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration across a permeable membrane as a result of kinetic energy of random motion. It is a random movement of molecules which is directional from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until equilibrium is achieved. Molecules are in a constant state of motion. For example, if you dissolve KMnO4 in water so that the concentration is initially higher in one part of the water that another, diffusion will occur so that there is a net movement of KMnO4 from area if high concentration to an area of lower concentration. However, if the KMnO4 molecules have a complete even and random distribution through out the water, there will be no movement of KMnO4 in any direction. The rate of diffusion will be affected by properties of: The cell The diffusing molecule Surrounding solution The rate of diffusion increases as the concentration gradient increases. When the concentration of molecules outside the cells is very high, relative to the internal concentration, the rate of diffusion will also be high. If the internal concentration are the same (low concentration gradient), the rate of diffusion will be low.