Population Essays - Environmental Issues, Population Ecology

population Population A population according to the funk and Wangnall Dictionary is a grouping of individuals subject to the processes of birth, death, and migration.. During the first 2 million years of our history the human population had very little effect upon the overall world ecosystem, with no more than 10 million members. In the New Stone Age, less than 10,000 years ago, the number of humans began to increase more rapidly. By the beginning of the Christian era it had reached 250 million, and by the year 1650 CE up to half a billion(Internet Source)Reproduction resulted un having children which were perfect for doing farmwork, collecting dowry and starting family. By 2030,the population is projected to hit eight to ten billion. With this rapid growth, concern for the future is inevitable. The planet can not handle anymore chaos and can not create enough food to disturbate to those who are in demand of it. A stable relationship with plants and animals must be attained or future populations will suffer. Problem About 140 000 million babies will be born, and 53 million will die which gives the overpopulated world an additional 84 million people per year. With the planet growing at alarming rate 230 000 per day people, With the increasing population, pollution is on the rise, making safe water scarce In Asia the population increases by 50 million, the population of Africa by 17 million and Latin America and the Caribbean by only eight million. Africa has the hightest growth rate at 2.36 %(Internet Source). These are places where people need children for work or if they don't want kids they have no way of getting contraception or to be informed about it, thus making the population grow at an alarming rate. Someone must feed the hungry, with each individual requiring about 2 200 calouries per day unfortunetly of the six billion over 220 million are malnourished. Causes of rapid growth Throughout history many have debated the plant's carrying capacity. As far back as 469 BC in Socrates time and to the present, have said that the world will suffer globally for there will not enough food for humans. Farmers of the past, present and the future have and will continue to prove these assumptions wrong. Farming is the elemant that has been keeping the assumpation wrong. Farming has been around since the 8000 B.C perhaps one of the most important inventions ever made Too many people are living on the plant presently, thanks to technology less people are dying due the quality of life that is improving, though its not directly related to malnutriention it's the speed of growth that is the cause of malnourshed and farming is the fuel that lets the population grow so fast. The root cause s of malnutrition is the lack of available and affordable food, health services, safe water, and proper sanitation. Technology not only lets the human race to live longer and healthier lives providing them with a better quality of life due to the fact that we eat better. Farming with the help of tecnology is the cause why we eat better thus letting the human population grow rapidly. Throughout history many have debated the plant's carrying capacity. As far back as 469 BC in Socrates time and to the present, have said that the world will suffer globally for there will not enough food for humans. Farmers of the past, present and the future have and will continue to prove these assumptions wrong. Farming is the elemant that has been keeping the assumpation wrong. Farming has been around since the 8000 B.C perhaps one of the most important inventions ever made. Without farming the world would not be able to reach the present size of the human population and the for seen future. Someone must feed the hungry, with each individual requiring about 2 200 calouries per day. Farming brings food to dinner tables and is what helps us to grow. It allows humans to grow and get taught new methods of technology to aid society in the future. Technology is not only beneficial for farming, but it increases the life expectancy of humans, thus less people are dying. and keeping the population under control . During the 14th century the Black Death wiped out a third of the population of Europe.(Grolier Encyclopedia) If the 14th century had our present day medicine or technology, this catasophy would have been unheard of. Triumph over disease on a worldwide scale did not come until 20th century with the introduction of antibiotics and DDT. DDT is a very active, broad-spectrum pesticide, particularly

Definition of Void in C and C

Definition of Void in C and C In computer programming, when  void  is used as a function return type, it indicates that the function does not return a value. When void appears in a pointer declaration, it specifies that the pointer is universal. When used in a functions parameter list, void indicates that the function takes no parameters.   Void as a Function Return Type Void functions, also called nonvalue-returning functions, are used just like value-returning functions except void return types do not return a value when the function is executed. The void function accomplishes its task and then returns control to the caller. The void function call is a stand-alone statement.   For example, a function that prints a message doesnt return a value. The code in C takes the form: void printmessage ( ) {   cout Im a function that prints a message!; } int main ( ) {   printmessage ( ); } A void  function uses a heading that names the function followed by a pair of parentheses. The name is preceded by the word void, which is the type. Void as a Function Parameter The void can also appear in the parameter list part of the code to indicate the function takes no actual parameters. C can take the empty parentheses, but C requires the word void in this usage.  In C, the code takes the form: void  printmessage  (void ) {   cout   Im a function that prints a message!; Note that the parentheses that follow the function name are not optional in any case. Void  as a Pointer Declaration The third use of void is a pointer declaration that equates to a  pointer to something left unspecified, which is useful to programmers who write functions that store or pass pointers without  using them. Eventually, it must be cast to another pointer before it is dereferenced. A void pointer points to objects of any data type.

Parents should be financially responsible for acts of vandalism by Essay

Parents should be financially responsible for acts of vandalism by their children - Essay Example There are two views about this topic. Either the children or the parents should be held responsible. The paper revolves around the fact that the parents or legal guardians should be the one paying for e.g. the paint needed to cover the graffiti created by their uncontrolled and ill disciplined wards. From here you start off the assignment and each paragraph is indented by pressing a simple tab key when starting a new paragraph. Some concerns regarding the point of view of this paper and its effects will be discussed in the following passages. Strong Argument The major reason for supporting this claim is that the children/teenagers of the post facebook era, who have forgotten the values and morals of neighborhood living will once again, be back under the strict eyes of their parents. If parents have to pay for the damages caused by their beloved sons and daughters, they will make sure that this kind of activity does not take place again. Strict discipline will be implied on the naive minds which will make them think twice before committing such an act. Enforcing Support Another section of the effect that has to be noticed here is the party whose property has been vandalized, be it public or private. The amount which can be recovered from the parents around the world in accordance with the law is not enough for the children or their parents to think over the whole scenario of vandalism (Timothy, 2008). Especially by the parents who will have to pay for the acts of little terror which can have devastating effects on the people whose property have been vandalized, monetarily and physiologically. Therefore the only way out of this situation is hefty fines and actual damages to be paid by the parents in vandalism cases. Objections Since every coin has two sides, similar is the case with this argument. Many who are against parents being held financially responsible for their children’s vandalism have certain arguments to be presented. The strongest argument tha t they bring to the table is the fact that children if aloof from any kind of punishment, due to their parents paying for the damages, will further create chaos. As the children will go wild vandalizing neighborhoods and their parents tailing them with their checkbooks in hand. But the essence of the action suggested by this paper is that when once the check has been delivered, the next time such extreme repercussions will be set for the vandals that they will think twice before performing these non-sensible acts. Do not bold, italicize or underline the subheading. Final Claim Many advantages will come out of laws that enforce parents to pay the damages. The foremost and extremely pressing point is that the root of all neighborhood evils like gangs, groups of thieves and shoplifting is vandalism. Vandalism is considered to be the stepping stone for all these evils. Boys and girls are scouted by gangs by this very mean. Penalizing parents on vandalism will make sure that the parents have a scorching eye on their wards therefore not only curbing the disease of vandalism but also stopping further crimes to be generated out of this contagious virus known as vandalism. Conclusion The whole point of this argument is the betterment of our

Arab and Israel Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Arab and Israel Conflict - Essay Example In a reflective exploration of the role of international actors in the Arab-Israeli conflict, it becomes obvious that several prominent world nations and organizations have taken part in the conflict at various stages of its development, although it is basically a conflict between the two parties of the Middle East today, the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). A conflict resolution perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict indicates that it is a complicated conflict which requires a careful investigation of the issues that must be resolved to achieve a final peace settlement as well as an analysis of the past conflict resolution efforts and the current state of the conflict. "When you come to the Arab-Israeli question, you face a very difficult kind of conflict. It is not a straightforward conflict leading itself to a straightforward conflict resolution." (Safty 2003, P 126). However, it is fundamental to realise that there have been important argument s for and against the international community providing conflict resolution. ... Arab and Israel Conflict: Role of international actors in conflict resolution The Arab-Israeli conflict is the most complicated wars in the modern history of man and there are various factors such as the involvement of religion, philosophical differences, the role of the neighbouring states and international community etc which contribute to the complexity of the conflict. A careful analysis of the history of the conflict suggests that the role of the various nations of the world, especially in the region, has been crucial in every stage of the development of the conflict. "The Arab-Israeli conflict is the most complicated, most intractable and most spectacular for international community at the beginning of the 21st century." (Weijan 2002. P. 169). Several peace-keeping processes initiated by the international community have incorporated various parties taking side with any of the conflicting nations. Significantly, the international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet) has been concerned with the official negotiations in the confl ict and special envoy representing this international body include the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. Another important participant in the various phases of the conflict has been the Arab League which has proposed an alternative peace plan for the resolution of the various issues in the region. Similarly, Egypt, which was a founding member of the Arab League, has played an essential role in the settlement of the various issues in the region. It is fundamental to undertake an exploration of the short history of the conflict resolution efforts to determine if the role of international actors in the conflict resolution, if this

Applying Balanced Scorecard Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Applying Balanced Scorecard - Assignment Example First, a balanced score card can be used in the financial category to help evaluate information on key financial performance measurements. Such measurements include: risk assessment analysis and cost and benefit analysis. Secondly, a balanced scorecard can help the organization assess their performance when it comes to the business process. A business scorecard gauges how a company is running when compared to the organization’s mission. As far as the learning and growth perspective of an organization is concerned, a company can evaluate its performance using two measures. First, the availability of trainers and mentors in an organization and secondly, the availability of help if needed by the employees. In the customer category, metrics on evaluating a customer’s satisfaction are crucial in monitoring the organization’s performance. In this category, questionnaires can be used to evaluate customer’s satisfaction. Customer complaints should also be checked, as this will definitely have an impact on future business

Strategic Issues Facing Lockheed Martin

Strategic Issues Facing Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is a global security Company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. It was formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. It has its Headquarters in Bethesda, MD (Maryland). The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion, a backlog of $78 billion, and cash flow from operations of $3.2 billion. Lockheed Martin is one of the biggest Defense Contractors in the world. One of the biggest news in 2010 was that the United States had decided to buy up to 2443 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. The F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, is the U.S. defense departments costliest weapons purchase at up to $382 billion over the next two decades. This makes it the biggest military deal ever. All this helps to pose an interest in this company. Cost Surge: The Lockheed Martin F-35 program is facing manufacturing inefficiencies, part problems and at least six engineering technical challenges as stated by the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO). As such costs have grown and scheduled extensions are likely. Companys contribution to the National Economy A large part of Q2 GDP performance, +0.39% of total GDP growth 1.6% for the U.S owes thanks to wars and general defense. The defense sector of which Lockheed Martin is a part has contributed heavily to the countrys overall GDP. Lockheed Martin is also involved in other public activities. Companys contribution to the Regional Economy Lockheed Martin is a global security organization with its reach in countries and regions like Canada, United Kingdom, Africa, Europe, and Middle East, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Australia. Lockheed Martin has customers around the world and has partners in more than 50 countries outside the United States. Furthermore it has helped countries like Turkey by enhancing their defense capabilities. Recent Strategic Choice Lockheed Martin completed the divestiture of its Enterprise Integration Group business to Veritas Capital on November 23rd, 2010 for $815 million and also plans to sell off PAE in 2011. Source of Information on the Company:Â  www.lockheedmartin.com (355 Words) Executive Summary This assignment basically tells about the Defense Industry, discussing one of the major Defense contractors in detail in the world and other variables linked to the industry and the company alike. This project covers a lot of areas, using various tools for the purpose of analysis based on facts and our judgment. There are a few models used in this project to assess the state of the company and the industry alike; the first being the Industry Life Cycle which specifies where the defense industry currently stands whether it is introduction, growth, maturity or decline. Another model used such as the Key Factors for Success is used to determine basically what factors any given company needs to survive in the defense industry. Another one would be Porters Five Forces which determines the forces affecting the company. These are models based on factors relating to the industry. The other three models used are based on the company itself including SWOT which analyzes a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; SFAS which take the most critical two factors of the lot; and TOWS Matrix which helps to devise new strategies in regard to SWOT factors. After an in depth analysis, the current company performance is assessed based on efficiency, effectiveness and return to investors in regard with their recent strategic choice. Review of options is the next step in the project which takes into account the strategies formulated in the TOWS Matrix and determining which ones are the most important or critical to implement. The next area which is implementation of strategies provides an overview of if the future strategies can be deployed effectively and efficiently based on factors like structure, systems and policies. And the last part of the project determines the usefulness of all the six models used in the project. (300 Words) The Defense Industry as you see is in the Growth phase of the Industry Life cycle. A few leading firms in the industry and the ones that are surviving are huge firms like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. These leading giants continue to innovate and create new products and services and refine old ones in order to stay in the game. The defense industry is basically a never dying industry due to the global conditions and national security challenges faced by the different nations of the world. Companies like Lockheed Martin have been there for 16 years now. There are several reasons on why the Defense Industry is in the growth stage. To begin with, despite the time the defense companies have been around, they continuously monitor customer needs and introduce new products and technologies into the market. This leads to increase in sales and growth. For example, the recent development of the F-35 fighter jet which was made possible with the collaboration between Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems has given the defense industry a new source of life. It is a new innovative product, which will intrigue customers to buy it and hence resulting in increased sales and ultimately growth. Technology development, innovation and engineering are the core areas of the defense industry. Companies like Lockheed Martin and Boeing analyze these areas and respond accordingly. They keep up with changing times by introducing new products and technologies keeping the Defense Industry well in the Growth phase. Moreover it can be said that the Defense Industry is in the High Growth part of the Growth phase. Why it can be said so is because although the sales are increasing, the increase in sales is not exceptionally high. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the Aerospace and Defense sector in the period 2005-2009 was 8.7%. The sector grew by 0.4% in 2009 compared to 10.4% in the previous year. As said before, the Defense Industry is a never dying Industry and it continues to grow year by year by providing new technologies, weapons and advanced warfare systems. These Key Factors listed above are very important to survive in the Defense Industry. Taking Innovation and Technological advancement first, these are two of the most important factors for success in the Defense Industry. The giants in the industry like Boeing and Lockheed Martin have to keep up with changing times by providing or innovating new technologies and products. The National demands for defense technology are very high. And hence, the defense companies need to have advanced technology and innovative and creative personnel in order to deliver to the nation and hence succeed in the defense sector. The quality of the products is also very important. Customers can switch between defense contractors if they are not satisfied with the quality. The reliability of the products is also an important factor in the Defense Industry. As the products are designed for Warfare, product reliability is very crucial. Cost effectiveness is also among the most important factors in the Defense Industry. Every country has a defense budget. The Defense companies have to comply with the budget. Companies also need to have a skilled workforce in order to deal with complicated tasks including the likes of manufacturing military aircrafts. Diversification is also a very important factor to survive in the defense industry. Companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing are heavily diversified into related markets including manufacturing naval shipbuilding, aircrafts, helicopters etc. Also, Defense companies need to have government contacts in order to carry out Lobbying. Overall Lockheed Martin is fairing pretty well in the Defense Industry. Although, compared to Boeing and Northrop Grumman, it has a few shortcomings in areas like being Cost Effective; it is handling the other key factors very well. It is well above the average level of operations in the defense sector. Porters Five Forces Threat of New Entrants (Low): The threat of new entrants is quite low in the Aerospace and Defense Industry. Few factors like very high capital requirements to sustain operations, having highly differentiated products act as entry barriers into the industry. The defense industry has a few big firms including Lockheed Martin, Boeing etc. who are very well established. Their products are highly differentiated, acting as a barrier; also the customers are reluctant to switch to a new companys product because personnel have to be trained again in order to use the new products raising switching costs. Companies in the defense industry need to have a huge amount of capital in order to sustain activities like building military aircrafts, naval ships etc. A new company will not have a large customer base and hence wont achieve economies of scale in order to reduce per head costs. Rivalry among Existing Firms (High): The rivalry among existing firms in the Defense industry is quite high. The leading Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman have intense competition over winning defense contracts. As the firms in this Industry are few, they analyze each others move very carefully and issue counter moves accordingly. Firms in the defense sector use innovation and new technology to in order to differentiate their service and deliver better than the competitor which ultimately increases competitive rivalry. Threat of substitutes (Low): There are actually no real substitutes for the defense industry. The military aircrafts, equipments, and other systems cannot be replaced with anything else. For example, considering the commercial aircraft segment in the Aerospace and Defense Industry, there are alternatives like Rail Transport which may act as a possible threat due to factors like global warming and carbon footprints. But, the Defense Sector doesnt have any substitute. For example, a countrys Air Force cannot be replaced by zero emission gliders; it has to be military aircrafts. It is because they cannot serve the same purpose. A nations Defense Sector cannot be substituted as they are the only ones who can serve the National Security purpose. Bargaining power of Buyers (Low): The bargaining power of buyers is low in the Defense sector. Although, the buyers have some financial muscle as they are mostly Government organizations, this power is somewhat diluted as the government needs the defense systems and programs. It is very important to the government. Now, companies in the Defense Industry like Lockheed Martin dont just provide military aircraft and hardware like missiles and other weapon systems but also cater to the repair and logistic needs of their buyers. This means that it increases switching cost for the buyers and hence reduces buying power. The differentiated products provided by the Defense companies also decreases buyer power. For example, a product specially designed by Lockheed Martin like the Exoskeletal Load Carrier HULC cannot be designed by Boeing and vice versa. Bargaining power of Suppliers (Low): The bargaining power of suppliers is low in the Defense Industry. Firstly, there are many suppliers to choose from. Also, there is no switching cost considering the suppliers which makes the power of the suppliers weak. The supplier costs also dont form a large part of the organization. In the defense industry, the defense companys major costs are in regard with RD, advanced technology and skilled workforce rather than supplier price. The major suppliers of the defense industry like Steel and aluminium manufacturers cannot forward integrate and compete directly with the defense companies. For Example, a steel manufacturer cannot build complex aircrafts and weapons. This further reduces supplier power. Relative power of Stakeholders (High): The relative power of stakeholders is pretty high in the Defense Industry. Stakeholders like the Government, customers and suppliers can affect the company majorly. Taking into consideration the government, the government has strict laws and regulations for each company to follow. In case of a breach or due to any other viable reason, the government has the power and to match it the authority to terminate contracts and transactions. This may lead to losses in the company. The suppliers and customers can also affect the company. Internal Factors Strengths: Lockheed Martin has quite a number of strengths. Having a well diversified portfolio has enabled Lockheed Martin to not be over dependent on a single market segment and also serving a large customer base. Lockheed Martin is strong financially as per the stats given over the years. It had shown an increase of 5.8% in revenues in 2009 compared to the fiscal year 2008 and is also the largest defense contractor by revenue as of FY2009. In addition, it is one of the leading companies in providing tactical and transport aircraft and other defense systems. Lockheed Martin serves a very large customer base, which provides for economies of scale. And also the company is very advanced technologically, its recent achievement being the JSF F-35 program. Weaknesses: Lockheed Martin also lags in a few areas. In 2009, about 85% of the net sales were made to the US government. This shows over dependency on one customer which would affect its growth. Another area it has to consider is cost. It is not really a cost effective firm. A recent example would be the high developmental costs for the JSF F-35 project. Plus, the employee attitude is poor in Lockheed Martin. And the turnover rate is also pretty much near high. Lockheed Martin also ranks no. 1 in federal misconducts. This affects the reputation of the company and the scenario of future contracts. External Factors Opportunities: One of the opportunities that Lockheed Martin can capitalize on is the rise in defense spending by the US. The DoD has seen consistent growth within the last ten years as it grew from $300 billion to almost $550 billion. Further, the congress agreed to fund military operations in various countries. Also, the US space and military market has witnessed strong growth and the trend is likely to continue. Another point could be the space business initiatives. Lockheed Martin is a prime contractor for a number of space business initiatives initiated by NASA. More initiatives will create new business opportunities for Lockheed Martin. One other point is the easing of export controls by the US with India in order to trade with the country. Another one would be the cyber security needs which are increasing globally to deal with cyber warfare. Threats: There are quite a number of threats that Lockheed Martin is facing. Lockheed Martin deals with numerous government agencies and entities, and as a result has to face regulations relating to disclosure of cost and acquisitions. Also, Lockheed Martin has to deal intensely with competitors like General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and BAE systems in regard to competitive factors such as technical superiority, reputation, price, etc. Also, The Company is involved in environmental and potential proceedings relating to soil and groundwater contamination, disposal of hazardous waste etc. which impact the companys profitability. Substitutes like the Russian MIG fighter jets and others can act as a possible threat to the company. Also, Lockheed Martin has to keep up with changing times by innovating new products and services and acquiring new tech to keep up with rapid technological changes. Strategic Factor Analysis Short: The fact that the US military market is going to grow may be viable for a short period or an intermediate period. So the company has to look for other viable opportunities which would be there for a long term. For the short term, it is definitely an opportunity which the company should capitalize and ultimately as a result it will benefit the company in different ways like for example increase in sales. Intermediate: A factor like not being dynamic is in the intermediate segment. Not being dynamic or not being very agile to change is a weakness which will affect the company in medium term. This is because issues like these need to be addressed in the medium term at least if not in the short. If not done so, the company may not be able to deliver accordingly and lose out to the competition. Same is with the factor of substitutes. They can be there for an intermediate term. Lockheed Martins main competitors like Boeing and Northrop Grumman are always there with new innovations and products. So, in order to stand up to the competition, Lockheed Martin has to bring in new technologies and unique products every time. As discussed earlier, the rivalry is intense and companies come out with new and unique products to stay ahead in the game. Long: Factors in the long run considers all the four; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Considering financial performance, a company like Lockheed Martin earns about 80% of its revenues from military sales. It receives many of the defense contracts and if delivered as supposed to, it will stay in a good position financially. It is also in a position to acquire some other firms. An example would be Gyrocam Systems LLC on 31st august, 2009. Also, all the companies have to be advanced technologically in order to meet the demands of the customer. They have to provide distinctive products which are not possible without advanced technology. Factors like export control easing by the US towards India are also in the long run. Once eased, it will trade with the nation for quite some time. Government regulations also stay for a long time. TOWS Matrix Strengths (S) Financial stats New Technology Well balanced Portfolio Economies of scale Strong market position Weaknesses (W) Dependence on the U.S government Cost management Not agile to changing conditions Employee attitude Contract misconducts Opportunities (O) Rising defense spending Growing military and space market Space business initiatives Export-control easing Cyber Security needs SO Strategies Expand business into India by acquiring firms Use advanced technology to deliver new and unique products to the growing market WO Strategies Reduce the dependence on US government by expansion into other countries Change employee attitude to deliver better products Threats (T) Government contracts and regulation Intense competition Environmental compliance costs Substitutes Technological changes ST Strategies Regular and timely Upgrades of systems and technology to stay competitive Acquisition of firms to gain new technology in order to deal with substitutes WT Strategies Be dynamic to keep up with rapid technological changes Reduce costs in order to comply with the regulations SO Strategies (Maxi-Maxi): SO strategies are formed considering the use of a companys strengths to capitalize on the opportunities. According to the figure above, I have devised two strategies which will do so. As the US has eased its export controls towards India, Lockheed Martin can expand its business there by acquiring firms and so on. This can be done as the company is financially strong and is in a position to do so. Another strategy that can be used is that Lockheed Martin can use its advanced technologies and systems to capitalize on the opportunity of the growing military and space market by offering new and differentiated products. ST Strategies (Maxi-Mini): Now, ST strategies are formed by considering the use of a companys strengths to minimize the threats. Two strategies have been devised. The first one is to regularly upgrade the systems and technology of Lockheed Martin in order to deal with threats like rapid technological changes. In the defense sector, big players like Boeing and Northrop Grumman may have better tech compared to Lockheed Martin and so in order to compete it has to have timely upgrades of its own technology. Also another strategy to be considered would be an acquisition strategy. In the defense sector there are quite a number of substitutes. Lockheed Martin can acquire more firms in order to gain access to new technologies and minimize the threat of substitutes. These strategies are possible because of the strong financial position of Lockheed Martin. WO Strategies (Mini-Maxi): WO strategies are formed by considering the capitalization of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses. One of the strategies that can be considered is reducing the dependence on the US government by expanding overseas. Recently, US eased its export controls towards India, which means Lockheed Martin has the opportunity to make sales in the latter. This can reduce the over dependence on the US government for sales. Another would be changing employee attitude by providing a better work environment, which in turn will help to develop better products for the growing military and space market and hence increasing sales. WT Strategies (Mini-Mini): WT strategies are formed by considering the minimization of weaknesses and avoiding threats and are basically defensive. One of the strategies would be to be more dynamic to changing conditions. By being more dynamic, Lockheed Martin can stay up with changing times and avoid the threat of rapid technological changes. By analyzing the conditions and acting, for example, Lockheed Martin upgrading its systems and technology, the company will be able to stay competitive. Another would be to effectively reduce costs by using methods that are efficient, so as the excess costs are not transferred to the final products. In case of Lockheed Martin, it has to comply with government regulations regarding costs and any default may result in termination of contracts and transactions. Assessment of current Company performance Efficiency: Lockheed Martin was very efficient in its recent strategy of divesting its business in EIG (enterprise integration group). It also plans to sell most of its PAE business unit. Lockheed Martin was very efficient in using the Divestiture strategy. Lockheed Martin had an after tax gain of $184 million ($0.51 per share). Not many resources were required to do so as EIG was a very high quality segment of their business associated with the support of organizations like the National Reconnaissance Office, other elements of the intelligence community. Lockheed Martin did not require much effort and resources in order to carry out their divestiture strategy. Effectiveness: Lockheed Martin was very effective in carrying out the divestiture strategy. There were many prospective buyers for the business unit. Lockheed Martin effectively made the sale to Veritas capital without much hassle from either side. The cash generated from this transaction was effectively deployed in various ways like in the specific 4th quarter of 2010; 13.2 million shares were repurchased for $916 million, discretionary contributions of $840 million to the pension trust, cash dividends totalling $269 million which is an increase from the previous year in the same quarter and expending capital of $426 million. Return to Investors: Lockheed Martin paid a total dividend of $269 million in the fourth quarter which shows a $29 million increase from the payout in the 4th quarter of 2009. Also the total dividend payout in 2010 being $969 million showed an increase of $61 million over the previous years total payout. It clearly shows that Lockheed Martins profits had gone up in 2010 by quite a good margin. The corporation was paying out more dividends makes it clear, that quite some money was being made by it. The share value also went up after the divestiture was completed by $0.51 per share. Review of Options Lockheed Martin can consider the use of various strategies devised above in order to deal with major threats and weaknesses by using opportunities and strengths. One of the most critical strategies that should be considered as an important option by Lockheed Martin is the expansion strategy. Adopting this strategy will help Lockheed Martin to capitalize on a valuable opportunity and at the same time, help it to reduce its excess dependence on the US government. Lockheed Martin can expand in to other countries by using either acquisitions or maybe they can enter into a Joint Venture with some other companies. Another strategy could be the acquisition strategy. Lockheed Martin can consider acquiring firms in order to get new technology. This will help them to stay very competitive in the market, deal with the competition and at the same time help them to deal with a major threat of substitutes. Another strategy that would be recommended is being more dynamic to change. By being more dynamic, Lockheed Martin will analyze the market constantly and keep up with changing trends and factors like rapid technological changes. Being a defense contractor, it has to keep up with such changes in order to keep up with the competition. Another one would be the changing of employee attitude towards the organization and work. This can be done by providing a cooperative and healthy work environment and proper training of personnel. This in turn will benefit the organization in the long run by providing dedicated and motivated personnel which will help to produce higher quality products and services. Implementation of Strategies Structure: Now, in order to carry out the most critical strategies that are stated above, the company should analyze their structure and make changes if they have to. The current horizontal structure of Lockheed Martin can well serve the purpose. Lockheed Martin gives all the employees initiative to work and deliver better results. There is an immense sense of team work and team spirit. Lockheed Martin enables its employees to make decisions at their respective levels and hence shows decentralization of power to a certain extent. It is useful in motivating employees and efficiently catering customer needs. Systems: Lockheed Martin basically has all the system facilities to deliver the strategies. In order to deliver the expansion strategies Lockheed Martin needs to develop software(s) and systems for the place where they are expanding. Lockheed Martin has all the necessary systems in place in order to deliver the most critical strategies. It can enhance its capabilities by upgrading systems factors like software(s) and machines in order to cater better to the strategies. Policies: In order to comply with the strategies above, Lockheed Martin should adopt a recruitment policy. Specially in using the expansion strategy, Lockheed Martin needs to employ new workers in order to sustain such strategies. Employing dedicated and motivated personnel would surely benefit Lockheed Martin. Another policy that can be adopted by Lockheed Martin is a reward policy. Lockheed Martin can reward individuals by using factors like pay increments and bonuses. Cooperative teamwork and appropriate rewards will help to change employee attitude and motivate them to deliver better products. Usefulness of Models Industry life cycle: The industry life cycle was very helpful in assessing the specific stage of the life cycle in which the defense industry currently is. More importantly it has helped in analyzing the fact that why the defense industry is in that specific stage. Industry life cycle is an important tool in the analysis of an industrys life. It has given us an in depth view of where the industry is and also what the companies in the industry are doing to stay alive. Key factors for success: The second model is very useful in assessing the most critical factors that a company needs to survive in the specific industry, in this case the defense industry. It was useful because it gave us an overview of the industry in regard with the factors required to succeed in it. It told us what a company needs to survive, how their competitors are fairing in the core areas and which areas can the company make changes. Porters five forces: Porters five forces helped us to analyze the six crucial and constant forces that affect the industry. It has helped us to analyze how the industry is affected by these six forces and what stand do the companies have in consideration to these forces. SWOT: SWOT analysis was very useful as it helps is assessing the companys internal factors; strengths and weaknesses and external factors; opportunities and threats. It helped us to look into the company in depth to find out where it lags and where it excels. Also it helped us to look into valuable opportunities which the company can capitalize on to grow or expand and also threats which the company faces. SFAS matrix: The SFAS matrix is basically derived from the SWOT. But what makes it very useful is that it helped us to choose the most critical factors of the four points; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It has helped us to analyze what are the critical strengths and opportunities for our company and how long are they going to stay there. Also, It helped us to analyze our weaknesses and threats and how much time we should take to address them. Overall, it was a very important tool in assessing the critical factors to which the company should respond accordingly to grow and stay competitive. TOWS matrix: Another model derived from SWOT. This was very useful in basically formulating the best strategies possible for our company that they can deliver in accordance with the four factors.

Cinematic Technique in the Film Wuthering Heights :: essays research papers

'Wuthering Heights' was originally written by Emily Bronte. She lived on the moors and she enjoyed wandering through the moors, which is where she got her inspiration to write the story 'Wuthering Heights'. In 1992, Peter Kosminksy directed the film version of 'Wuthering Heights,' he used camera angles/shots, sound, composition, lighting and character gesture/facial expressions to make the opening as effective as possible. To begin with, Emily Bronte is walking through the moors heading to a castle. When she enters the castle it shows her opinion and imagination of what might have happened there. It begins with Lockwood who lives nearby Wuthering Heights and gets caught up in a raging storm so he enters the suspicious castle away from the raging storm, which is building up very quickly behind him. He is soon told to leave by the occupants, although he stubbornly refuses and after he is offered a room by the woman, he is shocked by someone just outside his window. When Emily Bronte strolls across the vast moor land, a long shot is used to introduce the scene. It shows the loneliness, coldness and the isolation of the moor land. Dark, ominous clouds fill the sky, emphasising the mystery and suspense. The dullness of the moor land implies not that not much lives close by and it is quite a creepy place to be. In the beginning, the music is quite deep. When the castle comes into shot, the violins are added in this creates the impression that the atmosphere is eerie and bleak. However, they also suggest that Emily Bronte and where she is, is of some importance. When she makes her way across the dreary moor land, she is wearing a black hooded cloak so her face is not visible and it is hidden away, this increases the effectiveness by building up the tension. On her way through the moor, she passes two large rocks which tower over Emily Bronte, and elicit the idea she is vulnerable and insignificant. It shortly changes to a medium shot at eye level to show her facial expression of determination, this suggests that she knows where she is going and she may have been there before. It also creates the impression that she is slowly being revealed to the audience, and that they are equal to the character because they are on the same level. Natural shadows cover some of her face This low key lighting is effective because she is covered still partly, so it is suspicious.

Different forms of social influence Essay

Most of the human behaviors are a result of influence. This impact can either come from the environment or from the people we leave with. The people we come across with are likely to influence our behavior, beliefs and even feelings. This impact will lead to the development of our day to day activities. Most of the activities we encounter every day in our life play a great part in how we are going to behave. The study on social impact is very wide. Psychologists have done a lot of research to understand it and as a result many theories have been developed which explain social influences. CITATION Noa06 l 1033 (Friedkin, 2006)Compliance (This is the first form) There are several forms which have been identified to influence social behavior. Compliance is one of these forms. Simply put, compliance means to accept. Individuals may change their behavior only because someone has told them to do so, and therefore, they comply with his or her request. Compliance involves taking action to change a person’s behavior and feeling towards someone or something, therefore, it is known as an active form of social impact. This form of power is initiated by a person intentionally. Sometimes compliance is a result of internal social influence which entails inner faith of an individual. A person can decide to change from within, without any external force .Compliance as a result of the change in personal faith is not the primary aim of compliance. Conformity (The second one) Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   The other form of social influence is conformity. It happens when individuals adjust their attitude behavior and sense to conform to a group’s norms or culture. People in most cases would like to be identified with a certain group of people; hence they can do anything to change the behavior, including their sense and faith towards something or someone so that they can be the same with the other members of the group. It takes the observation of the other members of the group for one to change his or her behavior and act like them. Some behaviors one has to learn slowly. In addition one can also be taught by the members of the group. For example, an individual who would like to be identified with a group of professionals would only require observing how they behave. He or she may observe their dressing code and finally he or she would behave like them. One cannot be identified with a set group if he or she does not conform to their standards an d behaviors (Pratkanis, 2011). A person can conform to a set group either internally by having the same faith and feeling or externally by acting as the people of that group. The members of a certain group can actively influence a person to act like them, and that kind of social impact is known as an active influence. Passive impact occurs where the members of the group does not directly influence one to act like them. Most of the youth are affected by this kind of social impact. Many young people today would like to be an associated with a particular group of people which they share common beliefs, behavior and sense therefore, they would try very much to have the same behavior which will make them conform to the standards and culture of that group. The same case happens to many organizations, when an individual is recruited to join the institution; he or she has to change his or her behavior feeling and approach so that he or she can be identified with the organization. Sources of Conformity (Expounding more on conformity) Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Conformity has three sources. The first one occurs when a person sees or senses someone else act in a certain way. First it should come to your understanding that a set group of people are doing a certain activity, then you will judge whether it the right thing for you or not .After a thorough consideration you will be able to make an informed decision on whether to conform to their behavior or not ( Zanna, 2014). These can take different forms; one can see what is being done whether good or bad, you can also hear from the media or a member of the group can also inform you of their undertaking. The second one is when people understand that what a particular group is doing is informational; hence it is the best way to do things. People all over the world are in search of information and knowledge, therefore if they realize what they been looking for is being done by a certain group of people, then they will have no option other than to join them. The information gotten from that group should be beneficial to the person conforming to their faith and belief; it should add value to the existing knowledge. Finally, people conform because of the concern for the social outcome of their behavior. People would like to know the final result of certain behavior depicted by a group of people. Most researchers would engage themselves with a particular group of people with a solemn aim of knowing the end result of that kind of behavior (Homans, 1966). Obedience (The third form) Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Obedience is another form of social influence. Unlike the other forms; obedience involves the change of action as a result of direct command from the person in authority. These kinds of power always involve command on the targeted audience to act in a certain manner. Influence by command if often found in the institution where strict adherence to law and regulation is required. A good example is the military unit; the officers have to follow strict command from the authority. Obedience as a form of social power is one sided; it does not require the consent of the other party. The authority will use power vested in them to command actions, this instructions must be followed. The end result would be change of behavior; it will also affect their sense of ideas as well as their faith. Obedience has been applicable in most institutions and also in the government, with the aim of changing the behavior of the targeted audience. The application of this form of social power can have positive or negative impact on the person being impacted (Tedeschi, 1972). Persuasion (the 4th form) Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Persuasion is another form of social impact. It involves an active attempt by a person to change the behavior, attitude feeling or belief of another person through some form of communication. The focus of this kind of impact is the internal change of perception, belief or sense of an individual. The power of a person to influence another is very important so that persuasion can take effect. The political leaders use this tactic to make people to have faith in them. The language use is very instrumental for changing the behavior of people; the person must have good knowledge of the language use. Also the understanding of the targeted audience is important for you to be able to change their behavior CITATION Car08 l 1033 (Hetzel, 2008). How psychologists have studied them (Add more here) Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Many scholars have tried to define social influence, which has led to numerous definitions of the same subject. We can define social influence as a sum total of all the things that might alter the behavior, action feeling or thought of a person. This aspect has been extensively studied by psychologist and sociologist. Its application has also been studied carefully to establish how it affects the society.Professor Herbert ,one of the scholars of psychology defined social influence as a situation where an individual identify, comply and internalize to behave in a certain manner different from the way they had behaved in the past. The view of the scholars about social impact is that individuals may identify with influential person from a distance or the might have a close relation. They also believe that compliance can happen at the surface but deep in that person he might not be convinced .There are a lot of things which we can talk about concerning social impact; the bottom line is that it is aimed at changing the behavior of people. The reason why a person’s view of ideas can be influence has not been clearly know by scholars. References Friedkin, N. E. (2006). A Structural Theory of Social Influence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hetzel, C. J. (2008). The Effects of Social Influence on Personal Attitudes and Behavior Toward 0549498516, 9780549498513: ProQuest. Homans, G. C. (1961). Social behavior: Its elementary forms. Mark P. Zanna, J. M. (2014). Social Influence. london: Psychology Press. Pratkanis, A. R. (2011). The Science of Social Influence. 1136737049, 9781136737046: Psychology Press. Tedeschi, J. T. (1972). The Social influence Processes. london: Transaction Publishers. Source document

How to Read and Write Files in Perl

How to Read and Write Files in Perl Perl is an ideal language for working with files. It has the basic capability of any shell script and advanced tools, such as regular expressions, that make it useful. In order to work with Perl files, you first need to learn how to read and write to them. Reading a file is done in Perl by opening a filehandle to a specific resource. Reading a File in Perl In order to work with the example in this article, youll need a file for the Perl script to read. Create a new text document called  data.txt  and place it in the same directory as the Perl program below. In the file itself, just type in a few names - one per line: When you run the script, the output should be the same as the file itself. The script is simply opening the specified file and looping through it line by line, printing each line as it goes. Next, create a filehandle called MYFILE, open it, and point it at the  data.txt file. Then use a simple while loop to automatically read each line of the data file one at a time. This places the value of each line in the temporary variable $_ for one loop. Inside the loop, use the chomp function to clear off the newlines from the end of each line and then print the value of $_ to show that it was read. Finally, close the filehandle to finish out the program. Writing to a File in Perl Take the same data file you worked with while learning to read a file in Perl. This time, you will write to it. To write to a file in Perl, you must open a filehandle and point it at the file youre writing. If youre using Unix, Linux or a Mac, you might also need to double-check your file permissions to see if your Perl script is allowed to write to the data file. If you run this program and then run the program from the previous section on reading a file in Perl, youll see that it added one more name to the list. In fact, every time you run the program, it adds another Bob to the end of the file. This is happening because the file was opened in  append  mode. To open a file in append mode, just prefix the filename with the  Ã‚  symbol. This tells the open function that you want to write to the file by tacking more onto the end of it. If  instead,  you want to overwrite the existing file with a new one, you use the  Ã‚  single greater than symbol to tell the open function that you want a fresh file each time. Try replacing the with a and you see that the data.txt file is cut down to a single name - Bob - each time you run the program. Next, use the print function to print the new name to the file. You print to a filehandle by following the print statement with the filehandle. Finally, close the filehandle to finish out the program.

BINOM.DIST in Excel

BINOM.DIST in Excel Calculations with the binomial distribution formula can quite tedious and difficult. The reason for this is due to the number and types of terms in the formula.  As with many calculations in probability, Excel can be utilized to expedite the process. Background on the Binomial Distribution The binomial distribution is a discrete probability distribution. In order to use this distribution, we need to make sure that the following conditions are met: There are a total of n independent trials.  Each of these trials can be classified as a success or failure.The probability of success is a constant p. The probability that exactly k of our n trials are successes is given by the formula: C( n, k) pk (1 - p)n – k. In the above formula, the expression C( n, k) denotes the binomial coefficient. This is the number of ways to form a combination of k elements from a total of n. This coefficient involves the use of the factorial, and so C(n, k) n!/[k!(n – k)! ]. COMBIN Function The first function in Excel related to the binomial distribution is COMBIN. This function calculates the binomial coefficient C( n, k), also known as the number of combinations of k elements from a set of n. The two arguments for the function are the number n of trials and k the number of successes. Excel defines the function in terms of the following: COMBIN(number, number chosen) Thus if there are 10 trials and 3 successes, there are a total of C(10, 3) 10!/(7!3!) 120 ways for this to occur. Entering COMBIN(10,3) into a cell in a spreadsheet will return the value 120. BINOM.DIST Function The other function that is important to know about in Excel is BINOM.DIST. There are a total of four arguments for this function in the following order: Number_s is the number of successes. This is what we have been describing as k.Trials are the total number of trials or n.Probability_s is the probability of a success, which we have been denoting as p.Cumulative uses an input either of true or false to calculate a cumulative distribution. If this argument is false or 0, then the function returns the probability that we have exactly k successes. If the argument is true or 1, then the function returns the probability that we have k successes or less. For example, the probability that exactly three coins out of 10 coin flips are heads is given by BINOM.DIST(3, 10, .5, 0). The value returned here is 0.11788. The probability that from flipping 10 coins at most three are heads is given by BINOM.DIST(3, 10, .5, 1). Entering this into a cell will return the value 0.171875. This is where we can see the ease of using the BINOM.DIST function. If we did not use software, we would add together the probabilities that we have no heads, exactly one head, exactly two heads or exactly three heads. This would mean that we would need to calculate four different binomial probabilities and add these together. BINOMDIST Older versions of Excel use a slightly different function for calculations with the binomial distribution. Excel 2007 and earlier use the BINOMDIST function. Newer versions of Excel are backward compatible with this function and so BINOMDIST is an alternate way to calculate with these older versions.

A visitor in Nevada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A visitor in Nevada - Essay Example Thirty more miles and I’ll reach that desolated Arizona. More than sixty miles will be where it meets the south west side of Nevada (Elliott 103). These are the boundaries of America’s 36th star. The year is 1902 and I’m on my way to meet with Montana Senator William Andrews Clark. History has been both harsh and kind to Clark. A city was named after him which perpetually engraves his nobility along with the greatness of the city he help build but there is also disdain for the method he employed to achieve his vision. It is one that is often perceived as a false myth of greatness and selfishness. He bought a seat in the Senate. That is what he is remembered for. For all that he did, he is remembered for one treacherous act. Senator Clark is expecting me today. He will give me fifteen minutes of his time to show him what I promise to be the technology that will make the transportation system he is planning to build to connect California to Utah. When I got there, though, I had to wait as Clark has to attend a public meeting with the Union Pacific Railroads. He is a tall guy with half his face covered by a thick beard that allows nothing but his eyes to show emotion and there seems only one thing there. Only one emotion, that of arrogance that comes with a clear ambition. It’s been less than a year since Clark got elected, more or less legitimately, to the Senate, and this is why. The Clarks and the Union Pacific Railroads E.H. Harriman performed a ceremonial agreement signing that divides the stock in the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad (Van Dee 83). The plan is being laid out and in a few weeks, the land is going to be flattened to lay the groundwork for the train tracks. I met the First Assistant Engineer of the railroad project and the first order would be to get the water into the valley. Once that is accomplished, the town is going to blossomed into a fertile agricultural land where fruits will grow.

Regulatory & Economic Environment Assignment Essay

Regulatory & Economic Environment Assignment - Essay Example This is also the same for the company to do in an effort to eliminate the competition threat by creating a rather precise marketing plan. The best way to do this is by carrying out a SWOT analysis of the competitors alongside the PEST analysis for a target market. Focusing on the Strengths of the competitor, one recognizes that the company has an already established base in the Asian market and that the deals they are offered are rather superior and worthy seeing as they are already acquainted with the suppliers in the region. A weakness that one can identify in terms of the manner through which business is run is acknowledging the fact that the competitor’s brand has not fully settled in the retailers market. The main reason as to why Brought Kitchens identified the company was the high amounts of sales that it had started making and this was due to a shift in the customers who go for cheaper products. However, accommodating this is one of the most effective strategies to car ry out. Opportunity comes in from the fact that the suppliers, unlike customers do not have a specific product of preference or rather do not have favorite retailers. This gives the company an opportunity of identifying itself with the Asian market. The threats however are in terms of the licensing and revoking of their earlier deal with their former European counterparts in case of anything. Part b Going through the political stature of the Asian market and target markets is important in understanding whether the country is trustworthy for investment and reliance in terms of business. Economic state is also vital in that one gets to understand and have prospects of the prices of the commodities. On the other hand, social factors come into play when attempting to understand the nature of people in the area and their attitude towards foreigners. Technology is also important to comprehend whether the people in the area accept changes in terms of technology which basically happens in c lose intervals. Putting all these factors into consideration assures the company of prosperity in its ventures. Question 2 Part a Dj Sports as stated has had its name in the market for a very long time and the fact that its policy, â€Å"Our name sells itself† is a rather confident one that it shows that there is no need of carrying out advertisements and signing labels just to get their products to the market. However, seeing as there are other companies that have come up in the contemporary environment, a challenge has been posed and the company must act in an effort to keep its product running, a market assessment has to be carried out. Engaging in the SWOT analysis of the company comes in as a key strategy. The fact that the company has been in the market for long in itself is a very large strength seeing as they have earned the reputation and trust of the customers. A weakness however is the fact that the company has decided to lay back and not take on any key advertisem ents as opposed to competitors. Advertisements ensure that the product reaches a wide range of customers and if they do not see the DJ line in advertisements, it is hard for them to choose a product that they know little or nothing about. An opportunity presents itself from the fact that customers believe that the company