Should the UK government restore the 50% additional rate of income tax Essay

Should the UK government restore the 50% additional rate of income tax - Essay Example Great Britain (2010) noted that an income tax of 20% is automatically charged on savings interest while those who are married and one of the spouses was born before 6 April 1935 are able to claim a Married Couple’s Allowance hence reducing the tax bill. The UK government is fair because those who are blind are able to claim the Blind Person’s Allowance. This paper is going to give opinions on if the UK government should restore the 50% additional rate of income tax. First, the paper will provide an explanation of the recent history of the additional rate of the income tax and then discuss arguments in favor of and against the restored rate of 50%. Great Britain (2010) noted that in 2009, Alistair Darling the then Chancellor announced that there would be tax increases in order to contribute over six billion pounds by the year 2012. The reason behind this was ensure that the economic future of the country was secured and to provide assistance for citizens when they require it most. The changes incorporated an increase in the indirect taxes rates for instance duties on alcohol and road fuel for that current year, variations in income tax from the month of April 2010 that included a new 50% rate on all incomes above 150,000 pounds. Great Britain (2010) stated that the new additional 50% rate brought about many feedbacks about the Budget, as individuals viewed it as a valuable change in the Labor government’s approach to taxing those who are wealthy in the society. There were many debates among citizens wondering if the changes would enable the government to get as much as they had anticipated. For instance, 1.3 billion pou nds in November 2010 rose to 3.05 billion pounds in December 2011. Great Britain (2010) noted that UK consisted of 31.3 million-taxpayer population but according to the revenue and customs estimate, only 236,000 citizens were entitled to pay the 50% rate in November 2010. Great Britain (2010) noted that the Liberal Democrat

The concept of technical and allocative efficiency

The concept of technical and allocative efficiency Technical Efficiency- Basic Concept The term Technical Efficiency was first used by M. J. Farrell in 1957 in his seminal paper and differentiated and disaggregated economic efficiency into two components i.e. technical efficiency and allocative efficiency. Coelli et al. (1999) define technical efficiency as the maximum achievable output from a given set of inputs and existing technology (Coelli, Rao, Battese, 1999). It has been also defined as the ratio of actual output and potential output of a farm unit i.e. In this sense TE refers to the manner in which the inputs or production resources are used. By this definition it is more closely associated with the techniques of framing or understanding of technology and deals with the behavior of how to produce an optimal level of production regardless of input-output price ratio. Hence, technical efficiency is also equivalent to Agronomic Efficiency. The concept of technical and allocative efficiency can be explained by the help of Figure 2.1 illustrated by Kalirajan and Shand (1999). Theoretically, we assume that all units of production (firm or land) operate at potential frontier production function i.e. the points along the curve FF. Any level of inefficiency with respect to this production function will be purely allocative. The reason may be that the producer has no income to buy inputs or is not willing to spend more for the marginal amount of inputs. Now suppose if the firm operates at point B by using I1 inputs and getting Y1 output. At this point the firm is both technically and allocatively efficient with a maximum profit of à Ã¢â€š ¬1. When the firm operates at Point-A with I2 level of inputs producing Y2 output points, earning à Ã¢â€š ¬2 amount of profit. At this point the firm is technically efficient as it is operating at FF but it is inefficient allocatively. It can improve its profit by à Ã¢â€š ¬2/à Ã¢â€š ¬1 amount. But on real grounds, the units of production operate at less than the level of its potential frontier. The reasons are differe nt technical, socio-economic, bio-physical, organizational and other unknown factors (Ahmed et al., 2002; Ajibefun, 2008; Ozkan et al. (2009)). Thus the firm operates at its actual production function AA below the potential frontier FF. Let us suppose it operates at point C with I2 amount of inputs and producing Y3 yield and earning à Ã¢â€š ¬3 profits. At this point the firm is neither technically nor allocatively efficient. It could maximize its profit to à Ã¢â€š ¬4 levels by operating at point D utilizing I3 inputs and producing Y4 outputs. But on real grounds, the units of production operate at less than the level of its potential frontier. The reasons are different technical, socio-economic, bio-physical, organizational and other unknown factors ( Ahmed et al., 2002; Ajibefun, 2008; Ozkan et al. 2009). Thus the firm operates at its actual production function AA below the potential frontier FF. Let us suppose it operates at point C with I2 amount of inputs and producing Y3 yield and earning à Ã¢â€š ¬3 profits. At this point the firm is neither technically nor allocatively efficient. It could maximize its profit to à Ã¢â€š ¬4 levels by operating at point D utilizing I3 inputs and producing Y4 outputs. Thus it is quite clear from Figure 2.1 that economic inefficiency is composed of two components of technical and allocative inefficiency. The total loss of the firm in profit terms operating at point C is à Ã¢â€š ¬1-à Ã¢â€š ¬3. Within this loss, à Ã¢â€š ¬3-à Ã¢â€š ¬2 and à Ã¢â€š ¬1-à Ã¢â€š ¬2 are the technical and allocative inefficiency losses respectively. The efficiency scenarios in these models explain three reasons of farmers attributes as discussed by Ellis (1988); Farmers desire to maximize profit with less input levels given by yield gap (Y0 Y3). Such behavior is referred as profit maximization behavior. Second reason may be the lack of correct allocation of inputs given by (Y3 Y2), and Farmers failure of operating in the most efficient production function (Y3 Y3). This gap represents technical inefficiency level, and Farmers behavior to reduce his risk instead of maximizing profit. . . . Technical Efficiency- History / Evolution Farrell (1957) is known as the pioneer of efficiency literature when the frontier production model developed by him, in one of his seminal papers, decomposed economic efficiency into two components; i.e. technical and allocative efficiency. He defined TE as the ability of a firm to produce maximum output given a set of inputs under existing technology. Stated differently, technical inefficiency is the failure of attaining the maximum possible level of production given existing resources and technology (Bravo-Ureta Pinheiro, 1993). The adoption of new technologies after green revolution for enhancing farm output has acknowledged special attention as a means to accelerate agriculture development after Schultzs hypothesis that conventional agriculture was fully efficient (Schultz, 1964). The growth performance is not only determined by such technological innovations but also by the efficient management and utilization of such technologies. The importance of efficiency measures as a me ans of nurturing productivity a considerable amount of literature is found focusing on agriculture (Bravo-Ureta Pinheiro, 1993). The efficiency analysis of units of agriculture inputs (land, labour, fertilizer etc.) has always been the focus of a number of studies since early 1960s. Most of the studies have supported Schultzs efficient but poor hypothesis. Theodore Shultz stated this hypothesis in 1964 that The traditional agriculture is fully efficient in the allocation of inputs under an existing technology. The combination of crops being grown, the depth and number of cultivation, time of planting, fertilizing, watering and harvesting, the combination of tools, draft animals and equipment are all made with a fine regard for marginal costs. (Schultz, 1964) Sahota (1968) based on his and many others have supported Schultzs hypothesis in their empirical works. Based on his study in Indian agriculture, Sahota (1968) concludes that the bulk of the evidences appear to support the hypothesis that the resources available to conventional Indian farmers have been, by and large, efficiently allocated (Sahota, 1968). A large number of frontier models were developed based on Farrells work which was than classified into parametric and non-parametric types. Aigner Chu (1968) were the initiators of deterministic parametric approach. They estimated a deterministic production frontier of a Cobb-Douglas type through linear and quadratic programming techniques. Timmer (1971) further developed this procedure by introducing a probabilistic production frontier model. He estimated a series of production frontiers by dropping extreme observations at each stage until the rate of change of parameter estimates stabilizes. These estimators had undefined statistical properties. Another class of frontier models was proposed by Afriat in 1972 known as statistical production frontiers. According to Afriats (1972) model, technical efficiency is a one-sided disturbance term with some explicit assumptions and frontier is estimated by method of maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). On the other hand if the disturbances are based on no a-priori assumptions, then corrected least squares (COLS) method is used to estimate the production frontier by just shifting the frontier upwards covering all negative disturbance terms. In 1977, Aigner et al. (Aigner, Lovell, Schmidt, 1977), and Meeusen and Broeck (1977) independently developed stochastic frontier production model in which the error term was decomposed into two components. A one-sided positive component reflecting inefficiency and a two-sided error component covering measurement errors and the random effects, which are not in control of the producer. Under this model the frontier could be could be estimated either by COLS or MLE. But in 1980, Greene found that the MLE are more efficient than COLS as the former method makes use of special statistical distributions for the disturbance terms e.g. exponential, half-normal or gamma distribution (Greene, 1980). Another mathematical programming method was developed by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) in 1978 which was a generalized form of Farrells (1957) method in terms of multi-input and multi-output vectors. Their method is well known as Data Envelopment Analysis or DEA. But their approach of measuring efficiency confounds the true technical efficiency score with uncontrollable noise (Charnes, Cooper, Rhodes, 1978). Further developments in DEA were incorporated by Varian in 1985. He brought improvements in DEA by treating the deviations as having stochastic characteristics and split them into two components of technical efficiency and random noise (Varian, 1985). The Free Disposal Hull (FDH) model, introduced by Deprins et al. (1984), was originally designed as an alternate to DEA models. In FDH approach only strong (free) disposability of inputs and outputs is assumed by relaxing the convexity assumptions of DEA models. FDH models were initially treated as DEA models under variable returns to scale (VRS). The FDH models are traditionally represented as mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problems. Further extensions in production frontier estimation are multi-equation models based on production, utility, cost or profit function specifications. Such extensions include the work of Kumbhakar (1987); Battese, Coelli and Colby (1989). In the decade of 1990s, the literature on TE expanded with the growing use of Z-variables in the application of Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA). Previously, researchers used auxiliary or two-step regression on a set of socioeconomic, institutional and policy variables, so-called Z-variates to observe the effect of such variables on TE scores. A new method proposed by Wang and Schmidt allows a one-step procedure for calculation of TE and inspect effects of such Z-variables (Wang Schmidt, 2002). Kalirajan and Obwona (1994) suggested another approach for modeling production behavior and technical efficiency of any production unit, known as Stochastic Varying Coefficient Frontier Approach or SVFA. Under this method, like DEA, the potential output is estimated by allowing TE to vary by each individual input. Thus it makes comparison between firms performances easier in a sample of firms. It also facilitates to identify a benchmark of an excellent performing firm in terms of best practice in a sample (Kalirajan Shand, 1999). A recent approach, different from other sampling theory models, is Bayesian Approach (BA). The approach treats the uncertainty concerning which sampling method to use by mixing over a number of competing a-priori inefficiency distributions with a-posteriori model probabilities as weights. This approach overcomes the criticism of imposing a-priori distributions on disturbance term as in SFA. But in Bayesian Approach, like SFA, the potential output to estimate TE varies over all inputs taken together. It also differentiates random effects and fixed effects issue for panel data (Kalirajan Shand, 1999). Developmetns are being made on the methods to make them more, efficient, flexible, easily computable and more policy oriented. Especially Bayesian and FDH approaches need more modifications and specifications. Efficiency Studies in Developing Countries Agriculture and Associated Factors Here we cite some literature on efficiency estimates in agriculture sector of some developing countries with our main focus being on Pakistan. The findings regarding average efficiency scores and their relationship between different factors are summarized in the following paragraphs. Shapiro (1983) examined TE of Tanzanian cotton farmers using a Cobb-Douglas production frontier. His findings yielded an average TE of 66 percent leading rejection of Schultzs (1964) hypothesis. Balbase and Grabowski (1985) invested TE in Nepalese agriculture. His findings yielded 84 percent and 67 percent TE scores for rice and maize farms respectively. His analysis showed that nutrient levels, farmers education and income were significant factors influencing TE. Kalirajan and Shand (1985) examined TE of paddy farms in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Their study proved non-formal education as significant positive factor in enhancing efficiency levels of farmers. Ali and Flinn (1989) have used a modified trans-log stochastic profit frontier to investigate profit efficiency of Basmati rice farms in Pakistan. They identify education, credit, late application of fertilizer and water shortage as key factors in profit losses. Ali and Chaudhary (1990) estimated efficiency for 220 farmers in Pakistani Punjab. According to his findings the average technical, allocative and economic efficiency were 84%, 61% and 51% respectively. Hussain (1991) analyzed efficiency in Punjab province of Pakistan. His results showed a TE score ranging from 80 percent for rice region and 87 percent for sugarcane region. Bravo-Ureta and Evenson (1994) analyzed efficiency for 101 cassava and 87 cotton farmers from Eastern Paraguay. His findings showed 58%, 70% and 41% technical, allocative and economic efficiency scores respectively for cotton farmers. Whereas the corresponding figure for cassava growers were 59%, 89% and 52% respectively. His results evidenced farmers age, education, farm size, extension contacts and credit availability as significant factors influencing efficiency level of farmers. Another study conducted by Ali, Parikh and Shah (1994) in NWF province of Pakistan by using both behavioral and stochastic cost frontier functions. Among socioeconomic variables, farmers age, farm size, land fragmentation and subsistency were showing significant influence on inefficiency levels. Ahmed et al. (2002) have analyzed TE of wheat growers in three provinces of Pakistan using a stochastic frontier production approach. The results yielded on average 32 percent losses due to technical inefficiency. The variables of age, education, extension services, farm to market distance, farm size, and credit availability had significant influence on efficiency levels of farmers in the provinces. He also found that wheat farmers in Punjab were technically more efficient (70%) than their counterparts in Sindh (66%) and NWFP (63%). Tenants were technically more efficient than the owners and owner-cum-tenants. Dhungana et al. (2004) have used Data Envelopment Analysis approach to examine efficiency of Nepalese rice Farmers. The results revealed that 76, 87 and 66 percent technical, allocative and economic efficiency levels were achieved by farmers. The factors contributing in inefficiency were excessive use of input resources, farmers level of risk attitude, managers age and gender, education and family labour endowment. Hassan and Ahmed (2005) examined TE of wheat growers in a mixed farming system of Punjab province in Pakistan using a C-D production function. The mean TE was recorded about 94 percent. The key influencing factors of efficiency were education, timely cultivation of crops, credit availability, sowing patterns and water availability. Bashir and Khan (2005) have conducted an efficiency analysis of 200 wheat farms in Northern region of Pakistan. They found high variation in yields of sample farms showing an average allocative efficiency of 72 percent in the study area. Farmers awareness, education level, farm size and level of fertilizer used were significant factors depriving farmers to achieve their optimum level of profits. Lambarraa et al. (2006) examined TE and productivity growth in the Spanish Olive sector. They found that farmers age, farm location; tenure regimes of land and organic nature of farming techniques affect significantly the level of efficiency. Mari and Lohano (2007) have analyzed TE of onion, tomato and chili farms in Sindh province of Pakistan. The mean TE was found to be 83 percent, 74 percent and 59 percent for chili, tomato and onion farms respectively. A detailed study on TE of Russian agriculture has been conducted by Brock et al. (2007). They found interesting results under three organizational farming regime; i.e. peasant farming, large corporate farming and household plots. The TE rankings were highest for household plots (81%) followed by corporate farms (74%) and peasant farms (70%). The peasant farms were least efficient. Analyzing efficiency of Nigerian food crops, Ajibefun (2008) has applied both SFA and DEA approach. He found only slight variation in average TE computed by both methods, i.e. 68 percent by SFA and 65 percent by DEA. Significant influencing factors were farmers age and education level. Kilic et al. (2009) have investigated TE of hazelnut production in Samson province of Turkey. Their study showed an average efficiency of 73.5 percent. Farmers education level and farm fragmentation were found as significant factor determining TE. A very recent work by Monchuk et al. (2010) on TE in Chinas agriculture reveals that heavy industrialization and large percentage of rural labour force in agriculture sector tend to reduce TE. He suggests that air and water pollution have negative effects on agriculture production; and growth of non-primary agriculture may lead to efficient use of labour resources. Factors Affecting Technical Efficiency There are various socioeconomic, infrastructural, institutional and policy factors that tend to influence technical efficiency of farmers, thereby depriving them from achieving a potential output from their available resources. Identification and probable solutions of such factors had been the focus of researchers and policy makers through decades. A summary table of the work of different researchers showing TE of different crops and significant factors affecting level of TE is given in Table 2.1 Yield Gap Yield gap is the difference between the yields of the experimental station by researchers and yield from farmers plot. According to Gomez (1977), yield gap appears in two ways (see Figure 2.2); The yield gap between maximum yield of research station and potential farm yield. This gap emerges into the system due to the environmental factors (climate, rainfall, humidity, sunlight etc) and non-transferable technology to farmers fields from the research station. Second type of yield gap is the difference between potential farm yields to that of the actual farm yield gained by the farmer. This difference arises from the different biological and socio-economic factors. This study of these gaps is particularly important in the context of research and arises some questions that whether the research methodologies, technologies, environment, equipments and capital costs utilized at research station are appropriate to farmers field conditions? Whether the recommended technology is complete? Whether this can address or takes into consideration the less favorable socioeconomic, bio-physical and environmental conditions of rain-fed and resource-poor marginalized farmers (Dahal, 1996)? The process of estimating technical efficiency gaps should be taken in a systematic and realistic way. It is necessary to consider the farmers specific farm trials rather than the trials conducted at the research stations. Role of Marketing in Rural Economy Farmers consider themselves as price takers and think that they have no control over prices and are bound to accept whatever the price is offered. They do not know how to capture new markets nor how market demand and buyers preferences are changing and which products are to grow to gain more profit from their produce. Farmers generally have knowledge and skills in agriculture production techniques but marketing needs new skills, techniques and sources of information. Farmers armed with newest business and marketing skills will have better profit margins (Dixie, 2005). Rural businesses include input suppliers, product buyers, transporters, storage companies, processing companies and wholesalers. These intermediaries are often believed to exploit farmers and making unfair profits. Although they try to maximize their profit yet it is to accept that without these intermediaries farmers would not be able to link with input and output markets and neither they would be able to sell their produce. Role of Marketing in Consumer welfare As farmers desire is to receive higher prices, consumers desire to pay lower prices. Farmers want to be paid as much share of consumer price as possible. These two conflicting goals balance when there is an efficient and low-cost marketing chain. Consumers preferences are constantly developing particularly in the case of horticulture crops. They need a marketing system that can respond to their changing demands and tastes. The marketing system should supply the volumes, variety and quality products that consumers demand. Fruits Marketing System in Pakistan (Aujla et al) Marketing includes a series of inter-connected activities involved in the flow of products and services from the point of production to the point of consumption at a profit. An efficient marketing system guarantees sustained agricultural growth as it affects both producers income and consumers welfare (Aujla, Abbas, Mahmood, Saadullah, 2007). The marketing of fruits in the Pakistan is supply based. Once a producer brings his produce to the market, the prices are decided by large traders at the spot such that he is bound to accept the prevailing prices. Most of the times the producers have to dispose off their commodities at throwaway prices (Hanif, Khan, Nauman, 2004). Several factors influence the efficiency of fruit marketing that include high perishability, seasonality, low quality, uneven prices and location of the products, the physical handling of produce and the institutional arrangements for facilitating these activities. The existing marketing system in Pakistan consists of assembly, wholesale and terminal markets, which are briefly discussed below: Assembly Markets Assembly markets are situated close to horticulture farm gate, generally situated in small towns or sub-districts, where farmers bring their major portion of marketable surplus for sale to the shopkeepers, traders and retailers present in these markets. Most of the transactions in assembly markets involve small quantities of produce. Traders in assembly markets are not approved by any government agency, although in some cases town committees charge an entry fee from traders. Usually, these traders maintain no systematic record of transactions. The price formation is simple and based on direct negotiation between the traders and the farmers. Because the quantities involve small bulks the farmers may not mind small price differentials. Wholesale Markets Wholesale markets are essential components of any marketing system, especially for horticulture crops because these markets provide farmers effective and profitable marketing outlets for their products. Adequately located, sized and managed wholesale markets serve as a basic instrument for promoting competition and help to improve consumers health and food quality control (FAO, 2001). Wholesale markets in Pakistan are usually located in a district town or a major sub-division town. These markets are the main assembly centers for the fruit and vegetable surplus of surrounding areas. These markets have better transportation, storage, communication and working conditions than those in the assembly markets. The example of wholesale market in Balochistan is that of Quetta, where the surplus fruit produce of nearby districts are supplied. Wholesale markets have permanent auction floors and offices built by traders (commission agent) who hold an official permit for their activities. Each trader has sufficient space in the market to store produce for a few days or for longer periods at a nominal charge. Traders keep records of their daily transactions and report them to the Market Committee. Market participants in wholesale markets including commission agents, wholesalers, retailers, shopkeepers and weighing men are also registered and licensed by Market Committees. Intro duction of these measures have resulted in some improvements in these markets. Commission agents in wholesale market, charged 8 to 10 percent commission on the sale revenue (Hussain Abid, 2005). The major players in the wholesale market are commission agents, wholesalers, retailers and shopkeepers. Terminal Markets Terminal markets are generally situated in large urban centers. Most of the marketable surplus of agricultural commodities is ultimately routed to these markets. The Karachi market is one of the best examples of this kind of market in Pakistan. Foreign trade is another reason for the flow of the marketable surplus to this market. Traders in terminal markets are usually wholesalers who supply agricultural products to firms, industries and exporters. The majority of traders are buying agents, who buy from other wholesale markets through their agents or directly when the produce is brought there from other regions. This market is well equipped with traders who are well established and mostly depending on supplies from growers and other wholesale markets. They have access to all modern facilities for approaching their agents in lower level markets. Many traders have their own trucking companies. Telephone and telegraph services are easily available for them. Fruit Marketing Channels in Pakistan Khushk and Smith 1996 Khushk and Smith (1996) have done a nice and detailed study of fruit marketing channels in Pakistan by concentrating particularly on mango production in Sindh province. According to them, agricultural marketing channels refer to the outlets or routes through which commodities pass to reach final consumers. As produce moves along the marketing chain, its price increases because of opportunity cost incurred by each intermediary (Dixie, 2005). The existing fruit marketing channels in Pakistan by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. are presented in Figure . . . . . Figure 2.3 Marketing Channels for Fruits in Pakistan The marketing channels functionaries common in the country are; Producer The fruit growing farmers are dispersed geographically in the country. Majority of producer sell the harvesting rights of their orchards to contractors at the flowering or in hanging fruits stage because they do not want to be involved in marketing complications. Also the farmers do not do not want to take the risk of price and income variation due to perishability, quality damage, and price seasonality. In addition, Khushk and Smith (1996) found another important reason reported by farmers is the lack of knowledge of marketing. commission agents are biased towards farmers than contractors and do not want to transfer market price information to farmers or provide them other facilities, like informal credits, transportation or information access at the market-place. By this way commission agents control the supply, demand and prices of market (Khushk Smith, 1996; Ali, 2004; Aujla, Abbas, Mahmood, Saadullah, 2007). Contractor The contractor plays a main role in the marketing of fruits. He has close contacts with commission agents in the wholesale and terminal markets. While contracting an orchard, the contractor estimates its yield and considers the expected costs to be incurred for supervision, labour, transportation, and marketing. Khushk and Smith (1996) report that more than 95 percent of mango contractors in Sindh province of Pakistan obtained loans from commission agents to pay the initial installments to the mango farmers and to pay an advance for labour and packing material. Once a contractor receives loan from commission agent, he is obliged to supply the produce to that commission agent. Commission Agent Commission agents act as a link between contractors in the field and wholesalers or retailers at wholesale market. They usually have their own transport companies and have offices and staff at wholesale markets of big cities, equipped with all communication facilities. They maintain contacts with market committees, market associations, wholesalers and retailers and influence the prices in fruit markets of Pakistan (Ali, 2004). Wholesaler Wholesalers perform their business in wholesale or terminal markets of the country. They do business with large quantities of farm products and deal in several commodities like vegetables, fruits and other agricultural produce within interregional markets and also supply produce to processing industries, exporters, and retailers according to their demand. They maintain contacts with commission agents in wholesale markets and retailers in the local area. Wholesaler usually purchase fruit from the commission agents at open auction and sell in smaller quantities to the retailers and consumers. They mostly buy from the commission agents on a credit basis, and about one week after selling that quantity, they pay the commission agents. Some wholesalers also act as commission agents (Khushk Smith, 1996; Ali, 2004; Zulfiqar, Khan, Bashir, 2005). Retailer Market activities come to end with the retailers. They buy and sell small quantities according to the demand of consumers in the area. A small number of fruit retailers occupy small shops in the main fruit markets or in the town. Moreover, a number of retailers are found standing at focal places of a town, particularly railway stations, bus stands, vicinity of courts, schools, and hospitals. Among fruit retailers there is a high degree of competition. Retailers buy fruit from the wholesalers on a 24-48 hour credit basis (Khushk Smith, 1996; Ali, 2004; Zulfiqar, Khan, Bashir, 2005). Importance of Market functionaries / Intermediaries Although a heavy literature is found on exploitative behavior of market intermediaries towards agriculture producers, especially in developing countries such as Pandit et al. (2005) Aujla et al. (2007), Khushk and Smith (1996) and many others, yet their role cannot be ignored (Dixie, 2005). It is often mis-understood how important traders are in taking agriculture produce from farm to the market. Their importance becomes more critical in case of fruits which are highly perishable in nature and need quick supply. The more dynamic the fruit trading sector leads greater competition among traders and greater volumes of produce taken out of rural farm lands resulting, ultimately, high income returns to the farming community. Farmers Selling directly to consumers does mean higher profits but also greater risks. Market traders accept that risk such as non-payments, price decrease and marketing and handling losses (Khushk Smith, 1996). Therefore the intermediaries should be encouraged, not criticized (Dixie, 2005; Pokhrel, 2005). Marketing Margin Analysis Marketing margins or farm-to-retail price spread are some functions of differences between farm-gate prices and retail prices, intended to measure the opportunity cost of providing marketing services including buying, grading, packing, transporting, storage, and processing (Khushk Smith, 1996; Wohlgenant, 2001). The prices paid to the rural sellers at farm-gate are much lower. But as the product moves along the production-marketing chain, its price increases such that the retailers achieve the highest price (see Figure 2.3). The farm-to-retail price spread of fruits in Pakistan is con

Internet Privacy: Government Should Not Regulate Encryption or Cryptogr

Internet Privacy: Government Should Not Regulate Encryption or Cryptography Privacy rights have been an important issue through out time, and it has been increasing in importance as we have moved into the electronic/information age. Keeping that privacy had become a growing concern for many businesses and consumers. With all the information being sent across the web, people are very concerned about their personal information falling into the wrong hands. One way to help protect your privacy on the net is by using an encryption program. Even though they are not completely unbreakable, an encryption program is one of the best ways to protect against outside intrusions. Despite this fact, the government wants too place legislation on encryption services that can be a potential danger to both the development of encryption systems and to your rights. According to the ACLU, the Clinton Administration adopted the "Clipper Chip" plan in 1993. This proposal would require every user of encryption to give the government their decryption keys. This, essentially, would give the government free access to all private and non-private communications, both stored and real-time. "This is the equivalent of the government requiring all homebuilders to embed microphones in the walls of homes and apartments." ( ACLU White Paper: Big Brother in the Wires; Wiretapping in the Digital Age ). There was also a proposal for the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). This FBI-based law would "require the telecommunications industry to build enhanced digital wiretapping capabilities into the Nation's telephone system. (EFF Press Release & Joint EFF/ACLU/EPIC Statement on ACP) There has been strong opposition to this plan. Many peopl... ...o force encryption users to hand over their decryption keys. It seems as though the government is really more focused on spying on citizens than it is about fighting crime. There does not appear to be any sufficient proof to justify their claim to need decryption keys to fight crime and terrorism (especially terrorism). I believe that if the government wants to use electronic surveillance on encrypted information, for a justifiable reason, then they should work in correspondence with encryption system users. I feel that privacy is a very important right of all people; and people should be able to try and protect it to the best of their ability, as long as no one else gets hurt in the process. People's rights to privacy should not be taken so lightly by our government. I would think that Bill Clinton, of all people, would understand the want, and need, for privacy.

Economic Development and Environmental Protection

This paper argues on both theoretical and empirical grounds that, beyond a certain point, there is an unavoidable conflictbetween economic development (generally taken to mean ‘materialeconomic growth') and environmental protection. Think for a moment of natural forests, grasslands, marine estuaries, salt marshes, and coral reefs; and of arable soils, aquifers, mineraldeposits, petroleum, and coal. These are all forms of ‘natural capital' that represent highly-ordered self-producing ecosystemsor rich accumulations of energy/matter with high use potential (low entropy). Now contemplate despoiled landscapes, eroding farmlands, depleted fisheries, anthropogenic greenhouse gases,acid rain, poisonous mine tailings and toxic synthetic compounds. These all represent disordered systems or degraded forms of energy and matter with little use potential (high entropy). The main thing connecting these two states is human economic activity. Ecological economics interprets the environment-economyrelationship in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. The second law sees economic activity as a dissipative process. Fromthis perspective, the production of economic goods andservices invariably requires the consumption of available energy and matter. To grow and develop, the economynecessarily ‘feeds' on sources of high-quality energy/matter first produced by nature. This tends to disorder and homogenizethe ecosphere, The ascendance of humankind has consistently been accompanied by an accelerating rate of ecological degradation, particularly biodiversity loss, the simplificationof natural systems and pollution. In short, contemporary political rhetoric to the contrary, the prevailing growth-oriented global development paradigm is fundamentally incompatible with long-term ecological and social sustainability. Unsustainability is not a technical nor economic problem as usually conceived, but rather a state of systemic incompatibilitybetween a economy that is a fully-contained, growing, dependent sub-system of a non-growing ecosphere. Potential solutions fly inthe face of contemporary development trends and cultural values Ecological disturbance and nature tourism. THE purpose of this article is to consider the role of disturbance as a crucial ecological consideration in landuse planning for nature tourism. Incorporation of ecological insights into the environmental-planning process offers hope for rational and sustainable development. Nature tourism has been proposed in recent years as a solution to the dilemma that developing countries face in conserving their biological heritage and concurrently improving the economies of local human settlements. In Mexico, nature tourism has become a favored mechanism for development, especially on the Yucatan peninsula. Recognizing the immense value of its coastal natural communities, Mexico has recently established several large biosphere reserves to preserve natural resources and to accommodate and support human settlements. The experience of sprawling, high-impact Cancun, with more than one million visitors annually, has encouraged the government to reassess its development goals. One example of Mexican openness to sustainable conservation-development projects is the innovative, cooperative effort of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to establish Ruta Maya, a low-impact design to promote tourism based on natural and archaeological treasures (Garrett 1989). In the Yucatan, two long, relatively pristine barrier peninsulas, Rio Lagartos and Celestun, are being identified as opportune sites for nature tourism. Both have high conservation value and were designated special biosphere reserves by the government in 1979 because of their floral and faunal diversity. Both have small human settlements based on fishing and salt extraction. The protection concept known as the Mexican modality, in which local villages can coexist with both conservation and tourism, is an ambitious development plan. Through trial and error, it is becoming clear that development must be guided by ecological understanding if degradation of natural systems is to be avoided. Sites worth visiting are often those that cannot endure heavy human use, and if irreversible environmental degradation results from nature tourism, both conservation of biological diversity and sustainable tourism will fail. Although political and economic considerations usually far overshadow ecological concerns, conservation of natural resources will not succeed if ecological insights are ignored in planning for nature tourism. To retain the integrity of ecosystems, ecologists must convey the most useful information about the dynamic physical and biological contexts of natural communities, including information about the effects of human change on natural disturbance regimes. Important shifts in ecological theory in the past several decades could change perspectives on planning decisions. Fundamental models of community organization throughout the history of ecological thought were rooted in the idea of equilibrium, and most principles applied to managing natural areas have been based on the notion of stability. Many recent empirical studies offer evidence that the natural world is not static, that natural disturbances are common to many environments, and that most landscapes are not in equilibrium, at least for the short term. Planners and developers of tourist facilities, along coastlines, for example, have mistakenly assumed that the physical context for hotels and roads was a stable place. RECENT ECOLOGICAL THOUGHT From its beginnings, ecology has been the study of nature as a stable, orderly system. Natural communities that were undisturbed by people were generally thought of as pristine and immutable, composed of interdependent and harmoniously arranged species assemblages (Botkin 1990). This idea was based on a long tradition in Western culture that envisioned nature as orderly and was embodied in the phrase â€Å"balance of nature† (Glacken 1967). Largely through the writings of Frederick E. Clements (1916) early in the twentieth century, the notion of natural communities as naturally occurring assemblages of species in harmony with local climatic regimes became ecological dogma. If a community was disturbed, damage would be repaired along a predictable continuum toward the climax community. Later, equilibrium became an explicit assumption for most ecosystems, a steady state to which a system returned if a disturbance altered its balance (Connell 1978). Dissenting voices proposed that species act independently of one another and that perturbation is a common event in many natural communities (Gleason 1917; Watt 1947). Strong evidence for the commonness of disorder in nature has come from a large body of literature documenting the profound and pervasive effects of a multitude of disturbances–fires, floods, windstorms, alluvial erosion, landslides, grazing, insects, and invasion of exotics (Veblen and Ashton 1978; Bormann and Likens 1979; Sprugel and Bormann 1981). It is now believed that all ecosystems are somewhat dynamic and that, in some, severe or even catastrophic disturbance is a regular occurrence. Natural disturbances were once assumed to retard the orderly progression of species replacement †¦ THE PROBLEM: Sulfur dioxide is a major source of air pollution world wide, and a major contributor to the problem of acid rain. SOME SOLUTIONS: 1) The technology exists to produce cleaner burning coal, but this process is very expensive. ) Inorganic sulfur can be removed from coal by washing it, but this will not remove organic sulfur, and the process is also very expensive. 3) Coal gasification converts goal to a gas in order to remove the sulfur. The gas produced from the sulfur can then be used to augment supplies of natural gas. This process is not yet competitive enough. 4) Scrubbing removed the oxides from the gases in the smoke stakes, but is also an expensive producer. Looking at these solutions, it would be easy to conclude that th ere is no win win solution when it comes to sulfur emissions from coal. However, in Germany they did find a solution that is win-win. AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION: â€Å"A German company in 1980 purchased coal-scrubbing technology and improved on it†¦ rather than disposing of the calcium sulfite rich sludge the company further processes it to produce building materials such as sheet rock or wallboard, which are sold worldwide. Another innovative approach to removing sulfur has been taken at a large coal burning plant near Mannheim, Germany. The smoke from combustion is cooled, then treated with liquid ammonia.. he sulfur-contaminated smoke is cooled in a heat exchange process that allows the chemical reaction between the sulfur rich smoke and ammonia to take place†¦ waste heat from the cooling towers is used to heat nearby buildings, and the plant sells the ammonium sulfate in a solid granular form to farmers to use as fertilizer. Thus, Germany, in response to tough pollution control regulations, has substantially reduced its sulfur dioxide emission s, and in the process it has boosted its economy. â€Å". Increasing recognition that the overall goals of environmental conservation and economic development are not conflicting but can be mutually reinforcing, has prompted calls for ‘environmentally sustainable’ economic development. Although there are difficulties in defining sustainable development in an analytically rigorous way, there is still a need to evolve a concept of sustainability that both distinguishes it from other post-war meanings of development and is useful for practical analysis and policymaking.

Case Study Essay Essay

Speed Racer. Like millions of other kids, he couldn’t wait to watch the hero’s slick Mach 5 take on villainous rivals in equally enticing race cars. The show came on at 3:30 p.m. If he was late, he missed it. Back then, there were no VCRs or DVRs to record the show for later viewing. There was no Internet. Like everyone else at the time, Kilar had to watch TV on the schedule dictated by the networks. Perhaps that’s why when Kilar grew up, he set out to change that antiquated model of television watching. By the time Kilar had reached the ripe old age of 36, home-recording devices had been household fixtures for well over two decades. But as far as Kilar was concerned, having to think ahead and set a device to record a show was still too much work. That’s why accepted the task of running Hulu, a joint venture by media giants NBC Universal and News Corporation that serves up TV shows and movies through a slick Web interface, when and  wherever you want to view them. As Hulu began to take shape, speculation quickly turned to skepticism.  What’s a Hulu? In August 2007, this question ricocheted  through the blogosphere to a chorus of derisive laughter. NBC and Fox [News Corps’ TV broadcasting subsidiary] were going to make the Internet safe for television! They were building a â€Å"YouTube killer†! And they were calling it Hulu! It was almost too perfect—an absurdist topper to the idea that two major broadcast networks could devise an Internet video service people would actually use.The name was even more delicious than the venture’s placeholder moniker, NewCo, which the online world had changed to ClownCo.And now Hulu? It means â€Å"snoring† in Chinese, one blogger declared. â€Å"‘Cease’ and ‘desist’ in Swahili,† Michael Arrington reported on TechCrunch. â€Å"Perhaps they should have just stuck with ClownCo,† he added. In Mandarin, hulu actually means â€Å"bottle gourd,† or â€Å"holder of precious things.† But the word’s meaning doesn’t really matter much. What does matter is that since Hulu aired its first television program in March 2008, it has become the third  most-viewed online video site, and it’s still rapidly growing. Entertainment Weekly called Hulu â€Å"some kind of TV addict’s fever dream.† One of the same bloggers who had earlier ridiculed Hulu soon pronounced it â€Å"brilliant.† And Mr. Arrington, coeditor of the famed blog TechCrunch and one of Hulu’s  harshest early critics, ultimately declared, â€Å"Game over. Hulu wins.† The big question is this: Of all the world’s Web startups and video sites, what has made Hulu such an instant and unquestioned success? Focus On the Customer When Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, and Peter Chernin,  president of News Corporation’s Fox network, hired Jason Kilar, they handed him a relatively empty canvas in an industry mired with complexities. Kilar could have set any of a thousand different priorities in creating Hulu. But Kilar focused first on one primary priority that would guide the entire venture: the viewer. He insisted that Hulu be â€Å"obsessed with users.† If Hulu didn’t work for viewers, they simply wouldn’t tune in. Kilar wanted to capture the best parts of watching television the oldfashioned way and combine them with the best that modern technology could offer. He and his Hulu team considered all the barriers to watching television and movie programming via the existing options and then set out to squash them. Hulu is Web based, so it overcomes two of the most common  inconveniences to watching regular TV It’s available 24/7, and .  it doesn’t require that viewers set a device for recording. But all Web video sites offer those advantages. Beyond these basics, to ultimately draw people away from their TV sets to watch their favorite shows online, Hulu had to offer more. So Kilar and his team focused on some very specific benefits. User-friendly The top Internet services—Google, Flickr,  YouTube—earned their top spots because they’re simple. Hulu needed to do more than just claim user-friendliness—its site needed to be clean, clutter-free, and have high-quality video. The site needed intuitive controls and navigation tools. And it needed to work seamlessly with all the popular Web browsers, without requiring additional downloads or special players.That obstacle had limited the success of many online video services. Kilar’s test for simplicity? His 62-year-old mom, Maureen, had to be able to cue up any video on the site within 15 seconds. As a result, Hulu emerged as the sleekest, easiest-to-use, and most professional video site on the Internet. According to Will Richmond, president of research firm Broadband Directions, Hulu â€Å"set the gold standard† for a TV-watching experience. â€Å"It has optimized all of the ingredients—quality of video, navigation, and controls.† Videos stream almost instantly in high resolution on a large or even full screen, instead of a â€Å"postage-stamp-size screen with grainy video,† as Kilar puts it. What does Kilar’s mom think? â€Å"She talks a big game, but she’s not technical,† said Kilar. But when Maureen discovered how easy it was to pull up episodes of the old TV classic Alfred Hitchcock Presents on Hulu, she was hooked. A Ton of Content Kilar also knew that slick and easy  wouldn’t be enough without having programming that people  wanted to see. When given the initial list of programs that  would be available on Hulu, Kilar was very disappointed. â€Å"It was one piece of paper,† he said. â€Å"I wished it was a phone book.† CC1 CC2 Company Cases Kilar informed the gurus at NBC and Fox that for Hulu to work, the two companies needed to provide access to every movie  they had ever made and every show they had ever aired. The  network chiefs explained that existing contracts and legal  complexities made that virtually impossible. But Kilar held his ground, and NBC and Fox quickly came around, digging deep  to gain legal clearance for everything that they could.  To give viewers even more content, Kilar suggested a strategy to Fox and NBC executives verged on heresy. He wanted to show programming from competing networks and production  companies—to sell the competition’s products. In fact, he wanted Hulu to be perceived as its own entity, not tied to any existing network. â€Å"Hulu is about the shows, not the networks,† Kilar argued.â€Å"The shows are the brands that users care about.† Once the idea settled in, Chernin and Zucker agreed. As a result, when Hulu went live, it boasted more than 250 TV shows and 100 movies from Fox, NBC, Universal, their affiliated cable channels, and more than 50 content partners such as Warner Brothers and indie film studio Lionsgate. In  addition to hosting content on its own Web site, Hulu links  seamlessly to video content on other video sites, even those of competing networks. In the time since Hulu began airing programs, the number of content partners has swelled to 130 and its library has grown exponentially. That library includes full episodes and even full seasons of television programs, clips from shows (clips of NBC’s Saturday Night Live are among the most viewed on the Internet), movies, and even instructional Web videos such as â€Å"How to Make Stuffed Crust Pizza.† Cost (as in Free!) Kilar also knew that for Hulu to succeed, it had to be free. After all, that’s how people had been watching broadcast television for decades. And on the Internet, people have come to expect â€Å"free.† But offering free content created a problem. Such programming had to be supported with ads, and  viewers don’t like those either. So Hulu created a very  reasonable compromise. The standard for broadcast television is eight minutes of ads per half-hour of programming. Hulu  inserts only two minutes of ads per half hour. Given all that they get, viewers don’t seem to mind the brief interruptions. Great Quality, User-based Programming, and Embed  Codes A great video player and lots of free programs are  things that viewers want most. But in his relentless pursuit to please viewers, Kilar went even further. He went for first-class quality, in both selection and viewing. Hulu relies on a small army of film students to screen every minute of footage,  looking for video and audio glitches. And instead of having  Hulu executives set programming priorities, Hulu lets users do it. Popularity alone moves a show up in the ratings. As a result, some rather odd shows have risen to the top. One of most  highly rated shows on Hulu is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, an FX series starring Danny DeVito. Another is Arrested Development, a cult favorite that won Emmys and  critical acclaim but was canceled by Fox because of poor  ratings. In yet another â€Å"Is this guy crazy?† move, Kilar decided that Hulu should provide embed codes so that users could post  content on their own sites. Not only does Hulu feature content from the competition, it gives its own content away! Users  love this because they can share programming with others. It works for Hulu because it doesn’t really give the content away. It enables its videos to go viral, bringing more viewers to  sponsors’ ads. Embracing the Future Hulu’s focus on pleasing viewers is certainly showing results. In only a few months, Hulu ranked among the Web’s top-ten  video sites, besting even ESPN.com. The month following  Hulu’s airing of a very clever ad featuring 30 Rock’s Alex Baldwin on Super Bowl XLIII, the site’s viewership increased by 55 percent to 7.8 million with 332 million streams. This catapulted Hulu past Microsoft and Viacom,  putting it at the heels of number-three Yahoo! (with 353 million streams) and number two MySpace (with 462 million streams). A few months later, Hulu passed Yahoo! In the world of online video sites, YouTube still dominates with 5.3 billion streams every month. But the market offerings of YouTube and MySpace are very  different from Hulu’s, so Hulu lays claim to being the market leader for TV-oriented sites.   Despite its success in such a short time, Hulu ‘s future is hardly guaranteed. Consumers are fickle, especially in a world of constantly changing technologies where what’s hot today may be old news next year. NBC and News Corp recently  added Disney and it’s ABC library to the partnership. But numerous other user-friendly, TV-style sites lurk in the shadows, including CBS’s TV.com and Viacom’s Joost.  And don’t forget one of the biggest competitors of all: viewers themselves.A major reason that NBC and Fox created Hulu in the first place was to combat video piracy. They were constantly having to intervene to pull clips of their shows off of YouTube and other video sites. And peer-to-peer BitTorrent  networks were threatening to inflict the same damage on the  television industry that the likes of Napster inflicted on the music industry.  Shortly after their initial plans leaked out, Chernin addressed the piracy problem head on. â€Å"You can’t protect old business models artificially,† he proclaimed. Unlike music industry executives who held back far too long, Chernin and Zucker realized that if they didn’t put their shows online, someone else would. â€Å"The best way to combat piracy is to make your content available,† said Zucker. â€Å"We want to make sure consumers know they don’t need to steal our content. That’s what Hulu is all about.† But while the minds at Hulu feel that their product will do  a great deal to combat piracy, they are more concerned about a bigger issue: Giving the consumer everything they want may not always be the best thing for the business. From a profitability standpoint, the impact of making  content available with minimal commercials could have adverse effects on the  business models that have worked for decades. As viewership  Company Cases  turns from the TV to the Web, can the revenue generated  through the new media replace that which will undoubtedly be lost through the old?  Jason Kilar himself best captures the opportunities and  threats presented by the volatility of the industry. â€Å"The world has turned completely upside down. I find that very inspiring. Others might be scared out of their wits. But to me, this is the way media always should have been.† Questions for Discussion 1. Describe Hulu’s market offering in detail. What value is Hulu really offering to users? 2. Is Hulu customer-driven? Why or why not? 3. Think about the three considerations underlying the societal marketing concept. Is Hulu sustainable? Support your conclusions for each consideration. 4. What recommendations would you make for Hulu’s  future? Sources: Jessi Hempel, â€Å"Hulu’s Hurdles: Internet Video Sharing Site Tries to Serve Fans and Networks Alike,† Fortune, February 24, 2009, accessed online at www.money.cnn.com; Frank Rose, â€Å"Free, Legal, and Online: Why Hulu is the New Way to Watch TV,† Wired, September 22, 2008, accessed online at www.wired.com; Chuck Salter, â€Å"The Fast Company 50: #3 Hulu,† Fast Company, March, 2009, p. 59; Lynne d’Johnson, â€Å"In Only One Year, Hulu Becomes Fourth-Largest Video Site in U.S.,† Fast Company, March 23, 2009, accessed online at www.fastcompany .com.

Essay on Biology Notes

Essay on Biology Notes Essay on Biology Notes BIOLOGY EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION 1. Outline the impact on the evolution of plants and animals of: - changes in physical conditions in the environment - changes in chemical conditions in the environment - competition for resources Changes in the environment of living organisms can lead to the evolution of plant and animal species. These environmental changed in condition may be physical, such as temperature changes, or chemical, such as changes in water salinity. Change may also be triggered by competition, for example, competition for resources such as food and water or competition to reproduce. Changes in physical conditions in the environment include natural conditions, such as temperature and the availability of water. Since life first evolved on Earth it has seen many changes. Given that the environment at the time was so antagonistic to life it is a wonder that life evolved at all. The physical environment has changed frequently. Sea levels have risen and fallen. Oceans or dry land has, at various times, covered parts of Australia. Such drastic changes in the environment influence evolution. Fossil evidence indicates that much mass extinction have resulted from changed in the Earth’s physical environment, for example, at the beginning of Pangaea about 90% of marine mammals became extinct. Over a period of 10 million years, dinosaurs along with other organisms became extinct. One theory as to why this occurred is that a meteorite struck the Earth producing a dust cloud that may first have killed many of the plants and animals that dinosaurs ate, causing them to st arve and die. Other scientists argue that climate change could have occurred from continental drift, changing patterns in oceanic circulation, or possibly volcanos. Whatever the cause, the environmental change favoured the organisms that survived. The story of life on Earth us change, extinction and diversification. Environmental change can favour certain species. The Australia landmass has become drier over time and this has lead to changes in the species of kangaroos that are present today. Approximately 25 million years ago, Australia was considerably wetter than today with large areas of rainforest. During this time, kangaroos were small and omnivorous, with unspecialised teeth, eating a variety of foods from the forest floor. Food was nutritious and abundant; there was no need for specialised grinding teeth. As Australia became more arid and grass became the dominant vegetation in some areas, environmental selective pressure resulted in larger kangaroos favouring teeth suitable for grass. These teeth, high-crested molars, efficiently grind low-nutrition grass into a more easily digestible paste. Slicing pre-molars are of little use and so became much reduced from the ancestral kangaroos. Changes in chemical conditions in the environment have also affected evolution. When life first evolved, it developed in an environment free from oxygen. These primitive organisms metabolised simple organic molecules in shallow seas. A product of this metabolism was carbon dioxide. Over millions of years the carbon dioxide accumulated in the environment and at some stage organisms capable of using CO2 in photosynthesis evolved and multiplied. They produced oxygen as a product of their metabolism, creating a chemical environment, which simple animals could exploit. These animals obtained energy from aerobic respiration. The evolution of organisms, as a consequence of chemicals in the environment, is not just ancient history by affects us now. Humans change the environment rapidly. Change and the capacity of populations of organisms to evolve in response to chemicals is sometimes a frustration to humans. Chemicals that can affect the evolution of species include salts and elements, suc h as iron. For example, many parts of Australia have soils that have a high salinity. There is a range of salt tolerant plants that have evolved to inhabit those areas.

Gray Seal Facts (Halichoerus grypus)

Gray Seal Facts (Halichoerus grypus) The gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) is an earless or true seal found along North Atlantic coasts. It is called the gray seal in the United States and the grey seal elsewhere. It is also called the Atlantic seal or the horsehead seal, for the males distinctive arched nose. Fast Facts: Gray Seal Scientific Name: Halichoerus grypusCommon Names: Gray seal, grey seal, Atlantic seal, horsehead sealBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 5 feet 3 inches - 8 feet 10 inchesWeight: 220-880 poundsLifespan: 25-35 yearsDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: North Atlantic coastal watersPopulation: 600,000Conservation Status: Least Concern Description Like other earless seals (family Phocidae), the gray seal has short flippers and lacks external ear flaps. Mature males are much larger than females and have a different coat color. Males average around 8 feet long, but may grow to over 10 feet in length. They weigh up to 880 pounds. Males are dark gray or brownish gray with silver spots. The species scientific name, Halichoerus grypus, means hook-nosed sea pig, and refers to the males long arched nose. Females range from around 5 feet 3 inches to 7 feet 6 inches in length and weigh between 220 and 550 pounds. They have silver-gray fur with dark scattered spots. Pups are born with white fur. The gray seal bull has a distinctive horsehead face. Noemi De La Ville / 500px / Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Gray seals live in the North Atlantic Ocean. There are three large gray seal populations and numerous smaller colonies. The species occurs in great numbers in the coastal waters of Canada south to Massachusetts (with sightings in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina), the Baltic Sea, and the United Kingdom and Ireland. The seals are most often seen when they haul out in winter. They frequent rocky coasts, icebergs, sandbars, and islands. Gray seal distribution. Darekk2 using IUCN Red List data /  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license Diet Seals are carnivores. Gray seals eat fish, squid, octopuses, crustaceans, porpoises, harbor seals, and seabirds. Mature males (bulls) will kill and cannibalize pups of its own species. Gray seals can dive for as long as an hour at depths up to 1,560 feet. They use sight and sound to hunt their prey. Behavior For most of the year, gray seals are solitary or live in small groups. During this time, they rest in open water with only their head and neck exposed to air. They gather on land for mating, pupping, and molting. Reproduction and Offspring Males may breed with several females during the mating season. Gestation lasts 11 months, resulting in the birth of a single pup. Females give birth in March in the Baltic, from December to February in the western Atlantic, and from September to November in the eastern Atlantic. Newborn pups have white fur and weigh around 25 pounds. For 3 weeks, the female nurses her pup and does not hunt. Males do not participate in pup care but may defend females from threats. After this time, the pups molt into their adult coats and head to the sea to learn to hunt. Pup survival rate ranges from 50-85%, depending on weather conditions and prey availability. Females become sexually mature at 4 years of age. Gray seals live between 25 and 35 years. Conservation Status The IUCN classifies the gray seal conservation status as least concern. Although the species was nearly extirpated in the mid-20th century, it began to recover in the 1980s following the passage of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act in the United States and the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 in the United Kingdom (which does not apply to Northern Ireland). Gray seal population size has continued to increase. As of 2016, the population was estimated to be 632,000 gray seals. Some fishermen have called for a cull, believing high seal numbers are at least partly responsible for low fish stocks. Threats Gray seals are legally hunted in Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic Sea. Risks to the seals include entanglement in fishing gear, by-catch, collision with ships, pollution (especially PCBs and DDT), and oil spills. Climate change and severe weather also affect the seals and their prey. Gray Seals and Humans Gray seals do well in captivity and are commonly seen in zoos. They were traditionally popular in circus acts. According to Scottish scholar David Thomson, they gray seal was the basis of the Celtic seal legend of the selchie, a creature that could assume human and seal form. While gray seals frequent inhabited areas, people are advised to avoid feeding or harassing them, as this alters seal behavior and ultimately endangers them. Sources Ailsa j, Hall; Bernie j, Mcconnell; Richard j, Barker. Factors affecting first-year survival in grey seals and their implications for life history strategy. Journal of Animal Ecology. 70: 138–149, 2008. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2001.00468.xBjrvall, A. and S. Ullstrà ¶m. The Mammals of Britain and Europe. London: Croom Helm, 1986.Bowen, D. Halichoerus grypus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T9660A45226042. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T9660A45226042.enBowen, W.D. and D.B. Siniff. Distribution, population biology, and feeding ecology of marine mammals. In: J.E., Reynolds, III and S.A. Rommel (eds), Biology of Marine Mammals, pp. 423-484. Smithsonian Press, Washington, D.C.. 1999.Wozencraft, W.C. Order Carnivora. In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0.

Thesis Methodology

Thesis Methodology Thesis Methodology Thesis Methodology Writing style is often context-specific. If a thesis involves a quantitative thesis methodology, it is advisable to find writing that reflects that paradigm, emphasizing statistical accuracy and formal expression, such as 'it was found' or 'the data suggest'. For a more qualitative or phenomenological methodology, writing often reflects a less formal style, with greater use of quotations from subjects or from other sources. You should investigate the language and style used in other theses, articles and research projects in your area; ask your supervisor to give you feedback on your style of thesis writing. Thesis Dissertation Writing Whatever your thesis area is, the thesis should be written in an appropriately formal style. This generally means avoiding slang expressions, contractions and jargon writing a thesis. While the style should be formal and the arguments are likely to be complex, this doesn't mean that the thesis should be verbose or hard to read. A complex argument means that you need to pay more attention to a clear structure and flow of ideas; you must maintain the interest of the reader. It is worth discussing with your supervisor what degree of detail and (abbreviated) jargon is appropriate for the different chapters of your thesis methodology. Some candidates fall into the trap of writing very complex text, trying to convey everything they know, in order to persuade the examiners that they have done a lot of work. This can result in a dense and difficult-to-read thesis, filled with long paragraphs and lengthy sentences, with the result that the reader loses track of the argument. This sort of verbose text is likely to annoy a reader and may even cause them to disagree with your argument. Most research theses involve analysis of complex data and/or issues, drawing on a wide variety of previous research. This naturally produces complexity in both your argument and your analysis. But don't confuse complex arguments with verbosity. Writing thesis chapter should be done in such a way that it can be easily followed and understood. But while simplification in writing is a virtue, over-simplification is not. Again, it comes down to balance - and your thesis supervisor is a good person to advise you on whether you are striking an appropriate balance. Custom Thesis offers you an opportunity to order thesis methodology writing assistance.   We are available 24/7 and we are able to help you with any thesis writing assignment despite of the topic and urgency of delivery.   Feel free to contact us to learn more about our prices and services!

Catholic Pro-Life Declaration of Rights for Unborn Babies Essay

Catholic Pro-Life Declaration of Rights for Unborn Babies - Essay Example It cannot be violated and denied by reason nor expediency nor whatever device that man can invent to tresspass life; as the creation was made for life to blossom, so should it remain for as long as the Grace of the Lord permitteth. That when man in its folly tresspasseth such a gift, to deprive those who are yet unborn to grace the field of this earth and to breath, it is now become a duty of the faithful especially the flock of the Holy Catholic Church with the blessing of the Pope to safeguard such life, to ensure its perpetuity by asserting in all avenues the right of the unborn. This is now necessary for when man is left to its own devices, it subject God’s Will to bring life as his preporagative and play god to elect who will be born and who will not. To prove this, let this be facts be known that the faitful may see the Light. Their reasoning brings undue anxiety to the people in their assertion that more life will cause poverty, illness and malady which is preposterous. The earth is bountiful to support life and if there is such poverty, illness and malady, it is brought by the same folly of man like corruption, incompetence and sheer lack of compassion towards his fellow; That the majority of those who opposes the right of child to be born, causes unjust vexation to the faithfuls, whose meekness they take advantage of, as they only reiterate the importance of life. That without that reiteration and assertion to life, even them who opposess life will not even be present to make such opposition. Be let it known then, that we the faithfuls, of the Congregation of the Holy Mother Catholic Church, stand in steadfast, to defend those who cannot defend themselves. To not let that right to be born be trampled because they are not yet around to make themselves known. To this end, with the magnanimity of our purpose and with the blessings of the Holy Catholic

Case Study Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper - Case Study Example onal leader because he gets involved in every activity that is taking place in his businesses, allowing each employee to have a chance to make certain recommendations on ways of improving different projects and activities. Branson is an exceptional servant leader who leads from the front and works to benefit both his employees, and clients. Sir Branson does understand that the failure is part of life. However, he urges all his employees to fail because that is the only way they can learn to correct their mistakes. So often, as Branson notes, people fear failure yet the only way one can learn to do anything is buy learning how to do it. If everyone is fearful that the mistakes may cost him or her job, Branson opines that that is a sure way of failing in becoming successful (Scouller, 2011). He tells of his past as a good way of learning how to deal with life because the rules sometimes hinder people from achieving their best in life. However, if one looks beyond what the rules offer, the success of the company will be nesting on that particular end. The regulations in place do not hinder the success of the company but are a boost towards rising above the status quo. In fact, Branson urges all his employees to be bold enough to challenge themselves by taking up new challenges and working towards realizing their goals. Th e aim is to build an enterprise that points towards success rather than remain etched in the confines of one’s fears (Howell, 2012). Many people also fail to understand that concentrating on a goal is the best way of overcoming any fear. At a young age, Branson was diagnosed with dyslexia, and performed poorly in the normal classroom structures. However, that did not kill his dream (Howell, 2012). He went on to start a magazine that gave the youth a voice, and since then, he has never looked back in regret. He shows his employees that what makes them fail is their inability to get past their failures and fears. He shows them that the best way of

Analysis on how gasoline prices are determined Term Paper

Analysis on how gasoline prices are determined - Term Paper Example The world’s challenges are to keep production going at a constant rate, and try to increase. At the same time, producers, with assistance from OPEC and respective governments have to keep high inventory levels to offset a period of zero production. Furthermore, the governments of various countries should consider allocating a heavier budget to oil exploration. In my opinion, the price of gasoline would increase, at least in the foreseeable future. Although the world is undergoing a severe recession, the prospects for recovery and growth are high, and consumers would be confident of a quick recovery. Furthermore, the proposed changes such as full capacity utilization would take time to accomplish. Also, the political tensions in the Middle-East look to intensify in the near future and that can disrupt supply. Even with the technology that is available, adapting to other forms of energy would be a difficult task for businesses and individuals alike. For instance, if CNG is used, it would take some time before America and other countries have easy access to CNG, since investors won’t take a risk of opening too many retail locations. All in all, I feel that the future can be bright and crude oil can be utilized to the fullest cheaply, but extra effort would have be exerted by governments to regulate the price of gasoline.

In a number Of crimes (the) function (of criminal law) is simply to Essay

In a number Of crimes (the) function (of criminal law) is simply to enforce a moral principle and nothing else Lord Devlin (19 - Essay Example Over four thousand years ago, prior to Abrahamic times, there is documentary evidence that morals and laws were seen as the same thing and morals and laws were seen to have the backings of the gods (Bottero, 1992). This therefore implies that peoples in prehistoric times derived their moral, religious and ethical authority from the supernatural, in that the rules and systems of these communities were considered to be something that originated from the spirits that backed the society. In modern times, where most people are influenced by the central principles of Judaism, which is the Torah given to Moses, most people believe that the Law is something that was ‘given’ (Hart, 1994). This is because Exodus 19 indicates that God spoke directly to Moses and the Israelite nation at Mount Sinai and gave them the rules and commandments that find its way to Christian, Jewish and Islamic Laws which form the foundations of most legal systems around the world. This therefore indicate s that the evolution of legality is strongly connected to religion and legality. Criminal laws and codes are no exceptions because in most cases, actions are criminalized because they are morally wrong rather than just legally outlawed. Alter et al 2007 indicate that â€Å"criminal conviction consists of two pre-requisites, the actus reus (criminal act) and mens rea (criminal intent)†. In other words, for the law to criminalise an individual, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubts that the accused person had an intention to commit a criminal act and he actually committed the criminal act. However, what is a crime and what is not, is deeply connected to the moral structures of a given society. This paper examines the popular arguments that merge the concepts of legality to morality and also, contrary views that makes them distinct and unconnected disciplines. Origins of Legal Structures â€Å"Law arises as a social technique which co-actively imposes ways of solv ing conflicts, protecting fundamental values for a society’s co-existence.† (Marina, 2000). From prehistoric times, people have always seen the need to live together as social units. First of all, every family has a head which is often a father. As part of his duty, a father is supposed to protect the family and make sure everyone does what is expected of him or her in the family. In more complicated situations, where a number of families lived together in a given social setting, there was the need for all the members to have a leader and other social structures that ensured that people could interact with each other with little friction and disagreements. Leadership and social structures varied widely. Leaders were usually chosen based on the pressing needs at the time. A community could chose a leader based on military yardsticks whilst another could chose a leader based on intellectual or productivity qualities. As pointed out by Bottero (1992), most of these early s ocieties had religious beliefs and systems that linked them to the spiritual realms. Religious and spiritual establishments also had custodians who automatically joined the leadership of the community to regulate and maintain social structures with spiritual guidance and directions. Thus for leaders of a community to regulate the life of members of the community, there is the need for a body of

Shiite Festivals in Iran and Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Shiite Festivals in Iran and Iraq - Essay Example Although the Shiites were considered a minority in most of the Islamic world, they were the majority in countries like Iran and Iraq. Shiites who venerate Ali and his son Husayn or Hussein commemorate their death in the hands of the Sunni's in the 7th century battle in Karbala. Karbala is located in Iraq (Associated Press). The other holy site located in Iraq is Najaf. Shiites in Iraq comprised sixty percent of the Iraqi population but the most oppressed and marginalized during the regime of Saddam Hussein. There is a basic difference between Shiite Muslims in Iran and Iraq. Primarily, Iran's ethnic origin was Persian while Iraq's is recognized as Arab. The most significant festival for Shiites all over the world is the observance of Ashura, a ten-day commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein. Its observance followed the Shiite calendar usually on the tenth day of the first month of the lunar year or Muharram (Rauf). The Shiites observed it as a day of mourning when Hussein and his kinsmen were killed in 680 AD or 61 AH (Shiite calendar) ("Everyday is Ashura and Every land is Karbala", Rauf). Shiites observe the day with public display of mourning, self-flagellation or wounding to commemorate the sacrifices of Hussein. Hussein opposed against the corrupt rule of Yazid, a Muslim caliph and he and his family paid for it with their lives. Unlike the Shiites in Iran where they enjoyed majority rule and political power, the Shiites of Iraq underwent severe oppression and misfortune for decades under Saddam Hussein despite outnumbering Sunni's by 2 to 1. Many of the Shiites in Iraq sought refuge in Iran. The Shiites of Iraq had to celebrate and practice their beliefs with restraint. It was not until Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003 could they openly commemorate Ashura. In Iran, however, Shiism was the recognized Islamic denomination and therefore everyone could observe customs and traditions freely. The Origins of the Shiite Branch of Islam Conflict ensued concerning succession after Prophet Muhammad died in 632 AD between the Sunni and Shiites. According to the Shiites, succession should come from the bloodlines of Prophet Muhammad. The Sunni's believed otherwise. For them, the selection of a successor should be a consensus among community members, on political ascendancy and individual merit. (Armanios CRS-2). However, the closest companion of the Prophet, Abu Bakr was elected by majority of the community as caliph. Although majority would accept this decision, some felt that Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin and the Prophet's son-in-law and husband to the Prophet's daughter Fatima was bypassed. Several members of the community supported Ali's ascension as caliph (Armanios CRS-1). The Shiites would later consider Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman as usurpers and illegitimate successors. Shiites considered Ali as the one deserving the recognition as successor. Ali would later be assassinated in 661 AD and his sons, Hassan and Hussein would die in the hands of the Sunnis (Armanios CRS-2). Those that supported Ali's leadership

HSE Management Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HSE Management Paper - Essay Example Oil refining process releases numerous emissions in the atmosphere causing air pollution. Industrial accidents such as fire and explosions are also rampant in oil and gas industry. Environmental and safety concerns make oil refineries be located far from urban areas. Corrosion is a chief problem faced throughout the process line of hydrocarbon refining process. Corrosion refers to deterioration of metal components such as pipes that convey the petroleum products. In the refining process, corrosion occurs in forms, such as pitting corrosion from water droplets and stress corrosion from SO2 attack. Periodic cleaning and use of corrosion resistant metals prevents and controls corrosion. Unchecked corrosion leads to oil leaks and spillages that are environmental hazards. Where gas cannot be stored, it poses a risk of fire or explosion. Flaring and venting ensure safe disposal of hydrocarbon gases. Venting refers to the discharge of gases into the environment in the oil production process . Through venting, toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide are released to the environment resulting to fatalities. Venting releases greenhouse gases such as methane leading to global warming. On the other hand, Flaring refers to burning of natural gas in the routine of gas and oil production process. Carbon Fraying produces carbon dioxide predominantly. Both flaring and venting have great environmental impact on climate through global warming (Haddow and Bullock, 2006, p45; Heidersbach, R and Heidersbach, B, 2011, p260). Process Safety Management (PSM) is proactive identification, mitigation, correction or prevention of release of poisonous chemicals that could be caused by failures in processes, procedures or equipment. It ensures that process facilities such as oil and gas plants, chemical plants, and offshore platforms operate safely. Process oriented reactions such as corrosion, runaway chemical reactions and unintended mixing of hazardous chemicals are liable for release of toxi c gases, explosions and fires. The need to reduce safety incidents caused by hazardous materials and process upset, and the need to meet safety regulations drives PSM programs. The aim of PSM is to aid employees to mitigate episodic release of hazardous chemicals that would be catastrophic to the workplace and surrounding community (National Research Council. 2011, pp6-14). Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) is the most important step in Process safety management (PSM). PHA seeks to identify and analyse the significance of potential hazards caused by handling or processing highly hazardous chemicals. It analyses causes and significance of fires, explosions, flammable toxic release and spills of hazardous chemicals. Focus is on factors that may affect the process such as human actions, instrumentation utilities and equipment in use (Skelton, 1997, pp 172-174). Written operating procedures must be implemented and must be consistent with process safety information. They prove clear instruct ions for undertaking the covered processes. Each task and procedure relating to the covered process should be clear, consistent and well communicated to the employees. Steps in every operating phase include initial startup, normal operations, temporary operations, emergency shutdown, among others. Operation procedures should also include operating limits such as, consequence of deviation, and steps required to correct the deviation or

Shiite Festivals in Iran and Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Shiite Festivals in Iran and Iraq - Essay Example Although the Shiites were considered a minority in most of the Islamic world, they were the majority in countries like Iran and Iraq. Shiites who venerate Ali and his son Husayn or Hussein commemorate their death in the hands of the Sunni's in the 7th century battle in Karbala. Karbala is located in Iraq (Associated Press). The other holy site located in Iraq is Najaf. Shiites in Iraq comprised sixty percent of the Iraqi population but the most oppressed and marginalized during the regime of Saddam Hussein. There is a basic difference between Shiite Muslims in Iran and Iraq. Primarily, Iran's ethnic origin was Persian while Iraq's is recognized as Arab. The most significant festival for Shiites all over the world is the observance of Ashura, a ten-day commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein. Its observance followed the Shiite calendar usually on the tenth day of the first month of the lunar year or Muharram (Rauf). The Shiites observed it as a day of mourning when Hussein and his kinsmen were killed in 680 AD or 61 AH (Shiite calendar) ("Everyday is Ashura and Every land is Karbala", Rauf). Shiites observe the day with public display of mourning, self-flagellation or wounding to commemorate the sacrifices of Hussein. Hussein opposed against the corrupt rule of Yazid, a Muslim caliph and he and his family paid for it with their lives. Unlike the Shiites in Iran where they enjoyed majority rule and political power, the Shiites of Iraq underwent severe oppression and misfortune for decades under Saddam Hussein despite outnumbering Sunni's by 2 to 1. Many of the Shiites in Iraq sought refuge in Iran. The Shiites of Iraq had to celebrate and practice their beliefs with restraint. It was not until Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003 could they openly commemorate Ashura. In Iran, however, Shiism was the recognized Islamic denomination and therefore everyone could observe customs and traditions freely. The Origins of the Shiite Branch of Islam Conflict ensued concerning succession after Prophet Muhammad died in 632 AD between the Sunni and Shiites. According to the Shiites, succession should come from the bloodlines of Prophet Muhammad. The Sunni's believed otherwise. For them, the selection of a successor should be a consensus among community members, on political ascendancy and individual merit. (Armanios CRS-2). However, the closest companion of the Prophet, Abu Bakr was elected by majority of the community as caliph. Although majority would accept this decision, some felt that Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin and the Prophet's son-in-law and husband to the Prophet's daughter Fatima was bypassed. Several members of the community supported Ali's ascension as caliph (Armanios CRS-1). The Shiites would later consider Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman as usurpers and illegitimate successors. Shiites considered Ali as the one deserving the recognition as successor. Ali would later be assassinated in 661 AD and his sons, Hassan and Hussein would die in the hands of the Sunnis (Armanios CRS-2). Those that supported Ali's leadership

Critical analysis of teaching materials for Academic Purpose Research Paper

Critical analysis of teaching materials for Academic Purpose - Research Paper Example Adequate academic skills enable the undergraduate natural science students to write proper science reports on their experiments, and research; for example, when writing a research report on the negative impacts of deforestation on the economy of the USA (Jordan,  2009). This chapter also enables the undergraduate science students to develop critical thinking skills (Kathy & David, 2004). This is because it gives insights on current environmental challenges worldwide. Students are supposed to understand the environmental challenges, and thereafter discuss the most appropriate possible solutions in their discussion groups. The language level used in this book is simple. This enables the undergraduate students to effectively understand the academic writing concepts that are illustrated. The simple language is represented through the simple sentences which are clearly and logically arranged in understandable chapters. The simple language has been achieved through using minimal scientific terminologies and jargons (Jordan,  2009). This ensures that all students understand the contents; regardless of the undergraduate level or academic intelligence. Visual presentations are also used in order tyro simplify points of discussions and paragraphs. The presentations also summarize the main ideas discussed through highlighting the main message in simple, short and clear statements (Jordan,  2009). The most appropriate level of study for this chapter is the undergraduate academic level. This is because the environment concept at the global level are studied in most science courses studied at undergraduate level (Kathy & David, 2004). The science undergraduate students are required to write research proposals in the environment field of study. For the research proposal to be approved by the university professors, it must be presented in a clear, logical and scientific manner. An example of a research proposal is: â€Å"A research proposal on

Strategic Management and Business Planning

Strategic Management and Business Planning In this essay, need to describe the strategy of the organization first, which is the main point of understanding about the organisation that the organisation is having what kind of planning regarding the political, economic, social and technological situations. Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over long-term. Nowadays this is the competitive business environment in which we need to do planning in a large scale. The firm should be engaged in strategic planning which defines the objectives, progress and implementation of strategy and should make adjustments as to stay on track. The selected organization McDonalds has the strategy to provide fast food to their customers and satisfy them by providing high quality food and good clean environment to enjoy it. The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for analysing and understanding all sorts of business and organizations terms and situations. The SWOT analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The SWOT analysis provides the framework to review the strategy, direction and position of the company or an organization, or any other idea. The SWOT analysis can be use for the business strategy, business planning, marketing, competitors evaluation, business and product development and research reports. The first two factors, Strength and Weaknesses are the internal factors and concerned with the organization and the other two factors, Opportunities and Threats are the external factors which are largely identified by the PESTEL analysis. The PESTEL analysis measures the businesss market according to the external factors; Political, Economical, Social and Technological, Environmental and Legal. The PESTEL analysis is more helpful and external factor as compare to the SWOT analysis. The PESTEL analysis is a useful measurement tool for understanding the external environment of the company and market growth or decline which shows the direction of the business whether it is growing or declining. A commonly used and a valuable technique of research is PESTEL analysis which divides the overall environment of an organization into four areas such as political, economical, social and technological. It provides the environmental factors to tackle the problems through public relations techniques which effecting the organization. This analysis helps to find out or identify the issues which affect the organizations political, economic, social and environmental angles. The PESTEL analysis is the brainstorming technique. Brainstorming is the group of the people which is the powerful technique. It creates the new ideas, motivates and solves problems; it gets a team working together. In this case, the group of people decide and define the objective and agree on the issue then they put their brainstorming ideas and suggestions on it in a time limit. Afterwards, they categorise and combine their ideas. They focus their efforts in achieving best results whether their ideas will b successful and beneficial for their organization or not. The brainstorming group of people access and analyse effects and suppose the results on the basis or their decision. They first allocate the options for running the organization and rank the list as it is appropriate. They first demonstrate the prior options to get the best results step by step. The brainstorming group agree the options and timescale in which they have to do their tasks and activities. Brainstorming enables the people to suggest their ideas randomly and the people should encourage everyone to participate and prevent others to contribute in the mission or goal. During the random collection of ideas the facilitator must record all suggestion on the flip chart. All the participant agree the actions and take decision what the next action should be. They agree a timescale and whos responsible. After the session they monitor all the task and at the end give feedback. The organizations do not exist in the hidden thing. They operate within a competitive business environment. In the organization, the business related people analyse its competitors not only enable the organization to identify the strengths, weakness .opportunities and threats of their own organization to compare their organization with their competitors to compete and analyse the situation of the business. SWOT analysis is the way of analysis to analyse the factors and the strategy or planning of the organisation. McDonalds is the most famous and largest company in the world. It provides the fast food for the busy customers those who dont have time to cook at home and they dont have interest to make food. McDonalds is the most busiest store which is also famous that they provide good clean environment and all other facilities like WI-FI connection, newspapers, facility to get chance to meet new people. There are 40 million customers are visiting McDonalds (Mchowr, 2010). It has over 30,000 branches in 120 countries (Nelson, 2010). From most of the countries, McDonalds get its revenues. The bigger image of this food chain was creating the concept of fast food in the world. The core strengths of the McDonalds are the speed, customer care and cleanliness. They created a highly successful quality of food and services to the customers and created a logo and advertised their brand image to the millions of the customers. McDonalds have two main competitors which are KFC and Burger king. Its marketing strategy is concerned with internal and external resources and environment. The main concentration of the company is to satisfy their customers by providing the good quality food and fast servic e. There are some factors which are consider as the strengths of the company but they also become the weaknesses of the company if we observe performance. Customer change their mind with the passage of time and according to the demand of advance culture or all requirements. So McDonalds try to advertise and promote the new types of brands every month. The new promotions are for the time being and for the limited time period. Moreover they maintain their standard by providing the good service the huge quality fast food. If the quality service is not good in the store then it effects the whole brand of the organisation. The main purpose of organisation is to achieve their goal. McDonalds has been chosen their target very carefully. In the case of McDonalds the targeted audience are the kids. Here , the health conscious women and the senior people should be preferable to concern about the target audience but the target was kids and kids grown up to become adults so the most preferable and helpful target was kids. This helped in the popularity of the McDonalds but the major change related to health related product was on the demand of the customers as required the needs of todays trend so that is why, it has decreased the popularity of McDonalds. These all are external weaknesses of the company. The internal factors of the company also affect its performance. McDonalds at one stage concentrated the growth of the business at the higher level to make a position in the market to b stable and the main focus of the company was maintenance, growth and Research and Development (RD). One major threat of the McDonalds is the relationship with the management and franchise dealers which can be difficult for the organization as a whole and the organizations strengths help out to overcome the strength because the strength is the back bone of organization if it goes down the whole system will collapse. McDonalds is trying to recover all the weaknesses. Using internet system it is easy to communicate and use the systematic process to improve their service. These latest technologies help to prevent the new issues in the market. These are the issues for the improvement of the company. Companies develop their strategies and having the competitive advantages. These are depend on the firms ability. It creates the better economy and economic value in the market. Some companies have their brand name and are very famous in the globe. Michel Porter (1990) proposed a modal that called the National diamond modal. It identifies four characteristics related to the firm, its strategy and all the environment. Porters modal has the proper way to describe how the company and it competitive have shapes and how they can cope with these. Among the countries , this analysis shows the differences in the system. These system may be environmental and can be business environment. Particularly, this modal is based on the premise that government can play an active and constructive role to maximize the level and growth of the nations living standard. In which economic role of the company is idealistic. National characteristic divide into two factors macro-level and micro-level. Macro-level factors are institutions like the political, legel and market systems and government policies to support businesses. Micro-level factors have the ability of nation company to grow up and get the awareness of competencies and competitive strategies that how can make a strategy to achieve their goal successfully. The companys best strategy and planning make the company successful and role model in the business world. This model has the significance effect on the business market. This framework helps the company to make the best plan and strategy to get better result to make a position in the market. The basic thing of competition in an industry is affected by the Porters diamond four factors. However, these factor demonstrate that how firm cope in the market unless the structure of the company will also not play the affective and important role in the market. There is an economic theory which allocate the performance and structure of the company. In the organization, according to this modal, would be expected to compete and make higher profits. However, as the researchers conclude that the important factor of competitive behaviour is history and culture of the organisation. The Porters modal is to understand the strategy and it is a simple tool to analyse. The power of the business lies in a business situation and this modal help to analyse the strength of a firm. The achievement of goal by having the access to meet all the requirements from the company. Porters modal also identify new products, services or business which have to b profitable. However, it also may help to understanding the basic level. It is important to understand that this modal has limitations in market environment or relatively market structure. This strategic framework helps for the SWOT and PESTEL analysis. This approach can be used for every business modal. Some issues of this modal are very important for the organization to build long-term business strategy during implementation of this modal. As the world has changed the requirement and the taste of the customer also change so the McDonalds policy changes as the demand of people. Because the same brand every year or every month may fed up their customers so their company decided to change their brand and introduce new innovations to develop the interest of the customers in their company. Now, analysing the sustainable competitive advantages (SCA). SCA is the advantage of the company which is difficult or impossible for the companies to break it. The advantage can be the brand, customer care and cost structure. Other three aspects of advantages which are helpful for SCA, these are: The organisational criteria should be good interrelated and coordinated. The common goal should be strong. The organization should learn and bring the new innovations and changes as per the demand of the customer considering the environmental changes and the customer trends, legal or goverment restriction and developments in technology. Now, McDonalds is concentrating on this advantage by concentrating on the organizational behaviour and the expertise of the management system. Previously this advantage was ignored but when they observe the weaknesses and suffered a loss then they protect themselves by these weaknesses and overcome on these. Structure, technology and financial assets of the company should be very good market position these can helps in the SCA. McDonalds is having these aspects like structure, technology and finance. The company start their mission with an aim and the determination of achieving their goal. Same McDonalds started with the aim of helping the people to get fast food who had very little time to cook and those who are busy to get into a proper restaurant. So the vision was to provide fast food, quick service, cheap products and quality satisfaction. In summary, SCA is the best strategy which uses all the way for advantages and helpful for the organization and cannot be copied by the other companies or competitors. The importance of the SCA is investment portfolio in the business environment. Nowadays there is not any single organisation which can handle all sort of problems and work. It is not possible for McDonalds also to handle and sort out all the weak points to overcome. But the great concentration should be core competencies of this company. The general advantages of McDonalds are cheap service, knowledge of markets core competencies, flexible resources, quick service and low cost. Recently, McDonalds has tested the drive through order facility where they get satisfaction that the order placed is accurate and these order sent to the home restaurant where they can see the order on the display system and can ready their food within the minutes and serve quickly. These call canters has a facility of digital camera. It point out the vehicle on drive through and the delivery man inside the store can ready the food and the person place it to the car whom order is. Although, McDonalds faced a lot of risks and difficulties in past and also face competitors. But the term which makes it still strong in the business is, its core competencies. A complete analysis of McDonalds in which the company operates is the PEST framework analysis of the company. The analysis of the company includes all the history and framework of business segments, the analysis on the geographical situation and analysis of the companys major competitors. There is no particular competitive strategy to achieve success at all times. Because sometimes the company have to face a lot of problems and competitors in the market. Risk attitudes also change and vary by business situations and environmental uncertainty and several internal and external conditions which may weak the business situations. There are the main considering points which consider the strategy of the market. These point are four p points like product, place, price and promotions. These point may help to make decisions and to make the business strategy. It consult the customers demand. Price of the product consider in this strategy. Product design, modal, shapes etc also consider and allocating the market product. In many organisation there should be shape, size and order processing which are important. Pricing is the complex issue because it is related with the cost, volume and tradeoffs. Pricing policy changes to get the competitors response which is usually hard for all the participants. Marketing has received a greater attention in the competitive business since modern era and marketing has concentrated on the modern types of strategy to promote their product selling. The old concepts carried out for the product and considered marketing to selling and promotion according to new style and demand of the customers to satisfy their customers and seek to earn more profit through customer satisfaction.